First, what is a coincidence? From Wikipedia, “Any given set of coincidences may be just a form of synchronicity, that being the experience of events which are causally unrelated, and yet their occurring together carries meaning to the person observing the events. (In order to count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance.)”

I’ll bet you’ve been on the receiving end of lots of coincidences in your life. I know I have. But how do you know how seriously to take the coincidence? Are you supposed to act on it like it’s a sign? What is a sign?

A sign is an event or information sent to you by the universe to get you to understand something, take action on something, or become aware of something that could help or hurt you. It is designed for you to perceive and take action upon. I get signs from my spirit guides all the time, but even I sometimes am not sure if something is just a coincidence or a real sign from my guides. So I came up with an arrangement that has been serving me very well.

I told my guides that if they want to send me a sign they have to send it 3 times. Then I’ll know it’s really from them and not just a coincidence or random happening. If I get the sign once, I take note of it but rarely act on it. If I get it twice, I start thinking it’s a sign and not a coincidence. If I get it a third time, I know it’s a sign and take appropriate action or pay more attention to what it’s trying to tell me. If I get all 3 signs in a 24 hour period, then I pay particular attention. Sometimes I get all 3 signs within minutes of each other. Let me give you a recent example from my own life.

My guides like to communicate with me via license plates. So the other day I was driving to lunch and took note of the car in front me whose license plate read “mode.” I immediately thought of Depeche Mode but wasn’t sure if it was important. A few seconds later, a car came up my right side and passed me. It’s license plate was “d mode.” Hmm. That’s really suspicious. I really took note. I arrived at my lunch appointment inside our local mall. The song playing on the radio when I walked in was Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” The line playing when I took note of the song was “Reach out and touch faith.” Now I knew it was a sign and I needed to pay attention.

So I started wondering what it could mean. A trick to determining the meaning of a sign is to think about what you’re feeling most anxious about or what is most on your mind because guides will usually send you signs to help you figure out answers. On my mind that day was working out a proper and fair settlement with my soon to be ex-husband, whose favorite band happens to be Depeche Mode. I knew it had something to do with him and our divorce. So the line, “reach out and touch faith” I took to be a sign that I needed to have faith that everything was going to work out for the best.

If I don’t get an interpretation correct, my guides will send it to me another way. They will keep sending it until I get it.

You can make this same arrangement with your guides. It’s okay to tell them how you prefer to receive signs. I like license plates, but I’m also open to other formats. As long as it comes in 3′s, they will get my attention, and they know it.

Your guides are constantly answering your questions, but if you’re not in direct communication with them, then how are they supposed to answer you? They will use your environment as best they can to maneuver, manipulate and program signs into existence around you, so pay attention.

Ask your guides a question then watch for the signs. Not everything is a sign, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that everything that happens to you means something. Maybe something is a sign and maybe it isn’t. That’s why I like my rule of threes.

One of the best examples I’ve seen of this concept was in the movie, Bruce Almighty. Bruce is upset and driving down a dark street asking God to please give him a sign. He sees “Caution Ahead” flashing at him. He ignores it and continues to plead with God to give him a sign. Next a truck pulls in front of Bruce carrying dozens of street signs. “Dead End,” “Wrong Way,” “Stop” and “Do Not Enter.” He ignores these obvious signs and crashes his car. You can view the scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrdU1k5p2JY

Let me give you a non-license plate scenario. Let’s say you’re mulling over in your mind whether you should take a yoga class or not. You walk out to your mailbox and there’s a brochure for the local yoga studio in there. Hmm. Interesting. Then you go to your email and see a Groupon for half off Bikram Yoga in your area. Wow, that’s cool. Next your friend calls you and says, “I’ve been thinking about trying yoga. Do you know anything about it?” Done. That’s a sign.

Let’s say you’re trying to decide whether you should become a paramedic or a computer programmer. So you’re mulling this over and driving along and you see an accident happen right in front of you. You are first on the scene to help the victims. Could be a coincidence, could be a sign. Later you stop at Starbucks and find yourself in line right behind a paramedic in uniform. You strike up a conversation and get excited about being a paramedic. Later you’re perusing Facebook and someone posts a link to a video about emergency medical services. You’re done. Signs.

See how that works? Pay attention to your coincidences. Maybe they’re signs. If they are, those signs can help you with a problem or situation in your life. Be on the lookout! Signs can save you a lot of time.

Here you are in the middle of a crisis, another disaster, one failure on top of another, universe smooshing you to the ground, stepped on like a bug on the bottom of the shoe of life. Where is your guidance now? Where is the Divine Source when you need it? Why aren’t the guides helping you!?

Hear this now. Your guides will always come for you. But how can I be sure? Because this is true love. You think this happens every day?

The truth is, your guides do not abandon you. They signed up for this gig knowing there would be challenges and heartache. More likely you’ve either abandoned them, you stopped listening to their advice, or you can’t hear them even though you want to. It is especially during times of crisis or emotional hardship that your guides try their hardest to send you help. But you’ve got to know what it looks like, sounds like, or feels like or you might miss it.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just get a letter in the mail from your spirit guides telling you exactly what you need to do to make your life better? We all wish it was that straightforward. Unfortunately, guides can never find a pen, and a stamp costs a bazillion dollars per ounce to mail from the ether. So we’re left with signs, signals, synchronicities, or a really good intuitive who can tell you what your guides want you to know.

Your best bet is to learn how to hear, see, feel or know your guides. To do this, you need to know what your intuitive modalities are. I’ve written a nifty article on this topic, so please read it when you’re done with this one: How To Recognize Your Intuitive Modality. After you have determined the ways in which you receive intuition, you should use that modality to connect with your guides. I wrote another nifty article to help you with that called Spirit Guides: Who are they and how do you connect with them?

The best and most common way people connect with their guides is through meditation, but there are certainly other ways as outlined in the above article. But if you don’t have the time or inclination to learn how to speak to your guides directly, rest assured they will come to you. Usually they send signs, signals and synchronicities to help guide you to the person, place or plan that will help you the most. Do you know when you’re getting a sign or some guidance? Here are some articles that outline how you can tell:

Spirit Guides at Starbucks
Like Rats in a Maze
Interpreting Synchronicities From Spirit
How Should You Communicate with Your Spirit Guides?

Life is not trying to punish you. Sometimes you make decisions that lead to physical hardship or emotional pain and suffering. That’s when learning and growth happens.

If you aren’t sure what your guides are trying to tell you, you can book an intuitive session with me and I will tell you. But honestly, it’s best to learn how to do this on your own because you can’t keep going to an intuitive for advice when you have a problem. One time, when you’re really stuck, yes that’s appropriate. I can also help you understand your intuitive modalities and give you some advice on how to connect with your guides specifically. Let’s meet them together so you can form a relationship with them that will last a lifetime… because that’s how long they’ll be with you.