Transitions and Fortunes

This weekend is the 14th anniversary of my mother’s transition. It might sound strange to call it her transition rather than her passing or her death, but for me, it feels more accurate. She may have transitioned from the physical to the non-physical, but she is still very present in my heart and my life.  If you read my last story titled “A St. Paddy’s Day Miracle” you will know what I mean. 

I love what my dear friend, Rev. Karen Tudor, often says when someone makes their transition. “They didn’t go anywhere. They went everywhere.” Anita Moorjani does a spectacular job of describing this in her bestselling book, Dying to Be Me.

Don’t let the title or subject matter discourage you.It’s truly an inspiring, empowering, and hopeful story. I highly recommend it!In fact, her miraculous story reminded me of a miracle that I experienced not long after my mom’s transition.

My mother honored my brother and me by allowing us to be in the room when she took her final breath. To my surprise, I could feel her life force being drawn inward and then leaving her body once she stopped breathing. 

After the initial shock wore off, I remember feeling a sense of relief and happiness for her. She was finally able to let go of the body and the mind that had been failing her for quite some time. That’s not to say I didn’t also feel sadness and a sense of loss. I did. 

Later that night, a thunderstorm rolled in while I sat in solitude with my feelings in my backyard. My mother loved thunderstorms. When I was a little guy, we watched them together from the safety of our garage. It's one of my fondest childhood memories.

That night, I let myself get soaked as the raindrops fell from the sky and tears fell from my eyes. I felt very close to her.

A few months later, I met a friend for lunch at an Asian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Even though they had only met a few times, my mother adored this friend. It wasn’t planned, but he commented on the "coincidence" that the restaurant we chose was very similar to the one where he first met her.

I ordered my meal, then grabbed a handful of fortune cookies from the basket on the counter before walking into the dining room to choose a table. When my friend joined me, we both noticed I had grabbed three fortune cookies. Interesting.

During the meal, we caught up, laughed, and shared stories about our mothers, including the details of my mother’s last days. At the end of our meal, we each opened a fortune cookie and agreed that the third one was for my mother. I don’t remember what our fortunes were, but my mother’s fortune was quite profound.

Tingles went all through me when I broke that cookie open to find this message written on the small slip of paper inside. 

“The one you love is closer than you think.”

We were both stunned and in awe. What a beautiful confirmation of what I believe to be true. Our departed loved ones haven’t gone anywhere. They are everywhere! When we hold them in our hearts, we are always together in the limitless oneness of unconditional love. Thank you, Mom, for finding a way to communicate this message.

Family Constellations is a powerful way to experience the love that connects us all. At these workshops, I often say we arrive as strangers, but leave as family. If you have an unresolved issue with a loved one who has made their transition, or with a family member who is still here, Family Constellations can reveal the hidden source of these recurring patterns and help you create a new dynamic where love can flow freely again. It is a healing experience like no other.  

Spiritual Coaching is another great tool to help you get the love flowing and create more peace in your life. I base my sessions on the strong principles of oneness and love found in A Course in Miracles. Please look around my website to schedule a session and for more information about these healing opportunities. It would be my great joy to work with you.

Until next time, may you receive confirmation in miraculous ways that the ones you love are closer than you think...

Only love creates, and only like itself. There was no time when all that it created was not there. Nor will there be a time when anything that it created suffers any loss.

A Course in Miracles ~ W-pII.11.1:2-4