Category Archives: symbols

My soul’s lesson for today: what you do, you get more of (whether you want it or not)

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On the train to work this morning, I wondered why the person who sat down opposite me needed to finish off eating his tube of mango ice cream (yes, at 8.30 in the morning!) with his fingers (yes, on a crowded train!) The sucking and slurping turned my stomach, and distracted me from a paper I was reading for my project.

Fast forward a couple of hours and I am sitting in a fairly quiet sandwich shop with my laptop, trying to work on said project, and a big bloke sits down beside me, chomps his tuna and cucumber wrap loudly, and licks his fingers with aplomb every time he takes a bite. I only wanted a quiet corner to work on some writing, not to be interrupted by other people’s noisy eating habits!

It’s so annoying to keep magnetising experiences in my life I’d rather do without. (pic: istockphoto.com/michelangelus)

Why have I attracted two annoying people with questionable manners to sit down near me and interrupt me? I can’t think of any reason why I magnetised the noisy eaters into my energy field, other than the fact that I have been delaying putting the finishing touches to my project. And these aural and visual assaults are a consequence of not having committed to my day. Distraction breeds more distraction.

I pressed the snooze button on my alarm one too many times this morning, and so I was late getting the train. I needed to read and take notes but couldn’t do that easily because I had to stand up all the way. Lateness breeds more lateness.

I had my mid-morning snack later than usual today, so I wasn’t hungry when I ordered my lunch. Today they gave me a huge portion that I couldn’t finish because I was still full from earlier. Fullness breeds more fullness.

I think the lesson my soul wants me to remember today is Continue reading →

When you’re ready to follow your Soul, synchronicities will show you the way

Posted on by inktuition
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As a journalist, I know when I’m onto a good story when I hear it from three different sources. That’s why I know my Soul’s telling me something when the synchronicities line up in threes (often in one day!)

My Soul talks to me in ‘meaningful coincidences’ that often come in threes. (pic: istockphoto.com/kellyreekolibry)

Synchronicity, in the words of the wonderful Carl Gustav Jung, are “meaningful coincidences”. They’re stuff that happen to you that can’t possibly be a coincidence, but they have a pattern and some meaning to you personally. They’re external happenings that have symbolic significance for what’s going on internally for you.

I take synchronicity as a sign that my Soul is talking to me. It wants to tell me that I’m on the right road, that all doors I push against will open without force, and that I’m evolving beyond just the skin I’m in.

Anyone on a spiritual path will know that at some point the Ego will surrender to the Soul. That surrender can take a while, and it can involve months and years of battle. One’s defences can take some dismantling. They cling on with their fingernails, refusing to give up. But when it’s time for the Ego to wave the white flag and admit time’s up, that’s when the Soul steps in. Ever graceful, ever elusive, the Soul has symbolic messages that the Ego has to be in a mood and state to receive and interpret.

I’m often in awe of how Soul can communicate. Here’s how it reached me three times in one hour:  Continue reading →

soul symbolism: my ‘being late for a flight’ dream

Posted on by inktuition
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I hate this dream. It encapsulates everything that’s wrong with my life. I’m obsessive about time, fearful of being late, and I have to arrive an an airport well before check-in opens or I literally shake with anxiety.

So having this dream about having to pack my case quickly and run to the airport because the flight is going to leave truly feels like a punishing way to spend my sleep time.

My recurring dream about being late for a flight indicates there’s something pressing I’m not dealing with. (pic: istockphoto.com/ViktorCap)

The big issue is that I keep having this dream. And that means it’s trying to tell me something. I think this goes beyond being obsessed with time, which is something I’m conscious of. I know that time obsession is a thinly veiled death anxiety, as any existentialist will tell you.

No, I’m wondering what this stress dream is really trying to tell me. Carl Jung said: “The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul.” My job is to interpret what that dream means by trying to find the key to unlock the door to whatever secret my soul is trying to communicate with me.

In the one last night, Continue reading →

writing lessons from my autumn garden

Posted on by inktuition
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Let your writing bear fruit.

I was struck today by two great sayings that I always use to remind myself that I need to stay focused on my goal: namely, to finish writing my novel and get it published.

The first saying is: “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment”; the second: “nature abhors a vacuum”.

The two came together today when my husband and I started tackling our back garden, which had taken on a jungly life of its own after the rain and sunshine of the last couple of months. Continue reading →

soul symbolism: horses in dreams

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I’m in the relaxed, peaceful surroundings of the Norfolk Broads, on a comfortable enough boat, enjoying calming scenery and invigorating fresh air, and taking advantage of precious early nights.

Except something happens to my inner world when all is calm outside: my creative imagination takes over in my dreams – and not just its benign aspects, either. In fact, I’ve noticed that when all my physical, mental and emotional needs are taken care of during the day, and I’ve got nothing to worry about at all, then all my fears creep out while I’m asleep.

The dream I had last night let all my anxieties out of their trap, and Continue reading →

a tulip’s shadow on a sunny day

Posted on by inktuition
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Even perfectly open tulips have their shadow.

The sun was out in south London today. So were the tulip petals in my front garden. But such a thing of beauty has such a pronounced shadow, which is perhaps more bewitching than the flower itself.

I guess every person who looks at this photo will make his or her own interpretation of it. What perturbs me is that the raised arm on the right of the shadow could be cheering on the tulip for showing off her beauty. However, it could also be a persecutory gesture, an angry hand about to rain down blows to fracture the fragility of the tulip’s petals; to let rip because the tulip was audacious enough to turn its face to the sun and show its true, radiant beauty.

I wonder which one it is?

Happy Festa della Donna

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My memories of International Women’s Day – in Italy 20 years ago – were of a huge party for every woman in the country, from the youngest to the oldest. Restaurants were packed with generations of women, and nightclubs had ladies-only nights (though the romeos, typically, managed to sneak in, as it was too good an opportunity to miss).

Mimosa symbolises strength and femininity.

Everyone gave each other Mimosa – which, for me, symbolises freshness, Spring, hope and vibrancy – and celebrated female company. While I appreciate that International Women’s Day is a reminder of how far we’ve come – and how far women have to go, in terms of beating sexism in the workplace and in their personal lives, and in closing the gender pay gap – for today, here’s to a happy Festa della Donna.

soul symbolism | the wings of meaning

Posted on by inktuition
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I’m fascinated by the symbols that appear in my life – when I eventually spot them, and try to figure out what they might mean. A symbol may need to make several appearances before I get the message, however. In journalism, they say that if you hear the same rumour three times then you’re on to something. And so it is with symbols: I believe they bring me a message that my unconscious is ready to hear – and will keep repeating it until I tune in. That may take some time, though.

wings

soul ready to fly? (istockphoto)

I find that I’m especially drawn to the symbolism of birds, perhaps because they have a freedom to fly away that I envy – or, if I interpret that positively, perhaps they represent my desire to spread my wings. They’re also understood to represent the soul (which I’m journeying to embrace).

Here are three examples of birds appearing at significant moments in my life (as three is a significant number): Continue reading →