Seeing signs & synchronicities, but nothing happening? Read this. (2024)

I was on a walk with my sister-in-law Sheetal, when she asked me why I believe so strongly in the signs and synchronicities, and how I interpret them without getting disappointed. Our conversation inspired this article and I hope to share some new insights on what to do if you are seeing lots of signs and synchronicities, but nothing is happening.

My personal experience with seeing signs that led to nothing happening

My journey started thanks to a bunch of “coincidences” that became too hard to ignore. From seeing crazy amounts of 11:11 on the clock to having vivid, prophetic dreams….spirit animal encounters, and whatnot. So it was natural for me to develop a bias of sorts, toward these divine signs. For a long time, even the tagline for this website has been: “The Universe talks to me and I’d be a fool not to listen”.

As I got deeper and deeper into the notion of interpreting the signs, I also created some memes around it, on my Instagram.

So, you can imagine how frustrated I became when I noticed the synchronicity system was glitched – it had stopped working overtime.

One example: there was a time in between when my coaching practice wasn’t doing so well anymore. And I started seeing the sign from one of my spirit animals – a fly. To me, it meant money was coming and I kept seeing huge flies throughout my trip to Banff. (I’ll come back to this story again)

But unfortunately, and as you can guess from the heading – nothing changed. I made little progress as a coach, for months to come.

I was quite disappointed and angry at the universe. Sometimes it just felt like mockery. I started disconnecting from my spiritual practice and feeling even more lonely and dejected.

Another situation my sister-in-law shared during our walk was the few times she was hoping for a sign, it seemed to appear in the form of confirmation bias. Suddenly, she’d start seeing things everywhere to affirm that her desires are coming true! It would make her happy for the moment but she would overall begin feeling quite restless as she continued “watching”. Ultimately, nothing would manifest and she’d end up quite disappointed.

So, what should one believe or not believe about these synchronicities?

Here’s what I’ve learned about the signs and synchronicities NOT coming true.

Synchronicities are an indication that the universe is trying to get our attention.

But when we get this little “hello” from the Universe, let’s remember something crucial: there is no guarantee that the sign we’re seeing will lead to the outcome that we’re thinking.

What does that mean? So, let’s say that during meditation, you see an image of a butterfly hovering around your friend, John. You share this with him and give an interpretation that the butterfly indicates John is about to have a spiritual awakening.

You continue to share the vision of a garden and how you see something really positive happening for John. But it turns out that the butterfly meant something completely different to him.

Let’s say it reminded him of one of his deceased relatives, who loved butterflies, and as a kid, John would play with them in a garden. And your meditative insight was actually a message to let John know they’re doing okay.

In this way, an interpretation can be so different from the truth. What we understand something to mean may not be what’s actually being said. (true for a lot of things actually, but I digress)

So should we stop interpreting signs altogether?

That doesn’t have to be the case!

There have been so many times when I have looked up meanings online or meditated on the synchronistic event, and it was 100% accurate.

So for example, I used to see a lot of bird “pairs” and they’d often fly off together. Instinctively, I got the sense that I was meant to travel abroad with my partner. And lo and behold, about a year later, I married and moved from India to Canada!

However, there have been times when my interpretation has been absolutely incorrect. For instance, the fly example on my trip to Banff. But before I get into that story again, let me explain a little more about how I came to this unusual inference that seeing a fly represents incoming money.

So when I was working at my corporate job, something strange happened. A fly literally followed me up the elevator to my desk! And mind you – this is an air-conditioned office. We never opened the window, so it was really bizarre to me why there is a fly hovering all around me.

A few minutes later, I opened my email to discover that I’d been given a “spot” award, and that came with some monetary compensation. I immediately stopped seeing the fly after that. So from that day, I made a mental note that every time I see a fly incessantly buzzing around me, it will mean money and recognition are their way!

However, that’s not what happened in Banff.

When I started seeing the flies, my partner had just finished clicking some of my photos to help me personalize my website. And I had stopped halfway through our “photo shoot” feeling extremely awkward and irritated for putting my partner through this weird exercise. As I huffed and puffed, a HUGE fly followed me to the car!

In retrospect, I can see now that the fly was a sign that putting up personal photos would be a positive decision for me.

So unlike my belief, the Universe wasn’t mocking me or lying. It was letting me know that if I use my “free will” to stay on this path, it’ll lead to rewards of their own sweet nature. I’m glad I eventually went ahead with a professional photoshoot and allowed my face to be just as expressive on this blog as my words!

Another important takeaway from this situation was that the signs and synchronicities may not reveal an “immediate” result. It can inform of us an event that is unfolding very gradually behind the scenes.

Can signs & synchronicities be wrong?

