Reality is far more interactive and multidimensional than we’re taught to believe. – Talking to Nightlights
As I write this, I have a visitor. A few days ago I smelled banana bread cooking. I planned to make banana bread but I thought Andy must have beaten me to it. The scent wafted through the room. I did think it a bit odd because he said he planned to run an errand. I kept sleeping. I went to check on the bread when I got up. No bread. No scent. Gone.
So, I made bread my way – with the special ingredients I had intended to add: mulberries and cardamom. I had been a bit disappointed thinking he would not have known to add those.
We joked about it later. Who was the bread baker?
Today, Andy is again out and about and the scent of fresh-baked banana bread wafts through the bedroom after I return from feeding the cats to grab my computer. A visitor. A message.
When I finally paused to untangle the mystery of that banana-bread aroma, it dawned on me it was a reply, a gesture of friendship and warmth from the fairies. A short while ago, I left honey at the base of a special tree. Now, on that side of the yard, the rose bush has erupted in pink blossoms. The banana bread scent wafting through the air, paired with the sudden burst of roses is a message – their way of saying “thank you”.
I know they are connecting and our interactions are a sign of collaboration and reciprocity. I am glad they believed I could decipher their hints.
“We can’t see the forces of nature,” original Indian Line CSA farmer Hugh Ratcliffe once told me, “but we can see the effects of working consciously with them.” – Steve McFadden, working with elemental beings in a farm community. Source
This time, I will leave some banana bread with the honey. Got it!
The Living Presence of the Departed: A Personal Reflection
Consciousness does not end with death. Those we think of as “deceased” have simply shifted to a different plane of being. The energy that animated them, the essence that made them who they are, remains fully aware, in presence. When we quiet the noise of the outer world and attune to inner stillness, we create a space, a resonance—where communication is possible. This isn’t imagination. It’s communion.
One unexpected experience helped me expand my awareness: a year after John Denver’s passing, I found myself in direct conversation with him. I interviewed him the year before he died, but this was something entirely different. He shared a detail I had no clue about. He told me that he loved watching the Perseid meteor showers in August. I checked. It was true. The moment was a wonderful confirmation.
Later, when I was experiencing an extremely stressful chapter of my life, I set his music on repeat, along with a few other artists, to help me ground and build a bubble of protection around my space. It worked. However, there was an odd anomaly. I began noticing faint telephone tones embedded within the songs, tones I had never heard before. As if something (or someone) was reaching out. A hidden code.
John’s energy, his essence, is still actively participating, not only with me, but with others who are open to that frequency. He has become a kind of spirit helper, a guide woven into my journey through resonance. His songs were always bridges of light.
We live in a far more interactive, multidimensional reality than we are taught to believe. When we allow for the unexpected, trusting the moments that make our hearts sing, we understand: love, music, and presence open us up to messengers from other realms.
Pets, Grief, and the Afterlife
I spoke with Rebecca Schaper about her dog Gus. She shares what she learned from an animal communicator and how that helped her to connect with Gus and manage her grief.
Rebecca Schaper is also the author of The Light in His Soul: Lessons from My Brother’s Schizophrenia and the award-winning documentary A Sister’s Call, which chronicles her emotional journey to reconnect with her brother after decades apart.
We talk about that at the beginning of the interview. My father had a similar diagnosis.
In today’s newsfeed, a familiar story. Al Roker’s wife, Journalist Deborah Roberts, says she’s still grieving the loss of her pet who died a year ago. Source. There is no time frame on grief.
I have experienced different lessons with the loss of each pet. It doesn’t get easier – they are gone. However, because each loss is unique, I have discovered new ways to connect and learned different ways to heal.
Grief Support
- Resources for coping with grief: Link
- Traci Bray is a Windbridge Certified Research Medium. I recommend her Oracle Cards: “The Soul Lives On is a 52-card oracle deck which provides an amazingly simple way for the user to receive messages from loved ones with the draw of a card.” Supply is limited. More Info Traci’s Website: Link
- Consciousness Beyond Death: New and Old Light on Near-Death Experiences, Michael Tymn’s newest book. Link
Amazon Review (edited): “I regard Tymn as a unique authority on all this evidence. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of earlier NDEs which surfaced before the phenomenon even had a name. One of the most intriguing is Cora Richmond’s description of a days-long NDE that took her to worlds where she met and conversed at length with advanced spirits. Her account is nothing short of mind-blowing.” – Stafford Betty
Animal Spirit Insight
Messengers can arrive on silent wings or scaled bellies, in the shimmer of a leaf or the still gaze of an unexpected animal encounter. Beings of the natural and unseen worlds cross into our path with purpose. They appear when the veil is thin, when something deep within us is aware.
Just before the turning of the wheel, as the sun prepares its zenith, three animal spirits have stepped forward from the veil of the wild: Bullfrog, Turtle, and Rattlesnake.
To walk with awareness is to walk in kinship with all life. In this way, frog becomes a greeter, turtle – a memory keeper, rattlesnake – a sacred threshold. Living emissaries from the Earth, and beyond, reminding us we are part of a much larger dialogue.
🌿 Bullfrog — The Voice of Emergence
Spring greeting from a bullfrog. We met him while walking the dogs on a favorite trail. He sat – unafraid, motionless, as he watched us pass. He let me take his picture. I thanked him. Even in all my years growing up in the country, playing and swimming in creeks and ponds, it was the first time I had been that close to such a large bullfrog. He was magnificent.
Spirit Messenger: The bullfrog greeted you with stillness and full presence. His unflinching gaze was not just curiosity, it was transmission.
Bullfrog represents rebirth, cleansing, and the power of voice. As a creature who bridges water and land, frog energy helps you navigate between emotional depths and grounded action. Their song calls in the rain, the cleansing, the renewal.
