The Final Chapter

Dear Friends, I know you have been worried about us and so much has happened since my last post. I don't know where to begin.....

We headed off on our trek to the Rainbow Bridge just as I told you we were going to..but it was very hard and as you know many of us are no longer young. Even with little Gon-Ba-Ma leading us we got lost... and then there was an avalanche. I am sure you have read of it in the news.

Some of us were rescued by kind and loving people...however, and my heart is aching to tell you this Dear Friends, Blue and Tansy did not survive. Oh, Dear Friends our hearts were broken.

Still, we had a paw circle and a celebration of life there amidst the snow and destruction. Margaret led us in Abide With Me and our broken little Gang held paws and hands and we prayed. We prayed for guidance and comfort for our grief and we prayed for strength. We knew that Tansy and Blue would want us to finish the journey...so we took them with us and we set off toward the Rainbow Bridge.

I won't go into to detail because my eyes are full of tears...but I will tell you we made it!  Yes, we were at the Rainbow Bridge in Shambala. Lucy thanked her God in Spanish, Hurley thanked his God, Margaret, still bowed with grief for her best friend gave thanks and praise, Bond raced around with Gon-Ba-Ma ...and I...I just sat and stared at the eternal blue sky.

We saw the Bridge in hte distance! OMG! We saw the Bridge....and you know what???  Blue and Tansy were there ...Dusty was there and Chick Chick (do you remember Chick Chick?) and My Dearest Sister Lacey..and Pops was there too.. so we knew he had passed while we were gone. They waved to us and blew kisses and told us to cross over the Bridge....We ran towards them.

What a hard decision to make Dear Friends. What would you have done?

We sat and looked at each other and then we looked again at all of our loved ones waiting for us. We wanted to go but we knew our time had not yet come. We still have not finished our earthly journey and adventure and we had many loved ones still waiting for us at home. We all agreed we had to go home.

We waved goodbye and told Tansy, Blue, Lacey, Dusty, Pops and Chick Chick that we would be back. They understood and told us to give love and hugs to all their loved ones back at home...to tell them that they were well and happy and waiting...waiting.

So, now we are back at home. One day we may have another adventure...

Goodbye for now.

Love Robbie.

New Names, New Paths

Morning came early and we awakened to the same chanting voices and ringing bells we had heard the night before. We rushed to the windows to see our new home (Margaret got dressed first but the rest of us already had our coats on ..BOL)
 
WOW!

 This place was even more awesome in the daylight than it was at night. The same jewel fruits were now sparkling in the sunlight just as they did in the moonlight....diamond pears and emerald leaves, ruby cherries and topaz lemons, other fruits gems I had never seen before of blue and purple and orange. And the palace still shining on the top of the mountain.

When we had our fill of gazing out of the window we started to think about getting our fill of food again. Gon-ba-ma turned up as if by magic and told us to follow her to breakfast. We did. The monks were assembled as they had been the night before...and again we were given what we wanted to eat. This really must be Shambala.

The head monk asked our names and as we each spoke our name he shook his head. He told us we must have Tibetan names for our adventure in Shambala. Margaret's must be named Jestsunma which means Reverend Lady;.Blue, Jamyang...gentle voice; Tansy, Norbu...jewel; Bond, Namba...a gift; Lucy, Sengemo...lioness; Inka, Mampa..fabulous. And Me/Robbie, Tenzin,...holder of the teachings. We liked our names and practiced saying them. Tansy wanted to know exactly which jewel she was named for, she thought Diamonds were a dog's best friend! Lucy growled like a lioness with a Mexican accent...Blue said he was happy in his gentle, kind voice. Margaret, said she hoped it meant she was to be accepted as a Monkess? (is that a word) and be part of ceremonies in the Monastery? Inka said she had always known she was fabulous and was happy it was finally recognized. Bond just raced around and said he didn't care what he was called. And I didn't feel like I was the holder of any teachings ...I could barely remember what we were doing here.

