I have a profound experience with my mother that I never thought I’d have.
A connection that goes far beyond words and actions. A connection that transcends space and time made me question my reality, what I truly believe is real, and what it means about human connection.
My mother, Anne Newton, has had Alzheimer’s for more than 9 years. Watching her deteriorate before my very eyes has been one of the hardest things to witness. In the beginning of her cognitive decline, I did everything I could possibly do to save her. Fighting with doctors, advocating through the system to get her into one of the top hospitals in Canada for neurology and cognitive challenges. With so many roadblocks in the way, they told me she was too young to have it at the age of 57. However, all of us in the family knew she had it; we knew her as a person, as our loved one, and we ALL knew something was off.
We were right.
The day that changed all of our lives
About 9 years ago, my Mom walked into my sister’s garage during a birthday party and tripped down a few steps (I think two or three), and she fell and cracked her head open on concrete. With blood everywhere and her being out cold for minutes on end, my father thought she was dead. The family knew something bad had happened after they heard a scream coming from the garage.
That was the day that changed all of our lives.
A few years prior to that, my mom was showing signs of Alzheimer’s. Very subtle, but they were there. For instance, before my mom and I took off for Africa on an epic adventure together to Tanzania, for two weeks on a humanitarian trip and also, selfishly, a time to go on a safari (how can you not when you’re in Africa?), my Dad said to me,
“Chrissy, make sure you pick up everything before your mom leaves the table or anywhere. She’s forgetting things.”
I was shocked; I didn’t know that was happening to her.
Fast-forward a few years later, she finds herself in the ER with a cracked-open head, and 4 years later, with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. It was horrific!
She fought to believe the diagnosis wasn’t true, and our family fought to save her.
Ultimately, it was a losing battle for all of us.
Cognitive Decline
I hate to say this and make comparisons, because all diseases are horrible, but I never want to experience this kind of cognitive decline in my life, and hopefully I won’t. My father had my mother genetically tested to see if she carried any of the genetic mutations associated with Alzheimer’s, such as the APOE ε4 variant.
Thankfully, she doesn’t.
We had two different doctors review her results because we couldn’t believe it. To this day, I believe my mom was pushed into early Alzheimer’s due to her fall and also her career. She was a social worker who dedicated her life to taking kids out of broken homes, so yeah, it was stressful, and I believe stress was the culprit that took my mother away from me at the age of 33.
With 9 years of battling the system behind our family, in and out of the ER, other falls that landed her flat on her face, which at times made her look like Mike Tyson had beat her up, along with finding cocktails of medication to manage her emotional flare-ups of temper (or what the doctors call ‘self-expression’), and being in and out of three different care homes and hospitals. It was insane! It has been utterly wild for every single person in my family. We have seen it all. Trust me.
Watching your mother get strapped to a hospital bed because she is “self-expressing” is a moment your brain actually melts. Mine did. I don’t even know how I didn’t snap myself.
In the end, after you come out of the brain melt, you become stronger, you understand the disease more, and you know you only have so much time on the planet with this person, so you do your best to comfort her, talk to her still like a regular person in there (as she still is), and at the end of the day, truly believe we are more than our physical body.
And we are.
Meat body with an antenna
After months of my mom staying in a hospital room at Grand River in Kitchener-Waterloo (massive thank you to the nurses there. Thank you for being there every step of the way with us, along with the Alzheimer Society of Canada and its advocacy for her. You all need to get paid more!!), my mom was sent to another hospital facility called Freeport, where she was taken into care in the Seniors Mental Health section; there she was being treated for Alzheimer’s. A year before she was taken there, the doctors at Baycrest Hospital in Toronto told me my mother was one of the worst cases they had ever seen in Canada (my poor mother, she never deserved this).
As the cognitive decline set in over the past 6 to 7 years, at this point, my mom was left non-verbal. She could only say a few words, such as “I love you,” “hi,” “no” (thankfully), “yes,” etc. Not full sentences. But she would try to talk, with gibberish coming out left, right, and center; that didn't stop her from “talking” up a storm. She was trying to tell us what was happening to her, but the words were no longer there.
Until one day, they came back. But not in a way I thought was possible.
Non-verbal communications
On December 10, 2024, I was driving from my Dad’s house, after a visit, to my mom's at Freeport Hospital to feed her lunch. While driving, I decided to turn on a podcast. A few weeks prior, I was on popular YouTuber Chris Ramsay’s podcast talking about UFOs (not shocking if you know me. Lol.). A few times, Chris would say to me after the interview,
“Have you listened to the Telepathy Tapes?” I said, “I know, I know. Everyone and their mom has been telling me to!”
Note: The Telepathy Tapes is a podcast about children with autism who are nonverbal and can allegedly communicate through telepathy.
Put a pin in that story for a moment and let me give a little background…
If you know me well, you know I write (and partner) at a science and technology news outlet called The Debrief, where I cover frontier topics such as UFOs, consciousness, brain-computer interfaces, government programs targeting civilians, and pretty much anything at the intersection of science fiction turned into science fact. A fun job, really.