The timing of this frog in early spring is signaling the beginning of a new cycle in which words (spoken or written) carry greater resonance.
Message from Bullfrog: Hold space in stillness, and the truth will sound through you. You are heard by more than you know.
🐢 Turtle — The Keeper of Time
My encounter with turtle coincided with me thinking about a pet turtle I missed and hoping that turtle had a good life. Then, the exact type of turtle appeared on the path. Our eyes met. He seemed a bit surprised and wary. I let him know I was not a threat. He continued walking. I gave him space and passed around him, keeping my distance (while holding the dog – who expressed no interest in him), and showing respect for his presence.
He let me take his picture. I thanked him. When I turned to look at him after walking several yards away, I saw he had stopped before going back into the tall grass. He was watching us.
Spirit Messenger: Turtle’s appearance while thinking of your old pet carries the unmistakable echo of soul continuity. This is a sign of soul threads crossing timelines, a reminder that love creates an unbroken loop across lifetimes. Turtle is grounding, ancient wisdom, and divine timing.
The fact that he paused and watched you after you had passed says much. He sees you. Not just as a human on the trail, but as a walker between realms – someone who notices, someone who listens.
Message from Turtle: The long road is sacred. Patience is power. What you carry in your heart becomes your path.
🐍 Rattlesnake — The Guardian of Transformation
What a beautiful rattlesnake. His markings were well defined, the colors vibrant. A diamondback rattlesnake. No rattle. He did not feel threatened, but he did scare the dog. She jumped three feet in the air, like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. Snake slithered away faster to avoid contact. No picture this time. But that snake has a special meaning for me.
My previous encounter happened on the day I was doing an interview with Stanley Krippner about Rolling Thunder, a Native American shaman. Link. The snake crossed on the trail in front of us, then turned, and lifted his head to acknowledge our presence. Direct eye contact. It was an amazing moment. Again, I thanked this snake for the encounter.
Spirit Messenger: Rattlesnake energy is awakening, sacred danger, and transformative power. Unlike a bite, a rattle is a warning: pay attention, you are entering a threshold.
And you were, on the very day of an interview about Rolling Thunder, a known medicine man whose relationship with the Earth was deep and direct. The rattlesnake crossing your path, then making eye contact, was more than a nod. It was a handoff, an initiation, a symbolic marking of your role as a carrier of the medicine path, one who transmits rather than performs.
Message from Rattlesnake: Transformation is not safe. It is sacred. Shed the old skin. See with new eyes. We are watching. We are with you.
🌞 Before the Solstice — Why Now?
The solstice is a point of culmination, a fullness of light. These beings arrive now not just to offer comfort or recognition but to activate something within. Together, they are a trinity of elements and forces:
- Bullfrog calls from Water & Voice
- Turtle walks with Earth & Time
- Rattlesnake carries Fire & Transformation
This sequence shows a deepening relationship with the living intelligence of Earth itself. The fairies assist in the garden, but these animal spirits carry medicine for your greater path.
Now is a time to trust the rhythmic nature of your own evolution, to honor the unseen kin who walk beside you, and to remember that every being you meet carries a message if your heart remains open.
Echoes of Presence – Songs for Listening Beyond the Veil
Cherish the moments when the veil thins – when a bird pauses, a breeze carries a memory, or a frog, a turtle, or a snake meets your eyes as if to say, “I see you too.” Spirit messengers don’t need words. They speak in resonance.
This playlist is a companion for those moments when the past stirs gently in the present, and you remember that love, music, and presence – echo, evolve, and respond when we listen.
Mood. Pair this playlist with evening walks, quiet journaling, meditating, or in moments of engaging the unseen.
1. “Weightless” – Marconi Union
The gateway opens. Breath slows. Mind softens. You begin to listen.
2. “Into the Mystic” – Van Morrison
A call across the boundary – surrender to the current, the call of spirit.
3. “Windsong” – John Denver
Air and memory mingle. The natural world becomes a conversation.
4. Two versions, slightly different. Goosebumps.
“Calling All Angels” – Jane Siberry
“Calling All Angels” – Jane Siberry feat. k.d. lang
A prayer for guidance, voiced softly into the unknown. [The song’s origin story is connected to a conversation Pat Monahan (Train’s lead singer) had with his therapist. The therapist’s advice was that everyone has two sides: an “angel” that encourages and believes in you, and a “traitor” that brings negativity and doubt. The song’s message is to prioritize the “angel” – the voice of self-worth and potential – to live a more fulfilling life.]
5. “The Parting Glass” – Loreena McKennitt
Goodbyes become gateways. A farewell that carries love forward.
6. “Algonquin Water Song” – Water has memory. This song was written by Irene Wawatie Jerome for Grandfather William Commanda’s 2002 Circle of All Nations gathering. It is recorded with permission from the Wawatie and Commanda families and the Circle of All Nations Foundation and the Elders in Canada.
You remember your roots. Carry it forward.
7. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole
Time bends. Presence lingers. The spiral of now unfurls.
8. “Poems, Prayers and Promises” – John Denver
A soul reflects on love, loss, and the beauty of simply being.
9. “The Voice” – Celtic Woman
Universal presence watching over both the natural and human world.
10. “Balance” – Donna De Lory and James Harrah
Communion. Reverence. The divine in all things, sung into being.
11. “An Ending (Ascent)” – Brian Eno
Return. Integration. Light without form. The presence that remains.
Transcend
“Imagine growing up with the dream seeds of a wise grandmother, whose inner knowing is distilled within her stories, myths, and songs. These messages serve as a map for you and the future generations.”
Conscious Living & Wendy's Coffeehouse 