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Volume 7 Issue 6 ISSN# 1708-3265

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 		Lifetalks
Drinking in the Light: An Experience of Life After Death
with Dawn Baumann Brunke

Humans always want to know about the future!
~ Rooksie

Rooskie was a 17-year-old black cat who once lived with my friend Claire. When Claire first asked me to speak with Rooskie, he had been ill for quite some time. Although he showed me that his lungs felt heavy and he was very tired, there was also a sense of deep contentment within this old cat. Rooskie said he was spending a lot of time resting and dreaming, and he would soon be ready to "fade away."

It was clear that Rooskie was preparing to die. Sometimes a deeper aspect of an animal or human comes to talk as the physical body nears death. The body may be so tired that a higher (or deeper, wider, more expansive) self chimes in to convey information. Rooskie's higher self advised Claire that there was nothing she need do, that no intervention was needed.

Although Claire was hoping Rooskie would pull through his illness, the talk helped to confirm what her heart already knew. "I don't want to lose my dearest friend," she wrote to me. "He is my Buddha Kitty, so wise and knowing. I know I can't keep him forever. I know his spirit-self is eternal. And yet he is so special to me, for he has been a part of my life for so long. It is so hard to let go when you love so much."

So many of us go through these emotions as we face the death of a beloved animal friend. It is hard to say goodbye, and yet we don't want our friends to suffer in a painful body. So, too, we are uncertain as to what happens next. It's something we all want to know: What's it like when you cross over? What's going on over there?

Several days after Rooskie died, Claire asked if I would speak with him again.

The first thing Rooskie showed me was a bright cartoon image of a cat resting on his back atop a big, fluffy cloud. The feeling of this image was humorous and light-hearted. Rooskie's energy, too, seemed excited and happy. He directed me to feel his lungs, exclaiming how light and free they now were. He again showed me the cartoon version of himself breathing in very deeply, his eyes closed in ecstasy and a huge, exaggerated smile growing upon his face, as if to say he was taking in the fullness of life. "Yes, tell Claire I am breathing in life!" exclaimed Rooskie. "It may not be the life we shared together, but it is important that Claire knows that this, too, is life. And I am living well!"

Rooksie said he had much joy and exuberance for life—both his life in the spirit world and his life with Claire. "I really loved it there a lot," said Rooskie. "Everything was wonderful. I had great fun. It was truly a magnificent life."

Rooskie shared such intense joy that I began to feel giddy. Once more showing me the cartoon image of the cat on the cloud, Rooskie said, "I'm very high—and so this may seem silly, but there is such great love and light and pure joy." As I felt the flow of this energy coursing through me, Rooskie said, "You are now getting just a little taste of bliss. Magnify it to every cell in your being and then you will know how I feel!"

Rooskie told me that he was resting and enjoying a healing time of his own design. A higher self aspect said, "Rooskie did have a good life and met many interesting beings, some of whom he knew before. This life was more exploratory for him. There were no great goals other than to just experience—which is, of course, also a full goal of any life. He wishes to convey that he feels very much relieved and very light now. He wants Claire to know that all is well, as he knows she already knows deep within her being."

Rooskie then asked if I would care to know more about his life in the spirit world. "You wanted to know what happened after death," Rooskie told me, and this was true; I was very interested in learning more. "I can give you a guided tour," he said. "Come along."

Rooskie first showed me a review of various animals he had been—a skunk, a snake, a little black puppy, a brown dog, a variety of cats. Rooskie told me that he had been human, too, though I felt some sadness around that life. Admitting that his human experience had been rather depressing, Rooskie said that his guides urged him to become a domesticated animal so as to relearn love from humans. He said that much of his life as Rooskie was about "being basked in love from humans and others." After a short, contemplative pause, Rooskie added, "Don't think that we animals are always there for you. Sometimes you are here for us, too. It works both ways, and I appreciate all the love Claire showered upon me."

Rooskie said it was too early for him to begin thinking of another life. Instead, he wanted to heal. What did it mean to heal in the spirit world, I wondered? Rooskie explained it to me as "drinking in the light." As he shared this, I felt a deep, wonderful warmth and imagined that "drinking in the light" was rather like sunbathing one's soul.

Rooskie said that in the spirit world he was free to assume any form and go any place he chose. As an example, he showed me a version of himself with a different cat face. There he was, sitting on his haunches next to a friendly brown dog, near an elegant marble pond that was surrounded by tall white pillars, lush green plants, and colourful flowers. Although this meeting appeared to take place at twilight, the air held a sparkling quality of light, very different from that on Earth. The air felt cool and there was the faint aroma of flowers. The scene was like an enchanting children's book illustration, with bright golden fish swimming in the pond, the cat and dog drinking warm creamy tea from dainty china cups and saucers. Rooskie told me that any memory or reality could be created here. He added that he was enjoying quiet times talking with old friends and guides.

Rooskie noted that time didn't exist in the spirit world in the same way as humans know it. "I think I'm here to enjoy the stillness, the sense of presence in the present," said Rooskie. "I'm just resting and relaxing and enjoying every moment of Now. You should try this. We could have very long talks in this modality and it would be only seconds in your reality."

Then Rooskie paused, smiled, and offered a final piece of parting advice to all:

I would advise a dose of healing in the peace and joy of the Now for everyone. Animals should remember this too. As Rooskie, I did this occasionally, but never to the degree that I am doing now. There is a place in your heart where you can access this peace, this presence of Now-ness, and that is where true healing can occur.

When I look back at Rooskie, I see a love of curiosity, and this trait remains with me in the spirit world, though we don't call it the spirit world here! I encourage all humans to have some quiet time each day. Many will benefit from simply sitting still and listening to their inner voice.

Although I am different from Rooskie because I have shed that personality, Claire may still tune in to the form of Rooskie if she feels there is more for her to heal on that level. All forms remain since there is only the Now, though spirit consciousness is free to shift into various forms, and that is where I centre myself—in the small now of this spirit form.

And as I pondered that, Rooskie-Spirit laughed, fading away on a warm rush of the ever-smiling Now.


Dawn Baumann Brunke is the author of Animal Voices; Shapeshifting with our Animal Companions; and Animal Voices, Animal Guides, from which this article is partially excerpted. All three books explore the deeper nature of our relationship with animals, nature, each other and ourselves. For more, see Dawn's website.

Be sure to read the reviews of her book "Awakening to Animal Voices" in our May 2005 Issue and her book "Animal Voices" January 2006 Issue.

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