You Are My Sunshine: Discover the Twelve Comforting Approaches of Spiritual Hospice

By Richard McNeil

You Are My Sunshine is about living, not dying. It is a nonfiction book that presents Twelve Comforting Approaches on how to become a Spiritual Hospice, non-medical, patient comforter. Once a comforter has created a trusting relationship with the patient, the goal then is to help restore that person's positive self-perception by identifying and overcoming any concerning physical, mental, and emotional issues he may have. Finally, the instruction focuses upon how to help the patient find peace in his own personal spirituality. Sunshine's guidance dispels our cultural beliefs that have cloaked in darkness the natural business of dying and death. The Approaches include realizing that the decision to choose love over fear is essential in living and in dying. The reader is also shown how to be the love that is given, how to quiet the patient's internal chatter, how to Soul-Blend with the patient for a deeper relationship, and, finally, how to escort his patient-friend across The Bridge in a peaceful transition, one that offers the opportunity to celebrate death as an act of potential rebirth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667890692

Book preview

Preface

A Proposal I Could Not Refuse

My journey toward becoming a hospice patient comforter began approximately one year after I retired from almost four decades of teaching. My life to that point had been busy, academic, and prescribed. I dearly loved my family, I had enjoyed most of my students, and overall I was not unhappy. At the same time, however, I felt somewhat adrift , not lost at sea, exactly, but definitely without a rudder, much as a sailboat becalmed, going nowhere at all.

At first, I attributed that moderately unsettled feeling to my recent liberation from employment, from professional responsibilities, and from having to follow directions, schedules, and deadlines for so long set by others. To busy myself, I dove into hobbies and activities that I had found little time to enjoy while teaching. I did things that I wanted to do when I wanted to do them. Nevertheless, in spite of that freedom, the creeping perception that I was vaguely floating continued to tug at me. In my mind, the shadow of a stagnant retirement began to form.

In mild desperation, I performed a self-inventory to determine the cause of my restlessness. However, the results only assured me that physically I was fit for my age, mentally I was reasonably sound, and emotionally, well, I was probably as normal as was the next retiree after serving for so long in public education. What, then, was my problem? One day, almost as if I had experienced an epiphany, it came to me. I was missing knowledge of what constituted perhaps the most essential component of my self: my Soul. What I was lacking was awareness and acceptance of that portion of what I was that would complete my understanding of my Being, including my sense of my Spiritual Self.

At that time, my general knowledge of and experience with matters spiritual were limited, for the most part, to fictional works of literature that I had read. Neither my childhood nor my adult life had been more than very briefly religion-focused, and its attraction never took root in me. I simply never chose to explore the existence of a Higher Power. Furthermore, if pressed for an answer regarding the reality of a hereafter, I would have said dismissively that death was simply a final matter of lights out.

Then, however, a series of unprecedented spiritual connections with my deceased parents began to take place that contributed to very significant changes in my thinking and, eventually, in the complete redirection of the course of my life. For the first time, I felt guided by a heretofore-unknown source that had both led me to a path of love and awakened me to a previously unrealized and uncharted purpose in my life.

The idea of Spiritual Hospice came to me one day in what I now think of as a spontaneous, wide-awake vision. Without any advanced notice or preparation, an image presented itself to me, as distinct and detailed as a clear photograph. While relaxing outdoors with my wife, Jamie, I suddenly saw before me the rudimentary outline of a humanlike shape, standing upon a walkway or bridge that appeared to span the cosmic emptiness between the Earth and the distant stars. The figure’s right arm and open hand extended back toward our planet, while the left reached out toward the heavens. Its entire shape was closely ringed by an aura, formed by what appeared to be a thin band of pulsing, radiating energy. I later made a sculpture to represent this celestial image. (Fig.1)

(Fig.1) Metal sculpture of the image I received that symbolizes the compassionate intent of the Spiritual Hospice comforter.

As I gazed in fascination upon this vision, I sensed more than heard the whispered words "Spiritual Hospice. Instantly, I understood that this central figure represented a comforter," one whose altruistic purpose would be to assist dying patients in their journey from their physical existences into the spiritual realm as they transitioned. So clear and emphatic were the image and thought that I questioned neither the validity nor the source of the message. It simply was there, and I accepted it without doubt. The truth, for me, was very convincing when received in that manner. It was clear from that point on that someone, something, had placed me at a crossroads, and had presented me with a choice, with an opportunity at my sixth decade of life to make a change, and a dramatic one at that. Because I had allowed a crack to open in my presumed belief system, the Spiritual Universe had poured in unchecked and completely flooded my senses with previously unimagined possibilities.

