When I met Ingrid Honkala at an IANDS conference a few years ago, we held each other’s gaze.  “I know you,” I said, a bit stunned by the feeling of intimate connection.  “I know you, too,” she said with a soft smile.  Neither of us had ever heard of the other, yet there was an uncanny recognition at a soul level. 

Ingrid and I maintained contact. Last year when we passed through Mississippi, where Ingrid resides, she and her husband, Mike, and son, David, spent the day with Ty and me. By then I was familiar with Ingrid’s fascinating background as a Ph.D. scientist who, after a Near Death Experience at age 3, maintains a beautiful connection with the Beings of Light she met during that journey across the veil and back. I loved her book, A Brightly Guided Life, and the many amazing stories she relates of how the Beings of Light have helped and guided her throughout her life.

On our Messages of Hope Tour this year, we again passed through Mississippi. This time we spent an enjoyable two days with the Honkalas.

Ingrid and I both married strong military men. We joke that they keep us from floating away when we focus on our spiritual work. In her book, she relates a story of touring a U.S. Navy warship when it visited her native country of Colombia. Not yet a teenager at the time, when one of the ship’s crew reached out to help her at the gangway, Ingrid experienced a vision. She saw in her mind’s eye a U.S. Navy sailor who she had not yet met, yet she knew that she would one day marry. The vision played out years later, when Mike Honkala, a former Special Boat Unit sailor, literally became the man of her dreams.

In addition to reading this beautiful love story in Ingrid’s book, I have heard her tell it numerous times.

This past month, Ingrid traveled to Missouri to attend my W-Holy You retreat in Missouri. She joined Ty and me for dinner at a local restaurant, and the story of her premonition about marrying a sailor came up. This time, instead of referring to a visiting U.S. Navy warship, Ingrid referred to the visiting ship as a battleship and mentioned the location as the coastal city of Cartagena.

Suddenly, I made a connection that had until then eluded me.

“Ingrid!” I explained, stunned. “That was Ty’s ship, USS IOWA!” Countless times I have listened while Ty shared one of his favorite sea stories …

When he was third in command of USS IOWA, serving as the Operations Officer, he traveled ahead of the ship to Cartagena, Colombia, to coordinate all details of this historic port visit — the one and only time a battleship visited Ingrid’s country.

“You and Ty were aboard the ship at the same time in the 1980’s!” I exclaimed.

We pieced together the details. Ingrid’s father was the director of the equivalent of the Colombian FBI. He and his family were invited aboard IOWA for a special VIP tour. Ty would most certainly have greeted all VIP guests, including Ingrid’s family.

The only other time I can remember having that “I know you” feeling when looking into someone’s eyes as I did when I met Ingrid is when I first saw Ty. I knew him at a soul level. We have just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, and that sense of connection has remained undimmed.

How does one explain connections like these? Do we travel in soul groups? I say yes.

In our earthly bodies, we are playing roles as ship captains, spiritual teachers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters …

The explanation for synchronicities such as this, as Ingrid and I will tell you, is that at our deepest level, we are ALL beings of light. We may appear separate, but beyond this physical world, we are interconnected in the most magical ways.

Ingrid is doing beautiful work to help us all enjoy brightly guided lives. If you feel the connection, too, check out her website and learn about her many offerings, including a chance to spend a weekend with her at her Bright Awakenings Retreat in Connecticut this August.