Follow the Signs

Lots of people think signs are stupid or fundamentally bullBLEEP. Many think believing in signs from the Universe is akin to believing in astrology, which according to them is also a bunch of horseBLEEP…

It’s easy to be cynical about guidance or signs from the Universe until you start following them around. This whole subject probably falls into the “suspension of disbelief” category. Get out your popcorn, boys and girls (and everyone in between), because life becomes a lot more interesting when we humor God (or Good) enough to just pay attention and do whatever we’re told. 

Do I actually believe God is putting things in my path to tell me turn right or turn left? 

Well, no, the cynic in me definitely does not. 

But the believer in me has been, over the course of the last couple days, paying attention and changing course when I think Good (or God) might be involved. Why would I be bothering with this exercise, you might ask? Welllll, first of all, why the BLEEP not? 

But also because some pretty big signs/red flags made themselves known to me on a path to sheer and utter heartbreak and I paid them NO MIND. And let me tell you, I HAVE REGRETS. Big ones. No question that the heartbreak brought me closer to Good (or God), but I am also pretty sure that God (or Good) warned me that I didn’t have to pick the more treacherous path on my journey to higher faith. I could’ve taken the easy street, but noooooo, I decided to ignore all warning signs and pick the dark and perilous journey through heartbreak, embarrassment, and betrayal because that is what people who don’t believe in Good (or God) often do. 

Lesson learned (I pray, Jesus Lord, I pray), and as part of learning said lesson, I will cross and re-cross a street if I have to, looking like a complete and utter nutball, in the name of paying closer attention to symbols and guidance from a spiritual plane. And I happen to believe that just acting as if we are receiving positive, useful guidance from Good (or God) helps us have faith, whether or not that is actually true.

This makes me think about external versus internal locus of control. If we have an internal locus of control, then we’re grounded in ourselves, have resilience, and the ability to fortify ourselves against and/or recover from things that might do us harm. If we have an external locus of control, very often we are trying to use people, places, or things to help us feel good or better about ourselves, which is pretty crazy making… But the question is, where does a belief in Good (or God) play into all that? 

Some might argue that God (or Good) is external to ourselves… But… is It? Spiritual gurus old and new (Jesus, the Buddha, Krishna, Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Gabby Bernstein) would all probably make the argument for God being within. Just because preachers, churches, signs and symbols might be external to us, our engagement with, interpretation of, and experiments in faith are all grounded in our internal selves. Many of these spiritual practitioners say that we are one with God, that we are God, that we are an expression of Good (or God) and therefore cannot possibly be separate from It/the Universe/Source. 

That’s pretty wild to even touch on, let alone really thoroughly contemplate. But the reality is that God and faith and our experience are so deeply entwined, so very much an expression of ourselves, that I kind of believe it. Lately, I am having trouble separating myself from my faith or my belief in Good (or God) and the idea that the more I willingly participate in it, the more I get back from it. This includes changing course in my day. It includes paying attention. It includes asking for guidance through prayer and meditation. 

I’ve only just started, but I will report back with what I find after a more concerted effort to follow the signs.