I have been here for 4 days now. There is something that I must discuss. I have received wonderful support from everyone on this site. Many of the comments refer to our beloved pets being young and out of pain since the have now reached the bridge (dog heaven). My problem is that I have never believed in a heaven or a hell. I have believed when you die, your are reduced to ashes and bones and that is the end of that. I have never really discussed my feelings with anyone regarding this. Even my wife of 18 years doesn't really know. She just knows that i won't go to church with her on Sunday. I don't mean for this to be a policitial debate or inflict my feelings on anyone, quite the contrary. I wish that I could believe becuase I would make it so much more comforting to know that my Rosa is safe. My feelings on this issue have never been real strong, it's just something that I have believed from the time I was a teenager. Again, I'm not looking to change anyones feelings or anything like that, just that it is harder to cope with my beliefs. I have been wanting to write this since the first time I saw a comment about the bridge. I see such comfort in those that do believe that I just wish I could. Please don't be angry with me for expressing my feelings, I'm actually a pretty good person and have respect for all. Thanks for listening. Rusty

It's okay...everyone's allowed to have and to express their own beliefs. I understand what you're saying, as I have been though ups and downs in my own faith. I have thought, "but believing in heaven and God is just an easy way to make it all seem okay." Well, it's not easy to believe, as you are experiencing yourself. But I will tell you that when you can learn to draw near to God, He will draw near to you, and the rewards are great. But until that time you will continue to feel distance from God, and therefore your unbelief will continue to grow stronger, or stay the same. And I don't believe that faith happens in one moment, but that it is a lifelong journey. I assume that because you don't believe in heaven that you are an atheist? If not, I don't mean to offend you. Perhaps you are agnostic. Either way, I encourage you to read a book called "The Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel. It's a really well-written book by a journalist who was an atheist and is now a Christian. It details some really powerful intellectual reasons for belief in Christianity. He also wrote another book called "The Case for Christ" which I haven't read yet, but plan to.

I do think it's possible to believe in God and not in heaven. But personally and intellectually this doesn't make much sense to me. Perhaps you could PM me and we could discuss. It is a subject of great interest to me. Faith is a gift that is available to everyone, and whether we choose to accept it is a personal decision. It sounds as though you are pretty convicted in your beliefs, and in that case, I wish you comfort in your loss through means other than a belief in heaven. ~Jenny

Rusty, you never need to apologize for your belief or disbelief... your choice is your right! Personally, I cannot imagine how anyone could find your post to be a challenge to their faith.

With that said, Rosa was most definitely a lucky little soul to have an honest and caring daddy!

dear rusty,
i'm really glad you wrote about this. everyone's belief's are so different and it's so important that each is respected. i'm a spiritual sort who has always experienced unusual "paranormal" events, so those are very believable and common for me. i am also aware that they might be very unusual to others.
i'm not christian and don't believe in the "rainbow bridge" in fact it annoys me sometimes to hear about it. HOWEVER, i love that it exists for others and that they share from their heart, and what they believe with me. i'm sure my annoyance is related to my anger about death and lack of control, and know that people speaking about the rainbow bridge are truly just trying to help and comfort. and sometimes it DOES comfort.
if it helps at all, i don't think it's any easier no matter what you believe.
i respect all belief's and am so glad to have this forum, and am so grateful you wrote what you did.
Thank You

Dear Rusty,
I'm not real religious although I was raised a Catholic. Not a church goer either nor do I like to get into religious discussions. When my Duchess died I read alot about Rainbows Bridge but I had heard about it many years ago. My thoughs on the subject are this : One day when we are gone we will wake up to the reality that we are now a part of a new reality and we will finally realize that there was more to life than we had ever imagined. My husband is alot like you in the way that he does not believe in an afterlife but I feel that someday we will all be together again. This just cannot be all there is to life -- somehow I truly believe that there is more to it. I always joke with my husband and tell him that he cannot get away from me that easily because I will see him again as I will see my beloved pet Duchess and all who came before & after her, not to mention a couple of put off relatives who's grave's I've not visited since the day they died .
Any way I hope I am right because It would be so sad to think that this is all there ever was. However I guess if this is all there is & nothing else exist -- It won't matter because we will be gone
naaaaaaaaa! there just got to be more to it than this. I would rather go through life believing than not because the alternative is so very empty. Any way it's been nice to answer your post and I hope that your grieving process will go smoothly & quickly although you really can't put a timeframe on it. Just let yourself explore all the feelings you are experiencing right now. It's ok to cry and to talk to all the wonderful people here who are going through various stages of the grieving process. It also helps to read about it since their are several good books on the subject of losing a pet. It has helped me so very very much as I have done all the above mentioned & even adopted a new furbaby since losing my precious Duchess.
My thoughs are with you .
Bernadette
Duchess & Cocoa's Mommy

Thank you for all of your replies. I feel so much better that this is off of my chest. Now I can continue the grieving process without feeling like I am a bad person. I am realizing that we all hurt, that is the common bond. Each person deals with their recovery differently. The main thing is that we support each other and show love and compassion. I'm starting to ramble so I'll end now. Thanks again. Rusty

Hey Rusty,

I don't believe in heaven or hell either. However, for me, I don't believe in "nothing" either. I guess my thoughts are: "You can't really ever fully endorse, or dispute life after death since you haven't died yet. We are all stuck in a wait and see situation". That's my take anyways.

