by Lisa Cybaniak
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Asking for a sign from the Universe is one of the ways I stay connected to my Higher Self and the Universe. It’s how I ensure I’m always following my correct path and listening to my gut.
That doesn’t mean that every thought I have is one that needs to be cultivated and acted upon. That’s where asking for a sign comes in. Because one thing I’ve learned over the years is how active my ego is!
It can’t seem to help itself by overthinking EVERYTHING. So, when I have multiple options, or when I simply am not sure that I should act upon a niggle, asking for a sign brings me clarity.
Past Episodes
In our last episode, I talked about how dismissing what you really want can cause the Universe to need to push back. I shared my story of the Universe pushing me over a metaphorical cliff by burning down the office I was too attached to. This eliminated the friendships that were my excuse for dismissing what I really wanted: a Wellness Centre.
If you missed that episode, or any of the others in this Spiritual Solo Series, head on over here to have a listen. I recommend starting from the beginning with That Time a Psychic Saved My Life, because it’s a super cool episode, and collectively they tell a bigger story.
Making Excuses
In the last episode, That Time the Universe Pushed Me Off a Cliff, I shared how I kept getting thoughts about expanding my then Massage Therapy Clinic into a Wellness Centre. However, I kept dismissing this thought because my set up was undeniably wonderful. I was paying low rent for my clinic space, shared with my best friend, a Chiropodist.
At the time, it seemed ridiculous to even consider risking this to expand my business into what I had been dreaming about for years.
I kept using this great situation as an excuse to not take the chance, until the Universe narrowed my options. A fire destroyed that office, including my friendships. It was now nearly impossible to keep making those excuses.
Within 6 months of making the decision to listen to those thoughts, everything came together with complete ease.
The Right Things at the Right Time
A client called to tell me about a beautiful large office, right on Lake Ontario in my town in Canada. It was way too much money, but when I contacted them, they reduced the rent. By the time I moved in, I had been joined by 9 other therapists.
There’s no doubt in my mind that moving to that space was the right decision. Even though 5 years later I opted to not renew the lease in favour of working out of my home.
This wasn’t a home that was built for separate working accommodation, but I knew in my gut that I had to do it. I just didn’t know why.
Lessons Learned
You see that fire had really made me change my attitude towards myself and life. When I got a niggle about something I wanted, I listened. When I caught myself making excuses disguised as reasons for not doing something, I listened.
Admittedly, it didn’t always mean that what I was thinking about was the right thing to do. But I wasn’t willing to ignore myself anymore so I could minimise my risks. If the fire taught me anything it was that there are signs and opportunities all around us. That doesn’t mean they’re always easy decisions to make.
And sometimes, that first thought, when you give it attention and allow yourself to really look at it, it develops into something else entirely.
A Dilemma Emerges
Let’s take this urge to close down my Wellness Centre to work out of my home as an example. When this desire first started to ruminate in my mind, it was because I felt like I was spending all my time managing the Wellness Centre, and all the other therapists in it.
There was so much that I personally needed to manage. And that left less time to do what I loved – help others. Yes, I was treating about 35-40 people a week, but when I was with them, often my mind was racing thinking about all the other stuff I needed to get done.
To me, that meant that I wasn’t focusing on each client like I should or wanted. So when this idea popped up to not renew my lease and instead just focus on my own clients, it felt like a weight had been lifted in one sense. But at the same time a new, massive weight had been added – guilt.
Second Guessing Myself
The original dream I had took a fire destroying everything just 3 weeks before my wedding so that I would take this plunge and turn it into reality. Did this mean I made the wrong decision back then? Was all that for nothing?
I still felt I was getting a sign that this was what I needed to do. I didn’t understand it. How could I go from working out of a beautiful building on the lake with a sense of wellness, to working out of my home that was not designed to be worked out of?
I mean, clients had to walk through my entire home to get to my treatment room, the spare bedroom. I had to take payments in my kitchen. And I had to work on less people so that there was time between appointments so that clients didn’t find themselves letting themselves into my home to sit in my lounge, waiting for me.
It was bonkers.
Self-Check-In
So, I decided to check in with myself about this. When I thought about not renewing my lease, although there was anxiety, I felt relief and a sense of expansion. When I thought of renewing my leasing for another 5 years, I felt more anxiety and a sense of restriction.