Throughout my career, I have done a fair amount of television and news shows, including NewsNation, CTV Morning Live, The Social, CBS, and the History Channel, and I also co-hosted a show on the Discovery Channel and HBO Max called Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction. So I’ve been around the TV block for a few years now, and I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. After doing the TV show for Discovery, my agent in LA said,
“Chrissy, it’s time you pitched your own TV shows.”
She was right; it was time for me to start executive producing, something I’ve always wanted to do and will do.
One of the first projects I started developing was with a well-known Canadian director. More on that later…
Picking up the pin…
I believe I was in the middle of episode 1 or 2 of the Telepathy Tapes when I pulled into Freeport Hospital. Like every other time I’ve gone to visit and feed, I walk to the second floor, say hi to the staff and the other people living there (it’s a community; you end up caring for everyone together at one point). I pick up my mom’s tray, sit her down with me, and start spoon-feeding her.
As usual, she would call out or scream (not all the time, but sometimes); this time, she called out, looked at me, and said,
“Director X” (the well-known Canadian director).
I stopped dead in my tracks, holding up a spoon filled with mac and cheese. My mouth was halfway to the floor.
“What did you say?” I said to her.
She then started calling out, and honestly, not a word of a lie, the next words that came out of her mouth were,
“I’m summoning!!” YES, SHE SAID THAT!!
Again, at this point, I have no freaking clue what is happening to her in that exact moment. She then looked me dead in the eyes and said,
“What’s he like?!”
Excuse my French, but what the fuck is happening?! I thought.
I stopped everything I was doing and said,
“How do you know this!?”
She said nothing to me. So a second later (as a good journalist), I texted my best friend, Marie Nicola, and told her what was happening (so I have each moment documented).
I then texted my sister and asked,
“Did you tell Mom I’m working with Director X?” Her response: “No, I didn’t.” And why would she?
Note: I have never in my life spoken to my mom about Director X. Ever.
I then called my Dad and asked him the same thing. Nope. He didn’t either.
My sister texts me back and says,
“Maybe Mom’s psychic now.”
And well, I think she is!!
As I go back to feeding her, I’m astonished at what happened. Was that telepathy?! It couldn’t be, or could it?!
I leave Freeport and head back to my Dad’s for the night so I can visit her the next day.
As I arrive home, I tell Dad what happened, and I go down a rabbit hole like no other about telepathy and Alzheimer’s.
Is it possible?! Is there a way to communicate with our loved ones who are suffering from a debilitating disease? Is there hope? A figurative little light at the end of the tunnel appears, so I decide to walk through it.
Deep in my rabbit hole, I discover a book by Dan Goerke, Unforgettable, Unbelievable: A Journey of Telepathy and Compassion in Alzheimer’s Care, and I instantly buy it for my Dad.
The book is based on a true story about a man who deeply loves his wife, who fell ill with Alzheimer’s, and how telepathy saved them both and became the way they could communicate. Very serendipitous, as my father’s story is very similar to Dan’s, down to how his wife would emotionally express herself and their deep friendship and love for each other.
I emailed Dan to see if he’d give me a few moments of his time to explain what the hell was going on with my mom.
Success.
Dan emailed me back to talk and told me how the telepathic connection started and how it didn’t stop with his wife; it extended to other people, with family members speaking to him telepathically about their loved ones to send messages.
Ok, ok. I know you’re like, “This is crazy, Chrissy.” I agree. But let’s take a moment to think; maybe all of this is possible. We don’t know what consciousness really is or where it lives, so maybe, just maybe, we are more than our physical bodies.
The next day, I go back to visit my mom at lunch to feed her. As we walk around before we sit down to eat, I ask her,
“How did you know his Director X name, Mom?” She looks me directly in the eyes and says, “You know.”
She was right; I did know.
She was telepathically talking to me.
Consciousness
Now you’re probably reading this and wondering how the heck this is all possible. Well, let me explain a few things about consciousness I’ve learned from writing about it at The Debrief and also going to places like the Monroe Institute (a place that helps guide you through consciousness levels).
First, scientists today suggest that consciousness isn’t made or found within the brain, but may be outside of us, and we are merely tapping into it. If this is the case, then understanding that consciousness lives around everyone means it would be easy for us to cross consciousness and connect.
Have you ever thought of someone and they called or texted you at that very moment? Or have you been with your best friend and known what they were thinking? I know I have.
I have told someone to “get out of my head” more times than I can count; they've said it to me too.
Now, this isn’t a scientific explanation, but it’s a loose outline of how these things could happen.
A neuroscientist and Sr. Distinguished Fellow in AI, Mind and Society at Florida Atlantic University, and co-author of Transcendent Mind: Rethinking the Science of Consciousness (2017), the first American Psychological Association textbook on consciousness, who I also call a friend of mine, Julia Mossbridge, said to me in a Debrief article on September 5, 2026:
“To many neuroscientists, the brain is starting to seem more like a radio receiver and potentially also a transmitter of consciousness.”
