Intuition, Oracle Cards & The Easy Route
/I feel like in the last 2 weeks I’ve been on a journey in tandem with the Universe.
As I wrapped up a contract in my primary job, I started to job hunt for an additional source of income at the beginning of May. I have a handful of coaching clients, and I’m launching an online course that meets weekly for kids ages 5 to 8 to talk about difficult emotions and how to live with them. I also run a book club, although that’s mainly for fun!
So I started putting applications out, and talking to some of my contacts about my next steps. Over the last couple of years the Universe and I have developed a relationship and I find that the more I lean on something bigger than myself, the more that something guides me in the right direction.
That’s why I love learning about energy, spirituality, the intentions that we put out in the world and how to manifest our core desires.
One of the principles of manifestation is that when you’re working towards something, at a crossroads or trying to make a decision, you can ask the Universe for a sign that you’re going the right way.
When I talk to people about manifestation and asking for signs, I usually get a lot of pushback.
One of my friends asked me, “Isn’t it selfish to ask the Universe to give me a specific sign when there are so many bigger things in the world for the Universe/God to be focusing on?”
NO!!!
Think of it this way — the Universe is infinite and loving and you, as much as anyone else in the world, deserves to be guided, loved, and held in a safe and protective energy. You have just as much right as anyone else to ask for a sign, no matter what kind of clarity you’re looking for — big or small.
Plus, asking for a specific sign is telling the Universe what you need to see in order to move forward!
I often tell my friends to think of the Universe like a restaurant. I learned about this first in The Secret, and from one of my coaches, Lisa Nichols.
If you were to go into a restaurant, even for the most adventurous eater (and unless that restaurant was set up to pick meals for people like a chef’s choice), you wouldn't just tell the waiter to bring you whatever they want, right? And if you did, you wouldn't necessarily like it, right?
That's why you have to be specific when it comes to manifesting. The Universe can't deliver what you haven't ordered.
If you tell the Universe that you want to be “happy" or “healthy" or in a "good relationship," but you never define what it means to be happy, healthy or in a good relationship — how will you know when it shows up?
You can’t get what you don’t ask for. And the Universe, or God, or however you call the energy that is bigger than us, delivers what WE ask for.
So if you’re trying to manifest something nonspecific, you’re going to receive something nonspecific!
I was talking to a friend about this last week and she said, “Well, how long do I wait? What if the Universe doesn’t give me the sign I ask for?”
Here’s where it gets a little dicey – you wait as long as you want to.
Maybe you need to make a decision in a matter of days, so you wait for a sign for that long.
Or maybe this is something you've been mulling over for years so seeing a sign now feels like the culmination of the journey you’ve been on.
And this is the part that a lot of people don’t like to hear – sometimes the Universe not sending you a sign, IS the sign.
I wrote a blog post last week called “This or Something Better," where I talked about this incredible journey I’ve been on in working for Marie Forleo and how this new opportunity came my way that I was really really excited about.
I use the mantra this or something better whenever I’m working towards something that lights up my soul to let the Universe know that this, specifically, is what I want. And that I would of course be open to a better opportunity too.
Then I did what you’re supposed to do when it comes to manifestation – I took action, did my absolute best, and gave it up to the Universe.
I made a contract with God that if this was the direction I was supposed to go in, I needed a sign.
I asked if this was the right next step for me -- moving 500 miles away, starting over in a new community, and taking on an incredible job with bigger responsibilities and impact.
I asked the Universe to send me a red cardinal.
And then I let it go.
All week, I sat on my back porch, and kept an eye out as I scrolled online and read my books, knowing and trusting that if this was the right direction forward, my cardinal would be sent to me.
Just a quick note on asking the Universe for signs — your sign doesn’t have to be a red cardinal. It can be anything!
When you’re trying to figure out what your sign should be — consider this:
When you’re trying to make a decision, what comes up in your mind that would be a good sign for you? Maybe it’s a certain song, or a set of numbers, or a different animal? Don’t judge yourself for whatever comes up as you ask yourself this question, the first thing that pops into your mind is the best sign for you in this situation.
So anyway, I waited all week and trusted that if this was the right path forward, God would show me the way.
And then on Thursday I blew my own mind. I mean I did tell the Universe “This or a something better,” so I guess it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that it delivered something better!
I got a job offer for a company that, for the last 4 years I have been over-the-moon in LOVE with.
Working for someone that I deeply admire and talk about all the time, and hadn’t even considered as an option in comparison to this other opportunity that I was excited about. Landing a full-time job with this company wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities as I job hunted, so the Universe gave me a lovely surprise.
Here’s the thing... That job I applied to last week? It’s still a dream job, and on Friday I got invited to take the next steps in moving forward in the application process.
