Connecting to Loved Ones in Spirit: What Rachel Stewart Wants You to Know

Written By Sarah Rathke

Rachel Stewart is back, almost exactly a year after her first visit, and this time the reunion started in person. Jane ran into her at the IANDS conference, a meeting Rachel almost skipped until two different podcast hosts, hours apart, told her it was happening in her backyard. That kind of nudge sets the tone for the whole conversation.

Since we last spoke, Rachel and her husband Shane have launched the 411 Together community, built around what they learned while finding their way back to their daughter Kennedy, who passed in 2018 at age ten. Rachel shares how it took her over a thousand days to accept a connection she now lives with daily, why she believes the little moments matter more than the big signs, and how Kennedy keeps showing up, including at her little sister's softball game in a very specific way. She also tells the story of a broken boat, a bee that wouldn't leave her window, a bank sign reading 4.11 percent, and the Jeep that convinced Shane to walk away from commercial fishing. Along the way: a manifesting practice that finally clicked for her, the case for raising kids who don't have to unlearn their connection to the other side, and why a "man's man" crying on camera about his daughter may be one of the most important things they share.

Key takeaways

  • Grief and connection can coexist. Continuing a relationship with someone in spirit doesn't erase the loss, it gives the loss somewhere to go.

  • You don't need a perfect meditation practice to stay connected. Small, everyday moments of openness, like talking to a loved one on a drive, build the relationship over time.

  • A sign is often about timing, not the object. A feather is just a feather until it arrives at exactly the right moment.

  • Hearing other people's stories lowers our guard. Many people connect faster once they see that it's real for others too.

  • Kids who grow up with this as normal don't have to break a whole worldview to believe it, and adults can help by treating their experiences as real.

  • Acting as if something has already happened can shift how you show up while you wait for it.

  • Fear is part of the leap. Most people following their guidance don't know where it leads; they go anyway.

  • When men talk openly about grief and connection, it gives others permission to do the same.

Quotes

  • "I want every single person to know that they can continue the relationship if they want to. It's allowed, it's beautiful, it's natural." Rachel Stewart

  • "It was her light that was missing. And I just didn't know I was allowed to let it back in." Rachel Stewart

  • "You don't have to be doing those things to be connected to your loved one, because life is busy." Rachel Stewart

  • "Sure, you could say that's just a feather, but it's the timing of everything." Rachel Stewart

  • "There's fear in the unknown, but we do it anyways." Rachel Stewart

  • "I do not feel alone, even if I'm standing in a very lonely spot." Jane Morgan

  • "People need to be able to see these practices in motion." Sarah

Links and resources

 

Sarah Rathke
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