Introduction

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing asseparation.

–Rumi, thirteenth-century Scholar andPoet

It is my hope that if you have experienced a deep lossTogether Forever will lead you on a journey to explore, expand, and experience your infinite potential. This book is for everyone, because at some point in our lives, if we live long enough, we all experience loss—loss of someone we cherish, adore, and love beyond what words can describe or loss of health, home, job, security, and so forth. All forms of loss have the potential for self-destruction, as well as opportunities for growth, woven into the fabric of thetrauma.

This book is an exploration of life, love, and of anawakening to ourtrue essence. It is written to awaken you to a new way of viewing what our culture callsdeath and what I calltransition. It will help you recognize that death is the opposite of birth not the opposite of life. Life always continues for us, it just changes form. This book will introduce a new paradigm of how we can respond to loss with grace and growth, instead of pain and endless suffering. And in our response we will be led by our hearts, in coherence with our minds, to a deep and lasting journey of Self-Realization.

This isnot another book on grief and how to survive loss. Rather this book speaks of love, of the deepest love. This love is real and goes beyond this physical world. There is no end to this love. Nothing can ever threaten this love. This love has no opposite, because it is based in the eternal essence of your being. If you are reading this book, it is my guess that you have this deep love connection with someone and maybe with several others. This kind of love is free, priceless, and can never bethreatened.

I lost my son, Sal, when he was twenty-four, in a motorcycle accident. I wrote this book for those of us who have lost a love so all-encompassing that it feels like this loss might actually kill you or destroy the life you haveleft.

My sincere intention in writing this book is to offer you another way. As you travel the pages of this book, my hope is you come to know that in reality there is no death, no separation. You will realize, that through the loss of a loved one, your own heart and mind have the capacity to expand and be open to new possibilities that you never knewexisted.

Every time one person chooses a new way to respond to the challenges of life, each time an individual chooses a new option, that person then becomes a living bridge for all the others who choose to follow in that person’s