After breakfast we wanted to go out sight-seeing and check out this wonderful place we were in.  Gon-ba-ma said she would show us around ..but first...we had to decide WHY we had tried to find Shambala. Were our hearts pure enough to look beyond the earthly treasures? Was what we were seeking  in the shining palace? Why had we started on this adventure? Were we to be side tracked as were most of the pilgrims who had stumbled on Shambala?

I checked back over my blogs and found this entry, this is what we contemplated many weeks ago, 'Bond says his great great great grandmother told him of a place that is soooo high that you can see the rainbow bridge and climb up it to meet with friends on the other side. He said it is a place where people and dogs become young again! And it is a place where ghost snow-dogs roam the mountains howling like the wind'. Gang this is what we came for...not jewels and food and comfort. We came to find the Rainbow Bridge and to find how to turn back time!!

Gon-ba-ma laughed and said 'then I will give you a very different tour of Shambala'. 'Jestsunma, Jamyang, Norbu ,Namba,Sengemo, Mampa, and Tenzin follow me, we have much to do to get ready for the journey to the Rainbow Bridge'. 'Many try to find it my friends but most can only reach the gate and then they turn back'.

I have to admit that sounded a little scary and I thought it was time for a paw circle. So we sat down and held paws and hands. Margaret led us in a prayer and then we sang our favourite hymn 'All Things Bright and Beautiful'. Dear Margaret is so aptly named as Jetsunma, she has been our Reverend Lady through all of our adventures. We felt strong and courageous after our circle and we yelped, barked, howled and Yippeed that we were ready for the next step in our adventure!

Are we? 

Shambhala!

Time seemed to fly into the thin mountain air when we lined up behind Gon-ba-mo and before you could say Shambala we were in the village of the singing voices and ringing bells.

Wow! How can I describe to you how different this village felt and looked. Shining in the mountain peaks was a magnificent palace which shone brighter than all the stars in the sky. The path to the palace was lined with trees whose branches were hanging with fruit made of precious stones. Colourful monasteries and mansions were dotted in the peaks and valleys all lit up with a strange Tiffany sort of lamplight shining from their windows. The snow fell around dancing and changing colour to match each building. We were speechless and barkless.

We asked Gon-ba-ma who lived in the palace and she told us that the mightiest King in all the world lived in the palace; the King who knew all the secrets of this world and all the others. I know it sounds a bit crass but all we wanted to know at the time was the secret of  how to get some food and a place to sleep!

Gon-ba-ma laughed at us and told us to follow her. We did. She took us down a narrow path to a monastery where the monks dressed in their saffron robes were sitting down to eat their evening meal. They welcomed us and asked us to sit with them. We did. Oh how good the food was. As if by magic we all had the food we wanted the most. Of course it was vegetarian but everything was delicious and just perfect. Margaret had a fantastic Toad in the Hole (I didn't dare look at the toad) and Tansy, Mock Duck. Inka chose a plate of stew with a fluffy dumpling and Blue a cutlet with a side of kibble, Bond had a strange Tibetan dish, Lucy five tacos and a burrito and I/Me had my favourite burger with Caesar salad.

The monks were curious about us but very gentle with their questions and although we were getting very drowsy we answered as best we could. And then we asked them where we were. They told us:

Dear travelers and seekers you are in Shambhala. When souls are not happy in their earthly home and they yearn for a better world then the soul is pushed to find Shambhala or Shangri La. Shambhala is a paradise where dreams can come true but you must believe it can exist to find it. This magical kingdom can only be found by believers who are pure in heart. In your world you have been conditioned to see first and then believe but to find Shambhala you must believe first. You have believed my friends and you have found.

Wow! It was all too much for us to take in.

Tansy had nodded off and the rest of us were not far behind. Gon-ba-ma understood and in a twinkle of a star we were in our own beds, soft and clean and warm. Oh Bliss.

I think we are going to like Shambhala when we see it in the morning.
 

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