How To Read The Signs For Life That Are All Around You (Map Reading For Life Journey Makers) Mirabeau was utterly and hopelessly lost in the depths of the forest.
The canopy was so dense that she couldn't see the sun, just gentle dapples of light scattered on the forest floor.
She had been wandering in circles for some time.
Slowly Mirabeau sank to her knees and felt a wave of despair rise high and wash over her.
She didn't know what to do or which direction to take and she knew that night was creeping ever closer.
As she kneeled on the forest floor drifting deeper into despair she raised her eyes to the heavens to beseech help.
As her gaze rose higher she noticed the oddest thing.
She could swear that the trees were all pointing their branches in the same direction as if guiding her.
As she held her breath in shock she also noticed the slight whisper of a breeze in the forest.
Mireabeau let the sound drift through her mind and heard the air whisper, "Follow the signs".
What signs? She was going crazy.
Who would believe that trees could be pointing a direction or that a breeze could whisper directions if you listened closely enough? Like Mirabeau, I have often wished that life came with a map or an instruction manual (particularly after I had children).
You know the one I mean.
The one that tells you on page 32 how to make children desire to get themselves dressed for school in the morning, that tells you on page 65 how to harmoniously split household chores between you and your partner, on page 94 which career to choose for your ultimate success and on page 113 how to describe the problem with your car to the mechanic without having to make embarrassing noises.
Then slowly it dawned on me that I was constantly getting messages and signs and I just hadn't noticed them.
I have found that the three major ways that messages and signs are left for you involve the 3 M's:

1. Meditation: Relaxing and allowing the answers to come to you.
   (I'm not always very good at this one).
   
2. Messages: Being open to seeing, hearing or feeling the messages that are delivered to you every day.
   
3. Metaphors: Learning to decipher the metaphors of life.
   (This one is fun).
   

Interpreting the messages and the signs you receive from the 3 M's requires you to have a healthy handful of humour, a cup of creativity and the ability to laugh at yourself and life (sometimes a lot).
1.
Meditation Meditating and relaxing not only helps you to hear and see messages it also aids inniverse, as well as maintain your physical, emotional and mental well being.
If you meditate and access a slower brain wave, you will not only give your brain a chance to replenish the depleted sodium and potassium levels that arise from mentally demanding days, you will also remove the chemicals affecting the neurotransmitters thus enhancing your problem solving and information recall abilities.
Slowing down your brain waves:

• Helps you to concentrate;
• Can reduce the effects of stress;
• Allows you to find solutions to problems and to view them from a different perspective;
• Enhances your creative/intuitive abilities; and
• Improves your ability to fall asleep.
  

The Process Of Meditation Meditation is simply the process of calming your body, emotions and thoughts.
I make it part of my daily routine and endeavour to find 15 minutes a day to meditate.
Sometimes these 15 minutes may be as I lay in bed at night and sometimes it is sitting in a lotus position surrounded by candles.
There is no right and wrong way to meditate.
Find what works for you and fits into your life.
When you meditate, you slow your brain and remove the thoughts and worries that your conscious brain has been bombarding you with all day.
Doing this allows your unconscious mind the space to be heard.
When you first start meditating you may find that no answers are coming to you or even that you fall asleep.
Be kind to yourself while you settle into the meditation rhythm.
The process of meditation usually involves you focusing upon your breathing and then using a visualization technique to reach a state of relaxation.
Everyone visualizes or 'sees' things differently.
You may never 'see' anything while meditating.
Some people don't.
If you are one of them, just imagine that you can.
Where you intend to use meditation to find the solution to a particular problem, state your intention for the meditation before you start.
For example, say to yourself, "During this meditation I will find the solution to the problem I am facing with my best friend.
" The answer will come to you as sounds in your head, as a message you see in your head, as a thought you have (usually an 'aha') or as a feeling about what is the best thing to do.
When the message comes, you can either remember it for later or open your eyes write it down and then continue meditating.
2.
Messages Every day messages are left for you in bizarre places and in strange and funny ways.
The messages are all around you.
Just look out for them and receive the confirmations, warnings or lessons they are highlighting for you.
The more you look and listen for them, the more easily you will notice them.
You can either look for hints as you go through your day or you can specifically ask for messages to be left for you (see below).
The basic rule in relation to messages is that the world mirrors back to you what is happening for you internally.
If you live in a world of violence, look internally to find your inner conflicts.
If you live in a peaceful world, you will have inner peace.
If you see things you don't like in your outer world, they are merely a reflection of what is going on inside you.
Use these reflections as your guide to the changes you need to make in your life.
Your children, in particular, reflect things for you to notice in your own life.
For example assume, your daughter tells you she has been fighting with her friends in the playground.
Ask yourself questions such as, "Do I have internal conflict in relation to having fun?", "Am I having a conflict with my inner female?", "Is this a sign that I am causing a fight with a female in my life?" or "Am I experiencing inner turmoil in relation to any issue at the moment?" This next example comes from a lady I coached.
Allyson told me that children were telling lies about her daughter, Kristina, at school.
Her daughter and the other children had been called into the Principal's office.
As a result, Kristina no longer wanted to go to school.
Allyson then told me about one of her work colleagues who had been telling lies about Allyson's competence at her job.
This colleague had been believed by the Head of the Department when he took credit for some of Allyson's good work and blamed some of his own failures upon Allyson.
As a result, she had been temporarily removed from her position and was dreading going to work each day.
It was obvious that Allyson's daughter was faithfully reflecting the behaviour pattern for her.
During our next session, Allyson revealed that the truth had come out.
Her colleague had been caught in a web of lies and had eventually resigned.
Allyson had been reinstated in her previous position and her supervisor had apologized.
I asked how her daughter was going.
She replied that most of it had been sorted out and that one of the more troublesome children had revealed she would be moving to a different school at the end of the year.
Her daughter was now enjoying school.
Her daughter had faithfully provided her not only a reflection of the issue, but also a reflection of the resolution.
She had done so at some unconscious level to assist her mother to recognize the patterns she was running in her own life.
(It is often easier for us to see the patterns that others are running than to see what we are doing ourselves).
Also while we will ignore dealing with our own issues, we find it harder to ignore our children's issues.
As well as providing us with messages about the patterns or issues in our lives, other people also provide reflections of our own character traits back to us.
The things you:

