Continuation Day

On this day of your life, [Fellow Human], I believe God wants you to know...

...that when a loved one leaves the body, it is a cause for a genuine and special joy.

It can be difficult to experience this joy over the death of a loved one, and sadness is both perfectly natural and very "okay." Yet know this: your Beloved is celebrating Continuation Day. This is the most glorious experience you could possibly imagine. It is, truly, heaven!

And there is this: You will once again reunite with the soul of this loved one. Nor will you ever be separate even now, for their Essence flies to you at your very thought of them. I would not tell you this were it not true.

~ Neale Donald Walsch

I'd never heard death referred to as "Continuation Day" until I read this daily message from Neale Donald Walsch. Hard to imagine that someone hasn't heard of NDW, but in case you haven't, he's the author of a series of spiritual books called Conversations with God.

I love Neale's concept of "Continuation Day." Because what he says about death is absolutely true - there is no separation, we only think there is. Why do we think there is? Because we've been playing a spiritual game called Separation in which our personal individuation played an important role. When all that Spirit knows is Union, Separation becomes an exciting game to play!

However, as hard as it might be believe, the game of Separation has come to an end on planet Earth. It's time now to realize that we aren't separate, and to throw off that belief like we'd throw off an old and worn out pair of shoes. Because it isn't true. It simply isn't true. We aren't separate. We don't stop "being" just because we die, and neither does anyone else. So when a beloved dies, or an associate, or a family member, or a pet .. they don't go anywhere, they are just as close as they ever were .. merely a thought away. Yes they don't have a body anymore, so we can't "see" them with our human eyes. But that doesn't mean they aren't there.

Think about it this way .. your best friend moves to another city. This city is very far away, so far that traveling there yourself, or them traveling back to you, is highly unlikely. Do you miss them, sometimes terribly, and feel some grief around the fact that you can't see them anymore? Of course you do! But do you stop being friends because they moved? Do you stop loving them because they moved? Do they stop loving you because they moved? Do you stop communicating with them because they moved? No, you don't do any of these things, and neither do they. Because you realize that just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. They just aren't physically where you are anymore; you can't "see" them. But you continue to communicate with them using the tools that science and technology have given us, because you believe in these tools. And you do it without even thinking, because the tools have become so commonplace to you.

If you could come to realize and accept that you don't need those tools to communicate, you'd begin to see that you can communicate with those people and creatures around you who have moved out of their physical body and into another phase of being. They are no less than they ever were, they simply don't have energy focused into a body any more. You can't "see" them in a very similar way that you can't "see" a friend who has moved to another town. But those who have died do exist, as surely as your friend who has moved away continues to exist. And you can communicate with them.

The easiest way to communicate with those no longer physical is simply to think of them in a joyful way. When you do that, you draw their energy toward you, and they will respond in kind. If you want to take the communication further, take a moment of quiet to "tune into" them as you think joyful thoughts. You may not hear any words, but if you listen with an open heart, I guarantee that you will feel something, or smell something, or sense something familiar that lets you know they "got" your communication.

It's fascinating to be able to communicate with those you love who aren't physically focused any longer, and to realize that they don't stop loving you just because you can't see them. Have fun with it! and know that they are at least as anxious as you are (probably more so!) to communicate. But they can't reach you if you aren't "listening".