Reconnecting With The Departed

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, on this week's episode of Three Cups and a Dash of Spirituality, we have a guest. It's a personal friend of mine, and she had an experience that she recently shared with me. And today she's gonna share it with all of you. Let's get this music started. Hey everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Three Cups and a Dash of Spirituality. I'm Michelle here with Stacy. Hey Stacy. Hello, everybody. And my good friend Joni Jones. She's here to talk with us today, too. I get so nervous when I'm introducing kids. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Hello. I find that funny because you like it's it's somebody that you know. So, you know, the the nerves, the nerves.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Well, I just want to share a little bit about how I know Joni. So I met her right before the world shut down in February of 2020. We both attended a spiritual weekend. It was the first one I've ever gone to. And I walk into the event and she's there. Our mutual friend Robin is there. And it was like we've known each other forever. It was absolutely amazing. And to finally meet someone, because I'm just stepping into my spirituality then where I could talk to about all these things I'm experiencing and having these questions. It was absolutely just karma or not karma, that's not the right word, but it's the right word.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

I mean, that that works. Karma actually works. It was like, you know, kismet.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Kismet, yes. That's the word I'm looking for, like meant to be. Like I've known you forever. And I'm just so happy that this friendship has been a part of my life and that we can have these conversations where people aren't gonna look at us or listen to what we're saying and be like, well, that's weird.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Yes, same.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

I mean, it's all about finding essentially your people, the people that you can talk to in a space of trust too, you know, and and that aren't gonna just go, that didn't happen.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

One of the hardest things to find.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

I do know that you recently had a loss in your family, Joni. And I was very honored, that's the word I want to use, that you reached out and shared your experience with me. Because for so many years and for so many people, like death is final. That's it. The person is gone and communication no longer exists. But I'm finding the more and more people I talk to, there are signs out there and there are stories of connection from the afterlife. And your story's beautiful. And thank you so much for being here and being willing to talk about it today.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Absolutely. Yeah. So I my brother died in a car wreck in December. When he wrecked, his car caught on fire. So most of him was burned up and you couldn't identify him. Uh, or we knew it was him just by some of the things, but the detective had to take one of his bones and send it away for uh to have the DNA tested. And he got they got DNA from his daughter and who's a young adult, and you know, so they could match it. And he said it would be two to three weeks. The detective did. And two after the third week, I spoke to the to the detective, and he said we had to send it to Indianapolis. Fort Wayne doesn't have the right stuff to do what we needed to have done, it could be another six weeks. And so that night I went to sleep and I I was asleep. I was absolutely sound asleep, and I heard three knocks on my bedroom door. I thought it was my son. And I sat up and because I thought, okay, what's wrong? And I didn't nobody was there. So I said in my mind, my head, who's there? And immediately he said, Troy. We talked a little bit and um uh sorry, so it's just me a little choked up. We talked a little bit and I told him, I said, Would you please do us a favor? Help the detectives get this done so that we can put you to rest. And he said, It's so typical. I am at rest, and I said, It's not for you, it's for us. And he was like, Oh yeah. And I happened to look over at the clock at that moment because I hadn't looked at it up until then, and it said 1129. That was his birthday. And so the next afternoon, the detective called and confirmed that it was Troy, which, you know, we weren't expecting that at all. But um it it made it go the process go a lot easier. The weekend of his memorial, my husband and I got in town on that Friday. We live a couple hours away from my hometown, and I had been trying to find a guy that I graduated with and was close to in high school that was also friends with my brother. He's not on social media, and I reached out to several people who couldn't find him. But that Friday night, my friend that we were staying with, we went to dinner at a place that I don't ever go. Like I when I go home, that's not the place I think of to go. I haven't been there in decades. And I'm standing there at the the podium, you know, waiting to get seated. And I don't, I I have a habit of not making a lot of eye contact with people, especially if I'm with my husband, because he can he does that. He he keeps the you know perimeter clear. And I saw feet and they stopped right in front of me, and I looked up and it was my buddy.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

