By Michaiah Varnes \/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone is born with intuitive abilities, but most people lose touch with them as they grow older, according to a medium who spoke at the annual Frederick Speaker Series earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The medium, Laura Lynne Jackson, from the Windbridge Institute, explained that intuitive abilities, which she called \u201cthe four clairs,\u201d are inherent in everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackson emphasized that her role was not to convince, but to encourage people to recognize their own capacity for connection with themselves, with others, and, she said, with loved ones who had passed on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Signs, she explained, can come in many forms, from repeated number sequences to encounters with animals or symbols that hold personal meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t believe me,\u201d she told the crowd. \u201cTry it yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Speaker Series, held at the Weinberg Center for the Arts on March 5, marked its 13th year of bringing influential thinkers to the community for conversations centered on ideas, connection and personal insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sponsored by the Delaplaine Foundation Inc., Hood College and other partners, the series highlighted nationally recognized figures across disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to Jackson, this year\u2019s lineup included biologist and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin; physician, scientist and author Dr. William Li; author and social commentator Walter Mosley; and Carol Anderson, a professor of African American studies at Emory University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe significance of the Frederick Speaker Series is that it brings thought leaders from diverse perspectives to the greater Frederick region,\u201d said Stephanie Chaiken, executive theater manager of the Weinberg Center for the Arts. \u201cWe have attendees from a wide range of generations across our community who then dialogue about ideas, which is a huge benefit to us all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A full house of Frederick-area residents gathered to hear Jackson discuss intuition, mediumship and the role of human connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the conversation, two themes repeatedly surfaced: communication and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackson described how, in her experience, intuitive information arrived without emotion, while anxiety came with it, a distinction she said helped people understand their own inner signals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Audience members also asked about skepticism surrounding her work, particularly from those who relied on scientific frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackson welcomed the questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSkepticism is healthy. Closed-mindedness is not,\u201d said Jackson, who serves on the advisory board of the Forever Family Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes understanding of afterlife science and supports individuals grieving the loss of loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end of the evening, Jackson returned to the message she wanted the community to take home: the idea that love and connection continue, regardless of physical distance or loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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