In time, another term unexpectedly dropped into my consciousness: Soulflight. It was introduced by way of analogy as something akin to a large university in the world of physical academia that integrates a number of individual colleges into a whole. Soulflight named a greater level of education that I would come to understand as encompassing the entirety of the Spiritual Universe. For example, Spiritual Hospice might be thought of as a specific school of Soulflight that identified my potential work with actively dying patients. The concept that had been presented to me that morning was a gift that offered me the opportunity to develop a course of study for those who wanted to help hospice patients find comfort as they transitioned—spiritual comfort. This proposed course was first intended for individuals approaching imminent transition, as well as for those who might be drawn to become their comforters, and later it developed more fully into the Twelve Comforting Approaches presented in this book. I knew instantly that it was a proposal I could not refuse.

To clarify my emerging understanding of this new direction of my life, I was then guided through years of spiritual exploration regarding the concept of Spiritual Hospice, through my intuition and, eventually, through instructions from my Guides. I received the following channelings from Gabriel, the collective voice of all my Guides. In You Are My Sunshine, directly quoted channelings from Gabriel are always set in italics to distinguish his words from mine and from those of other living individuals.

"Soulflight best captures for the thinking mind and for the spiritual heart the sense of progression, in ever-widening circles of Souls in flight, the orbit of the All, of each and all, which gives definition to the indefinable, to the Spiritual Universe.

"Imagine, for the sake of the mind’s eye, represented by countless stars revolving in orbits about themselves, Soulflight without body, beyond, and without need of conscious thought, emotionless within all emotions, moving ever forward and upward and about. Imagine Itself, its very Self, beyond beautiful, beyond amazement, each Soul separate—and yet not so at all.

"Imagine Soulflight dispelling darkness in its slow gyre about its Self, making no haste where none is needed.

"Imagine, with Souls in flight, all connected, separate and yet conjoined by love, in an ever-widening circle about Its Self.

"Imagine the Light at its Center, throughout as well as at its outermost regions, ever expanding, guiding, being, peaceful in love and compassion, as cohesive as flesh and yet fleshless, needless of corporeal form. Body without weight, weightless without body, ever expanding, moving over and about and through Its Self. Soulflight—simply—IS. Behold the Spiritual Universe—the beginning and the end, end without beginning, beginning without end!

"Spiritual Hospice, then, at its simplest understanding, may be described as the conjoining of two willing Souls, one in transition from physicality who is receptive to and accepting of the compassionate, healing assistance of the Light of the Universe as it flows through the heart of his comforter, in a mutually reciprocal relationship, with both Souls receiving the love of each other. And while as One, both are combined in order to assist them along their blended path. Compassion, then, in this relationship, will override all other considerations.

"Spiritual Hospice is not about doing. It is about becoming. What one does in Spiritual Hospice is what one does or should do in life. It is about love, compassion, and connection. It is about becoming truly at One with everything and with everyone.

"Spiritual Hospice is a journey, a focus, a perspective, and an understanding. In Spiritual Hospice, think not that there are those who give and those who receive. For, in truth, one and all are the same. One does not lead so that another may follow, but they, together as One, each and All, progress forward on the journey, on the path, toward mutual Enlightenment. Spiritual Hospice is not a thing. It bears neither rigid definition nor measurable dimension. It simply IS."

Gabriel

Everything that I had known before, and everything that I had been before, began to change, evolve, as the image of the figure on the bridge gradually blended into the golden rays of the rising sun. I count that as the genesis of Spiritual Hospice, and of everything that it would come to represent to so many others. Now, I invite you to join me on this spiritual journey of discovery. Together, we will explore compassionate ways by which to bring real comfort to the dying as we open our hearts to help transform the final transition into a peaceful, spiritual experience that will give so much more purpose to the last chapter of life and so much more direction to what follows.

Prologue

Winifred’s Story: Our Initial Meeting

I find taped on the door of the hospice patient’s room a short handwritten note signed by her nephew. My aunt’s name is Winifred. Please do not call her Winnie or by any other name. Thank you! Obviously, this request is very important to Winifred’s nephew, and the message clearly sets a tone for anyone about to enter his aunt’s room.