• Most admire in others are personality traits within yourself
• Least like in others are also personality traits within yourself (often ones you are in denial about)

Start to notice what is going on in your world and ask yourself what reflection or message you can get from it.
Often the reflection will contain a great deal of humour.
One of the funnier examples from my own life happened when I sat near two men on a train who were travelling to the train station closest to the Magistrate's Court as one of them was to appear on a charge of assault.
The conversation I overheard went like this: Man #1: I bet ya a bucket of beer a fortnight ya won't go to jail.
Man #2: Naaa, reckon I will.
Man #1: No.
I bet you a bucket of beer a fortnight you'll just get a slap on the wrist and a fine.
Man #2: I dunno mate.
I'm worried.
I reckon I might have to 'go away' (to jail).
I'll leave me wallet with ya in case I do.
Man #1: What's the worry mate? If you go away it won't be the first time and it sure won't be the last.
You know the drill.
But I bet you a bucket of beer a fortnight that won't happen.
Man #2: You know mate I hope you're right, but I won't bet you.
A person has to draw the line somewhere and I draw the line at gambling.
I might bash people, but I don't gamble.
By this point I was biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
I knew it was a message and I also knew that working out what it was would provide me with some amusement.
What would you think was your reflection if you overheard the discussion? Interesting isn't it? I gained two reflections from the conversation.
The first one was to remind me how different everyone's experience of the world is.
These men were experiencing a daily reality vastly different from my own.
The second reflection I got was that it was time to examine my own 'rules' for life to see where there was an incongruity similar to the man who found it OK to physically harm others, but not to gamble.
Other examples of messages I have gained from observing the world around me are provided below.
The way the message appears to me may be different from the way it appears for you.
I have provided the examples to give you ideas for what to look out for in your own messages: Example #1 - While writing this chapter, a butterfly floated outside my window.
I took this as confirmation of the wisdom of what I was doing.
Example #2 - While sitting on a beach trying to find the meaning behind an event:

• As I wondered whether the meaning might be one thing, a girl in a red tracksuit jogged up, stopped in front of me, turned around and returned in the direction from which she had come.
  She showed me that the thing I thought might be the problem was not.
  
• As I pondered whether the meaning might be something else (quite unusual), a four wheel drive vehicle (unusual to find on this particular beach), drove in front of me, slowed, then kept going.
  It showed me that the thing I thought was the problem (unusual thing) was in fact the problem.
  

