Synchronicities

Introduction to Gratitude

0:00Hello and welcome to The Art of Gratitude with me, Margaret Alvarez, creativity coach, artist, and art teacher teaching people how to combine creativity and mindfulness for their mental well-being. I am so happy you've decided to join me today for episode 11 where we are going to talk about synchronicities. Synchronicities, one of my favorite phenomenon. I love synchronicities. I think that they are a sign from the universe telling me that I'm on track, a simple nudge, a feeling, a coincidence, something that happens that is clearly the universe talking to me.

0:41Yep, I believe in this so much. I believe in this. I've had countless people tell me about things that have happened to them that just blew them away, reminders that somebody's watching over you, that your angels are watching over you. There's so many things that we do to stay in alignment, to just be in that higher vibration and be happier. One of those things happens to be journaling for me, but I also do a lot of other things to kind of keep myself on track, meaning I meditate, I have my journaling practice, but I also exercise and wake up in the morning in gratitude,

1:25to just really thinking about everything that I'm grateful for, to just really thinking about everything that I'm grateful for in that moment, and how I want my day to turn out, and then I go to bed at night thinking about all the things that went right, and just kind of reminiscing on those moments. So there's a lot of things that I practice in order for me to stay in alignment, and when you're in alignment, when you are in a high vibration, you're in a good feeling, energy, you know, you can just tell when things are just going your way.

Synchronicities as Signs

1:57And there are signs that the universe will show you, and you have to be aware, you have to be in that awareness, to understand and to feel that nudge, to see the synchronicity as a sign that you are doing everything in your power to be in alignment, and to be in that good high vibration, that good energy. We all are looking for happiness, and we all want to feel balanced, and you know, to have these synchronicities happen, to kind of, to pave the way for you, to show you that you're in the right place, that whatever it is that you want out of life is, you know, that you're on your way to that.

2:42How amazing is it that we can follow these signs, and a lot of times they lead to something bigger and, you know, better, and, you know, maybe you are trying to, to manifest something into your life, a better life, you know, these little signs are like crumb, breadcrumbs kind of showing you the way. And I just absolutely believe that, you know, these signs are kind of, you know, they're, they're your guide.

3:12Are you, are you in a right, in the good feeling place that you should be in? I get so excited when I talk about this, because it is just so powerful to feel that something is, you know, is, is showing you it to feel like there's this sign, you know, it just, it's such powerful stuff. It is really what keeps me going. I love to just tell stories about how these synchronicities happen, and how magical they are, and how awesome is it that you can journal about it and have that story fresh in your mind, put it down on paper.

3:53I love going back in my journals and looking, looking for stories of synchronicities, because I write about them a lot, because I feel that they are, you know, I, first of all, they're magical when they happen, when you have something happen that is so powerful, so strong, and you're able to document it and then go back, it, it really, you relive the magic of that. I have also, on the other side of the coin, I have also had, you know, months that I just am not connected. I don't feel connected, or maybe I'm going through a hard time, a, you know, state of depression.

4:28I've gone through things in my life where I don't feel connected, and I don't see that. And then the moment that I flip it, and I start, you know, doing all of the work, which is, you know, my meditating, and my journaling, and my, you know, my gratitude, and all of these things, it's almost instant that you start to see signs that everything is back on track. It is literally, like, you know, the day that you start your new practice, you will start to notice.

4:59It could be the feeling that you have in your body. It could just be that you're in a better mood for no reason at all. That is pretty powerful stuff. If you just, you're just in a good mood to be in a good mood, it just, there's something about this. It's almost like a sensor, or something that is, like, sharing with you that, you know, you are doing what you're supposed to be doing, and you are where you're supposed to be.

Finding Alignment

5:27So, how do we get to this space? How do we know that we are on the right track? What is the indicator of this? Your feelings. How are you feeling in this moment? How are you feeling? And so, this is why gratitude is so, so, so powerful, because of all the things that you can practice, gratitude is going to put you in that space. It is going to elevate you so that you can start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, whatever that is for you.

6:01And gratitude is also just a way to keep you present and grounded and seeing everything that is right in front of you that you can be grateful for. And, you know, abundance and all of, you know, the practices that we do for abundance and things that I've been kind of learning, especially recently. I've been reading new books on these kinds of things, you know, to feel abundant, people feel like they have to have a lot of money, or they have to be rich, or, you know, if you're not successful, then you're not abundant.