Or another great quote:
“The idea that’s losing more ground with every new credible report of so-called ‘anomalous cognition’ is the old one—that the brain creates consciousness like the gallbladder creates bile.”
“So if that kind of experiment produces a positive result, and is replicated, you either have to argue that psychic ability is real but is something the brain does nonlocally (like maybe through entanglement) or that consciousness can wander from the body and observe things, or both.”
Telepathy Tapes
Talk about a synchronicity.
I have this telepathic experience with my mother as I’m listening to the Telepathy Tapes. I believe a few weeks go by, and I finish the podcast and make my way into the “talk track” section. As “Talk Track” shows are being distributed once a week at this point, a new one drops. Right now, I’m ready for anything, and the new show is called “Alzheimer’s and Telepathy.” I couldn’t make this up if I tried!
In the episode, our man Dan Goerke is interviewed about his experience with telepathy, and the show host mentions that about 20 emails came through the podcast inbox explaining how loved ones were having their own telepathic experiences with people they cared for who have Alzheimer’s.
I called the creator of the podcast, Ky Dickens, and said, “I’m one of those people! This has happened between my mother and me.”
I was not alone! We are not alone!
We need to study this!
Fast-forward a year later, I find myself having lunch with Marina Weiler, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science at the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at the University of Virginia, and good friend Anthony Miller (who introduced us) out in Virginia, moments after my Gateway Creators retreat at the Monroe Institute.
At this moment, everything came full circle.
I met Marina Weiler and learned that, before coming to DOPS, she was working on Alzheimer’s research. I told her and Anthony about my telepathic experience with my mom. She was flabbergasted, but at the same time, not, because she’s been researching reincarnation, life after death, and so much more at DOPS.
She says to me,
“If there is a way we can communicate with our loved ones who suffer from Alzheimer’s, it would be an amazing breakthrough.” And it would be.
I pleaded with her. Please study this. You’re the perfect person to do it. DOPS is the perfect place to do this!
To fully understand what happened to me and so many others, we need to study this phenomenon academically. Measure and understand it so we can create mass applications.
I’m crossing my fingers that Marina takes my plea and one day, with a research grant, starts this work.
Is it still happening?
The telepathic experience only happened with my mother once and not yet again (but I’m still listening and waiting, as it might), but until then, I know she’s still in there; she might be trapped in a body and brain that are not working (which I think about daily at times, and it kills me inside), but I also know her consciousness is still intact. I have to tell myself this, and maybe it’s just to comfort me, but I feel her consciousness is ascending. She could be living in two places at once, but she’s still there. Listening, loving me, and doing her best to tell me she’s not gone.
I love you, Mom, and I’m here listening.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com.
After our conversation and after reading this incredibly moving piece, I’ve started on the telepathy tapes. Thanks for writing this Chrissy.
I'm really sorry you've been going through this with her for so long. I have what feels like hours worth of things this makes me want to say. I have been following/studying all of the same topics for years. So I was relieved that as I kept reading, you already said all the initial first thoughts I'd want to say up front.
But there's always more with these fields right. Let me leave you with another consideration. (I like to think this is going to be helpful, that's my intent at least.)
What if you have had more telepathy with your mother than you realize. Consider that we have the human centric view of our questions, and perhaps we have everything backwards. What if we are infinite consciousness, experiencing a projection as a single human container. Like a hand wearing finger puppets. You and your mother are consciousness as 'the same hand' in this analogy. So your dreams, your intuitive nudges, the signs you piece together through symbolism... All a form of connection telepathically.
More than that, telepathy is almost a deceptive word. It's infinite consciousness connected to itself. The hand is never disconnected from the fingers. The connection is unified, permanent, a field of energy.
The only aspect that sounds like it was temporary was you needing physical and verbal confirmation from your mother that you have been experiencing this your entire life, and your entire infinite existence.
You might be able to focus your mind before bed in a quiet, calm, meditative state to ask a question out loud. Write down your dreams the next day, as one does, and look for signs, symbolism, or perhaps clear direct instructions for what you can do for your mother, or perhaps your family, or for yourself.
I've heard that this sort of thing is harder on the family than it is on the person going through it, at least on this physical plane. I've had only brief encounters with brain/speech challenges with my grandmother and father at certain points. 9 years of this sounds very difficult.
I have even had conversations with my own mother, asking her to consider practicing now to figure out a way to telepathically communicate with me. So that if anything ever happened, and she lost her words like her mother did, at least she knew I'd be listening with my thoughts and dreams. Hopefully it doesn't come to that of course.
Hope some of this can help you out somehow. Felt worth saying all this. I'm actually holding back more walls of words. I question if my babbling is even coming from myself, or being channeled. But I digress. Wishing your family the best, under the circumstances.