After knocking and hearing what I take to be a faint invitation to enter, I ease open the door. Immediately, I am fixed by the glaring eyes of the woman who lies almost flat upon the bed, her head positioned to view the door, staring intently into my face. I had knocked softly, and I had heard a muffled reply, but perhaps I misunderstood and thus have begun my visit on the wrong foot by intruding into her now ever-diminishing world.

The patient I see before me, Winifred Flynn, is lying immobile on her right side, covered to her waist by a sheet, her head resting upon a low pillow with her right hand curled into a fist beneath her chin. I had been told that she had suffered a very serious stroke more than two years before, one that had left her unable to care for even her most basic physical needs. A soft towel tucked beneath her chin and against her chest catches a thin, clear trickle of saliva from the corner of her mouth.

Winifred is 65 years old, a frail woman with a slight build, graying chestnut hair, and large blue eyes. I can imagine that in better times her face likely would have displayed refined features, warm confidence, and a gracious and engaging smile. At present, though, the fierce stare that emanates from her eyes, seemingly directed toward mine, causes me to wonder if it is, in fact, targeted toward everyone. Or, on the other hand, does it simply project her general mental state, possibly fraught with inner pain or frustration from her current condition? I quickly decide to check my ego since I have no actual reason to assume that her look has anything to do with me personally.

Until the stroke abruptly altered her entire life, Winifred had been nearing the end of a forty-year career as an emergency room nurse at a small suburban hospital. In that role, she had been respected by the staff as an extremely intelligent, experienced, and compassionate hands-on caregiver. She was regarded as an exemplary asset to the patients, to their families, as well as to those who worked with her in that unit in often very traumatic, stressful situations.

After her lengthy initial stint as a patient in the hospital, followed by her transfer to a nearby skilled nursing facility, Winifred eventually was moved to her married nephew’s residence in the suburbs. Shortly afterwards, she began to receive home hospice service with scheduled visits from nurses and other staff as needed. However, even with occasional respite breaks for her devoted but necessarily employed relatives, parents with two young school age children, Winifred’s 24-hour care became physically, emotionally, and financially overwhelming for them. She needed to be placed permanently in a residential hospice facility. The ever-increasing necessities of Winifred’s care simply exceeded her nephew’s and his family’s abilities to cope. Winifred’s downhill course became too obvious for anyone to dispute, and home hospice service had ceased to be a viable option. Fortunately, the hospital where she had worked for decades had a small combined palliative and hospice care unit, so she was transferred there.

At the time of my initial visit, the staff informed me that Winifred appeared to be weakening emotionally as well as physically. She was reasonably clear-minded and, therefore, she remained all too aware of the consequences of her deteriorating condition. In spite of past efforts by physical and speech therapists to ameliorate her situation, Winifred found it increasingly challenging to move her body or limbs purposefully or to relate clearly her needs and feelings to others. Additionally, other complications surfaced, such as bouts with pneumonia, repeated UTIs, skin health problems, noticeable appetite failure and resulting weight loss, all of which contributed to her deteriorating health and, especially, to her waning sense of self. Unfortunately, the stroke all but silenced her ability to speak with any semblance of clarity. At best, Winifred struggles and sheds hot tears of anger to form words, to shape the sounds that might indicate what she wants or, more importantly, what she needs to express aloud. This once articulate woman has been reduced by the severity of the stroke to communication consisting of partial nods, periodically uncontrollable left hand gestures, a searching expression in her eyes, and slurred vocal sounds.

Consequently, given her steadily diminishing abilities, Winifred’s once strong self-determination now appears completely broken. She has systematically begun to ignore all efforts by her caregivers, family, friends, and clergy to give her any support beyond her basic physical needs. Over time, Winifred’s distress, initially manifested by small rebellions that eventually escalate into general defiance, has given way to evidence of complete hopelessness, of total resignation of self. Her eyes that once snapped with strong emotion or brimmed with tears in the presence of a patient’s suffering have taken on a soulless depth. Those who care for her understand and accept that her suffering stems directly from physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual deterioration, from imbalances in all three. Understanding that just as things in life may occasionally slip out of kilter, so might the different parts of ourselves, as we will discuss in detail in the next chapter. With attention to those imbalances, they can be restored so that the patient may have a more satisfied and fulfilled perspective regarding the end of her life. Helping another to find comfort during transition is not to ask for a miracle. Yes, it does involve faith, but the combined strength of two may exponentially trigger changes that some might regard as downright miraculous.

