When the Universe Speaks, Listen

by: Michele Francoise Gerard

What would you think if your attention was suddenly drawn to a specific set of numbers? Would you know what it meant and most of all why it was supposed to mean anything at all? Or, there’s a picture or a phrase that pops out on a page that you’d normally just pass over. Could you interpret what it was you were suppose to be seeing or even if there was something to be seen?

Situations like this can happen on any day at any given random moment, but because they seem so out or the ordinary and not readily understood, most people just chalk it up to coincidence and go about their way completely missing potentially valuable points of spiritual insight.

This is what happens when the universe speaks, it says, “Hey, something significant is coming your way, here’s a little hint.” In-other-words, you may not have a conscious awareness of the whole picture but since attention is focused in the right direction, here’s a piece of the puzzle to work with. The only problem is that the Universe doesn’t always speak the way we expect it to and most of the time the message can be a little obscure to what makes sense.

Synchronicity

Another way of looking at universal communication is in a manner of the synchronous and asynchronous relationships we have with the world we live in. Each of us in our own special way has a unique persona we’ve developed through the way we’ve come to expect the world to be and how we see ourselves in it. This role has been carefully crafted by our interactions with the environment, culture, religion, schooling and many other numerous script warehouses we’ve visited along the way.

As these scripts have evolved, so has our sense of spiritual connectedness. When we start sensing that our spiritual connections have become garbled it’s usually the result of scripts becoming inadequate or outdated. In this case we can say then that we have, in a sense, fallen into an asynchronous relationship with the universe. Likewise, when we update and acquire healthier scripts more in line with our living productively, our relationship with the universe could then be viewed as synchronous.

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The eminent psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung was a great proponent of the phenomenon of synchronicity. In fact, Dr Jung started researching the subject early on in his career in the 1920s and after 31 year of collecting date, fully disclosed his findings in 1951. Jung coined the word synchronicity to describe what he called "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events." Jung also variously described synchronicity as an "acausal connecting principle", "meaningful coincidence" and "acausal

parallelism". [Casement, Ann, "Who Owns Jung?", Karnac Books, 2007. ISBN 1-85575-403-7. Cf. page 25.]

Within the same venue of research Jung additionally coined the phrase “collective unconscious” which he referred to as a collective reservoir of all individuals within a given species. [C. G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (London 1996) p. 43] Universal communication is similar to Jung’s definition of collective unconscious; however, for the purposes of this article it differs primarily in the spiritual quality that encompasses our greater awareness and interconnectedness with the universe as a whole.

Numbers and Synchronicity

Numbers are a very common element in synchronicity. They can appear in sets, alone or in combination with other elements such as a phrase or picture. If a specific number keeps popping up, more than likely the communication has something to do with a measurable event such as a date, period of time, quantity, or less often size.

There are many schools of thought regarding the frequency of numbers and their symbolic meanings. Most of these theories are very good; however, it should be noted that synchronicity is a profoundly personal experience and as such, the individual should first attempt to tie their symbolism into a more subjective level of understanding. That is to say, first and foremost, “What does this mean to me and how can I incorporate this with what I know.”

If, the subjective approach fails to yield an adequate explanation, then try a more “collective” approach of its meaning. Collective refers to societies mutually agreed upon definitions; in this case the symbolism associated with numerology. Even if you’ve managed to satisfy the symbolic meaning through external research, it is still important to step back and see how it relates within a more personal level of awareness.

Example: The number 11 keeps popping up and for some reason it keys into you as important. Nothing you can remember or recall seems to make any sense as to why it should be important. After researching the numerology definition you find that the number 11 is a master number for intuition. Still it seems like something’s missing from the equation. You don’t see yourself as intuitive and there just doesn’t seem to be anything you need to be intuitive about.

Later, on November 11^th, you receive a phone call informing you that you’ve just been awarded a new contract you been waiting on. That contract is for the construction of an 11 story building in the uptown district and they want to meet with you on November 22^nd to discuss plans.

In this case the number 11 turned out to be very integral to winning a contract bid. Not only was the number 11 important but it also conveyed a more personal yet subtle note of being more intuitively aware. As a side note, to go a step further, the number 22 is not only 11 days later but is also considered the master builder number in numerology.

Objects in Synchronicity

Numbers are not the only means of universal communication. Objects such as text, text phrases, pictures and/or everyday household items can set off synchronistic episodes. Like numbers, synchronistic symbolism is a very personal experience. Unlike numerology, object symbolism can be bit more tenuous at best due to the wide diversity of available interpretations.