Now that I knew that not renewing the lease was the right thing to do, I wanted to be clear that moving my practice to my home was the right thing to do. I mean, maybe there are other options, like working at someone else’s Clinic or Wellness Centre.
Asking for a Sign
I decided to ask the Universe for a sign. Now, I had learned that asking for a sign can literally be that easy, however we’re less likely to recognise a random sign. For example, how do you know that bird flying onto your lap is the sign? And what is it a sign for, moving into someone else’s space or into my home?
When asking for a sign, it’s better to ask for something very specific and be clear in your asking what the presence of that sign means. Of course, not receiving the sign is also a sign!
In this case, I chose to ask for two different signs – one that meant I should move my practice into my home, and the other to move it into another Wellness Centre or Clinic. I knew I was risking the possibility of getting both signs and then having the dilemma of sorting that out. However, I didn’t want to risk asking for one sign, getting it, and then second guessing myself of what getting that sign meant.
How to Ask for a Sign
Asking for a sign meant sitting in quiet solitude for a few moments, connecting with my breath, just allowing myself to be present. When I was ready, I spoke out loud to my Angels and Guides of the highest truth and compassion to send me a sign.
My signs were a blue bird if I was meant to move my practice into my home, and a red bird if I was meant to move it elsewhere. I used the term “elsewhere” so that I didn’t get bogged down with saying “Wellness Centre” or “Clinic” because those mean different things to me.
If I saw a red bird, then I could begin to narrow it down to where simply by checking in with myself or again asking for a sign.
Recognising the Sign
That same day of asking for a sign, I saw a blue bird – several, actually! They were everywhere – on the television, and in a book that was on display in my Wellness Centre which a client left open a the page with the blue bird. And the ultimate, a blue jay bird perched on the window sill of my treatment room.
I got so excited, as you can imagine, but I still waited for another week before making my decision, just in case I saw any red birds. Nope! All week long I saw blue birds everywhere I went. They were on people’s clothing, handbags, shopping bags, flying around outside my window…. It was impossible to miss.
But I still didn’t know what this new chapter was going to look like, which was a little scary.
The “Reason” Will Reveal Itself
It turns out, 3 weeks after moving all my clients to my home office, my husband and I separated. We went through several gruelling months of an in-home separation while I worked from home on the main floor and he lived in the basement. Difficult doesn’t even begin to explain it.
I was left wondering if I had made the right decision. Surely I wasn’t meant to bring my clients into such a negative space?
But I stuck with my decision because it somehow still seemed like the right one to make. When we decided to call it quits a few months later, I was now in the position of needing to move my clients again! Not ideal.
Asking for Another Sign
Again I struggled with what to do – buy a house that was more conducive to working from home, or find another Wellness Centre I could work from and buy a smaller place just for me?
I went through the same process, asking for a sign for each option. Buying a house large enough and designed well enough to allow for separation between home and an office won!
It All Makes Sense
By the time I moved into this new home and office I realised that I would never have been able to afford a place on my own if I still had the Wellness Centre. Literally the only way it was possible to continue to live in that town, on my own, and have my practice was by working from home!
So I got some insight as to why I had that urge a year earlier to not renew that lease. All the mental and emotional struggle to understand why I would have such an urge back then, started to make sense. I didn’t know then that my marriage was in trouble.
If I had chosen to not listen to that urge and instead renewed the lease for another 5 years, I would have had to move into my Mother’s one bedroom apartment and sleep on the sofa for who knows how long!
Even though it wasn’t the most ideal to work out of my marital home for those first few months, it was what I needed in order to save money so I could afford a place on my own once we divorced.
Asking for a Sign is the Easy Part
The lesson I’ve learned here is that asking for a sign is simple. Acting upon it when you receive it is the hard part. It requires blind faith in yourself and in the Universe.
It’s so much easier to stick with what you know, not rocking the boat, taking as few risks as possible. But where’s the fun in any of that?
Press play on the episode above to get all the details!
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Resources
My book, Survivor to Warrior: You can change your life, covers all this and more! Access it by searching for the title in your country. Here are the links to purchase in Canada, USA, and UK.
Take me up on my offer for Reiki Distance Healing!
Voice over credit: Shari Vandermolen. Shari is offering a free download of one of her songs to the fans of the Life Like You Mean It podcast! Just visit www.GiftFromShari.com and tell her where to send it. Shari’s debut album is available for streaming on all the major platforms including Spotify and iTunes.
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