Dear Reader, before continuing, you may be wondering how my initial visit to Winifred played out, given her silent reception and her unblinking, glaring eyes that seemed so purposefully locked onto mine. After a very uncomfortable moment, an eternity in my mind, punctuated by an almost imperceptible, dismissive flick of her finger, I broke our tableau. With a mumbled, I am sorry. Please excuse me, I backed out of Winifred’s room and quietly closed the door behind me.

So, what might you, as a dedicated comforter, one whose heart and motivations are absolutely pure and sincere, do to offer Winifred relief? How might you offer her compassionate assistance in rebalancing herself? While the decision to restore her equilibrium must always be respected as hers alone, consider what experiences, life skills, instincts, and intuitions of your own you might bring to her bedside to help Winifred. Just as a satisfying novel should have a strong final chapter, why should not this woman, at least to some degree, find a measure of real, loving comfort to bring a peaceful conclusion to her during the last chapter of her life? Right now, Winifred is marking time, waiting for her physical body to give up and die. However, the basic premise of Soulflight’s Spiritual Hospice is that hospice is about living, not dying. The restoration of a dying person’s balance is what we, together, have the opportunity to explore and practice in the pages of You Are My Sunshine. How might you put that collective knowledge and guidance to use for our patient-friend, Winifred, so that she may still enjoy life, even as she is about to leave it?

Fundamentals of Spiritual Hospice

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL HOSPICE, REALLY?

As newborns, we are escorted into life by others, usually by loving parents, family, and teachers who help us to grow, learn, and eventually become self-sufficient beings. Some parents, however, find that process very challenging, even overwhelming, so often they seek advice that, fortunately, is plentiful. But what about the opposite end of the spectrum? How many people know how to, or are comfortable with, escorting someone out of life? Where is the plentiful guidance for offering practical assistance to the dying individual as he makes his way from physical life to whatever he perceives to be a hereafter, if he envisions such a dimension at all?

When my grandparents were dying, and later my parents, I felt next to useless. While my sister and my wife did what they could to ensure proper medical care and personal comfort for them, I stood idly by, overwhelmingly sad, and feeling very sorry for myself. I helped in no tangible way, but my inaction was neither due to apathy nor to a lack of love as much as to not having a clue what I could do that would matter, as well as being afraid that whatever I might try would not be appropriate or enough.

Therefore, the Twelve Comforting Approaches presented in this book are designed to give guidance to anyone who finds himself in the comforter role, whether as a family member caring for a dying loved one at home, or as a volunteer or staff member in a hospital or at some type of hospice facility. Spiritual Hospice can provide comprehensive care that supplements and usually enhances all forms of hospice services wherever they are provided. You will learn not so much about the physical care of the dying person as about how to engage that individual within—within his Soul.

Spiritual Hospice is not a place but a way. You Are My Sunshine is about relationships—about the connection between one person and another, about the correlation between the many layers of the self within each living being, and about the relationship between those who still lead physical lives with those who have crossed over and returned to purely spiritual existences. In truth, Sunshine is about the relationships of all individuals, everywhere and forever. To be precise, this book is focused upon a person in transition and you—his comforter—moving together from casual acquaintances to companions, and finally forming a deep bond of faith, trust, and compassionate love to help that dying friend achieve or maintain a feeling of peace and wholeness regarding his retrospective appraisal of the course of his life on Earth. The flexible guidelines of the Twelve Comforting Approaches will provide the comforter with tools necessary to encourage the patient to adopt an attitude of openness toward the process of transition, rather than avoiding or running in fear from the natural and inevitable realities of dying and death.

Openly discussing the deep, anxious feelings that the patient may hold regarding death offers the potential to remove those fears and to help to balance the different aspects of his troubled inner Being, if any do exist for him. In addition, the Approaches will stress how we, as comforters, may blend with our patient-friend so that we may help ease his transition and walk him over spiritually into the Beyond. But first, they stress an attitude of compassion. You will discover that these twelve paths are layered and increasingly convoluted steps that may be used by any caring individual, followed wholly or in part, chronologically or independently, and adhered to exactly or adapted to specific personal needs. How completely or partially the methods are utilized will be determined first by the expressed needs of the patient, then by the compassionate skills of the comforter, and finally by the nature and depth of the relationship that is formed between the two.

