My Voice As A Vessel Beyond The Veil
- Celeste Barbier
- Sep 15
- 8 min read
Providing End Of Life Services Through Song, Sound, Storytelling & Spiritual Ceremony
"We need you, Jen’s mom is passing. She would very much love to hear you sing & do sound healing." This was the message I woke up to on August 20th at 9am (although it was sent at 8:15am) from my friend Kelly.
I immediately recognized this as the invitation I had been waiting for my entire adult life—the sacred call to bring peace in passing. This wasn’t just a performance. This was a soul assignment.
I offered my Sunday morning, which seemed agreeable at first, until I learned later that day she had taken a turn and needed me sooner. I quickly rearranged my schedule and planned to come the next day—August 21st—fitting it in between a morning appointment and a gig that evening.
I stood in my living room, scanning my collection of instruments, letting them “speak” to me—calling in the frequencies and tools that could help carry her spirit home.
963 Hz chime
Crystal bowls
Koshi chimes
Small gong
Rainstick
Flow chimes
Ocarinas
I even chose frequency-specific chimes to address her failing stomach, gall bladder, and pancreas. I tuned into her energy before I even arrived.
I messaged her daughter, asking about her beliefs. I wanted to use language and sound that would wrap around her like a warm blanket, to make her feel safe, seen, and honored. I prepared spiritually, emotionally, and vibrationally for what I knew would be sacred work.
I was exhilarated to finally offer this “pseudo death-doula” service—something I’ve long felt called to—but I’d never done this for someone I didn’t know. I wondered how it would feel to enter a space so raw and tender.
Would I feel overwhelmed?
Would I absorb everyone’s grief?
Regardless, I knew I had to show up with authenticity, presence, and love—accompanied by my incredible Reiki Master wife, René.
Sound & Spirit Filled The Space Between Us
We entered her home respectfully & quietly. Her hospice bed was the center of the living space, surrounded by chairs, loved ones, and sadness. A space had been cleared for me to set up.
I glanced at her upon entering her space— frail & emaciated, curled up with a pink mohawk—and I spotted crystals in every corner of the house. She was clearly in a similar vibe to us & I have a feeling we would have had a lot to share & chat about had I met her sooner.
I asked to place her favorite crystal at the heart of my sound altar. I didn’t speak to her directly —she was in a state of deep rest—but I could feel her spirit wasn’t entirely in that body. Her energy filled the room. She was all around us. Light, joyful, present. Even with her eyes closed, she let me know she was aware of my presence.
A chaplain entered the room & was visibly uncomfortable about our “woo woo” practices, his posture and demeanor made it clear he wanted no part of the ritual we were beginning, crossing his legs, turning away and scribbling notes about what was taking place. This was unusual, but I cast no judgment, instead I imagined a bubble of love around her and her chosen family—one that excluded judgment & fear to keep the frequencies of love, light & peace pure in the space. At that point his energy disappeared in our shared space as I proceeded.
Despite the grief around us, the room began to pulse with waves of joy and that joy was her. I felt her as I moved intuitively reaching for the flow chimes to approach her bed. I passed the chimes over her body, gently tapping the melodious metal tubes and a smile crept across her face. I lingered longer than usual, letting her bathe in these sounds. I love the flow chimes too. Then I did the same for each person present, striking tubes and waving the chimes around them individually.
An hour passed in what felt like a breath.
Another healer & medium was scheduled after me, but I had one more task: to awaken her memories & sense of nostalgia through her favorite songs.
I performed “Always” by Patsy Cline—her parents' song. She opened her eyes & for the first time spoke in my presence, only to ask softly, “Whose idea was this?” with a sense of wonder & gratitude in her tone. Kelly leaned in and replied, “It was mine, Miss Christy.” She smiled. Closed her eyes and went back to her dreams again.
I continued:
“All of Me” – John Legend
“Landslide” – Fleetwood Mac
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
“Both Sides Now” – Joni Mitchell
And then… we quietly packed up and left.
Understanding, Permission & Love Are The Only Gifts Left To Give
What her daughter Jen, had offered her mother was not just a sound healing, not just peace, not just a gift of love in sacred ceremony, what she had given her was one of the most beautiful gifts we can give someone before they leave this world: permission to go. In this moment she spoke volumes through allowing us to create this space around her mother where she acknowledged what so many struggle to accept in the end. In this offering she said to her mother, "I understand you are suffering. I understand you are at the end of this beautiful life. I may not be ready, and I may not want you to go, but I know it is time, and I give you not only permission, but my blessing on your transition and journey to whatever awaits you on the other side." This is the most righteous and selfless act of love we can ever possibly give someone when this time comes.
Celebrating A Life With Sound, Song & Storytelling
I was informed a few days later that she passed on August 26th. Once again, I was called to serve—this time as the Celebration of Life Officiant, Sound Healer, and Ceremony Singer. I sent a questionnaire to her dearest ones to find out more about who The Crystal Lady, Chris really was during her lifetime, and I crafted a deeply intentional, spiritually resonant service, combining every part of me: the singer, the healer, the storyteller, the poet, the guide, the vessel, the bridge between the living & spirit world.
