I’ve just finished The Signs by Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and medical doctor , and I have to say—it shook me. Here is a person of science, trained in the hardest evidence, writing about things that used to be dismissed or laughed at: intuition, coincidences, signs, even the possibility of consciousness beyond the brain .

What convinced me to pick it up was not only her scientific authority but her devastating personal story : she lost her husband early in their marriage. Out of grief, she began noticing things she could no longer ignore—those small, mysterious signs of meaning.

Here are some of the ideas that stayed with me:

Intuition is in the body. That gut feeling, the tightness in your chest, the calm that settles in you—these are not illusions. Modern neuroscience shows the gut and brain are deeply connected. Wisdom lives in your body, sometimes before words can catch it.

Consciousness may be bigger than the brain. Some scientists are even asking whether dualism—the idea that mind and body are separate—could be true after all. Professor Alexander Batthyány points out that dementia patients sometimes regain clarity near the end of life, suggesting that the conscious self may not be entirely at the mercy of the brain. Donald Hoffman, an MIT-trained cognitive scientist, proposes something even more radical: that consciousness, not space-time, is fundamental to existence.

Signs are mirrors. The world reflects your inner state . When you are fearful, you see threats. When you are open, you catch synchronicities—the “right person at the right time” moments. Gratitude, beauty, and joy prune negative pathways in the brain and open the door to guidance.

Beauty, art, and nature are medicine. Neuroaesthetics shows us that engaging with beauty changes the brain. Looking at art, listening to music, dancing, cooking, walking in nature—all release the “DOSE” chemicals: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins . They don’t just lift mood—they make us safer inside ourselves, more able to notice signs, more open to life. Even going to the theatre once a year lowers mortality risk. Beauty literally saves lives.

We are wired for connection. Loneliness shrinks the brain. Belonging strengthens it. Strong, positive relationships boost oxytocin, the same hormone linked to joy, love, and trust . When you feel safe with others, you are more likely to receive and recognize signs, because openness is the gateway to guidance.

Purpose is essential. Acknowledging that there is something bigger than ourselves can give life meaning. When your focus is narrow and self-centered, the world feels flat and two-dimensional. But when you give back, when you live in service of something larger, the world expands. Altruism opens the mind and makes life richer, more connected, more alive.

Reading this book, I kept thinking: these are the same things my grandmother used to say . And the same things the priest would remind us in church —that we are more than this life, more than our bodies, and that something continues.

It makes me wonder : why do we keep “rediscovering” as scientific what our ancestors always knew?

Have you ever had a sign, a gut feeling, or a coincidence that changed your path?

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