I took February Recess off this year along with the rest of the team at work which gave me just enough time to put together a new podcast episode! I am excited about this one because I have chosen to include a guided mediation for the first time. I am eager to hear about listeners experiences and what they bring back. Leave comments below and let me know!
The damselfly reminds us that our emotional healing is not something to run away from. It is in the mud and muck that we are able to release old stories that are holding us back. It’s where we discover that those hard emotions of heartache, sorrow, and confusion can be used to build a bedrock of awareness and knowing. Those hard emotions don’t have to remain part of us. We can release them and let them be trustworthy and beautiful launching pad. Even the hardest emotions are full of love. They are worthy, important and part of the journey.
In this episode I talk about a dream I had about a cyclone of damselflies that led to to a great podcast called Living Myth with Micheal Meade. The episode I mentioned was Episode 361- The Stream of Knowledge. That episode is now in the archives, but I really recommend any of the episodes that are for free on most podcast platforms, YouTube, and his website. Check out his latest below.
It felt great getting back to my podcast last week and posting a new episode featuring a conversation with Irene Kannyo. That’s here amazing face in the picture above!
In a quick follow-up, I wanted to share a link to sign up for Irene’s mailing list for anyone who was interested in joining her for her latest adventure and learning more about her work. Here is the link https://joyinkmedia-newsletter.beehiiv.com/.
Also for those of you who wanted to know exactly what song that Irene used for her night club promo when she was creating her own radio show when she was a kid here it is
And of course, I had to add a video of DJ Priyanka collaborating with a waterfall. If you haven’t checked out the latest episode it is definitely worth it. Thanks for joining me Irene!
Overwhelm and fear has been setting in my system these past few months. It’s hard not to freeze, as I find myself in witness mode. It’s important to bear witness for others during this time. We can’t look away as others’dignity and lives are being stripped away, and as others foolishly give away their humanity. It’s important to record people’s stories of pain and loss, no one should suffer alone. All of us are called to be aware and awake in this moment. We are called to feel and acknowledge the heaviness and how far, as a collective, we have moved away from the frequency of Love. Yet, there are some souls who are being called to bear witness in an even more full and predominant way at this moment. For some, it is an essential part of their soul’s purpose. If you are able to watch what is happening in the world right now with an effortless calm and hope; if you feel like you have an endless supply of empathy and grace to pour out in this moment, then this may be your calling- to witness, to record, to hold vigil, to ground the pain. If this is your calling, I am grateful for you. You are doing valuable and needed work. You will make sure the history and lessons from this moment don’t get lost. You will make sure that no one is truly alone.
But if bearing witness is causing you to freeze; if it causing you to lose hope, to lose power, to lose your sense of self, then your either blocked from your most authentic self, or you are being called to serve in some other way. If your calling is leading you elsewhere, still bear witness to what naturally comes into your space. Don’t deny it. Hold space for it and grieve the disconnect from love. We all must remain in the reality of this moment, but if it isn’t your calling to bear witness give the story over to the Universe and the witness bearers. Let them cradle it.
Then acknowledge the fear that witnessing so much pain and disconnect has allowed to enter your body. And breathe and begin loving, creating, and serving again. Because it is through your love and creation that the fear will be expelled. When you let in that much love and light and purpose there is no place for fear to dwell. It is absorbed back into the Light and can no longer be spread. It is through this practice, that we will begin to move forward and through this dense time of disconnect and uncertainty together.
In this episode, I admit to the fear that has been roaming around in my system over the past few months and encourage listeners that if they have felt the same, to join me in making the choice not to let it settle. We shouldn’t give fear a cozy corner and a place to rest.
Later in the episode, I am joined by my friend and former AmeriCorps VISTA member, Irene Kannyo an artist, spiritual seeker, and healer. Irene talks about the process of creation and how those who have a soul’s purpose calling them to the art space can find peace by following the call while simultaneously lifting up the collective with their gifts of joy, direction, guidance, and hope. Irene and I also honor Nancy’s legacy and explore the various ways her work and brilliance lives on through each of us.
Nancy’s death came suddenly. I knew she had been sick for awhile, but I couldn’t believe that the world could, or would even want to, exist without her. I chose to tell myself that she just needed time to rest and recoup. Nancy was always moving 100 miles per hour, and healing requires you to remain still from time to time. If figured when she got enough sleep, good food, and quiet time after a few months her systems would reset and she would be back to her trouble-shooting, joy-spreading ways. Needless to say, when I heard Nancy was in critical condition, and then on life support, and then that she had passed to Spirit, it didn’t really compute.
I am settling into a world where her physical body is no longer present, and thankfully at the same time I am being reminded that this means that her soul, and all of the unique beauty that it contains- her enthusiasm, creativity, endless problem-solving skills, joyful exuberance, and love is no longer contained. It’s truly boundless! For those of us who knew her, and would have described her energy as limitless before, we haven’t seen anything yet. Can you imagine Nancy no longer bound by time and space?! Her energy will forever be with each of us clapping, shouting, and doing her happy dance.
Throughout the part of the grieving process I have already been through (I am sure that there is more to come) I came to the realization that even though I had enjoyed a life with Nancy in it for almost 20 years, I only had two pictures of her on my phone. It’s funny because we were together at so many events where one of the City Rochester photographers, usually Ira Srole, was there but there are so few pictures of us together. It was either because the two of us were together running things behind the scenes or because one of us wanted the other to be the center of attention- wanted the other one’s hard work and dedication to be seen.
