by
Mateo Sol
May 28, 2016
from
LonerWolf Website
Spanish Version
Image credit
"Coincidence
is God's way of
remaining anonymous."
Albert Einstein
With the constant exposure to digital news, ads and social media
interaction, we've lost the valuable skill that our ancestors had of
gathering information firsthand from our surroundings.
We've lost the ability to perceive the deep interconnection between
"us" and the natural world, and the different ways nature is alive
and communicates with us.
The patterns of birds in
flight, the blooming of trees outside of their season, the
temperature of the ocean's water, the invasion of ants or snails…
there are so many occurrences in nature that carry valuable
information and significance that we don't pay attention to anymore.
In the modern fast-paced world, signs have been divorced from
their significance.
Nature is always communicating with us and often this occurs by
showing us
omens and
signs. Indigenous traditions
understood this as working and being in harmony with the flow or web
of life.
Through Physics we now
know this as the "unified
field."
These signs and omens present themselves to us daily on our
spiritual journeys. Like breadcrumbs to follow, we can
re-learn how to trace the wisdom of this subtle guidance.
A Story of
Signs
Over the last few years, we been finding new ways to deeply connect
to the world around us.
One of these ways is by
paying close attention to the signs and omens we encounter
through our daily lives. Watching out for signs and omens
not only provides us with guidance, but it is also an effective
method of grounding our awareness in the present moment.
I asked
Luna to share her recent
experience:
I have always been
something of a daydreamy person.
But only in the past
few years have I taken a conscious step out of this dreamland
and
into reality. When seen through
clear and present eyes, I realize that life sends us so many
signs, messages and omens every day.
It's just that many
of us don't have the eyes to see it.
We get so lost in our
chaotic and blurry thoughts of the past and future that we
forget the wonders that lie with us in the present.
Keeping this in mind,
I try to start every day with grounded and aware presence and
receptivity to life. And I often discover something amazing on
my morning walks:
Life or Spirit is
directly communicating with me.
My unconscious needs
or questions are frequently met with signs and omens of various
natures.
Recently I've been seeing three birds constantly cross
my path:
the wagtail,
white ibis and duck:
-
the wagtail
represents playfulness and joy
-
the white
ibis represents opportunity
-
the duck
represents nurturing...
To me the message
from Life is very clear,
"Every day is an
opportunity to experience joy and self-love, no matter what
happens."
The Difference
Between Signs and Omens
The Soul communicates itself in
different ways throughout our lives but the most common way for us
to understand is through metaphor and symbol.
From dream omens to
serendipitous signs, metaphors
and symbols all originate from our rich imaginations which are
direct windows into our Souls.
You might ask yourself
what the difference is between a sign and an omen.
I understand the
difference to be the following:
Signs appear in
moments when we are facing a difficult decision or need help
integrating a realization about ourselves that we've recently
had.
It's like consulting
an oracle:
you know you need
guidance or have a question and the answer will present
itself when you are open and receptive to it.
Luna's story above
would serve as a great example of this.
Omens on the other hand, come without any prior request on our
part for guidance and catch you by surprise.
They are rare, of
great significance and stand out because of their weird,
outlandish, even bizarre nature. They can also be wondrous,
conspicuous, and astounding. But they are always mysterious.
An omen indicates that an ominous, important or prophetic event
is about to occur or is occurring.
My personal
experience with an Omen occurred many years ago when I first
arrived in Australia.
I was going
through a powerful personal transformation and on one of my
early walks on a rainy winter morning, I came across a brown
snake.
I froze in place
as did the snake, both of us staring at each other for what
must have been a few minutes, though it felt eternal. I felt
a strong connection to her, almost as if she was
communicating something intuitively.
A few moments
later, she slithered back into the bushland.
To me, that was a
prophetic omen for several reasons.
It occurred
during twilight when doors between the different
realms open. Snakes are symbolic of the wisdom and
transformation as they are constantly shedding new skin.
And most
importantly, brown snakes are very rare in this area of
Australia, especially so in winter when they are in a state
of semi-hibernation.
