"I want to discuss an amazing truth that has become apparent to me through my work--that brilliant cords of light energy connect all of us here on earth and connect us further to our loved ones who have passed.

I can see these cords of light. I can see the light between us. And [since] the light is there because we all draw power from the same energy source, we know something else to be true.

Nobody lives a small life.

No one is forgotten by the universe.

All of us can greatly brighten the world.

It's just that some of us haven't yet recognized how powerful we are."

Laura Lynne Jackson, The Light Between Us, p. xvii

I am beginning to see signs of Spring in Michigan: Early flowers starting to bloom, buds forming on the trees, and days of 60 degrees once in a while! Spring on the way plus the joy of so many people receiving the COVID vaccine give us much to look forward to as we head toward summer. Maybe you feel it too--HOPE is in the air!

In this issue, I want to introduce you to Laura Lynne Jackson, who is a psychic medium. As you will read, she has been certified through a rigorous method by the nonprofit organization named the Forever Family Foundation which is quite an elite distinction for a medium. It means that she is consistently able to connect with people on the "Other Side" who have died. Her goal as a volunteer at the Forever Family Foundation is to help grieving parents who have lost a child realize that their son or daughter is still alive and with them. She shares stories of parents who have lost a child who come into a reading tremendously burdened with grief and sometimes with guilt. After a reading with Laura Lynne Jackson or other mediums from the Forever Family Foundation, Jackson writes that they leave comforted and joyful after receiving messages and validating evidence from their child. Jackson writes that "all the children who come through want the same thing--to somehow ease their loved ones' pain and anguish." (p. 131)

At the Windbridge Research Center in Tuscon, Arizona, another nonprofit organization that studies death, dying, and mediumship, Jackson has passed an eight-step, quintuple-blind screening administered by scientists to become one of only a small group of Certified Research Mediums. She was able to give accurate readings with verifiable details for "sitters" who have been trained to take notes and give no information about themselves as well. Read more about the two organizations below.

Laura Lynne Jackson's story is summarized here and detailed in her book, The Light Between Us. She now has a second book called Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe, which is about the signs that people often receive from loved ones who have passed. Watch the short video to view Jackson speaking about her work.

Her books include "lessons for living" as well as information about the afterlife. Some of these lessons are included below. If you haven't already read either of her books, and you're interested in what happens to people when they die, be sure to put Jackson's books on your list.

"I am clairvoyant, which means I have the ability to gather information about people and events through means other than my five senses. I'm also clairaudient--I can perceive sounds through means other than my ears--and clairsentient, which allows me to feel things through nonhuman means."

"The beautiful gift I've been given--the awareness that we are all connected by powerful cords of light and love, both here on earth and beyond--is a gift that belongs to us all."

Laura Lynne Jackson, The Light Between Us, pp. xiv, xv

From early childhood, Laura Lynne Jackson, "knew" things beyond her five senses. One day, she instinctively knew it was urgent to visit her grandfather, and that visit turned out to be the last, because he passed away suddenly shortly after that. She could sense things about people, and as a girl, she was bombarded with different feelings she picked up wherever there were many people, such as shoppers in the grocery store. She felt different, wondering if something was wrong with her.

As she grew up, she wavered between hiding her "gift" or telling friends about things she knew. In fact, even as an adult after she first began to give psychic readings, she worried that her gift might not be from the "light," and she stopped. She eventually learned that she could be helpful to people who were grieving the loss of a loved one through her readings.

Jackson's goal had been to become a lawyer, and she enrolled in pre-law courses. During the experience of studying at Oxford her senior year in college, an English teacher encouraged her to go into teaching, and other "pushes" in that direction convinced her that she should teach. She eventually became a high school English teacher, and at the same time began to give readings again. However, she kept the two activities totally separate, so that no one at work knew she was a psychic medium.

Her book, The Light Between Us, describes how she eventually garnered the courage to embrace her gift and how she found her passion and her niche in the psychic world helping families who have lost children.

She has joined the elite psychic medium volunteers with the Forever Family Foundation in working with parents in grief. Stories about that work and her other experiences make her book a page turner. Included are truths that she has learned about the Other Side as well as about life on this side.

"We are not bodies with souls.

We are souls with bodies."

"Everything in my experience tells me that we outlast our bodies. We move on. We keep going. We are bigger than our bodies. What defines us is what we take with us once we leave our bodies behind--our joys, our dreams, our loves, our consciousness." (p. 8)

"The Other Side, then, is the place our souls go when our bodies give out." (p. 8)

"All matter, all creation, all life is defined by...vibrational movement. We are not as solid as we think we are. Essentially, we are energy." (p. 12)

"The most important thing for [people] to know is the [they] don't need a psychic medium to communicate with loved ones who have passed. If we open our minds and our hearts, we will begin to see the signs and messages they send for us to feel their presence in our everyday lives." (p. 90)

"Our capacity to love and forgive--to accept fallibilities in another and in ourselves--is our greatest strength.... There will always be someone in our lives in need of forgiveness. Sometimes that person is you." (p. 92)

"I saw that our thoughts and our actions matter greatly to those on the Other Side--that we can help them continue to grow with our love and understanding. We have it in our power to heal the ones we love." (p. 96)

"The choices we make--particularly every act of kindness--are greatly consequential. Our actions matter." (p. 142)

"The message from the Other Side is clear as can be: Our animals are alive. They are waiting for us. We will see them again." (p. 144)

"I was learning that nothing in the universe happens by accident: that every person we meet has something to teach us or to learn from us...." (p. 145)

"I see the earth as a classroom. We are all sent here to learn lessons and help each other. But the real world is the spirit world. And that is a world of light and love." (p. 189)

In reference to a man diagnosed with Alzheimer's who committed suicide to spare his family, Jackson explains why his decision created a lost opportunity for him and his family. "Perhaps one of the lessons was patience. Perhaps it was compassion. Perhaps it was unconditional love. Or an understanding of our power to heal, or overcoming our fear of death. John deprived himself and his family of the chance to learn these lessons.... He didn't realize that letting his family care for him during the most vulnerable time in his life would give them the chance to revel in their deep, powerful, loving connection. John's decision to end his life cheated them of this gift." (p. 172)

"John was in heaven. Even those who commit suicide go to heaven. There they heal and then continue on their journey of growth and understanding." (p. 174)

In the United States, the world's second largest emitter of carbon, renewable energy generated one-fifth of all electricity in 2020. After a record year for installations of both wind and solar, zero-carbon energy sources, which also include hydro and nuclear, now make up 40% of the country's total electricity mix. (Greentech Media is now Wood Mackenzie. woodmac.com)

Beyond Meats has signed an agreement with McDonald’s, the largest fast food company in the world, to develop a plant-based burger, as well as options for chicken, pork and egg. This is by far the biggest market signal yet for plant-based meats. “When these restaurant chains move, the entire food industry takes notice." New Food Magazine

About Future Crunch: "We are a team of science communicators based in Melbourne, Australia. We curate stories of human progress, and support small charities using science and technology to make the world a better place. More than 40,000 people subscribe to our free, fortnightly email newsletter." (https://futurecrun.ch/)

"Just Who Do We Think We Are?"

Shari's website under the "My Two Cents" tab.

1-28-2021: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 2, #1/Bob Olson-Afterlife

2-23-21: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 2, #2/Natalie Sudman-NDE