One of our beautiful golden retrievers who was suffering
from cancer and could no longer move had to be put to sleep by our vet. Our dog was such a lively dog who
unconditionally loved each of us for the 12 years of her life. Every time she would see one of us coming she
would squeal with joy.
If you have ever lost a close family pet, I am sure you can
appreciate the range of emotion we all felt, from love and gratitude to deep
sorrow and grief. I will never forget
the image of my grandson Jacob with his face buried in his dog’s ear, racked
with sobs as he gently touched her with so much gentleness and kindness. Through my own tears I felt such love for
both of them at that moment.
As a student of the 3 Principles for 27 years I have learned
the beauty of allowing all thoughts and feelings to flow through me
freely. My teacher Syd Banks taught us
that we don’t have to be frightened by any of our experiences. The play of thought is constantly bringing us
a wide array of feelings. When we
understand that this wide array is the play of the Principles we can appreciate
this dance created by the spiritual energy of life.
No thought or feeling in and of itself can hurt us
psychologically if we don’t struggle with it.
We struggle with our experience when we judge it, try and resist or stop
it, try to manipulate it, or wish we weren’t having it. It is this struggle against the already
created thoughts and feelings that creates the problem. It is this struggle that takes us out of the
now and gets us entangled in the apparent reality of our thinking. It is this struggle that blocks the arising
of our next thought that will shift our feeling. After our dog died, Jacob stopped crying,
went outside to ride his bike, and then he came back to her grave in the
backyard and start crying, then he was angry and demanding, then he was back
happily riding his bike. Left alone,
struggle free, our wisdom keeps shifting our thinking in a healthy
direction. This is how the wisdom of our
mind guides us to healing.
When we understand that all feelings are just the natural
creation or play of spiritual energy manifesting, then we can let it be and
allow it to shift and change on its own.
This shift happens naturally and is guided by the intelligence, or
wisdom, behind life. When grief and loss
and sorrow wash through us unimpeded and without judgment we experience these
feelings as the natural and beautiful flow of life.
When our understanding of the play of thought allows us to
stand open and receptive in the face of any thought whether of love or grief,
and it flows through us naturally, then a deeper unconditional love arises that
embraces all of life as it is and it flows out of us to touch those around us. And I know that the deep love we felt for our
dog and each other was both uplifting and healing.