Example #3 - While walking with a friend discussing whether I should pursue a particular course of action, a crow flew into a nearby cemetery, picked up the carcass of a dead possum, turned, flew back and dropped it at our feet.
After much laughter at the way I had been shown this particular answer, I decided not to pursue that course of action.
Example #4 - One day while feeling out of balance and not grounded, I saw a black dog wandering down the middle of four lanes of traffic.
Cars were swerving to avoid it.
When there was a gap in the traffic, I raced out onto the road to grab the dog by the collar and pull it to safety.
Unfortunately, it didn't see things the same way I did and it bit me.
I decided to take notice of the issue I had been thinking about when I saw the dog and to tread warily.
The next week after having worked through the issue, I walked down the same road and there on the footpath was a friendly white puppy wagging its tail and waiting to be patted.
Example #5 - I saw a man mistreating a woman.
I realized that my male (logic) side was walking all over my female (intuitive) side.
Example #6 - I saw some conflict in my work environment.
It brought to my awareness the inner conflict I was experiencing in relation to my career.
Example #7 - I was discussing the impact that my grandfather's death had upon my aunts and uncles.
During the phone conversation a fire truck went past.
This was a sign for me to look closely at the issue I had been discussing as there was a message in it for me.
I realized that the very issue I was saying it would be good for my aunts and uncles to resolve, was also one I needed to resolve.
If you are saying or thinking something and an alarm goes off, pay particular attention to that issue.
It has some significance for you.
Asking For Messages To Appear As well as appearing spontaneously for you throughout the day, you can also request specific messages or answers to appear for you.
There are several ways you can ask for the message to appear:

1. Before going to sleep.
   
2. Without specifying how.
   
3. In a particular way.
   

1.
Before going to sleep Place a pad and pencil beside your bed.
Before you go to sleep state your question and tell yourself that when you wake in the morning, you will have the answer.
The answer will come to you in the middle of the night, during a dream, as an 'aha' upon waking or as something you see, hear or think during the following morning.
The pad and pencil are to record any answers that come to you during the night so you remember them in the morning.
2.
Ask to be shown without specifying how State your question and ask the Universe to show you the answer.
Once you have done this, let the issue go and wait for the message to appear.
Here are some of the answers I have received.

• Example #1 - I asked the Universe to show me whether I should enter into a transaction with a friend.
  Within the next 24 hours I saw three cars going the wrong way up one-way streets.
  I had my answer.
  Subsequently information came to light that confirmed the correctness of that decision.
  
• Example #2 - While I was walking down the street, I asked whether I should sign up for a seminar.
  Almost immediately a car in front of me did a right hand turn.
  I then knew it was the 'right' thing to do.
  
• Example #3 - In a particularly bizarre example that gave me the giggles, I asked the Universe to show me whether it was a good idea to hire a marketing consultant I had in mind.
  As I didn't get any messages, I took that to mean I should hire her.
  As I lifted the phone to ring her, the neighbour's car alarm went off.
  I put the phone down and the alarm stopped.
  Just to check that it meant what I thought it meant, I lifted the phone again to dial her number.
  The neighbour's car alarm went off again.
  As soon as I replaced the handset, the alarm stopped.
  I did it once more just to see if it really worked (it did) and then I got the giggles, made a cup of coffee and decided that hiring that particular marketing consultant would not be the best idea I had ever had.
  

When the Universe really wants you to get a message, it will send it through three times.
If something happens three times, pay close attention to the message you are being shown.
For example:

• Your alarm goes off three times in one morning.
  There is something in your life you should pay attention to.
  (Particularly observe the thing you were doing at the time).
  
• You see three sets of twins in one day.
  Look at where in your life you are splitting yourself in two or being two faced.
  
• You try to ring someone three times and can't get through.
  Ask yourself which channels of communication aren't working in your life.
  