At this point, I strongly believe that signs and synchronicities are energy and information about what’s available in the ether.

They hold information about what’s possible for us, given the current set of destiny and free will, and the highest good for all concerned. But they don’t guarantee that what we’re seeing or what we’re interpreting will happen.

Ultimately, I have considered the signs and synchronicities to just be little landmarks and suggestions for me to stay grateful and grounded. And the deeper I’ve gone into my spiritual practice, I don’t focus on these Divine synchronicities as much. Here’s why:

I’m beginning to access a place within myself, where there’s more trust for the process. And there’s more faith in the universe, and how it’s running the show. So I no longer seek the validation I used to. I may briefly rejoice if I see some synchronicities in passing, but I don’t focus on them.

That said, whenever I have been extremely anxious or not as “trusting” with my spiritual journey, I notice that the universe will show up for me in the form of more signs and synchronicities. A part of me believes that this helps soothe my impatient mind and temporarily, gives my ego-mind something to hold on to.

The third thing I want us to consider is that faith without action is futile.

It’s something I talked extensively about in my other article about how spirituality explains the bad stuff.

If we are seeing a lot of signs and synchronicities, it can be an indicator that we’re headed in the right direction. So we get reminders or affirmations to continue taking actions that help us move forward toward that goal.

So, if it’s a health problem, or a relationship, or something else that you’re struggling with and working on, and you’re seeing the Universe’s support – keep moving in that direction.

For this, my personal example comes to mind when I had not yet published my first book about spirit animals. I was feeling underconfident about it for some reason. My husband and I had decided to take a break from work and head out to Whistler. Here’s where the Universe kicks in for me.

We received fortune cookies at the end of our meal, at Mongolian Grill.

When I opened my fortune cookie, it said, If you keep going on the path that you’re on, you will succeed. I literally came home and hit publish on my ebook, with that inspiration in mind. And to my delight, it did wonderfully!

It has been read by hundreds of individuals and has inspired their spiritual journeys.

So we can see these signs and synchronicities as encouragement. They can help us make better choices when we execute our free will. But we do need to take action. Had I not hit Publish, no number of signs could bring the actual outcome to me.

How do signs & synchronicities relate to relationships?

Now let’s address situations like hearing somebody’s name multiple times or synchronistic “connection” with other people.

My first story is the way the Universe nudged me to meet my now husband. Along with the bird pairs, I started seeing a lot of license plates with the angel number 5757, as well as hearing the name Sagar wherever I went.

I’d soon enough discover that the numbers are a part of his phone number! And of course, Sagar is his name.

Now let’s talk about a “flop” version of this story.

Coming back to my coaching practice. I’ve experienced this incident twice. Days before I was about to meet a potential client, I would see or hear that person’s name a couple of times in random contexts. And my coaching brain would start believing that this is a special connection who is going to become my client.

And then… they would literally ghost the call altogether, not even showing up!

This was so confusing and frustrating at first, with all the “divine hype”, as I now like to call it.

But over time, I started looking at that as an opportunity. This person executed their free will, deciding not to move forward with our connection.

So again, it was me accessing the ether. It was information that was out there. The information wasn’t false. However, it could always be a false interpretation. But in this case, it could also just be free will.

The same set of hyped divine guidance has led many twin flames in the pursuit of a false twin flame. It’s hard to make sense of these false alarms when they’re so in our faces, and I truly empathize with the hurt and dejection they can lead us into.

But ultimately, maintaining discernment and detachment while working with any kind of spiritual information – be it angel numbers, numerology, astrology, or tarot cards – helps navigate life’s curveballs better.

What should I do if I’m feeling stuck or angry with the Universe?

Now let’s explore some practices together to help you overcome the anger, sadness, or grief of seeing signs but nothing happening.

Personally, I’ve had a series of “trust issues” with the Universe, stemming all the way back to 10th grade! And I’ve shared some of these now seemingly funny stories and practical tools in a special project I recently collaborated on.

I am now gifting this work to my newsletter readers. You can grab your free copy as well, by simply signing up for the newsletter below. Or if you’re already a reader, check the email sent out on April 8th, 2023 from Vasundhra Gupta (contact@myspiritualshenanigans.blog).

I hope that the tools and insights will eventually help you grow in your understanding and cross the bridge of frustration that I was also once stuck on! Do drop me a comment below and let me know if this supports you.

Vasundhra is the Founder & Writer of My Spiritual Shenanigans. After seeing 11:11 on the clock one fateful night, her life turned around. Ever since, she has been blending modern psychology and ancient spirituality, to help herself and people around the world elevate the quality of their lives.

Ready to take your healing deeper? Join her for monthly community workshops and/or for personalized 1:1 coaching.

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