The Universe is always sending us signs…whether we notice them or not. One of the ways the Universe puts us on the right path is through obstacles, rejections and detours. But these messages are of no use if we keep trying to open doors that are shut for our own good.
It can be difficult to figure out if a path is just difficult but worth sticking out, or if it is simply not aligned with us. How can we balance stepping outside of our comfort zone, with doing things that are actually aligned with us? That is what I want to cover today.
In this post I will go over five key signs from the Universe that you are on the wrong path, how to identify and then follow them.
Am I on the wrong path?
Before we get into the signs themselves I want to explore what being on the ‘wrong’ path actually means. I think there is this misconception that we cannot be on the wrong path. While I think there is a lot of truth to that, we can get more nuanced.
Doing things that aren’t the best for us can teach us important lessons and help us grow. Some of the most successful people in the world went down truly destructive, life-altering paths and came out the other side with an uplifting story.
I think we can value these experiences and also better discern which paths will be for our benefit. What doesn’t kill us can make us stronger, but that’s not necessarily the path we want or need to take.
We place a lot of value on pain and strife socially, because those things can be such great catalysts. However growth doesn’t always mean going through heavy struggle; we can internalize that as the only way to grow.
For example, we can value the lessons we have learned through an abusive relationship or breaking our back to survive and still decide that is not a path we want to keep going down.
It is just as important to make space for our joy, and see that expansion can come through periods of embodying love, peace and happiness too!
Signs you are out of alignment with the Universe
1. Disconnection
The most obvious sign you are on the wrong path or out of alignment, is that you feel a strong disconnect from yourself, others around you, and the Universe at large.
This disconnection can show up as apathy towards everything including our spiritual practices. We don’t find enjoyment in the things we used to, and our usual self-care practices leave us feeling empty.
At the more extreme end of things, disconnection can manifest as a dark night of the soul. This could be seen as a kind of ‘spiritual depression’, a lack of interest and motivation that brings up our shadow side for integration.
2. Blocked intuition
You don’t experience synchroncities, receive signs, even dream at night – there is no guidance for where to go next. When we are on the right path, that momentum is reflected in the guidance the Universe sends us, and so there are signs and synchroncities galore.
Feeling lost is another way to say disconnected from our intuition. When you find yourself in this space, focus on rebuilding that connection rather than leaning too far into that sense of loss or confusion. Know there is a pathway or plan that you just haven’t tuned into or become aware of yet.
3. Heavy emotions
Emotions are energy and energy wants to flow! An obvious sign you are disconnected from the Universe is the presence of heaviness, tension, and a sense of stagnancy.
Heavy emotions are going to show up whether we are in alignment or not, heavy emotions aren’t bad or something we want to get rid of completely. However when you only feel these heavy emotions and find it difficult to access any lighter, uplifting ones, this can be an indication of misalignment.
In these circumstances I recommend getting out of the mind. Bring some awareness to your body and surroundings. Before doing any spiritual practices like meditation, spend more time moving the body and loosening up any tension before opening yourself up to intuitive messages.
4. Cyclical relationships
Another clear sign that you are out of alignment, is that your relationships go round and round in circles. You meet the same sort of people in the same sort of places, experiencing the same old dynamics.
People can definetly be sent from the Universe to shake things up and get us on the right path, however we still have free will. The Universe isn’t going to force two people together (most of the time). If we want to maintain or enter low-quality relationships, in conflict with our intuition, we are free to do that.
Relationships can either amplify our shadows or guide us in new ways – be conscious of who you connect with and why. Often in order to get onto the right path we have to set the boundaries we have been putting off out of fear. We have to give the Universe a clear indication that we are ready for something new and that includes who we hang around.
5. Obstacles & obstructions
Obstacles and detours can be a sign we are on the right path – when those obstructions lead us somewhere better. However sometimes we are facing constant distractions, interruptions, obstacles and still not getting anywhere.
An obstacle like this represents something we haven’t confronted in ourselves, a lesson we haven’t learned yet. Obstacles reflect our own patterns back to us. When we take new paths we can start to create new patterns.
How to get back into alignment
Now that you can identify the signs you are out of alignment, you might be wondering how you can get reconnected again.
As I like to say, feeling disconnected from the Universe is another way to say disconnected from ourselves. There are no inherent boundaries between our ‘self’ and the Universe; we are always connected to the Universe but our beliefs and patterns can create separation.
Sometimes doing practices like meditation when we feel disconnected can just bring more awareness to that disconnection. Often we feel stagnant because something in our environment has caused a disruption, we take on that stagnant energy.
Find ways to flow again: Write, speak, dance, do what you need to do to get your body moving and your energy flowing as it did before.
Do some shadow work, if you feel up to it. Other times we experience stagnancy because we haven’t confronted something in ourselves and we run out of energy to avoid it. All of this emotional heaviness arises at once and we experience the corresponding obstacles in our physical environment.
Spend some time in solitude, meditate, journal, get to the root of things. Then take the appropriate action. What conversation have you been putting off, which boundaries do you need to set, what tasks have you been procrastinating?
Our physical environment and actions have a big impact on our energy. So sometimes the solution is to clear things up on a physical level and do some decluttering, other times we have to strongly take action on our fears.
There are always going to be periods of disconnection, where we feel lost on the spiritual path and life in general. There is nothing wrong with this, and we can develop better practices to uplift ourselves through these phases.