Does the Universe Send Signs?
What are manifesting signs?
“Signs” in the manifesting community are typically described as an unexplained appearance or occurrence of something uncommon (an object, an interaction, etc.), sent as a signal from the universe that something is going to happen.
Within the law of attraction community, this is usually in relation to a manifestation that the person is working on. People usually ask for or look for signs when the manifestation feels “big,” to decide whether or not their manifestation is working.
Others, as well, ask for signs about what they should do, or what course of action suits them best; they put their fate in the hands of the universe. Sometimes asking for signs looks like asking for guidance from an external source.
Signs are usually inconsequential on their own. They might be a feather of a specific color, a type of animal, or an odd interaction with a stranger.
Sometimes, when asking for a sign specifically, the manifestor will specify what they are going to be looking for, and put it out for the universe to either ignore or provide.
Other times, the person might just be hyper-vigilantly scanning their physical experience for anything that might show that they should go one way or another.
Really, there is a lot of talk about signs amongst new manifestors, and there are a lot of reasons that a person might find themselves looking for signs when learning the law of attraction. Being that there are so many reasons and ways for a manifestor to want signs or to look for them, it’s become something of a frequent topic in online spaces, especially for people new to the law of attraction and manifesting their reality.
But the truth of the matter is, looking for signs is, more than anything, a sign that the faith in your manifestation is not yet there.
Does the universe send signs?
The maybe-harsh reality of the law of attraction is that manifesting signs are not the all-powerful voice of the universe, as a lot of new manifestors make them out to be. After all, we are the observers, experiencers, and creators of our own reality. And we select our experience from and endless bounty of realities (I talk about this more in my post, How to Understand the Multiverse of Manifestation).
The universe can not step in and tell us our manifestations and desires are wrong, and it can not tell us anything we do not already know within ourselves.
Signs are, in fact, manifestations entirely on their own.
When you say to the universe (yourself), “I will see a yellow flower if I’m going to win the lottery. But I’ll see a blue rock if I won’t!” You are setting the intention to see the yellow flower and the blue rock. You are expecting to see one or the other, and because of that you are expecting to see both.
And how do we manifest things? By setting intentions, living faithfully, and dropping the attachment.
So, when you see the blue rock, it doesn’t mean that you won’t win the lottery! It just means you focused on the idea of a blue rock, let it go, and received it! You manifested the rock, so what a shame it would be to use that manifestation as an excuse to give up on your next “big” manifestation.
But, frankly, these manifestations should continue to be celebrated, even if they are not signs relating to other manifestations. I talk about this in my post, Practicing the Law of Assumption by Manifesting Small Things. Acknowledging and celebrating these little manifestations is a great way to deepen your faith in the law and in yourself, and to get a sense of what the manifesting process feels like to you.
How do you know when something is about to manifest?
Another inconvenient aspect of the law of attraction is this: more often than not, you just won’t know when something is going to manifest. It’s our job to walk by faith that what we want is ours. It’s not our job to worry about the “how” or the “when” of our manifestation.
There are no specific external things to look for before you decide that your manifestation is yours. Many of us have fallen into this trap of looking to the outside world for validation of our desires, myself included. Nothing in your outside world, no “signs from the universe” can reassure you that your manifestation is near. You just have to know.
However, there are things going on within, on an emotional level, that can help you feel out if you’re in the right place mentally for your manifestation to come to fruition. A sense of calm, or a sense of knowing despite the circumstances, is a good indicator that your manifestation is yours.
You can read lots more about this sensation in my blog post, The Sabbath, and How to Identify It, which discusses what Neville Goddard called “the sabbath.”
At the end of the day, we know our manifestations are coming when we no longer worry about them coming or not.
What does Neville Goddard say about signs?
Neville Goddard taught that all that we see and know is our awareness, our divine imagination. Giving away our power to external signs and circumstance goes fully against the law of assumption that he taught.
Neville also said, “signs follow, they do not preceed.” This means that when we know what we want, consciously or not, we will notice the “signs” that align with our desire.
A personal example is that while manifesting a SP, I started seeing the make of his car far more often, moved to a place where the main road was his surname, his favorite band started playing on the local radio, and I got early access to buy tickets to their show even though I wasn’t a long-time fan by any means. Those things are certainly indicators that my mind was focused on him. But they did not make him manifest any faster; that is its own journey, separate of the “signs.”
This also means that, in the example of the yellow flower and the blue rock, the manifestor has assigned meaning to their manifestation, and allowed it to shake their faith in a separate manifestation, winning the lottery. When really, they were simply seeing signs follow their assumption.
Signs have the power you give them in relationship to your faith.