I know it was just it was I was bored. I haven't seen him in so long. And you know, we hugged and he told me he was sorry, and we both cried a little bit, and my you know, was able to tell him that you know, Troy's memorial is gonna be Sunday. If you want to, you know, if you guys can make it, you and your wife can make it. So the next night we went out to dinner at a restaurant where one of our girlfriends works. It was just a group of small group of my friends, maybe eight of us. And we were kind of in a like a not a private room, but it nobody else was in there with us. And it was, and it's it was a nice little quiet room. And I'm sitting there staring, looking at the door, and in walks all my brother's best friends from high school. And I some of them I haven't seen in decades. I know that was Troy too. Um, and of course we were gonna see him the next day, but I I just it was able I was able to spend time with just them and and talk to them and you know, in a smaller setting than what we were gonna be walking into the next day. Yeah, there was so much, and then so the next day, there was so much division in my family before he died. They just, you know, the ins and outs of in-laws and outlaws and all the things. But and it and it wasn't necessarily his fault or anything, it just was something that's just the way the dynamics were. It was just years of stuff. And after he passed, he was able to mend all of that and brought us all back together, and we're actually getting together uh next month for the first time in a very long time. But yeah, so I that's kind of where it's at right now. And I just had a thing happen to me two weeks this Wednesday. My youngest son has been struggling with anxiety, and he wasn't he stopped taking his medicine quite a while ago. He couldn't get a job. Like he he could get the interview and get the job, but he couldn't go. He it in his mind he couldn't go. And he was really upset about it, and he cried to me, you know, one night and he was like, I just I don't know what to do. And I'm like, buddy, your normal is when you take this and it makes you feel better. Like it's okay to take that. If that's your normal, take that. I said, but you're you're old enough now. I can't make an appointment for you or call have them call it in because you're an adult. I'm not I can't do that anymore. And Wednesday, that it was also Wednesday, that Wednesday, I got in the car to go run some errands. He and I had that conversation Tuesday night. And as soon as I turned on, there's two songs that remind me of I know it's my people. I have two brothers and uh and my mom are all gone. And the first one came on and it just it started right as soon as I started the car. It started from the beginning of the song and started to play. And of course, I'm I cried and I said, you know, I need your guys' help. I can't you guys can do way more on your side than I can do on my side. And I've I've heard an okay, yeah, we will. And I went to the gas station, you know, got my pop or whatever. And when I got out, I turned on the car and the second song started from the very beginning, from the very first note. And that was my confirmation. And that afternoon, I got a text from the doctor's office that said, We've called in your prescription to CBS. It was remarkable. I I love how the communication happens like that when you're open to it.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yes. Exactly. And so many points during the experience you just shared. I just want to reach out and give you a hug. And I I want to give you a hug and support, but also to like celebrate that communication and that healing that's happened. I can't even imagine how devastating it would have been to know you had to wait three weeks to get an ID before you could move on to like all the next set of preparations, and then to be told six weeks and just to be sitting in that energy of not having closure, and then for him to reach out in that moment and confirm to you that he's doing okay, and you reminding him like there's grief here and then it growing from there.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, I I everything Michelle just said, I just when I was listening to, you know, your story, I'm just sitting here thinking the amount of stress and trauma and and all of the like emotions that come with loss and to not have that confirmation for so long just adds to that. So the fact that he was able to come through in a way that put you and your family at ease to just give you that closure is really beautiful. It's remarkable. Thank you. Yes, I agree. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

And how incredible the way he kept following it up to let you know he's still with you, like running into the friend at a random location. And I just love how you described it. You just saw the shoes, and then as you're looking up, it feels like a movie, and then there's that person right there.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Yeah, yeah, it was. It was it was I was so good to it was just so good to see him. I haven't seen him in so long anyway.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

I also really appreciated the protective factor that you threw out there with your husband. My husband's the same way, he he's like, he monitors everything, he's the one that keeps an eye on that stuff. I I swear I do. Like I'm an adult and I can walk in parking lots, but for some reason when he's there, like he's like, Stacey, I don't know how you I don't know how you ever have survived because you just don't pay any attention to anything. And it's very entertaining to me.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Yes, yeah, that's exactly what it is. I mean, I can I can get myself around just fine, but it's nice when he's there to be able to help me with that.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Yeah. Now it is very comforting also to know that they continue our loved ones to look after us, and I love the confirmation you got with the songs, not just the, you know, one of the songs, but back to back. Those are the two songs that played. And there's absolutely no coincidence in the world that would make that happen. Do you get a lot of those confirmations and signs from the universe around you?