The 1940’s song, You Are My Sunshine, sung to me as an infant by my mother, quite naturally emerged as the title of this book, primarily because Mom, after she passed, became my first teacher from Beyond to take my hand in my spiritual reawakening. In time, this song became one of my early signals that my mother is still watching over and supporting me from the Afterlife. Thus, Sunshine might be thought of, in part, as a hands-on practical and spiritual manual documenting how I was taught, eventually, by myriad teachers, by those here as well as by those in the Beyond, to offer comfort to others about to transition.

Sunshine, then, explores the relationship between you and a person approaching his imminent death. It is about two friends who agree to share what some might call a miracle, a marvel akin to that which delivers a new child into the world. This miracle is the release—the deliverance—of the Soul back into full spiritual existence. The beauty and the wonder of this birth, of this rebirth, actually, are what define this relationship. Therefore, as one transitions out of his physical life, a reason exists for celebration as great as that at his deliverance into it.

OUR FOUR SELVES

Before we can begin to discuss how to build a comforting relationship with a hospice patient, we need to examine our own perceptions of our individual relationships within ourselves. Spiritual Hospice proposes that each individual in physical life is naturally composed of four separate yet interdependent Selves. Therefore, it is helpful for each comforter to understand himself as a comprehensive human prior to offering his most inclusive and fulfilling comfort to a patient-friend. While these parts are never completely separate and all too often do flow into each other, we will consider them separately throughout Sunshine, solely for the purpose of explanation, but never for indoctrination.

My first Self, my Body-Self, consists of my physical person, which is influenced daily by my life environment, by my age, by my overall health, and most definitely by the decisions that I have made regarding the nourishment and the maintenance of my body. Many times, the reaction to a situation is felt first in the body, often as a fight-or-flight reaction. Even if I unconsciously feel fearful, my Body-Self will then signal an emotional thought to support that feeling, and as a whole person, I will react accordingly to restore my inner balance between those Selves.

Next, my Mental/Emotional-Self is a natural combination, since my thinking directly creates and affects my emotions, which, in turn, create and affect my thinking in a natural cycle. These two aspects of my being are so inextricably linked as to be regarded together in Sunshine as my Mental and Emotional-Self. This Self I perceive as reflecting the sum of my present life’s knowledge, experiences, and beliefs, as well as my emotional reactions to who I am, to what I have done, and to what I see as my direction and purpose in life. My Mental/Emotional-Self is closely linked to my Body-Self, thus completing the several aspects of physical me.

My third Self, my Soul-Self, I view as the true me, the essential me, that part of my total being that links me to all of the spiritual Entities within the Universe, including my Guides, my Angels, and other non-corporeal Energies that counsel me. My Soul-Self is a component of my physical being, acting as a bridge or link between my physical and spiritual existences.

My last and most advanced Self is my greater and entirely spiritual Self, my Higher-Self, an Entity that is the compilation of who I have been, who I am, and who I may become, all existing concurrently in Spirit. My Higher-Self is the amalgamation of all of my current life’s learning, as well as of all of my other experiences in all of my past lives. It is the actual seat of my greater Spiritual-Self, where I receive and learn to utilize my deeper wisdom.

To be at One with all of your Selves is to be whole, to live in the rich fullness of your individual and interacting components. The best way to tell if your four Selves are balanced is by regular assessment of how you feel. Specifically, you will experience a sense of joy and peace if they are in complete alignment. It is as simple as that. Anything less, to live with even one Self not in line with the others, or possibly even not balanced within itself, is to suffer an imbalance that will prevent the most essential flow of energy from coursing throughout your overall Being. This separation of Selves, whether partial or absolute, directly affects the well-being of the individual in terms of his ability to grow, to learn, and to reach out to others on deeper levels, even, if not especially, during the dying process. Such separation of Selves into detached segments may be the result of a single and possibly traumatic event, perhaps even one from a previous lifetime, depending upon his belief system. However, often it is the result of a slow but definite drifting apart, the almost imperceptible separation of Selves, and usually through negligence of maintenance that accounts for the loss of one’s inner unity. A body thus fragmented understandably experiences a diminished ability to cope with and to process the experience of death.