6:31And there's, I mean, that is so far from abundance. I mean, it's, yes, being wealthy and having, you know, everything that you could possibly desire. I'm sure that's a high, high vibration. I'm sure. But some people, it doesn't make them happy, you know, having all of the money. That isn't abundance. Abundance is what you have in front of you, all of the things that you have to be grateful for. Abundance is a feeling of just being complete and feeling balanced. And, you know, it's way more than wealth and power and money.

7:04It is beyond that. And if you can feel abundant without having all of those things, then you are truly, truly rich. And I know that that's probably, I feel like that is a quote from somebody. I feel like I've seen that or read that somewhere. But in my mind, that's just what it is for me, to be fully abundant and to know that you have so much in front of you. You know, it's just, that is, that's the sweet spot. That is what we all kind of strive for.

7:35That happiness that you can feel that has nothing to do with material things. And, you know, that's really important to me. This is how I started this whole thing. This is how I, you know, started to understand that journaling and gratitude and being mindful and present, that all of these things are life-changing. But you have to find it. And you have to find the ways in order to get there. And that is why, you know, I mean, of course, I would love to have my journal with me everywhere I go, every moment.

8:08But the reality is, I don't always have my journal with me. If I'm in the car, if I'm, you know, if I have to go to a doctor's appointment or whatever, you know, I know that realistically, we have things. It's busy. We have, you know, families and jobs and all of the things. You know, there are so many ways to keep yourself balanced. And you don't have to take very much time to do it. Five minutes in the morning, five minutes at night, five minutes a day even. And just to reconnect with yourself, just to be in that gratitude, you start that practice and then you start thinking in gratitude.

8:46I know that I say this a lot. In a lot of my podcasts, I always mention that I actually think in gratitude. But it took me a good, you know, five plus years to be in that place where I could think like that. I mean, it is a constant practice, constantly figuring it out. And, you know, for me, it's educating myself. Like I started this year, really, I made the intention or set a commitment to myself to just read more books, like to really just get into it.

9:21Because I feel like the more that I educate myself, the more motivated I am and the more that I see the benefits of some of these practices that I've been doing for a long time. And I even add to these practices with these books and the knowledge that I have and just so much wisdom that's out there. If you are not listening to books or reading books on your own or educating yourself on these kinds of things, if you are constantly, you know, scrolling on your phone, but you don't have a purpose for that scroll.

9:53If you're just mindlessly on your phone all the time, can you imagine the amount of time we spend on our phones? And I'm not saying I'm not guilty of this. I'm totally guilty of this. Sometimes I just need to not think. And yes, I get on my phone. But I am actively reading and educating myself because there's so much out there. There's so much out there. Anywho, that is how I keep myself kind of in the game. I read and I practice and I write about it in my journal.

10:25My journal is not just for gratitude. I document good things that have happened. I make it a point to just get in there and just be creative and have fun figuring out new ways to teach people how to be more creative and mindful. You know, I have this beautiful, you know, rotation of things that happen in my life. And it's because I teach art full time and I have this gift of, you know, artsy coach to help me to help people use these methods.

10:58And so I have all of these wonderful things that have evolved in the past three or four years. And they all involve things that I am so truly passionate about. And so I feel like I just went off on a tangent and I'm not sure where I'm going with this. But I just I feel like we as humans need to make a commitment to ourself to better ourself and take at least some time to ourselves to to really read into some of these philosophies and these things that are so present and that they're so in front of us.

11:34And they want us to use them and it's like all of these different methods. And so I feel lucky that I get to teach people journaling, art journaling, you know, gratitude journaling all together. I'm so happy that I get to do that. But that is just one tool of very, very many tools out there, you know, that we can use in order to keep ourselves aligned.

Using Synchronicities as Guides

11:56And so let's talk a little bit about let's go back to synchronicities. Why is it important that we use these synchronicities to kind of guide us? For me, synchronicities mean just a symbol. So, for example, you know, I've always thought butterflies were my symbol. If I see a butterfly, I might think, you know what, that right there is just a sign for me to to be in that moment, to be present and grateful and appreciative of what I have in front of me.