SPEAKER_02 11:56

I do. I do, especially now that I'm trying to tap in better into my own intuition and all the all of the things, you know, all of the woo-woo fun things. Yeah. So I did have a when when my mother passed away in 2017, she came to me and I was asking her, I'm like, you know, how is it? How is it over there? And she said, Joni, it's not like anything we ever thought. So it kind of put a new perspective. Like that's when I started really paying more attention. And it because, you know, we growing up in when you're in, you know, going to secular church and such, the the stories, it's just not the same. I mean, clearly, but that helped change the perspective for me on all of it.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Yeah, it's definitely um a process of growth and understanding and the willingness to be open. I remember a couple of years ago, I was having a situation with one of my sons and I was so frustrated. I was in that energy. I was downstairs. I'm beating myself up about like, why just can he not learn this lesson? And as I'm walking up the stairs, all of a sudden the Alexa goes on unprompted and starts playing the song Chicken Fried by Zach Brown. And for some reason, that song has always been his song. And my husband was like in the back room. I'm like, oh, you just wanted me to feel better. You you had to play that song. And he's like, I didn't. I thought you asked to hear Alexa play it. And it just felt like such confirmation, like, you're worrying about this, but he's really got this. And then I said to it, I'm like, well, I really want to know who's playing these songs for me or playing this song for me. And the very next song was by, I believe, Wynona Judd. It might have been her mom. And it started with grandpa. And I'm like, okay. And that's one of those stories where I'm like, I'm so blessed to be open to this because it brought so much comfort and alleviated so much of my human fear that I could just do my job as a mom and like love this kid and where he was at and not worry so much.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

It's so easy to step into the human worry and the human, you know, experience because we are, I mean, we're here for the experience. But setting having the ability to actually accept the signs and honor them for what they are, though, is one of the coolest experiences, I think, that, you know, not very many people really step into. And like Joni, you know, do you know how many people would say, I think it was my brother that came and talked to me or I heard it, and then just brush it off as I was dreaming. I was sleeping. It wasn't, it didn't really happen. But you are embracing that. And then you had more confirmations after, which just kind of lets you know, okay, this was real. This really did happen. I just, I think it's so, so, so amazing when we have those experiences and we actually honor them.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yes, I I agree. Yes. I love, I I don't know, I don't even know what to really call it. I just love being able to receive all that stuff, you know?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

I do. I live my life for those confirmations. And just when I get them and then they start um building on each other, there's nothing like it because I mean, you can have a coincidence, but when they start to build and compact, it's like, oh my gosh, this is really happening. And it just makes life so much more interesting. And I don't know that it alleviates the grief that you're feeling or the the missing that person every day, but to know that they're still there and watching over you, like it's tearing me up because it does bring so much comfort to a very difficult situation.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

And I again am so sorry for your loss and so grateful that you reached out and were willing to share it with not only us, but the people listening too. Thank you. And and I echo those condolences as well. Thank you. Now I will share about Joni. I did say in the very beginning of this episode, she has taught me a lot. And while her husband might be the protective one when the two of them are out, Joni is an absolute mama bear with her kids. Like she's very protective and she has these wonderful conversations with them too, in which you do also normalize the spirituality with them. And you were the one that told me about an experience one of your sons was having, seeing things and your advice to him, the wisdom of putting a cap on just to block that. And that became his boundary or his shield. I share that with everyone. I think that is just a spot-on piece of advice. And yeah, it's the top hat.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

The top hat. It covers your third eye too. It's not just your head, your crown.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Exactly. Again, you know, someone could just look at it as like it's a ball cap or a a stocking cap, but when you put intention behind it, this is my hat that will protect me from not seeing those things I don't want to see.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

So I love that. That's the best advice. Spoken in a language that most people can understand too. You know, like a lot of people talk about like caping or putting on cloaking, just energetic cloaks or whatever, but it visualized visualizing a top hat is everybody knows what they are.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

Yeah, and I use it. I have mine is a a cloak, like like a back man cape.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Your history, just to share a little bit with our listeners, you've always been open to things.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

Yes. Yep, I've always believed. First time I ever saw anything, I think I was in third grade. And I thought it was it was just for a a bleep, you know, blip of a second. I was sleeping and I happened to wake up to, you know, roll over, wake up or whatever. And I in my mind I said, I saw Jesus praying for me. That's that's what I saw. I mean, as a third grader. So but that was my very first experience that I can remember.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

And is that something that as a child, since you did have those experiences so young, you could talk to family members about, uh like have a conversation with your mom.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Yeah. Okay, that's good. That's support. Not so much the dad, but the mom.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

It and that just having one person though is better than than trying to figure it out on your own. I know, you know, or like in in my life, we weren't super religious, but I didn't understand what was happening. So I didn't really know enough to to put it to words to to actually share what I was experiencing whenever I first started seeing things. But when I was, you know, younger, my mom got me my first tarot deck. So my my parents were very open to spirituality, which is beautiful. But it was very interesting when I when I um expanded more as an adult. I can look back and see the things that I was seeing as a kid and go, oh, that makes so much more sense. Now, but I couldn't verbalize it because I didn't understand it, you know, third, fourth grade. Yeah. Just because I didn't know enough. So I love that your mom was supportive.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

