How To Seek Guidance From The Universe

universe

Lissa Rankin, MD – We get all kinds of signs from the universe daily, yet decoding them and applying them to our everyday lives is a bit more of a challenge.

The tricky thing is, you may not recognize the guidance at first. It may be totally unnoticeable, or even if you do notice it, it’s easy to discredit it as only a coincidence. The Universe doesn’t leave you and your stubbornness out to dry, though. Ignore the first signs, and the universe will persist and get more obvious. It might come in the form of physical symptoms, or occurrences that shove you out of your comfort zone.

Pay attention when you notice any of the following: Continue reading

Are We Really Listening?

Are We Really Listening?Joe Martino – According to a survey, 96 percent of people think they are good listeners.

Yet research suggests people only retain about half of what others are saying. This means there is a disconnect between how good we think we are at listening and how good we actually are.

In order to explore this in ourselves, it might be useful to reflect and bring some conscious awareness to the picture.

I want to tell a quick story. Continue reading

Listen to Sounds Within!

listen insideJill Mattson – People are often uncomfortable with silence. We live our lives surrounded by lawnmowers, traffic, TV’s, sirens, mp3 players and horns. We are not accustomed to hearing silence and subtleties in ourselves. How could we be?

Many find comfort with constant noise and keep the TV on for long hours. Do we like distractions to avoid the experience of silence? Do we try to escape silence to avoid vulnerability?

Our feelings more readily surface in quiet moments. What do we hear in the silence? Do we hear our consciousness? Experience innermost thoughts? Feel our emotions? Continue reading

Directly Experiencing Life

maryMary O’Malley – I live in a magical garden which includes a 158-year-old maple tree, multiple bonsai, numerous birds, a rainbow of flowers and a lovely koi pond. The pond has a magical waterfall, bog gardens, which contain a variety of delightful water plants and a school of goldfish, which are continuing to thrive over the years. They are so happy in this pond that every year they have a baby or two, which speaks to the deep peace of this place.

Most every evening I go out to the pond to sit quietly and drink in its presence. If my mind is busy from the day, I oftentimes close my eyes and focus my attention on listening to the constant and ever-changing communications of nature – the music of the waterfall, the chatter of the birds, the buzz of a dragonfly, the sound of the wind in the trees.

As I place all my focus on listening, my mind quiets down and past and future fade away along with any stories about life. With no filters between myself and the moment, what reveals itself is a brand new moment of life. Continue reading

Tips for Effective Listening

ListeningFiona Reilly – The gift of being heard is something really precious. Having someone listen attentively to our expression or story is very healing and can enable us find our own understanding, acceptance, balance and joy again. Listening sounds like a very simple thing and indeed it is, yet many of us struggle to listen effectively. Being a good listener requires being present and fully attentive to the other. It is not about offering advice or fixing anything or making the other feel better, it’s simply being there and paying attention.

Whatever life we have experienced, if we can tell our story to someone who listens, we find it easier to deal with our circumstances.” Margaret J. Wheatley

Four Tips for Effective Listening

So how might we listen more effectively… there are many things that can help! Below I outline four suggestions that I have found to be fundamental to good listening. Continue reading