12:33It's just a reminder. But then later on, it turns into this thing that I see all the time. I see these butterflies everywhere. It doesn't have to be an actual butterfly. It can be, you know, a butterfly, you know, photo or painting or something that pops up and is so right in front of my face. And that is the universe talking to me, telling me, like, you are where you're supposed to be. You're doing what you're supposed to be doing. A lot of people see angel numbers, you know, three or more digits in a row, like 111 or 1111, you know, if you see it on the clock or, you know, 444-888 or 000.

13:11There's all of these different angel numbers. And I, you know, I'd never really paid attention to my angel numbers before in the past year. I've just, I mean, they just blossom. And they come at the most meaningful times for me, like where I really need it. Like, you know, I am really doing all the work. And I'm really trying to keep myself aligned. And then I see an angel number and I'm like, yes, like I'm where I'm supposed to be. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, you know, and that to me is really powerful stuff.

13:43You know, it can be anything. It can be, you know, whatever you want it to be. You know, you can manifest these things pretty easily. But it really is the magic of seeing your synchronicity happen. For my mom, it was, you know, it's cardinals, you know, when she's feeling like, you know, when a cardinal is present. And a lot of people use, say that cardinals are like your guardian angels. And she truly believes that because that was one of her mother's favorite, you know, birds.

14:14And so when she sees them, it's like this magical, you know, like, oh, like it's such a. And so when I see them, I think of her, you know, and my grandmother and like, you know, the just the richness of that little, you know, symbol that has meant a lot for her over the years. And so cardinals are are one that, you know, that kind of pop up in my mind, any kind of natural, you know, like natural thing that happens, you know, sunrise, a beautiful sky, you know, things like that.

14:48I always see those as signs that like such a beautiful moment, like, you know, and my husband makes fun of me all the time because I take pictures of, you know, a beautiful sky or I'll tell my son, look at this, look at the sky, look at the colors. What colors do you see? And I'm like, isn't that beautiful? And I make sure to to recognize the beauty and share that with him in hopes that he would build that habit of looking up at the sky when it is beautiful and there's a lot of colors and to really just appreciate it for what it is, you know.

15:21And those might not be complete synchronicities, but there are moments where I feel like I'm supposed to see this and appreciate it right now. And so what are some synchronicities that you might see and what are some things that have happened, coincidences, things that have happened that you felt are, you know, it might be a nudge from a guardian angel or the universe just telling you that, you know, keep going. I would document that just make a page today that really highlights something that that, you know, is a synchronicity and just see what you can see what you can kind of conjure up.

16:01You might start remembering things that have happened or you might start recognizing things as of this moment, you know, moving forward, you will start to see these little signs. So if you are hugely into, you know, keeping yourself in alignment and if you believe in just this vibration, that good energy and you want to keep yourself aligned and balanced, what are the signs that you see? I mean, our whole life is a reflection of what we are feeling inside and if you notice that you're having just a really bad day and everything just keeps on going wrong, take a moment, like, look, look within yourself.

16:45Is my attitude not great right now? Like, what am I projecting that is causing all of this to happen? You know, a lot of times we forget that the things that are happening around us are signs of where our energy is and so we might be the cause of the problem and it takes a moment to sit and take a deep breath and to get, you know, centered and feel a little bit better and that will change everything and this is why gratitude is so important. Stopping, stopping, stopping, being in appreciation, looking around, looking what's right in front of you, what can you appreciate in that moment because, again, we have choices and we can choose to appreciate or we can choose to complain and, you know, that is what the journaling is about, that is what the gratitude practice is about.

17:35If you don't have your journal, just take a moment and appreciate what's in front of you and I hope that this episode will help you to kind of look for all the signs. That the universe is trying to give you to tell you that you are on the right track. Okay, so that was a very long-winded way of talking about synchronicities but I get so excited about this kind of stuff because it is really important and it feels like something that could really help somebody to really pay attention and be present and see what's in front of them.

18:06I hope that you take the time. I hope that you take the time to make that journal page about any kind of synchronicity that you have had or experience that you've had. Just document it. It's just sometimes it's very helpful to get in your journal, write a page about something that later on will be a gem for you to remember and I hope that you choose to do that. I really appreciate you being here.

18:36Thank you so much for listening. I hope that you are able to see the signs and I hope that this episode will encourage you to find your rhythm, to find a practice that will keep you in alignment and to see all of the synchronicities that the universe is throwing your way. I am so appreciative of you and I will talk to you very soon. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you.