3.
Ask to be shown in a particular way It is possible to state your request and then ask to be shown the answer in a particular way.
I once asked to be shown two dolphins if I was truly on my life path.
Two days later I was on a boat travelling over the ocean when other people on the boat spotted two dolphins on the starboard side.
By the time I moved from the other side of the boat, only one dolphin was visible.
In my skepticism I took that to mean that I was not pursuing the correct path.
Fortunately, the Universe did not give up.
Two weeks later as I walked to work along a river boardwalk I saw two dolphins in the river.
This event was so unusual that it made the evening news.
The next day I again walked along the river to work and tongue in cheek said to the Universe, "That was pretty clever yesterday, two dolphins in the river.
I bet you couldn't do that again".
I let the feeling of smugness rise until I looked down...
and there painted on the bow of the sailboat anchored to a pontoon near the boardwalk was...
two dolphins.
How The Message Might Come To You The message will usually come within 24 hours of your request.
During this period, stay in the moment and pay attention to your surroundings.
Understand that the message is not always the one you are hoping to hear.
The message will usually be delivered via something you hear or something you see.
Sometimes the message may also come to you as an inspired thought or as a feeling about the correct thing to do.
The messages may come as words in a song on a radio, a message on a billboard, graffiti on the footpath, a heading in a newspaper, a story someone tells you or in a snatch of overheard conversation.
For example, I asked the Universe whether it was highest wisdom for me to continue along the personal development path or continue to pursue a career in tax law.
That morning as I was walking to work, I tripped on the edge of a gutter near a parked bus.
On the back of the bus was a Benetton Clothing advertisement with the message, "Let Your True Colours Shine".
There was my answer.
3.
Metaphors Life is a giant metaphor and contained within it are many layers of metaphors within metaphors.
Every moment of every day the Universe is putting on an amazing metaphor show for you.
There are often a number of metaphors playing at the same time, as the Universe isn't always sure which one you will choose to notice.
Metaphors are stories that capture your interest and tempt you to seek the underlying meaning to bridge the gap to your understanding between where you currently are and where you need to be on your journey.
They provide the 'aha' that gets you from one place in your thinking to the next.
Gaining the ability to interpret the metaphors of your life, assists you greatly in identifying and breaking the patterns that you run and identifying the root cause of your problems.
You are always aware of the metaphors in your life at an unconscious level.
When you start to bring your awareness of them in at a conscious level, that is the point at which you will make great leaps forward in personal growth and understanding.
The more you look for metaphors, the more they will become apparent to you.
Metaphors are played out for you by other people, by animals, by events, by advertising, in movies and in the media.
It is the things you notice out of the millions of things you see, hear, smell and touch each day that are significant for you.
The rest are merely the background for the message.
All you need to do to start noticing the metaphors in your life, is to ask the Universe to bring them into your awareness.
The next step is to become a keen observer of life.
Sometimes we are involved in helping play out the metaphors in other people's lives.
How can you tell if a metaphor is for you or for someone else? There is usually an emotional charge associated with your own metaphors.
If you are a disconnected or non-emotional observer, then the 'stuff' or metaphor is not usually your own.
After you have identified a metaphor, you work out its underlying meaning by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What does this represent at a higher or more abstract level?
2. What could this by symbolic of?
3. How could this relate to my life?

I have provided below some examples of metaphors I have experienced and what they meant for me.
Note that I have found that when things happen with water or plumbing the metaphor usually relates to something on an emotional level.
Below are some examples of metaphors that have happened in my own life.
Metaphor #1

• Event: A group of people were in line in front me at the train station to buy tickets.
  They were complaining to the ticket seller that they had boarded an east bound train, but the train had gone south.
  They had jumped off at this station.
  
• Meaning: At the time I was thinking about which direction to take my business - I was being shown that the direction I thought I was going in was not the one I would end up in.
  Subsequently true.
  

Metaphor #2

• Event: I noticed heavily pregnant women on the street everywhere I looked.
  
• Meaning: An idea had nearly come to fruition.
  

Metaphor #3

• Event: I saw dozens of dead bees lying around lights in the footpath.
  
• Meaning: Bees pollinate ideas.
  Until I sort out my non-verbal communication skills (something bees are very good at), my business ideas will not come to fruition.
  

Metaphor #4

• Event: Twice in one week I boarded an express train that went straight past my train stop and al the way to the end of the line.
  I had to get off at the last stop and catch a return train to my home stop.
  
• Meaning: I was fast tracking through personal growth and would have to keep returning to make sure my home life was OK while I did it.
  

Sometimes metaphors even appear in advance to show you that something is about to happen.
In the following metaphors water issues relate to emotions.
Metaphor #1

• Event: A car nearly hit me while I was walking across a pedestrian crossing.
  
• Subsequent Meaning: Later that day a family member tried to cross acceptable personal boundaries.
  

Metaphor #2

• Event: I saw the fire brigade extinguishing a fire in the back of a rubbish truck.
  
• Subsequent Meaning: That night there were some disagreements over silly (rubbish) issues in the team of girls I coach for netball.
  I was required to extinguish the heated arguments.
  

Metaphor #3

• Event: I found a sleeping snake on the floor beneath some laundry.
  
• Subsequent Meaning: A personal transformation or change took place (in the same way that a snake sheds its skin).
  

In Summary The journey of life is one of personal growth.
Your unconscious/the Universe leaves you a multitude of messages to help guide you on the journey.
The three easiest ways to get these messages are:

1. Meditation
2. Look for the messages around you
3. Understand the metaphors you are being shown

Your life journey is easier (and certainly a lot more fun) when you become aware of the messages and pay heed to them.