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I’ve started Actually Trying - a private Substack podcast + newsletter for people who are sick of collecting advice and never applying it.

Each month includes:

• A realistic book club (starting with Atomic Habits by James Clear — no perfection required)
• An Anti-Brain-Rot Club to relearn things we probably should already know
• Weekly private podcast episodes
• Cheat sheets, summaries, and notes delivered straight to your inbox

New private episodes drop every Wednesday.

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In this episode of Field Notes, I go somewhere my family would deeply prefer I didn’t: signs from the universe, communicating with the dead, near-death experiences, and whether any of this is actually real — or just a very effective placebo.

This all started after I listened to neuroscientist and psychiatrist Dr Tara Swart on Diary of a CEO, where she calmly (and alarmingly confidently) explained that she believes it is possible to communicate with people who have died — not as a spiritual guru, but as an Oxford-educated medical doctor with a PhD in neuroscience.

So naturally, I had to investigate.

• Why humans have always searched for signs, meaning, and messages from “elsewhere”
• Dr Tara Swart’s experiences after losing her husband — and the science she believes supports them
• Near-death experiences that are genuinely difficult to explain (including the red MG story)
• Whether consciousness might exist beyond the brain
• The placebo effect — and why “even if it’s not real” doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t work
• Famous placebo studies (fake knee surgery, antidepressants, pain relief)
• The reticular activating system (RAS) and why asking for “signs” might simply train your brain to notice more
• Manifestation, meaning-making, and why modern life feels spiritually hollow
• Whether looking for signs can help with grief, loneliness, and uncertainty — even if you remain deeply sceptical

I’m going to ask for a specific, offline sign — not from Instagram, not from scrolling — and I’ll report back on Fridaywith what happened.

If you’re not into the idea of signs from the dead, I also talk through an alternative:

connecting with future you — the older, calmer version of yourself who already survived whatever you’re panicking about now.

Probably not.

For most of human history, we’ve consulted gods, oracles, ancestors, rituals, astrology, omens, and stories to make sense of the world. When societies lose shared meaning systems, anxiety and loneliness tend to rise — which might explain why manifestation, astrology, and “signs from the universe” are having such a moment.

This episode isn’t about convincing you to believe anything.

It’s about asking whether meaning itself might be useful — even if it’s a little bit made up.

• Friday: Field Report — what happened when I asked for a sign (plus a story involving a psychic)
• Next week: Ask Guru & Granny — the new listener Q&A segment with:
• a chronically online take (me)
• a chronically offline take (Old Ma)

Send your questions to: rosefieldnotespod@gmail.com

Or DM me on Instagram: @rosehoneymorgan

(Anonymous is absolutely fine.)

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