Signs

by Laura Lynne Jackson

  If I look at it all in retrospect and lay it out like a big floor plan, I can see how the Other Side was guiding me toward the right answer—from Amy Tan’s book, to the Facebook post, to the PANS packet, to Wendy, to Dr. Phillips, to Dr. Gedroic. The trail was there for me to follow. There were detours and wrong turns and narrow misses, but the Other Side never let me lose the trail. The universe just kept pulling me in the right direction.

  This story is a story about the power of surrendering. The power of putting ourselves in the hands of the Other Side. I believe that when we fully trust in a higher power, something truly profound and life altering happens. Because in that moment we are not only collaborating with the Other Side, but also honoring our dependence on it and recognizing our interconnectedness.

  It doesn’t matter what we call this higher power. I grew up Lutheran and I have always believed in God. When I got down on my knees in my bedroom and prayed to God, I could feel my Team of Light and my father who crossed there with me, too. My conception of God is different now than the one I had as a child; at this point in my life I can say that it has expanded. The concept of a higher power has different names in different cultures and belief systems—and there are a host of different ways of honoring it. The names and rituals matter much less than the basic belief that a higher power exists. It is there, loving us, available to us, everywhere and all the time. But it’s up to us to be open to it, and to trust it, and to finally plug in and surrender to it.

  My daughter Ashley’s harrowing journey, and ours along with her, is all part of the universe’s plan for us. We are learning lessons in love and hope and faith and connection, and it is leading us to the people we are meant to be connected to in our lives.

  None of us is alone. No life is meant to be lived solitarily. No existence is unimportant or meaningless. We are all connected to one another, and to the forces of light and love on the Other Side. And through these connections—through these binding cords of light between us—we achieve a spiritual wellness and personal authenticity that make us far more potent and influential than we ever could be without them.

  That is the power of surrendering to the Other Side.

  Skip Notes

  *I am not antivaccinations at all. I feel they are extremely important; I have always vaccinated my children an will continue to. For whatever reason, this one particular shot was problematic for Ashley.

  GONE FROM MY SIGHT

  I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,

  spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts

  for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.

  I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck

  of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

  Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”

  Gone where?

  Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,

  hull and spar as she was when she left my side.

  And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

  Her diminished size is in me—not in her.

  And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,”

  there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices

  ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

  And that is dying.

  —HENRY VAN DYKE

  Love is the bridge between you and everything.

  —RUMI

  ALL AROUND US, EVERY DAY, there is a secret language. This language helps us understand some of the most confusing parts of our world. It helps us understand why certain people come into our lives. It helps us see meaning where before there was darkness or confusion. It helps us navigate loss. It helps us know we are watched over and more loved than we can ever fathom.

  It also teaches us that we are all part of the fabric of one another’s lives. We weave a magical tapestry of meaning and love and forgiveness and hope and light with one another. We belong to one another. Our relationships matter greatly here on earth, and they continue past bodily death. Love is the unbreakable tie.

  Understanding the secret language of the universe helps guide us onto our highest path, and reassures us that we are not alone. Not ever.

  And here is a truth. Once you open your mind and heart to perceiving this secret language, you will begin to see it everywhere.

  Everywhere.

  30

  HOW TO SHINE BRIGHTLY

  HERE is a simple question: What is a chair made of?

  Well, a chair can be made of wood, or plastic, or metal, or really anything solid.

  Okay, but what is a chair really made of? What is the wood made of? Or the plastic or the metal?

  All of these things are made of matter, a scientific term for anything that has mass and volume—anything, basically, that takes up space in the world. Whatever we refer to as a physical thing is considered matter.

  Okay, but what is matter made of?

  This one’s easy—all matter is made up of atoms.

  And atoms themselves are made up of particles called protons, electrons, and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are made up of other particles called quarks and gluons. There may be other, even smaller particles, but these have not been identified yet.

  What we do know, however, is that the principle attribute of all of these things—matter, atoms, protons, electrons, and quarks—is the same. That attribute is energy.

  Scientists who study quantum physics believe that all matter is energy—that atoms themselves are nothing more than constantly swirling fields of electric energy. Albert Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2 is fundamentally an acknowledgment that there is no real difference between matter and energy. “Mass and energy are both but different manifestations of the same thing—a somewhat unfamiliar concept for the average mind,” Einstein remarked in 1948. Everything that we can see or imagine—in other words, the whole universe—is made of energy.