Recognizing the need to restore our own equilibrium is vital in many ways. Not only does it help us to rebalance ourselves, but it also helps us to assess the needs of our patient and to learn which of his Selves needs restoration for our plan of care. Moreover, any lack of harmony that we detect in ourselves may trigger or exacerbate imbalances within the patient. Therefore, it is important to be aware of our own limitations. Similarly, if we are well balanced, our energy may merge with the energy of the patient to help him to rebalance himself. We are seldom always completely aligned, and the needs of our four Selves is constantly fluctuating, so be certain to consider your own necessary adjustments ahead of reaching out to a transitioning patient. Once you are balanced, you will find it much easier to assess the areas of concern in the patient’s remaining life.

LOVE VERSUS FEAR: IT’S YOUR DECISION

Love’s exact opposite is fear, not hate, as is so often erroneously thought. For our purposes in the context of You Are My Sunshine, we will define love as almost any positive feeling, from casual affection to platonic love. Other related words include joy, happiness, peace, well-being, excitement, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude, to name but a few. In any configuration, love is positive, kind, and uplifting. You can tell that you are living in love when you feel good. It is the inner sense of growth and expansion.

Fear, on the other hand, is what we typically describe as feeling negative, depressed, doubtful, hateful, jealous, angry, stressed, prejudiced, resentful, insecure, and so forth. You can tell that you are living in fear when you are just not feeling right. Instead, it is a sense of contraction, of the atrophy of one’s Soul. Ultimately, fear separates, undermines, and destroys, while love joins, supports, and creates. When we are feeling upset or despondent, if we sink into our negative, destructive self-talk, we undoubtedly will find that our often-subconscious thoughts are sabotaging our feelings of well-being.

However, even in the worst of circumstances, we can always choose how to respond. Choosing love may not prevent or change a negative outcome, but it can help us by encouraging us to find the meaning in the experience. That knowledge, of itself, can be very healing overall. It is all about our perspective, our state of mind.

While I am not a mental healthcare professional by any stretch of the imagination, in my years of working one-on-one in hospice patient-comforter relationships, I was able to assist many patients to effect positive changes in their sometimes uncertain or downright negative self-evaluations. Those changes—from fear to love—directly helped many of my patient-friends to transition in recovered or newfound peace. In addition, those who willingly made that revised choice awakened to a much more positive perspective that they had found deep within themselves. Often, that decision amounted to a single and surprisingly uncomplicated realization about dying: the patient could control much of what might affect his final perspective of death, no matter his condition or the circumstances that he faced as he was dying.

When you are able to stay within a state of love, you will find that the Universal energy will flow through you, and you naturally will know exactly what to do to comfort your hospice friend. You will not have to figure out what to say or how to proceed. You will just do naturally what your patient-friend needs from you. It is all about trusting the Spiritual Universe. When we focus on love, it takes our attention away from ourselves and places it back upon the patient and upon our purpose in giving compassionate care. And that even further opens our hearts.

Furthermore, throughout the following pages of Sunshine, you will witness repeatedly how important the hospice patient’s prior decision to live in love or in fear becomes in his caregiver’s various efforts to comfort him in his transition. The choice of fear will show him groping his way toward the conclusion of his life path in uncertain and frightening darkness, while the choice of love will portray him moving confidently forward toward the soft glow of the Afterlife, as he perceives that next reality. Because love is contagious, your own decision to choose love over fear certainly will influence the degree to which your patient-friend will feel supported in his last hours and days, and that may in turn affect how he sums up and possibly reevaluates his entire life experience.

YOU ARE THE SOUL OF ALL SOULS

Early on, my Guides emphasized the significance of choosing love over fear. Through the following channeling, they underscored how only love will allow me to feel the Oneness that is the basis for all of Spiritual Hospice.

"You first must learn how to embrace most fully your own heart in order to reach out to embrace those who seek your assistance. To be able to love others completely, you must first completely love yourself, for such absolute and limitless love provides the very foundation for the work that you do. It is the medium by which all within the One are connected.

"You need to build no other pathway nor bridge outward from yourself in order to reach those you seek to offer your love, save the very ‘fabric’ of the Spiritual Universe itself. Spend not a further moment on establishing the contact—the method of reaching out to those you wish to embrace—for you are there already, as are they.

"Take one step further beyond your thinking at present, wherein you are a Soul, as you say, with a physical form—a body—attached. For while that is not untrue, especially as you develop your understanding of yourself, it is time for you to recognize that your Soul is all Souls. The Soul of your brother and the Soul of your sister, in fact, are but one Soul.

