Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: synchronicity

  • Elephant Totem

    Sacred Stories

    She had experienced elephant as totem when she was first starting work as a clinical therapist.

    Many years later, elephant energy popped into her mind one evening.

    The next day a teacher/colleague (who was giving up formal office space) posted this on her Facebook wall: “Thought of you when I unpacked this. And if elephants are still significant for you — and it would bless you — would like to gift this to you.”



    She wrote back, “So interesting! I was appreciating the elephant symbol in my life just yesterday, and thinking back to my first baby steps into the work we/I do. I am humbled and grateful to accept this gift.”

    The elephant totem or elephant medicine will bring strength, power, courage, memory, good luck, happiness, bliss, and positivity in your new undertakings. … The elephant medicine will bring you good luck, health, and positivity.

    ~ WorldBirds.org

    Sacred stories are evidence of our connections!

  • Poppies Three

    Sacred Stories

    She was walking to a neighbor’s home to drop off a couple of things, and pick up a couple of other things, when she met a friend whose sister now lives on her street.

    She was wearing her garden shoes. “Poppies,” she said.

    Looking down at the shoes, her friend said, “I can see that.”



    “I thought they were lips when I first saw them,” she admitted. They both laughed.

    They easily completed her tasks together and she invited her friend in for a visit.

    Poppies were obvious again in the glass painting hanging in her window. (See “Poppies”) She shared having met the artist when the artist’s husband was going through cancer:

    “I had never met either of them, but a colleague hired me to go to the hospital to work with him. His wife (the artist) was there, seated in a recliner next to the bed. I introduced myself and began to work with him. He quickly went deeply in. I motioned to his wife to lean the recliner back and close her eyes.

    I was still working with the wife when the husband opened his eyes and blurted out,” I swear to God you someone was holding my feet.”

    Matching his cadence perfectly, I replied, “I swear to God, I never work alone.”

    Her friend recently discovered metastasis of breast cancer. Suddenly she had the urge to gift her friend an extra set of Medicine Cards. When the friend opened the book she saw a bookmark by Marjolein Bastin.

    On the front of the book mark were POPPIES and this message:
    I love the way the poppy blooms only for a day so colorfully and so expressively.

    The back of the bookmark was signed: from Sue Miller — made — her mom died October 6, 1995.

    This is the “spiritual meaning” of poppies: Poppies are seen as a symbol of imagination, messages delivered in dreams, beauty, success, luxury, extravagance, and even peace in death.

  • Gunner

    Sacred Stories

    It was his birthday.

    He had wanted to get a dog for so long but the landlord would not allow dogs where he lived.

    So his mom went online and ordered him a little Ty puppy dog for his birthday.


    When she received it, she opened the tag to see the name (each Ty animal is named).

    The name of this dog was “Lil’ Gunner.”


    Such an unusual name and then for a toy to be named that.

    His name is Gunner!!!!

    Gunner’s aunt instantly recognized the gift had come from her brother — Gunner’s grandpa — who is in spirit….

    “Oh, well…. I don’t need to go further,” she said. “I just love when Spirit gives such clear and marvelous gifts.”

  • Wheelchair

    Sacred Stories

    Late one evening, returning from a visit to her son’s, she lost her balance getting out of the car and into the house and fell. Thankfully, her daughter was with her, visiting from out of state.

    She had a pretty severe skin tear on the underside of her forearm and they determined it needed medical attention.

    A long covered walkway led to the entrance of the emergency room, and she was relieved to see a wheelchair had been left there. She got into a room quickly, and she received excellent care. She knew she had been guided to come. The wound needed 11 stitches and medical glue!

    A couple of hours later, leaving the hospital, she sat in the wheelchair waiting for her daughter to go get the car, and chatted with the nurse, “We were so impressed that you leave a wheelchair here for folks to use when they come in.”

    The nurse looked baffled. “What wheelchair?” she inquired.

    “This one that I am in was sitting right here when we pulled up. We assumed it had been left here for the next patient to arrive.”

    “No. We do not ever leave a wheelchair out here,” clarified the nurse.

    Well, if that is the case, then this particular wheelchair had obviously been left especially for her!


  • Bible!

    Sacred Stories

    She had been scrolling on a local Facebook “Memories” page, and happened to see her deceased husband’s writing!

    A woman had purchased a bible — with this inscription — at an antique store. She had gone onto Ancestry.com and posted the photo on the local page hoping to find the family. What kindness and generosity! The woman who had purchased the bible also delivered it.

    The treasured memory found its way home…

    Social media can have its issues, but there are also blessings. This one might even be considered a God Moment!

    This bible, in German, had belonged to her mother-in-law!


  • Sea Shell

    Sacred Stories

    He had just spent 8 days on a meditation retreat that ordinarily would have taken place on the Emerald Isle, North Carolina, beach. The meditation teacher would ordinarily gather broken shells and give one to each participant. Due to the pandemic, this retreat was held on Zoom.


    Their “virtual” opening exercise was sharing a screen and looking at many, many broken shells. The Vipassana and Pure Awareness practice taught him about accessing the light within the darkness. Learning to see the beauty within the brokenness.

    The following week as he was still processing his experience, he sent this message to a new friend he had met on retreat:

    “I live no where near the coast. 3 hours away…. and look what I find!”


  • Retha’s Visit

    Sacred Stories

    It had been an intense retreat. She was grieving so many recent losses…

    Her best friend had passed with ALS. Her brother passed suddenly of a heart attack while climbing the stairs to visit their mother. Then her mother passed from the coronavirus — a virus that prevented her from being able to attend her mother’s funeral.

    And now, she was navigating this estrangement from her siblings.

    She had been sitting all week, doing Vipassana, being with the pain while wanting freedom from the suffering.

    She saw a small plastic picture frame, face-down on the chair. Picking it up, turning it over, she saw it was a drawing of a fish. A hand-made thank you card from a friend. The words read: Gratitude for all your compassionate support.



    The card was signed, “Vipassana love, Retha.”

    Carefully lettered up the right side of the card, “Emerald Isle 2019.” They had both attended the Emerald Isle retreat last year. Seeing Retha’s card was such a powerful gift!

    Retha’s visit was especially welcome as Retha had also passed….

    “Whatever has the nature to arise, has the nature to cease, and is not me nor mine.”

  • Spilled Soda

    Sacred Stories

    They were navigating the grief of the passing of their adult son. Her husband said, “If I just knew he is happy where he is, it would be easier.”

    She knocked over a can of soda, spilling it down and under a nearby chair.

    Moving the chair to clean up the soda, they found a photo of their son with his grandmother and his step grand-father.

    They knew they would not have moved that chair or found the photo if the soda had not spilled.

    In that photo they saw the answer from their son: they saw his very happy face!

    Blessed assurance….

  • Voice Mail

    Sacred Stories

    Her father called from California, but she missed his call.

    He was wishing her a Happy Valentine’s Day.


    Later that day, he had a stroke.

    When he passed away, she was so grateful she had missed his call that day.

    She still has his loving voice mail message!

  • I Love You

    Sacred Stories

    He had passed just two weeks earlier.

    He flashed into her mind so many times.

    She opened the drawer to see the small green ceramic bowl he had gifted her.

    There in the center of the bowl was his message:
    I love you!


    She could actually hear him in her heart.