Life is always trying to communicate with us. It is always there to help us, to guide us and to support us on our journey. But we cant always see it or hear it. Many times we are so lost in our attempt to control that we don’t want to see or hear what life is trying to tell us. Good old fashioned stubbornness mixed in with a little human nature. Our nature will always try to avoid hassle or extra work. Anything contrary to what we want and how we want it.
Important – from my perspective feel free to exchange the word “life” in this article with God or love. These are all part of the same thing to me. The difference is which word your belief system needs for you to accept or relate to.
Life is Always There for Us
The good news is that we can always count on life to be there for us. The more connected we are with life the less we feel alone. We are never alone. Life will always be there to help support us, guide us and provide us direction.
If you often feel alone, know that your mind and thoughts are playing tricks on you. You can work on this feeling within yourself. Practice mindfulness daily to transform your feeling of loneliness to a feeling of connection, understanding and self compassion.
Begin to inventory your mental nourishment. Water the right seeds daily while practicing mindful breathing will bring insight to the true cause of your loneliness and suffering.
Can You See and Feel the Signs Around You?
Don’t be frustrated if you feel like you are not hearing life’s messages. Like most things in life, we need a little training and guidance to gain understanding. But unlike how human beings communicate, life communicates a little differently. Life is energy. So in order to communicate with life, we need to build our skills of:
- Observing
- Listening
- Watching
- Patiently waiting
These skills will help us hear from our great life support system. Our attitude and openness plays a significant role in our ability to see and hear what is really going on around us. So many of us “are asleep and live a life of quiet desperation” – Henry David Thoreau (quote from Walden)
So it is important that you trust and believe in your skills and life’s ability to communicate. Trust me, it communicates very clearly! Some times I drop to my knees and cry because life communicates so clearly to me.
How Life Communicates
Lets first start with a simple list so you can begin to see how life actually communicates. We each have had these things happen to us but maybe didn’t think much about it.
When life communicates, not only do we see it, we also “feel” it. What I mean is that it’s something usually felt in our heart, chest or stomach. Remember that we are not just physical beings, but we also have a connection to our invisible side through feelings and emotions.
How Life Communicates:
- Repeated patterns that keep popping up
- Through other people
- Advertisements and Signs (literally)
- Numbers (usually repeating)
- Names of people or things you see over and over
- Things that bother or irritate us
- Obstacles in our way
Repeated Patterns that Keep Popping Up
Sadly for life, human beings are stubborn and have to be told again and again before something sinks in. So life has to keep presenting us with the same situation or pattern over and over until we “get it”. Many people continue to cause themselves suffering by repeating the same negative pattern. If you see a repeating pattern (positive or negative), it is best to pay attention to it.
I have always recommended that you write things down. Get things out of your head and begin to capture the signs going on around you. Keeping a log or a diary can be very helpful. It allows your brain to see things on paper and not instantly dismiss it with your built-in defense mechanisms. You will begin to see patterns in your log entries that you might not have seen before.
An example from my own life – I was a young working professional and was going through my daily working and family routine. I started to notice baby things everywhere:
- Commercials on television
- Billboard advertisements for baby items
- I saw pregnant women and babies more frequently around me
I started to see baby things all around me as a repeated pattern. Then one night, about a month later, my wife told me she was pregnant. Amazingly, I began to recognize the signs about 3 or 4 weeks earlier. Life was reaching out to me.
Through Other People
Life will use whatever means available to communicate with us. Sometimes it is as clear as receiving verbal messages from people that we know. Little do they know, they are conveying messages for life! This could be from a simple conversation or a topic that keeps popping up. It may even be from someone that we really don’t like. What is important is that we are always ready and listening for a life message.
An example from my own life – Years ago I was in a music group with several other musicians. At the time, I desired some major changes in my life. I began to notice the keyboard player always was showing up to each practice with new equipment. I asked him what he did for a living. He said he was a software engineer.
When he shared this, it was like a light bulb went off in my head (and chest). It hit me, I should pursue it. I spent about a year in transition and then this new path changed my life forever. I became quite successful in software for many years.
One interesting fact about this person, is that he didn’t believe in spiritual or “life stuff”. Little did he know, he was a messenger for life.