"The Soul of the Universe is the Universe. There are no ‘parts,’ for it is whole and complete of itself, ever growing, ever expanding. Have you not thought of why we use the term ‘the One’? For that is the very definition so often misunderstood regarding the Spiritual Universe. There are no parts, and there are no components to the One, to the Universe.

"In the Spiritual Universe, you may retain your individuality while having no individuality at all. You may remain yourself—while being the One Self of the Universe. Distinction, separateness, recognizable and individual identity—they do not exist in the Greater Oneness of the All. The individual drop of water, holding its own tear-like shape as it falls from the leaf into the pond—causing a ripple that extends, even though not always perceivable by the human eye, across the distance of that body of water as it mingles its molecules with that of the pond—does not disappear. For what it brings to the fullness of the pond adds to the greatness of the pond itself. And while it appears to dissolve, while it appears to lose its identifiable shape, while it appears to disappear—and not to raise the level of the pond to the perception of any observer—it, in fact, does add its oneness to the Oneness.

"In like manner, when a Soul enters the Spiritual Universe, it leaves behind all physical distinctions: all shape, all weight, and all characteristics noticeable and observable to the human eye and ear and touch. And as that Soul rejoins all of the other Souls, which are as One, it does retain what it has brought—its essence—and, yet, what it has brought is now part of the Greater Whole.

What this means, in the Universal context of Spiritual Hospice, is right before your eyes. When you comfort another, you are comforting yourself—and your Self—and each and All. The blended concurrency of Souls is ever-present and eternal. It provides the momentum of the Spiritual Universe. No one exists alone, even within his unique individuality. You are the I, you are the We, and—most certainly—you are the All.

Gabriel

HEARTLIGHT: THE ENERGETIC CONNECTION

The vehicle that carries the loving frequency of the One outward is the positive energy called Heartlight. As with all loving energy, it is sourced from within the heart of the Spiritual Universe, radiating from the countless multitudes of Souls that comprise that boundless expanse, individually and collectively. As with all energy, its function in the Spiritual Universe is that of transmitter, similar to the pattern of pulses sent from one cell phone to another in our world, relaying messages across distances almost beyond measure. Heartlight is similar in that it is energy capable of traversing great distances instantly, even allowing you to connect with others in alternate dimensions, such as those who have passed from life.

We each emit a portion of that energy from within that fuels us spiritually. Without exception, all of us are essential components of and contributors to the All. Imagine the separate yet perfectly blended threads of a finely woven tapestry without end. No individual thread is more or less essential to the overall fabric. Perhaps some are, by the nature of their age and placement, more central within, more central to the Whole That Is. However, given the interdependence of each thread, of each Soul—even those that may be frayed or existing on the outermost edge of the Spiritual Universe—every single one contributes to that portion that he creates and occupies. Wherever they exist, all the threads that comprise this Universal tapestry are equally integral. Oppressive hierarchy simply cannot exist within that most compassionate region.

Drawn from the Universal tapestry of love, each compassionate comforter takes in that limitless, loving Heartlight through his energy center, and then redirects it, through simple intention, out from his heart to those who need and may choose to receive the comforter’s gift of love. Furthermore, the healing, a natural function of Heartlight, is done not by another—by you, for example, as comforter—but by the one himself who responds to your offer for help. Utilizing the combined energies of both of you, you can help to provide what is lacking for the one in distress to regain his inner equilibrium and thereby to heal himself.

Finally, do not think of Heartlight as a unique gift possessed only by a select, chosen few. Rather, it is an integral part of each individual, a natural component that some may have forgotten or never realized as theirs. As one-in-One, it is about reciprocity, about conjoining paths for the betterment of both. Heartlight is a most useful tool for facilitating bonding before even meeting with a new patient. Always remember that in helping another, you will help yourself as well. Such is the primary purpose of Spiritual Hospice.

For a more expansive view of how you may ascend into the Spiritual Universe, see the End Notes following the Acknowledgments.

THE TRIANGLE OF RECIPROCITY

An important theme throughout Sunshine is the concept of reciprocity. When we think about hospice service, some jump to the conclusion that it is exclusively about care given to the patient. However, the benefits of Spiritual Hospice work are reciprocal. With our mutually open hearts, both patient and his comforter have the potential to connect on a much deeper level of togetherness, which may