Over the past several years I have come to believe that things happen for a reason.  I also believe there are messages all around us if we will open our eyes to them. 

In ancient times, people believed messages were to be found in their encounters with the natural world. Shamans and intuitives from cultures the world over still believe that there are messages to be found in the animals which cross our path, in the formation of clouds above, and in our dreams.

This concept is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary culture as well.

A few years ago, I was blessed to have had a couple classes with Jeremy Taylor, a renowned dream teacher and author.  He is one of many who teach a methodology for exploring the deeper meaning of our dreams.  (Robert Moss is another.) They also speak about the concept of a waking dream, an occurrence in our waking life which can be explored in the same manner as a dream which comes during our sleep.

This morning was the first time in quite a while during which I had some extended personal time in which to reflect on the events of the past few weeks.  I suddenly realized there were a number of waking dream-type incidents awaiting my attention.  Here are just a few of them:

1. I got stopped by a policeman when, after a three-hour drive during which I meticulously maintained the speed limit, I got distracted and was found going ten miles over the speed limit through a small desert town.  He gave me a warning.
2. I am not normally accident-prone, but I stumbled in the kitchen a few weeks ago, was unable to catch my balance, and fell directly on my left knee, injuring it.
3. The “check engine” light lit up in my car.
4. While I was away and my roommate was borrowing my car, she reported the “check oil” light had come on as well.  She stopped driving the car and a friend checked the oil for us. Even though I had checked it shortly before I left and added a quart, he reported it was bone dry.
5. While relaxing on my back patio enjoying my dinner the other evening, an ant crawled between my toes and bit me.  (Possibly a red ant, about which I’d had a big dream a couple years ago.)

I now realize that ALL of these incidents are messages, kindly delivered to me by the Universe so that I can wake up and take notice! 

Let’s take a look at the first one:

Speeding.  Not so hard.  I’ve been going too fast.  I need to slow down.  I have been warned.  (Then, of course, it is my responsibility to look at my life and notice how and when I’ve been going too fast.  Then I need to find a way to slow down before the messages get stronger!)

This second one is much more involved.  The fall.  One message is I haven’t been able to keep my balance.  I was doing too much at once.  Also, I was going too fast.  I was in too much of a hurry.  I hadn’t been allowing myself to slow down and I hadn’t been taking enough time to be by myself.  Therefore I was forced to get off my feet a bit and chill out while I iced my knee and rested it.  (Notice that when I didn’t learn the lesson of slowing down from the warning about speeding, a more pronounced message occurred – a fall.)

Another part of the message is related to the part of the body which was affected – in this case, the knee. At first it was hard for me to walk, however after the first day I was able to walk fine but I then had a great deal of trouble kneeling or getting up from a crouched position.  I researched what the meaning of the knee could mean and the left knee in particular. 

Louise Hay says that the knee is about being able to bend or kneel – ie, to be humble.  Ouch.  Am I in my ego too much?  Am I not humble enough?  She spoke about how we get on our knees in order to honor someone or to pray.  Aha!  The prayer part resonated.  When I allowed myself to get too busy, I had gotten lax with my prayer practice.  (Silly me.  The time we most need to pray is when we are very busy!)  Interestingly, this insight also resonated with a sacred dream I once had in which I watched a medicine man placing candles in the earth and I suddenly remembered it was time to pray.  As soon as I began to pray, I felt incredibly strong vibrations rocking through my body – clear confirmation that I got the right message.

I researched further and found an article in which a woman spoke of her pain and the response she got from a healer called Frederic.  He said, regarding the left knee, the message is rooted in:  “Being pulled by the past, yet everything about you wants to embrace the present and a new vision for yourself. The pain reflects the struggle to get away, change directions. Something, someone is holding you back and it takes a lot of emotional energy to get away.”  (http://www.wellsphere.com/patient-empowerment-article/how-not-embracing-the-truth-causes-knee-pains/520796)

This very strongly resonates.  At the time of my fall, I was visiting with and caring for my elderly parents.  I had moved to a different state four months prior and my mother especially was having trouble accepting this.  Everything about my move felt right to me, but my worry about my parents’ health and care continued to create feelings of conflict in me.  In addition, I have been reaching toward a new life that embraces all that I love to do but does not necessarily involve a traditional job working for someone else, and there are very few in this culture who support this notion.  It takes a lot of courage for me to hold true to my dream for myself – especially in the face of financial challenges.

So it seems I have a lot of messages to work with as I reflect on the message of my fall and my injured knee.

Check Engine.  Well, an engine is something that helps us get around.  It helps our vehicle function.  Without an engine, we’re stuck, we’re stranded.  I was definitely getting around, but my get up and go was sometimes gone.  Perhaps this was another message to slow down?  Perhaps I needed a spiritual or physical tune-up. 

Running out of Oil.   Clearly this message is related to the Check-Engine message.   If motor oil is needed to keep an engine running, then that which keeps me (my body/my vehicle) going was running out.  And since I had just checked the oil, clearly I had a bad leak.  Perhaps I was leaking energy and didn’t realize it.  Where might I be spinning my wheels, expending my energy on something that wasn’t important, unintentionally using up my reserves so that I didn’t have enough energy left to do what was on my plate?  If I am “bone dry,” it sounds like my reserves are used up.  I need to “fill up” again.

Ant Bite.  Here I need to look at the message of Ant.  And I need to discern what it means to be bitten. However, this blog post is long enough, so perhaps I will save that for another day.

You get the message now, right?  LOOK FOR MESSAGES IN EVERYTHING!!!!  The Universe/God/the Angels/the Spirit World – whatever feels right for you – is ALWAYS sending us messages.  Let’s not discount them. Dreams, synchronicities, and unusual incidents can all be a means for getting us to Pay Attention!  (By the way, Robert Moss wrote a book about this very thing:  The Three “Only” Things: Tapping the Power of Dreams, Coincidence and Imagination.)

I like the idea that we aren’t in this alone.  I love knowing that I am being sent messages, I am being given guidance, and I am being seen and supported.

I am grateful for all of this!