  Which means that chairs are actually made of energy. They may look solid and unmoving to us, but they actually comprise tiny atoms endlessly spinning and vibrating in a tornado of energy. The chair has no actual physical structure, because atoms are not made of physical things. The structure of the atom itself is an invisible field of energy.

  Which leads to the natural conclusion that we, too, are made of energy.

  It is really easy for us to forget this basic truth, and to think of ourselves as strictly physical beings—arms, legs, eyes, hair. A body with a soul. But the truth is the other way around.

  We are all souls with bodies.

  And our souls, like everything else in the universe, are made of energy.

  In fact, our bodies actually emit light. Scientists have proven that in pitch darkness, we emit biophotons. While imperceptible to the human eye, these biophotons can be measured by sensitive instruments. We are, quite literally, beings of light.

  Whenever I talk to people about signs, I always begin by trying to make them aware of their own energy.

  Think about it—don’t we all know someone who can “change the energy” in a room just by walking in? Don’t we all know people whose positive energy practically announces them before they even arrive? And don’t we all know someone whose negative energy can stick to us like mud?

  Because we comprise energy, we also give off energy. And the energy we give off can have a real and profound impact on someone else’s energy and life. The way we carry and share our energy may be invisible to the naked eye, but it is as real as a handshake. We all bring a particular energy to every encounter in our lives.

  And what I want everyone to understand is that this energy matters, not just to us, but to everyone in our path. Even our thoughts matter, for they
are energy, too.

  This energy matters because we are all connected to one another in very real ways. We are hardwired to seek and crave connection.

  And yet we sometimes lose this feeling of interconnectedness. We allow events in our lives to diminish our energy. But we can control our energy. We can dial it up.

  The way we do this is by shifting our energy.

  To shift our energy, we need to be more aware of how we handle and project our energy. Here is one simple way we can put this into action. Try waking up tomorrow morning and resolving to smile at ten different people. That’s it—just smile at them. The person who holds a door open for you. Your boss. The receptionist at the gym. The barista who makes your coffee. Just give them a big smile, and then watch how that smile shifts the energy between you. Notice how it affects their energy, and your own, too.

  Practice creating energy shifts and see how it feels. If a driver is signaling that he wants to get into your lane, wave him in. If someone at the deli seems cranky and overwhelmed, give him a kind word. If you see a mom whose kid is having a meltdown in a store, give her a reassuring smile.

  This is how we shift our energy into the positive. It is a way of honoring the great blessing of our interconnectedness. And when we do this—when we shift our energy—we become more receptive to the energy of others and to the energy of the universe. The more we do this, the more we “open” our energy, the more likely we are to be open to all things, including beautiful signs from the Other Side.

  Because the way we elevate our lives is by elevating our energy.

  There are practical steps we can all take to move ourselves into a more elevated physical, mental, and spiritual place—a place that will allow us to get better at asking for and receiving powerful signs. Let’s explore some of these practical steps here.

  THE IMPORTANCE OF ART

  This book isn’t just about our connection to the Other Side; it’s also about our connection to one another here on earth—and one of the most brilliant ways we honor this connection, and grow together, is through art.

  Throughout history, societies have made the biggest leaps forward in times of great art. Think of the Renaissance, an explosion of growth and invention that started in fourteenth-century Florence. I believe this is because art shifts our energy. Art opens us up to new ideas, new possibilities, new energies. Great works of art have a special magnificence and vibrancy, and that beautiful energy can shift our own. Works of art hold and impart a very special energy even centuries after their creation. Music and the visual arts can heal and restore people in ways that not even medicine can. In fact, there is a psychological practice of healing through art called art therapy. Consider how we feel when we listen to a song that moves us. The mere act of listening shifts our energy. Often just the thought of listening to music we love is enough to excite us and make us feel happy and alive. When we engage with art, we are plugging ourselves into the very flow of the light of the universe.

  I also believe that all artists connect with and collaborate with a Team of Light on the Other Side in the creation of their art. For example, J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has spoken about how the initial idea for the boy wizard—in fact, for nearly all of the story and mythology that would make up her seven Harry Potter novels—came to her in a flash moment while she was stuck on a train between Manchester and London.

  “The idea for Harry Potter fell in my head,” she has said. “I didn’t have a pen and was too shy to ask anyone for one on the train, which frustrated me at the time, but when I look back, it was the best thing for me. It gave me the full four hours on the train to think up all the ideas for the book.”

  What an astonishing thing! To have such a magical, consequential idea just “fall” in your head! But here’s the thing—even though J. K. Rowling received a download from the universe from which she fashioned Harry Potter, she still had to do her part. Art is always a collaboration.

