Learning to Read the Signs

"The quieter you become the more you can hear."-Ram Dass

In stories the animals represent various qualities of us humans. Each animal has something to teach us. If you have a favorite animal, it might be your medicine animal, a special teacher and friend.

But in fact the signs are everywhere. You can read cards, tea leaves, Iching, or any other devised method of divining. You can open a book randomly, turn on a radio, divine from a digital second counter on your clock, or make up games of words or numbers you see on license plates going by in town. You can read clouds, animal appearances, plants and rocks.

All of these methods work. But they are just assists and prompts for the intuition and you don't need them. You can shed the training wheels whenever you feel ready. The whole roiling universe peels open in fractal revelation if you peer in deeply at any moment with your sacred divine power of attention.

Consider the sky, the neglected half of the natural 'tell-a-vision' that the cosmos lavishes upon us constantly. It speaks not only of weather patterns, but the story of billions of light years and countless worlds and other times. Indeed, contemplate if you dare, the meaning and mystery of the clear blue sky....

In a world where stories are the main maps, learning to read the signs around us is an art. This means interpreting the meaning of the signs when and how you need them. On one side, there's the prompt. On the other end there's you, paying close attention, and that's the main part.

First, center and be at peace.

Second, listen...

Third, go deeper.

The truth is always available on every level. It is like your radio, you can choose to go up or down the dial, and you will find different messages on different frequencies. Fine tune by allowing the sediment in the pool of your attention to settle and clear. Or the sentiment of your heart, by calming down.

If there is anything useful to practice, perhaps it is getting to a calm and quiet enough space in yourself to discern what is there. From this quiet place, you can read the signs in all directions.

"You get your intuition back when you make space for it, when you stop the chattering of the rational mind."-Anne Lamott