It was an absolute honor.
And I know this is just the beginning.
Death & Destiny
If you’ve read my bio or past blogs, you’ll know that death has been a companion on my path for a long time. When I was 16, I held my father’s hand as he passed. I called to him softly:“Papa…”I sang. I stayed. I witnessed the light leave his eyes.
Just days before, in the ICU, I sang “Unchained Melody,” the last song I had performed for a school event—the last concert he ever attended, and the final song I would sing for him.
But I noticed something strange in that moment. As I sang…his vitals shifted. His heart rate, his oxygen levels… they calmed. I never forgot that.
It planted a seed.
I imagined a life singing at bedsides, offering peace to the dying—but when I explored music therapy, I found few paths that matched what I envisioned existed at that time. It felt like there was no name yet for what I was here to do.
So I waited. I watched. I sang wherever I could.
Over the years, I sang in senior living centers, memory care units, and intimate spaces of remembrance. I found joy watching nonverbal elders suddenly sing every word of “Que Sera Sera” with me. It felt like opening a decaying and stuck window in their soul allowing fresh air to flow through even for a moment.
But still, I always knew there was more.
Three years ago, I stepped fully into my expanded path as a sound healer. I've studied both the science & mysticism around it, collected the tools, and followed my intuitive compass, completely bypassing the performer's ego to become the healer in service.
I’ve performed many sessions—but this was the first time I was called to do what I knew was always mine to do:
To be the vessel that guides the soul home, for vibration, remembrance, and release. To hold the sacred threshold between the body & the beyond.
I’ve lost over 50 friends and loved ones in my life. I was told I had a dissociative disorder as a child, but I learned that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I have made strong connections in this world. I have learned to love deeply. I have felt the pain of grief deeply. I also find a way to move forward, reminded that life really is very short. I do not fear death. I feel a sense of peace with it. I feel truth in it. I feel the love that rushes in when the veil lifts and the soul is able to see the people in their life through a lens of love erasing regrets, grudges, fears, and anger with clarity & understanding.
Those we lose are never gone—they can still show up for us, but differently so we have to ask for them and look for the signs.
Carving A New Path of Light Through Darkness
I love that my sound career is so organic and natural as it slowly opens like a lotus flower revealing each petal of the beauty this path has to offer in me. Each petal an opportunity arriving exactly on time. I don't rush it. I don't advertise it. I don't push it. I don't try to fit into spaces that do not call to me or roles that don't define me. I do not solicit or persist. I simply offer an invitation, and I have found only that those called and aligned will be there. I also meditate and visualize what doors I want opened.
I know now that I want to call in more opportunities to support people in this way. More doors that help people move through death and to help those left behind navigate their grief. I want to use ALL my gifts, in song, poetry, prose, storytelling, and sound to create comfort and custom ceremonies that share a person's essence in deeply meaningful ways. I'm not sure what to call this offer, this ceremony, this practice, this totality of gifts and how they can be synergistically applied to end-of-life services. The closest existing role I know of that is newly re-emerging in modern times would be a Death Doula, however with the spiritual ceremonial support and songs and sound healing I feel like it's too broad a definition for my offerings.
Death Doula Defined:
A death doula is a non-medical professional who provides holistic, non-judgmental support to individuals and their families facing the end of life, offering emotional, spiritual, and practical guidance to enhance the dying process. The word "doula" comes from a Greek term for a woman of service, a role originally used in childbirth and now extended to end-of-life care, similar to a birth doula. A death doula complements medical care, such as hospice, by focusing on the person's wishes and the needs of the family, helping to create a sense of peace, dignity, and companionship during a challenging transition.
In whatever way my role is to be defined or unfold as this path takes form in the future, all I know is I am ready to be called to the bedsides of those ready to make their journey home if they are not looking for something traditional or religiously rigid. I am ready to create custom ceremonies to celebrate their lives aligned with their personal beliefs, traditions, life and personality. I am ready to create sacred, sound-filled spaces for souls ready to journey on and to offer comfort & peace to their intimate circle of loved ones. I am ready to guide those left behind through their grief with vibrational medicine.
Everyone deserves the kind of permission to pass and limitless love the beautiful Crystal Lady, "Chris" received from her daughter Jen and her loved ones.
If you or someone you know is seeking support in life’s final chapter and this offer feels aligned with what kind of person they are, I am here and I am ready for your call.
Let my voice be their vessel beyond the veil.
I'm aware in these moments there's not much time to plan in advance so I will do my best to rearrange my schedule if needed to accommodate whether I have to come early in the morning or very late at night following a gig.
A Poem I Wrote Inspired By This Experience
LOVE NEVER ENDS
Love is not bound by form or time.
It does not perish with the body,
nor fade with the years.
Love simply transforms—
becoming memory,
becoming light,
& returning home.
-Celeste Barbier
🕊️
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