This brings me to the
final aspect of Omens.
In order to know you've
encountered an Omen you have to be quite familiar with your natural
environment to know if it is a common event or something bordering
on the impossible.
Ways You Might
Encounter Signs and Omens
We are all connected to one
universal force, but that
doesn't mean that we all flow down the river of life.
If we aren't aware and if
we don't listen to the signposts that are guiding us toward wise and
powerful decisions, we'll miss out on the wonderful opportunities
that Life is presenting to us.
There are a few ways signs and omens will present themselves to you.
Most commonly you'll find them in nature and through animals
as they are alive and directly driven by Spirit.
But signs and omens also
present themselves in many other ways, shapes and forms.
Signs and omens most commonly occur in the following ways:
Signs and Omens in
Dreams
These include unusual dreams, sometimes so "real" that they
cannot be distinguished from waking life.
Dreams of paralysis,
visits from the dead in dreams, hag-riding, and prophetic
dreams. These are all often heralders of things to come or
epiphanies to soon be fully understood.
When interpreting your dreams, don't rely on books of dreams
which are preconceived ideas of what each image means. Dreams
symbology is a very personal thing.
Some people might
like horses and in their dream the horse could be a positive
sign, while for others the horse might be a negative omen (i.e.
like the horseman of the apocalypse).
There are teachers
that can help you understand the meaning behind your dreams but
just like sacred writings, your dreams can have many levels of
soulful meaning.
Signs and
Omens in Daily Life
Throughout our daily life we've undoubtedly been given guidance.
But due to our often
busy and stimulation-filled habits, we've zoned out to it,
almost as if we're in a state of trance.
Examples include,
-
right or left
ear ringing
-
stumbling
across the same book multiple times
-
seeing
repeated numbers or symbols
-
even
circumstances that seem "beyond" pure serendipity or
luck...
For example,
wanting to find a
new house, and being randomly offered a place to stay in the
exact suburb you're interested in.
There are an infinite
number of possible ways Spirit is trying to communicate with you
in your everyday life.
Signs and
Omens in Nature
Of all the possible way that signs and omens can be expressed,
nature is my favorite medium.
This is because,
it is so full of
life, is ever-changing, and always vibrating with an endless
variety of messages...
These messages might
be reflected in a puddle, through an insect Spirit Guide, the
affirming way a tree sways in the wind, or the enlightening way
the cloud's part on an overcast way in response to a thought
you're having.
These messages might
also be expressed through death or decay, such as a fallen tree,
or a carcass that reminds us of our own mortality.
How to Know
That You've Received a Sign
If it is a valid sign, it will come short after you've been
pondering about something in your life, or shortly after you've
directly been asking a meaningful and difficult question.
Trivial or superficial
questions are disrespectful toward that which is sacred (e.g.
"should I dye my hair red or pink," "how can I become famous").
When a sign comes, it will come as an event that felt powerful to
you, attracted your attention, enlivened your imagination, and
created a significant emotional response within you.
What do you do
when you've been given a sign?
I like to thank existence for any sign I receive,
often giving something back to it to maintain reciprocity and
express my gratitude (what the Incans call "Ayni").
I usually offer some
form of food, if I have it, but if I don't, a simple "thank you"
suffices.
The important thing is to make the sign meaningful to you so
that you can fully absorb it. You may want to sit down in the
place where you received the sign, remember what inspired you to
ask for guidance, and contemplate on the answer.
Spirit loves symbols and images, so you have to ask
yourself what that sign evokes in you.
What is the first
thought that came to mind?
How did you
emotionally react to it?
Has it brought
back any memories?
Try to avoid
imposing a mental answer onto the sign and instead, allow
your intuition, your gut
feeling, to be the translator of the sign.
The meaning might not be apparent right away, if it isn't, let
time pass and it will unveil itself when the moment is right.
When we open our awareness to
how the universe is involved in
our healing, our growth, and our conscious evolution, life takes
on a deeper meaning.
Signs can be given
from without, but significance can only blossom from
within...
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