Here are the two pictures of Nancy that were on my phone. I printed them out and hung them in my cubicle at work next to the shelf where a binder that she created for me sits. It has a picture of Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglas etched into it along with the logos of every project I ever worked on for the City of Rochester, from Flower City AmeriCorps to Positive Tickets to Youth Voice, One Vision.
She gave me that folder when I moved to Ithaca. It was her way of letting me know that my contribution to the City would never be forgotten and that I made a difference. It was also a signal that I was amazing and that I should never forget everything I had already accomplished. Nancy wanted me to know that I may have been moving to a community where no one knew the value of what I could bring to the table, but she knew and she didn’t want me to forget it.
This here is a super artsy, Instagram-worthy photo from one of my birthday celebrations. I think it is a photo of her taking a photo of me. We were at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaguia for my birthday which is in early May, so everything was just starting to come back to life. The gardens weren’t at their most beautiful, but Nancy treated every turn around every corner as magical. I don’t remember what year this was or how old I was turning, but I do remember I was very depressed and lost during that period of my life. My heart had been broken and it left me trying to make sense of both my inner and outer world. Nancy saw me struggling, and wanted to do whatever she could to make sure I knew that I was loved. We spent the day together just the two of us, and I remember thinking that even though I couldn’t be fully present that day, that what she gave me was a perfect “Brandi” birthday: watching the world come back to life in giant garden where we never knew what magical thing we were going to come across just around the corner.
This photo will always make me smile. That’s little me on the far left and Nancy on the far right. I can be an animated presenter and public speaker, but I have nothing on Nancy especially when the topic is something she is passionate about, especially the 40 Developmental Assets (a framework of positive youth development created by the Search Institute). This photo was taken right after the two of us co-presented a training on The Assets for a Russian delegate of youth advocates visiting the City of Rochester as part of a Sister Cities Program. We gave an hour presentation where the two of us were contained in a very tiny conference room with a table that took about 80% of the room. We spent the whole time feeding off each others enthusiasm and excitement, practically bouncing off the walls, all for an audience that didn’t speak a word of English! The other women in this photo were wearing headsets throughout the presentation while a translator, who I don’t think is in the photo, listened to what we were saying and quietly translated our exuberance into a microphone. Everything was on a slight delay. I can only imagine how funny, yet passionate we looked to this group of women were watching our body language and theatrical expressions, slightly out of sync with the words buzzing in their ears! I remember a lot big eyes and smiles that day, even though small talk was rough.
I am glad I have both of these photos. I wish I had more. Who knows, maybe there are some in the City archives somewhere, photos of me and Nancy joyfully standing side-by-side. If there are, I hope someone finds them some day and thinks to themselves. “Wow, those two women look like they were glad to be there.” Because we were. Even during the hardest events and the saddest moments, when we were together, we were glad to be there. <3
I am so excited that you found this page, and even more excited that you have taken the time to actually read these words! “This is What Love Looks Like” is the name of a podcast that had been kicking around my head for years, and it finally came to fruition shortly after the 2024 US election. With fear, anxiety, separation, and uncertainty making the collective energy the heaviest and most suffocating I had ever know in my lifetime, I knew it was time to engage in the work that had been calling me for a long time- reminding folks that love is real, powerful, and necessary as we work to create a the reality we all craving.
This is a reality where everyone has the space, freedom, and confidence to follow their own soul’s calling and activity take part in our collective creation story. This is a reality where the existence of a loving, abundant Universe is never questioned. This is a reality where unity is the norm and all life is honored, protected, and seen as an interconnected part of each of our individual stories.
During the summer of 2025, I decided that social media was both breaking my heart and holding me back. I was getting so caught up in the stories of pain and suffering that I was losing sight of the power I had to build community and show a different way to exist in this moment and build a path for the future- a way that doesn’t require us to “fight back” but to continue to build and strength places, spaces, moments, and relationships where fear, domination, oppression, and separation can’t take root. Sure, that sounds like work, but it is joyous work! It’s our work.
The questions became:
Without social media, how do I connect with others who are actively building this reality?
How do I share what I am working on?
How do I get feedback on my current thoughts and inspirations?
How do I support and inspire others who are feeling called to shine and join in this creation, but don’t know where to start?
How do I let people know I am available for readings and coaching sessions, as well as magical conversations over coffee?
How do I let folks know I want to hear all of the joy and excitement of someone telling me how beautiful, exciting, and crazy it is to accept, embrace, and follow their soul’s calling?
The only reasonable answer, since there are already way too many miles on my car and people are way too busy to be stopped on the street, was to set up a website where I could share my comings and goings and let people know how to reach me for readings, pep talks, and joyous conversations. Welcome to the website!
And as is often the case with me, I have no idea what I am doing. I am going to continue to play with all the widgets and what-nots to see what this site is capable of, but in the mean time check out the podcast, and reach out to me at brandiremington@gmail.com if you are interested in a soul path reading, need someone to bounce ideas off of, or are looking for someone to marvel at the incredible things that start to happen when you begin to embrace your own authentic journey. <3
