Many people go through their lives feeling reassured and comforted by their spiritual beliefs, whilst others wonder fearfully where we go – if anywhere – after we die. Will we meet up with our family and friends? Have our dear pets crossed the Rainbow Bridge?
For myself, I was brought up as a Christian but the words and rituals of the Church failed to help me face my terror of oblivion. As a medical scientist, specialising in mental health and psychology, I was always able to explain away any evidence of spirituality as wish fulfilment.
Yet I so wanted someone to show me that we are all part of a loving whole and that we travel somewhere safe and beautiful at the end of life. I even became a Buddhist for a while and travelled widely, exploring other cultures and devouring books written by inspiring people, many of whom had met great teachers or discovered deep wisdom.
When my mother was dying, I was bowled over to discover that my Buddhist friends had arranged for the Dalai Lama to intercede for her in prayer, asking that she be reborn in good circumstances, without suffering or pain. Although the words of many kind humans tried to show me the way, it was my animals who eventually opened my spiritual eyes.
Beryl the hamster was first!
When she died in my arms, I saw her soul ’rise–up’ in a cloud of golden hamster-shaped mist. Well, that opened my mind a little and soon the paranormal events came thick and fast, causing a shift in my sceptical thinking. For example, my father saw celestial visitors who came to help him as he approached the end of his life. Later, I saw the soul of my cat Timmy leave her body in a cat-shaped cloud of golden mist, just like my experience of Beryl’s passing.
For the next week, my dog Betty clearly wanted to show me that Timmy was still nearby until I finally sensed Timmy flying away from me, up into the sky towards a beautiful rainbow. When I climbed upstairs to look at the rainbow as it faded, I saw that its end was hovering over the roof of the veterinary surgery where Timmy had died exactly a week before.
I realised now that I’d been foolish to dismiss the evidence of spirituality. It was time for me to let go of my old patterns of thinking and come out of the darkness, because it was clear that animals have souls and that they go somewhere beautiful after death, guided by angels in the form of other animals. Presumably, then, the same is true for us.
When it came time for Betty to pass on, I was blessed with many after-death communications (ADC). At first, I worried that these were just due to the pain of grief; however, kind friends helped me see that I wasn’t alone and that others have these experiences too.
As I received encouraging messages from Betty and from angelic beings, my scepticism finally dissolved and I opened my mind to a wider world. It was like shedding an old coat that had become too tight for me and I felt free. There is no better guide for us all than ‘man’s best friend’! Betty told me that I should be happy because the world was a beautiful place and that her new bed was more comfortable now than I could possibly imagine. All the messages were filled with joy, hope and love.
I think many people have paranormal and psychic experiences, each showing the existence of a wider and brighter world beyond this one, yet we are often too afraid to share these events for fear of ridicule. In my younger days, the idea of having angelic conversations with animals would have been considered utterly bonkers. Yet, even after all my wonderful experiences, I still held back on speaking about them because I was afraid of what other people might think. Writing in my diary was safe because nobody could judge me – but then nobody could benefit either, apart from myself. Having hesitated for a long time, I began to write…
There was one more test to come, though.
I collapsed with heart failure. It came as a complete surprise and naturally I was frightened at first but then, as the ambulance rushed me to hospital, I felt soothed and uplifted by the memories of all the beautiful events I’d witnessed. At last, I could face mortality with courage instead of fear. My animals had taught me to look with more than my eyes and listen with more than my ears. They had given me the greatest gift of all, hope.
Imagine how different the world will be when every person on the planet knows with confidence that we are more than just our atoms. Let’s picture a world in which all people are safe from harm and hunger and where all creatures, whether covered in skin or fur, are treated with respect and love, including those deep under the sea and on the highest mountain. Every soul on this planet is worthy of love and care.
I now believe that the basic nature of all beings is good and that each of us contains a golden mist that travels onwards, guided by angels to a place of joy. Many others may share this belief but still have doubts and fears, holding back. Well, we are all capable of change. If somebody as spiritually deaf and blind as I used to be can experience a journey of true spiritual transformation, then there’s hope for every single being on this planet.
© Helen Ellwood, 2022
Helen Ellwood is the author of Love, Death and Beyond, winner of the Local Legend national Spiritual Writing Competition.
Describing her transformation from sceptic to believer, and the role her animals played in the journey, this is a book about hope, courage and spiritual awakening.