Anyways, I too wish that I was more of a "faith person", and I understand how you feel that it would make it easier. All I can do is hope really.

I have my own religion that I practice within myself. I believe that if we walk the right path, and make it thru each test in this life, we will become stronger in spirit when we pass on to the other side. I don't believe in heaven or hell but I do believe that we go on in spirit. If a person is negative and full of hate I believe he creates his own spiritual torment on the other side. Where as if a person passes on with love in their heart they are much closer to the pure essence of the higher beings. Our animals are pure souls and they will be waiting for us when its our time. I also believe in guardian angels, and I truly believe that some come in forms with 4 legs and fur.....

Kim

I'm not sure what to believe about the afterlife. I'm not a regular church-goer, although I am Catholic and do say my prayers each night. I want to believe we're going to be with our beloved family (human and animal) one day but I wish my faith was stronger. I do feel that there has to be something other than this. My husband does not believe in the afterlife of any kind. Like Steph said, it's a "wait and see situation".

Lynn

Russ, there may be a scientific argument for an afterlife. Einstein was receptive to the idea of an afterlife because as he said, "energy never dies, it just transforms itself into a different state" (not his exact words--I''m sure he said it much better).

Then you have to look at the people who have had near death experiences. Some of them apparently came back from their experience with superior knowledge. One was a scientist who, after his NDE, went on to develop cutting edge theories which he credited to his experience. There are websites where people discuss these experiences and they sound credible.

Margo reminded me of another Einstein quote. He said "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

I was a technology geek before it was "cool". Instead of sports figures, my heros were folks like Einstein, Tesla and Da Vinci. So this quote really went a long way to convince me that there must be something else.


Here are some more Einstein quotes related to this topic I've collected over the years...

The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books---a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects.

Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.

Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.

God does not play dice with the universe.

The scientists' religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.

There is no logical way to the discovery of elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance.

God is subtle but he is not malicious.

What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

When the solution is simple, God is answering.

I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.

The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself among profoundly religious men.

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

Tim

OH YEAH!

Good Afternoon - the comments you wrote were from your heart and I say never be afraid to express what is there - For me I embrace mystery of life ~ the cloud of unknowing ~ the power of the unseen ~ these things are the basis of my spirituality ~ for me the beginning of my spiritual freedom began when I gave up the traditional model of "religion" and began to rely on tuning in to the unseen energy of all things ~ As for your loss I send heartfelt sympathy - I am grieving the passing of my sweet tabby cat Amber - a friend for nearly 20 years - such a void that I cannot go into the Master bedroom where she spent her last years in peaceful retreat away from the huge white male Angora I have , who took her aging as a sign that he should attack a weaker member of his clan. So safe she was - and a refuge it became for me as well - hiding away from stress - just Ambie and me - I know the pain you are feeling and the empty spaces that glare too brightly - thank you for sharing your feelings - it helps me to feel brave enough to share mine. - Peace to you this day ~ Kathryn and Angel Ambie

Hello Russ

It is very difficult to know certain things for sure about the after life. I am not a religious person, but like to think I am a good and spiritual person.

Sometimes we can have an experience that indicates that our furbaby lives on. I believe I had such an experience 6 weeks after her passing.

The problem is, these experiences are so individual that it is not possible to expect someone else to believe or accept the reality of them, it is really only something that you can experience for yourself.

There are quite a few people here who have had such experiences, that I have read of on this site.. Also among my own friends here at home I have 2 who have had after death experiences with their animals. One was a cat, one was a pony.

What this all means, I don't know. But I can't believe that all these people, including myself were deluded, so I have to think that maybe there is another plane of existence somewhere where our pets still exist.

My thoughts are with you in your sad loss
with love
jilly

(I enjoyed reading the Einstein quotes, Tim. I hadn't realised what a spiritual man he was, as well as being a scientist! Thanks for posting them.)

Those Einstein quotes are awesome. Yes, he was more than a scientist, he was an incredibly creative, imaginative man, and I think that is why he recognized the incredible creativity and imagination that went into the creation of the Universe. He saw the mind boggling complexity of it all and it just reaffirmed his spirituality and belief in God, giving him a deep respect for God as Creator of it all.