The friends, family, and pets we are blessed to share time with on our journey through life all have one thing in common. They help us open our hearts to love, which makes us more receptive to Divine love. In other words, the love we share with those in our daily life brings us closer to God. In the following story, “Man’s best friend” is up to the task.

Paco and I found each other while I was living in Miami, Florida, attending graduate school. I was just walking in my neighborhood one day and this spunky golden dog with soft brown eyes pops out of nowhere and comes right up to me as I’m standing in the street. I let him follow me home and as the saying goes, “The rest was history.” I was a daily runner and he became my running partner. Over the next fourteen years we would live in several different locations. Friends, relationships, and jobs would come and go, and he was there with me through all of it. One of our favorite things to do together was to swim in the ocean. He was a water dog through and through. Just the sight of a beach got him so excited, and I always loved the unbridled enthusiasm with which he would go bounding straight into the surf.

After a very full life that I can only imagine any dog would have been grateful to live, it was Paco’s time to move on. Although I was very sad to lose my dear friend, I was also very comforted by the fact that I know Paco is soul, and that as soul he would continue on after he left his physical body. This rock solid knowledge that I had acquired through many years of classes at the Nature Awareness School got me through this challenging transition, and actually allowed me to keep peace in my heart. I felt and witnessed the Hand of God with him as he made his transition, knowing in my heart that he was going somewhere beautiful.

Less than a year after Paco passed away I had a vivid dream that I will never forget, in which we were swimming in the ocean together. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were in the clear blue water, doing what we loved to do best. We were out pretty far and at some point I decided to head back to the shore as I was starting to get tired. I beckoned for Paco to follow, but he did not want to come back. There was a mutual love and understanding exchanged between us, and instead of following me back to shore, he turned and continued swimming out into the ocean. I knew that as soul, no longer with the constraints of a physical body, he was letting me know he was happy and content where he was. And while I was given the gift of getting to spend some quality time with him, it was now time for me to return to my physical body and go “back to shore.”

I had also wondered from time to time if Paco might be ready to reincarnate into a new physical body, as pets will sometimes come back to their same owners. I feel he may have also been letting me know he was not ready to come back. Whether or not I see him again in a physical body, I know that as soul he is alive and well. This dream confirmed that Paco did indeed go somewhere beautiful and is happy and doing great! I am so blessed to have been able to see my friend, swim with him again, and share real communication with him.

Knowing I am Soul, that others are Soul, that Heaven is real, and that our loved ones still exist after they pass away physically is a gift beyond measure. I am truly grateful to my teacher Del, the Prophet of our times, for this priceless knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Written by Laurence Elder