This Nectar & Bloom Book Club book recommendation came to me as a gift from a friend, and as soon as I started reading it, I wanted to share the experience with you. Right from the title, I was hooked. I think many floral artists would agree, as we work closely with the vibrant blooms of the natural world, that there are energies all around us and messages within our daily experiences if we tune in and listen. These messages can be a sign to do or not do something, an intuitive instinct or a gut feeling, but they can also just be everyday delights and encouragement from the universe that can really brighten your mood and bring meaning to your daily routine.

 

As a former professor of Literature and Writing myself, I do not shy away from critical analysis or bringing a healthy critical (as in analytical and attentive) eye to a read. While I wholeheartedly recommend this book, and I'll share with you my favorite parts in a moment, I do want to say that my biggest criticism is that the title is a bit misleading.

 

From this title, I wanted (and expected) a book that as all about the secret language of the universe and the signs we receive when we pay attention or know how to ask and tune in. I wanted a book that taught me how to do that. While this book includes that, the bulk of the book, a bit unexpectedly to me, was a collection of stories and experiences of loss and grief experienced by many different individuals and families the author has worked with as an energy medium. Within those stories emerged examples of how people often find relief and reassuring connection with people they love and have lost through signs those loved ones send from the other side.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I also love this take and very much appreciated the read overall, despite feeling a bit mislead by the title and caught off guard by the contents (I cried a lot in this book — some very sweet and very sad stories that will squeeze your heart are inside). Additionally, I respect that we human beings relate better to stories and actual experiences rather than just purely methodologies and theories, so I get it. I just didn't expect the book to be so much about grief and loss as the context for signs and the secret language of the universe.

 

If it were my book, or if I were the editor of this book, I would suggest to the author, Laura Lynne Jackson, to pull this into two books — one about grief and loss and finding connection through signs with a title that was more clearly indicative of that content, and one that was purely a guidebook for noticing, asking for, and understanding signs and ways through which the universe (and universal consciousness) communicates with us and connects us to our higher callings and to all of life. 

 

That being said, here are a few favorite chapters to highlight and recommend to you, alongside a few quotes I wrote down and loved:

 

MY TWO FAVORITE CHAPTERS:

• Chapter 10 "Default Signs, Dreams, and Intuition: Tuning In To The Secret Language" — This chapter gives you an amazing key set of foundational pointers to know what to look for and how to recognize signs and messages that are already coming to you all the time. I loved the practical application and accessibility of this chapter.

 

• Chapter 30 "How To Shine Brightly" — This chapter is essentially a wonderful guide for understanding all of life and existence as energy (quantum physics) and  how to open and align your own energy to optimize your ability to align your energy attract powerful signs through the universe. All of the practices — from creating and appreciating art to practicing gratitude, from the power of negative ions to the importance of sleep and meditation and prayer, plus more — are just amazing guidelines for a healthier and more conscious and harmonious life. As I read this chapter, I kept thinking about my studies in Ayurveda and the concept of cultivating "sattva" (gentleness, compassion, lightness, clarity) in your life through what you take in and how you live. 

 

A FEW FAVORITE QUOTES:

• "Sometimes our bodies tell us things before our minds know it." [Page 105]

 

• "A smile, a word, a gesture, a gift can change everything." [Page 136]

 

• "Music and the visual arts can heal and restore people in ways that not even medicine can." [Page 250]

 

Overall, I still very highly recommend this book, and now not only if you are curious about tuning into the secret language of the universe, but also if you have had to say goodbye (in this physical realm) to someone you love. It is a beautiful book on finding connection and meaning in the wake of loss, and finding meaning and connection in everyday life. No matter how open or skeptical to any of this you may be, you will find through the stories and tools of this book that life begins to glow a bit more, that you are finding that lucky coin or seeing those joyous butterflies or hearing a certain song that is special to you come on more often, just because you are more open and listening.

 

I truly believe that life is incredibly rich and full of guidance and support for all of us on our soul's journey through life. I hope that if this book calls to you that you enjoy it as much as I did and that its resonance through the signs you start to notice and receive more often continue to encourage and delight you.

 

Happy reading,

 

XX 

 

PS: You can learn more about Nectar & Bloom Book Club and how it works here.

 

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