Advertisements/Signs (Literally)
I mentioned this in my own example about repeated patterns. Before my wife knew she was pregnant, I saw many advertisements on television and billboards with baby and pregnancy ads. This could be the internet, a business van or some random commercial. There may be a road or yard sign that jumps out to you. Do not underestimate the ways that life will try to show you something.
Be mindful and observant of your surroundings. Don’t be asleep! It could be subtle, you could miss it. But even if you do, rest assured, life will keep trying to show you what you are supposed to pay attention to.
Numbers
Most people have their favorite or special numbers. Do you think that is a coincidence?
I do not believe in coincidence.
I believe in intention, cause and effect, the proven science behind life’s energy. We each have a set of favorite numbers, but I see numbers in a repeated pattern fairly regularly. Usually on a clock or a store receipt. It might be an address or part of a phone number.
Numbers are all around us and we do not realize the connection we have with them. Mayans and other cultures understood their value and their relation to the stars, seasons and the calendar. Even our birth date has significance in numbers and patterns of energy or personality. Try not to let your previous learned beliefs block you from this form of life communication.
An example from my own life – I frequently would see the same set of numbers (11:11 and 1:11). I would see it driving in my car or passing by my stove clock. Or would wonder what time it is and glance at my phone and there it was “11:11”. I did a little research on the spiritual meaning of these numbers and the message/theme aligned perfectly with my life situation or current set of challenges I was working to resolve. That was the encouragement I needed to show that I was on the right path. Life is always trying to communicate with me.
Names of People/Things We See Over and Over
This one is a similar variant of the repeated patterns. However, it could be someone’s name, the name of a company or some thing we see over and over. When something jumps out at you, don’t ignore it. Write it down – save it for later. Even if you don’t understand it. Write down the date and a brief description. Something else will happen that lock it in as a pattern, that provides you direction, support or guidance.
In my life, One day I pulled into a restaurant and parked in a complex that had a sign directly in front of my car. It said “Comfort Keepers”. It was the office for a home health care business. At that time, I was looking for a company to help my Mom with some home health things she needed. The sign popped out to me (head and heart), and I wrote it down in my digital log (on my phone). Several more times I saw Comfort Keepers in the following weeks. Now I knew that life was trying to guide me.
We simply need to remain open and aware of our surroundings. Especially when we need something or are working on something in our life. Life is there for us.
Things that Bother Us
We tend to react to patterns that bother us. But why do we do this. The best way to handle something that bothers us is to simply observe it (not to react). But because we are human, we naturally resist things that cause us pain or irritation. It triggers our fight or flight instinct and we want to flee to something easier and more comfortable.
Remember that life is about learning and growth. The things that bother us are likely from our past that have been pushed down deep and avoided. Life brings us the opportunities to learn and grow from them. To understand them, transform them and get them out of our psyche energy.
I encourage you to simply observe and work through the things that bother you. Try to be mindful and reach a point of understanding and compassion. Practice mindfulness and meditation to gain insight to what is really bothering us. It is likely not the trigger we are placing blame but something much deeper from our past.
Life is here to help and support you. It is here to help you uncover the things in yourself that get you to the next level of understanding, compassion and love.
The Obstacles of Your Life
Obstacles are another way life can communicate with us. Challenges can be tricky and our interpretation or perceptions may be wrong. Its important that we simply observe. Practice calming your mind.
One perspective is that the obstacle is there for us to overcome. So we may grow and be stronger on the other side of it. However, the other perspective of the obstacle could be a message telling us to stop and to go another way.
This is fairly easy to validate which message life is giving us. this is where patience, observing and writing things down comes in. If we keep getting the obstacle blocking our path, we are beginning to validate that we should go another way.
Do the life’s values test. Ask yourself what is your motivation? What purpose does it serve? Your Ego or Self? Others and Life?
However, if you gain insight and are determined that it is a path for personal growth then you should likely overcome it. Either way you will grow from the experience. If life blocks you, you will know it.
Life Communicates Clearly
Life is so amazing! Its love and power is such a miracle and beautiful gift. Life actually communicates very well with us if we are aware and listening. It is always there and is always trying to hep and guide us on our journey.
We just need to work on our listening skills. If we practice mindful breathing and observing we will hear and see more. Commit to begin to write things down more often when something pops out at us. Use your feelings and your eyes and ears. You will quickly become amazed and what you were missing.
Hopefully this helps you and life communicate more effectively.
Wishing you peace and love,
Until next time…
—
Greg