And I had that really with my grandma. Like she to me just always seemed so magical and like the stories she would share. They've seen Bigfoot, they had that experience. They talked about reincarnation, they talked about the up table. I don't know if you know what that is, but it used to be a I wouldn't say card game, but something they would do, put their hands on the table and tell it to move, and then it would move. And I just loved being there. And one time, and this sticks with me, and I can't ask her because she's departed, but she's one of my guides. You'd think she'd give me the answer, but she hasn't. But I do remember asking her, well, what's the name of the person I'm gonna marry? And she did say the correct name for my first husband. Oh, wow. And I'm like, that's such a boring name. Why would I marry somebody named that? I mean, with her, it was all normalized. And then when she passed, she was the first voice I heard call my name. And I was the only one home, but I didn't know who to share it with in my home because I didn't want them to think I'm weird, like my parents, because they weren't as open. Sure. Yeah, that which makes absolute sense. And I do love going back to the original story about your brother coming and having that conversation, kind of of closure with you, and how much healing it's brought to the living, also, how much his passing has started to heal wounds. And was it, do you think part realization that time is going by and that we shouldn't sweat the small things? Or what where do you think his message came in and was most connecting?

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Absolutely that that's that's exactly what it was. It just he could see from the, you know, he could the way I think about it is when they when they go pass on, they can see everything 360 where we've got tunnel vision. Right. So because we just don't know. But and I think that once he saw what needed, you know, that there was so much damage done that what needed to happen, you know, to get us all back together.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

And has he reached out to anybody else in your family or to his friend group that are open?

SPEAKER_02 21:35

Uh you know what? I have not heard from anyone, so I'm not sure. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Well, and and you know, he may not. You know, it's it's a very interesting, like I know one of the things that I've always cautioned people in general about whenever they talk to me about, you know, hearing from people who have deceased is sometimes they don't hear from them because. they're not ready to. And there are so many individuals out there that will hold on to that relationship in almost an unhealthy way and seek it out and not look at it like your story and and what he did for you. It feels like it was the way it was supposed to unfold because you understood that, you know, maybe I'm not going to have access to him forever. But for now, this is, this is, he's here to help us help me move forward with my, you know, grief with with that loss. Whereas a lot of other individuals can't let go and will continue to seek it out. And so I know like I'm always very cautious when when people come to me to see if I'll connect in so soon after loss because it can become a very unhealthy like cyclical pattern.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

I do remember when my my aunt passed away, it kind of came on suddenly but I had booked a reading for like the day after she passed. And I know I've shared that on the podcast, but it was so profound because at the time I'm like, why am I booking it so far out? Like this makes no sense. And then it for it to be the day after she passed and the information that was coming through was so accurate. And the person helping me, he did say something along the lines is she's got here. She just wants to be here. But again, you know, that concept of time too and linear and nonlinear time.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Like I said, it's very individual. You know sometimes, you know, my guides will tell me yes, read for this person or no, they need more they need more time to grieve. You know, it it really is is dependent on the the loss too on more like it's it's kind of a different concept.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

It sure makes me hopeful and thankful to have these experiences knowing again that they're watching over us and if we need them, they're there. They're there like you said you're worried about your son and you just get the confirmation you need they're going to help out and it's just so beautiful and speaks to my my heart, my world.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

Yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

Well I thank you so much for coming on today and sharing your story. And I just love the fact that we are building a community here where we can talk to people and share our experiences and let them know they're not alone and hopefully teach them something and inspire them. And I know you inspire me Joni always have.

SPEAKER_02 24:36

So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Yeah thank you thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story. I know it's it's still very raw I'm sure and I'm just very grateful for for your time and thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 24:49

I feel very honored to be asked.

SPEAKER_00 24:51

Yeah and next month is that family reunion.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Yeah I can't wait. I know you're gonna reach out and let me know how it went. I absolutely will okay well with that Stacy do you want to close it up? Stay classy stay sassy and stay badassy. Thank you again Joni and until next time everyone bye bye thank you for listening to this week's episode of Three Cups and a dash of spirituality you like what you heard please know that we have a full library of episodes now available on your favorite podcasting platform. You can listen to it now or you can download it to listen to later. Also if you'd like to give us a review we'd appreciate it. We love connecting with listeners and thank you in advance.