I told my friends and family about my job offer and how I’d been invited to take the next step in this opportunity and now I had a really difficult decision to make.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love the people in my life, but I learned a long time ago that at the end of the day I could get every opinion in the world and the only one that is truly important is my own. My own intuition, and my own sense of knowing.
So when I brought these opportunities to my friends and family, a lot of them said I should keep moving forward with the new opportunity.
Most of them told me to look at the nuts and bolts of the jobs – especially my income. Because the job offer is $10,000-20,000 less per year, and for most of the people I know, cash is king. It drives so many of our decisions, and while on one hand it would definitely be nice to have more money in my pocket, I fully believe in my own ability to provide and the Universe's ability to deliver.
Suddenly, with this new job opportunity on the horizon, the idea of going through the second stage of the application process wasn’t so appealing. In fact, when I opened it up on Friday night my stomach turned! I felt nauseous at the idea, and that’s a big red flag in my book, and in my body.
I told myself, and my loved ones, that I would give it the weekend. I would meditate on it, and sleep on it, and by Monday I was sure I would have a clear path forward.
When I woke up on Saturday morning the decision was really weighing heavily on me. I felt so good about this job offer, but I was also worried that by taking it I would be “playing small” or letting my fear of starting something brand new (and scary) influence my decision.
So I did what I always tell my friends to do, and what Marie Forleo teaches in her book Everything is Figureoutable (which my book club is reading right now!), and I looked at each opportunity through this lens:
If I don’t move forward with the application process, well I regret it in 10 years?
Instinctively, I knew that I might regret it, depending on how far I was in my career with this job offer.
Then I ask myself, if I don’t move forward with this job offer, will I regret it in 10 years?
And the answer, without a moment's hesitation, was a resounding HELL YES!!
It was pretty clear what I wanted to do. Marie also talks about how if something is not a Hell Yes, it’s a no. A lot of times when we're getting caught up in decision-making it’s not because we don’t know what we want, it’s because we’re afraid to go after it.
I called my grandma to talk about the two opportunities, and as the phone was ringing I realized that what I really wanted her to say was that it was okay to follow my gut, and okay to go with the job that paid less but that I was deeply deeply excited to do.
It doesn’t mean that the other opportunity wouldn’t have been amazing, and even potentially better, it just means that right now, this job is what I truly want.
So I did the same thing that I did during the job application process, I decided to take the job in my head. I effectively “took action” by making a decision, even if I hadn't made it official by letting the company know I was going to take the job. I basically let the Universe know that this was how I wanted to move forward, and I told the Universe to give me a sign.
As soon as I made my decision, I started seeing angel numbers everywhere.
111, 222, 333 and 444.
It was crazy! It was like I had made a decision that was so in alignment with the right path forward that my spirit guides were celebrating and throwing a party.
In a matter of hours, I saw angel numbers everywhere as I was working on Saturday afternoon. Every time I looked at the clock I would catch angel numbers, in interactions online via email people would use angel numbers, as I was scrolling on social media on my lunch break, angel numbers. They were everywhere!
So I got specific. I asked for a sign. I said to the Universe: “If this job is the right path forward, show me the number 555."
Well, 555 didn’t show up on Saturday. And all day Sunday, I didn’t see it. But I had already made my decision, and let the Universe know that I wanted its support. So I let it go, clocked out of work at 4pm, wrote my blog for the day, and by the time I was shutting down my computer last night, the last time I looked at the clock was, you guessed it —
5:55pm.
I went to bed early, and when I woke up today without my alarm clock? Guess what time it was?
5:55am — spooky!
Then I pulled out my spiritual box and smudged my room, smiling at the divine guidance I’d been given. As I pulled my first Oracle card for the day, this is what came up:
Subtle, right?
The greatest thing that I’ve learned in reconnecting to my spirituality, God, and the Universe over the last few years has been that the more I lean in and trust myself to be guided, the easier it is for the Universe to deliver its messages.
The Universe isn’t subtle. Or at least, it’s not all the time. Sometimes the signs are small, and we have to learn how to look for them and be open to receiving them.
I learned a valuable lesson this week, which is that when it comes to the right path forward, just because one path is easier than another, it doesn’t make it the wrong path.
I’m all for creating new pathways, and taking the less-traveled route, and choosing the hard option when it’s the right one. But I never want to take the difficult route just because it’s the difficult route. Whoever taught me, and I suspect many of us high achievers, that taking the easy route is copping out, or not something to be proud of, well they’re dead wrong.
That’s not to say that nothing will ever be hard, but more often than not I’ve begun to find that the right path forward is in alignment with what feels good. With what feels easy. And when I don’t know which way to go, I ask something bigger than me to help me step back and see the forest for the trees.