Love Notes from Heaven: A Bridge Across Realities

By Maria-Elena D. Diaz

Life had been a grind for over a decade, with completing a doctoral degree and fulfilling the demands placed on a junior tenure-track professor at a research university. Wanting more from life, Maria and Paul decided to commit to creating more time to enjoy life. Within months of this decision, Paul unexpectedly dies while Maria is at a conference. Devastated, Maria steps away from her current life and returns home to Hawaii to reconsider her life path. What Maria doesn’t recognize at first, during the early days of her bereavement, is that a magical journey has begun. Within days of Paul’s death, she begins to have experiences connecting her to Paul. His “love notes” transform her tragedy into a powerful affirmation of eternal love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Mar 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982274474

Maria-Elena D. Diaz

Maria-Elena Diaz has over two decades of public service as an educator and administrator, primarily in higher education. Originally from Hawaii and Guam, she and her husband, Paul, enjoyed exploring and living in different parts of the continental U.S. She graduated with honors from Brandeis University, where she received her undergraduate education. She earned her first master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. She earned a second master’s degree and her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied social inequalities and social change. Her research examined how beliefs and political behavior are related to social structures. While an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, she promoted a deeper and broader understanding of social issues. Dr. Diaz served on the Oklahoma Advisory Board to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, bringing attention to racial inequalities in education and incarceration outcomes. In her free time, she enthusiastically explored the nature of reality and life’s synchronicities, discovering how beliefs and spirituality are related to inner knowing and lived experiences. Paul died suddenly while she was at a conference, right before the start of a fall semester. During the trauma of losing her beloved life partner, Paul’s love notes from the other side inspired her to move forward in life as much as possible with love, peace, and joy.

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Copyright © 2022 Maria-Elena D. Diaz.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-7446-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7448-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7447-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022903970

Balboa Press rev. date: 03/04/2022

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1 The Day the Earth Stood Still

Chapter 2 The Desolation of Bereavement

Chapter 3 Love Notes from Heaven: The First Month

Chapter 4 A Year of Firsts

Chapter 5 Halfway to the Other Side

Chapter 6 Hope Springs Eternal: Love Notes from Heaven Forever

Chapter 7 A Bridge across Realities

Afterword

Bibliography

In memory of Paul F. Diaz, whose love and

devotion made this book possible.

We are One.

Hu guaiya hao, asaguao.

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

—Ludwig Jacobowski

Acknowledgments

I begin with my mother, Elena Mae Chandler King, who loves her children fiercely, nurtures her own Divine connection, and believes in the magic and mystery of life. She taught us to appreciate all of Mother Nature’s displays, from a calm ocean to a crackling fire to thunderous storms and patterns of clouds in the sky. She held us close to her heart while we were growing up, even when she was far away, and gave us wings to fly as we matured into adults. My mom believed that we were spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies and there was more to life than meets the eye. Thank you, Mom, for teaching me to respect all of life and cultivate my Divine connection—that love is the answer to all of life’s questions.

I am grateful for my strong emotional connections with my siblings: my sister, Cynthia Nanette Domingo, who joined me when I first started my spiritual quest in college to go beyond socialization and explore new ways of understanding reality and ourselves in this beautiful, mysterious world, and whom I could always count on through all of life’s twists and turns; my brother Beau Domingo, with whom I learned the power of forgiveness and compassion; my youngest brother, Mike Chad Domingo, whose love and devotion have led to many serendipitous experiences together since his boyhood. Thank you, my fellow musketeers, for holding me close during such a difficult period of my life and sharing my wonder over the ways Paul has continued to share his love.

Although not everyone accepted that what was happening was real, many did. I am grateful for the support of my sister-in-law Cheryl Boudreaux, my college mentor who became the older sister I always wanted. From Mom and Cheryl’s influences, I developed a profound feminist spirituality with Divine Love at its core. Cheryl taught me the power of laughter and lightheartedness. She introduced me to more of life’s magic and helped me to overcome self-doubt through self-acceptance and faith in Divine Love. Thank you, Cheryl, for showing up right on time.

My godparents, Lydia and Leslie Lunasco, have always cared for me during difficult periods in my life and stepped up again after I relocated to Hawai‘i. When I needed a place to grieve, they were there; when I needed to be comforted, they were there. I knew I always had a haven with them. Much of this manuscript was drafted in my weekend apartment on the second floor of their home. Aloha, and mahalo nui loa.

My sister-in-law Geri Domingo always accepted that I was for real, mourned deeply with me, and held me close to help me heal. Her daughter Danica also channeled the magic of love notes from heaven and was capable of a wisdom well beyond her eight years as she helped lighten the pain of saying goodbye to Uncle Paul. Her younger sister, Mikayla, always reminded us to play even during the most difficult times, and her exuberance lifted our spirits when little else could. Thank you all for your comfort and love during my passage through bereavement.

There were also friends along the way who felt more like soul-siblings—friends I knew to be part of my soul-family. They accepted my experiences without question and shared their own experiences with me. Among the friends from my youth, thank you, Jennifer (and all your beautiful sisters), and Bal and Gena—you came back into my life right when I needed you and never doubted me; you will forever have a place in my heart. Gena, your generosity while experiencing your own grief was a lifeline to my recovery. Si yu’os ma’ase, Jay, for helping me with Paul’s worldly affairs, and to both you and Jeff for bringing me home.

New friends, too, held me up when my world imploded in Oklahoma: feisty Jennifer, who always believed that Paul’s love notes were real and that we would always be connected; inspiring Meta, who guided me back to physical health and welcomed me and Paul into her family; and my grief counselor, Gail, whose support put me firmly on the path to healing and believed my experiences would continue for as long as I desired. I am grateful beyond words for my colleagues and students in the Department of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma: Your compassion, cooked meals, inspired guidance, help with packing and moving, and more paved the way for me to move through my liminal state and land on solid ground. Your support in those early days and months allowed me the time and space to begin to heal and to experience my love notes from heaven.

Many others shared with me the magic and mystery of Paul’s passing, including Kristie, Shawn and Auria, Teri, Nina, Girly, and Desiree. While I was finding my way back into the world of work and working on this book, Aunty Cora and Joey opened their home to me for a year and a half, which allowed me to prioritize healing and writing—and for which I will always be grateful. My dad, Bienvenido Domingo Jr., was my anchor in day-to-day affairs after I returned to Hawai‘i and helped me achieve balance. Really, during my bereavement so many responded with aloha that I came to accept that all is well, love and life are eternal, and I have a story to tell. And then something magical would happen again.

Preface

H ey bro, surf’s up. It had been a long time since I said these words. But I was living in Oahu, Hawai‘i, again and surf talk is common—even among those of us who are mere boogie-boarders or beach walkers. About a year ago, after the sudden death of my husband, I moved back home to the island where I was born and graduated from Waialua High and Intermediate School. We knew each other for thirty years and had been married—and nearly inseparable—for twenty-five of those years. In the summer of 2015, I was preparing to move on