  No artist ever works alone.

  All of art is a collaboration between those of us who bring it into being here and those who send us creative light and inspiration and energy from the Other Side.

  I remember taking my children to a bookstore at midnight for the release of one of the Harry Potter books. It was an amazing scene. There were scores of people in Harry Potter costumes, waving wizard wands, bubbling over with excitement and anticipation. There was so much joy and vibrancy and positive energy on the street outside the bookstore, it actually made me cry. I thought, Look how J. K. Rowling has brought us all together! Look at all the happiness and merriment! And this scene is playing out all over the world, in thousands of bookstores in dozens of countries! Look how we’re all united by this! What a magical moment of connection!

  And yet, despite this truly awesome display of the power of art, we, as a society, don’t value art as much as we should.

  Our society mandates that children take gym classes, for instance, because we appreciate the connection between physical conditioning and a healthy life. But art? No—we don’t mandate art classes. If children are lucky, they have art squeezed into their schedules.

  That’s a mistake. Art is the way we tell the collective story of all humanity, but it’s also one of the most powerful ways we connect with one another here on earth. To deprive ourselves of this connection is shortsighted and costly. To ignore art is to deprive ourselves of all the light and energy and brilliance of an artist or a period, because a great work of art is like a portal to that time and energy, even if it was made centuries ago. Why would we ever want to cut ourselves off from that kind of enduring positive light and energy? Why wouldn’t we want to be part of the telling of our own history?

  The energy and vibrancy of art has a profound effect on us all, and moves us into a place of higher receptivity to signs and ideas. If we choose to tap into this power, we will be rewarded. Maybe we do it by painting a landscape. Maybe it’s sculpting, or playing piano. Maybe it’s simply going to a museum or listening to music or reading a poem. Art in all its forms is a kind of dialogue between us and the entirety of existence, past, present, and future. It is us elevating our lives by elevating our energy.

  Art can also open our hearts and minds. Consider the musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical is a vibrant way for us to revisit our history, while it invites us to explore what kind of legacy we want to create in our own time. The musical asks fundamental questions of us—both on an individual level and collectively. Remember the song “History Has Its Eyes on You”?

  In my life, I have always felt a deep connection to art. Music, for sure, has always been hugely important to me. It was the way my father and I communicated: by singing songs together. I will admit that I’m not the best singer in the world—I would love to come back as someone with a beautiful, heavenly voice—but I still love to sing. The act of singing—the vibration, the sound waves—is magical to me. It transforms me. My singing voice may lack pitch and tone, but that doesn’t mean it can’t shift my energy into the positive!

  Besides music, I have also made it a point to buy and display art that really speaks to me and inspires me. I can tangibly feel the artist’s energy in each piece, creating a powerful link of ideas, exploration, and beauty.

  Try it for yourself. Try it when you’re feeling down. Go to a museum, or a movie, or a play. Sing a song or read a poem. Open yourself up to the vitality and brilliance of the exchange. I am counting on the fact that you will feel your energy shift.

  We’ve all been given the great and beautiful gift of art, and we should be mindful of this gift. If we are, art can and will change our energy, and our lives.

  GRATITUDE

  Because we all comprise energy, we give off energy. We emit vibrations—the oscillation of electric waves. What the Other Side shows us is that the two highest and purest vibrations we can achieve as human beings are love
and gratitude.

  People who are pessimists are energy magnets—they tend to perceive only the negative energy around them. But experiments have shown that if you sit pessimists down and have them write out a simple gratitude list—finding the one or two (or ten) things they are honestly grateful for each day—you can shift their energy from negative to positive in a matter of weeks (studies have shown that practices become habits when they are performed on twenty-one consecutive days).

  Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, has written and spoken about the transformational impact of gratitude. In 2015, her husband, David—the father of their two young children—died unexpectedly of a cardiac arrhythmia while working out on a treadmill. His death was shattering for her. During the darkest moments of her depression, a psychologist friend suggested she try something counterintuitive.

  “He suggested that I think about how much worse things could be,” Sandberg said in a 2016 commencement address at UC Berkeley. “ ‘Worse?’ I said. ‘Are you kidding me? How could things be worse?’ ”

  Her friend’s response: “Dave could have had that same cardiac arrhythmia while he was driving your children.”

  Sandberg’s reaction was one single word: “Wow.”

  In that instant, she felt what she called an overwhelming gratitude that she still had her children. And that gratitude, Sandberg explained, “overtook some of the grief. Finding gratitude and appreciation is key to resilience…and counting your blessings can actually increase your blessings.”