Example: Several years ago while watching the movie “Rollover” my attention was suddenly drawn to a shoebox with the phrase, “It’s happening now!” inscribed on the top. For some unexplainable reason my attention was fixated on that simple statement for just a few moments, but it stood out. The next day when I turned on the news the headlines read, “United State is in a Recession”.

If you haven’t seen the movie with Jane Fonda, “Rollover” is about the United States entering into a period of recession that ultimately resulted in a devastating depression due to corporate greed. The recession I’m referring to in this instance was back in the late 1980s when the movie came out.

In this case synchronicity appeared as a personal coincidental interconnection between the phrase on a shoe box, a movie being watched, and the U.S. economic downturn at the time. The event possessed a set of “meaningful coincidences” that had no apparent causal relationships. That is to say one set of circumstances did not create the other set through their existence.

Although synchronistic experiences may take on a literal form of symbolism as in this example, that’s not always the case. In fact most synchronous events are highly abstract in their symbolism and often very difficult to immediately understand. For this reason it might be prudent to consult a psychic who may be able offer some more objective insight into what the universe may or may not be saying.

Maintaining a Healthy Sense of Synchronicity

When you think the universe may be speaking to you, take a moment and listen to what’s being said. For the most part when the universe starts communicating it’s merely a sign you might want take a closer look at the spiritual side of things in your life. Although it may seem quirky, don’t be too quick to readily dismiss these coincidences as freaky flukes of nature, sometimes there’s an important message at heart that you need to move on with your life. More important, there may be a clue to something coming up you might not want to miss.

When you find something that seems a little perplexing, try seeing how it fits in your present life. If you still can’t fathom what’s happening, do a little research into the symbolism i.e. numerology, dream interpretation, symbols and their meaning, etc. One of the simplest methods commonly overlooked is to ask the universe to make things a little clearer for your understanding. What you may find happening after asking for the simplified version may be a series of excerpts expounding upon the details of the message’s symbolism.

Example: At some point you’re walking along and the word equal pops up. You start thinking, “Equal, equal what?” Again, the message pops up, sometimes in the form of an equal sign, at other times part of a word such as equate. After careful consideration nothing comes to mind; you’ve looked through the books, looked at yourself and zip, nada. Finally, you ask the universe to help you understand exactly what the word equal is trying to relate.

A little later that day you notice a kid walking down the sidewalk with his arms outstretched as though he’s walking an imaginary tightrope; interesting but still not convincing. The next day you turn on the TV and find a news segment about some person breaking a tightrope record; okay, maybe equal has something to do with balancing.

After returning to work you find one of your coworkers seems bent out of shape and having a bad day. When you ask her what’s wrong she starts to explain how chaotic things have become at home. Remembering the equal and balancing messages you received earlier, you start coaching her about keeping things in perspective and more balanced. When you’ve finished she seem much more relieved and calmer, and she thanks you for your input.

In this case the message took a little time to get through and you were able to piece together the parts of the puzzle in a way that helped someone else. The message wasn’t necessarily meant for you but ultimately you were able to use this information. In a way, you might think of the universe as a silent director giving you cues every now and then. Consider for a moment that the woman’s pain was sent out to the universe seeking an answer to her chaos and because you were listening, the universe was able to use you as the solution to her pain.

Of course, not everything is a cue from the universe; most times an equal sign is just an equal sign. The key is to know when you’re being drawn into a symbol. Generally, the underlying feeling is “this is important” or “what’s going on” with an accompanying shift in focus toward the object or symbol (kind of like a tugging sensation). Admittedly it’s a strange way of looking at these aberrant moments, almost OCD; however, it’s all in the nature of the universe we live in. Wide open and full of mysterious wonders yet to be explored.

Conclusion

1. When the universe speaks to us it’s usually structured in a profoundly personal and symbolic manner; otherwise known as a synchronistic awareness. Understanding the language of the universe is then a matter of being aware of when and where the communication is taking place, what relationship the symbolism has with you, and finally by simply getting the right answers to the right questions.
2. There are generally four great resources in getting the answers to a synchronistic event, they are:
   1. Yourself
   2. Using reference material related to the subject matter, i.e. numerology, symbolism, the internet, etc.
   3. Asking a knowledgeable psychic who can offer some clear advice.
   4. Or, by simply asking the universe for a simpler explanation you can relate to.
3. 3. When you’re being pulled into a conversation with the universe, expect the unusual and be open to it. Allowing the universe to speak to us in its most subtle manner is an extremely valuable tool in our arsenal of spiritual growth.