I’m back today with something truly fascinating, something
each of us has experienced at least once in our lives: intuitions, dreams, and
visions. They aren’t scheduled. They aren’t consciously designed. They simply
arrive. We don’t know when, where, or how they will appear. A thought slips
into the mind without warning. A dream unfolds with unusual clarity, sometimes
so vivid that it feels real in the moment, almost as if we are aware within the
dream itself. A subtle inner knowing rises quietly within us. Some impressions
come and go like passing clouds, barely noticed, quickly forgotten. Others
surface in the stillness of sleep or in the middle of an ordinary day, then
fade without explanation.
Most of the time, we pause for a moment, feel a flicker of curiosity, and move
on. But every now and then, a thought lingers. A dream stays vivid long after
waking. An intuition refuses to be brushed aside. And in those moments, we find
ourselves wondering: Was it just coincidence? Or was something deeper trying to
speak to us?
There are moments in the middle of a conversation when a sentence leaves my
mouth, and almost instantly, I’m struck by a strange familiarity. A quiet but
undeniable feeling arises: I have said these exact words before… somewhere,
sometime, to someone. It’s not just that the topic feels familiar. It’s the
phrasing, the tone, even the timing of it. For a brief second, time seems to
overlap with itself.
Is this simply a random trick of the mind? A subtle replay of memory we cannot
consciously trace? Or is it something more; something that hints at layers of
awareness beyond our ordinary perception? I’m certain many of you have
felt this too. That fleeting pause. That inner whisper of “this has
happened before.” We refer to this as Deja-vu. And just as quickly, the moment
passes, leaving behind curiosity… and a quiet question that lingers.
There is another subtle experience most of us are familiar with, though we
rarely question it deeply. Sometimes, we meet a person for the very first time,
and even before a single word is exchanged, we feel an immediate sense of
comfort or liking toward them. With others, the reaction is just the opposite,
an unexplainable resistance, discomfort or even dislike arises instantly. What
causes this spontaneous judgement, formed without conversation or conscious
reasoning? It may be tempting to dismiss it as mere coincidence or mood, but
the consistency of such experiences makes one wonder! Is the mind responding to
something it has encountered before, perhaps familiar facial expressions, tone,
posture or energy that subtly resembles past experiences? or could it be that
certain impressions are already etched somewhere deep within us, carried
forward from earlier interactions, memories or conditioning that we no longer
consciously recall?
The conscious mind often believes it is making decisions in the present moment,
but the subconscious may be drawing from a vast storehouse of past impressions,
or even future visions. It may be connecting invisible dots in an instant,
presenting its conclusion as a gut feeling, intuition or a vision.
I vividly remember one such instance from my own life. I was travelling by bus
to write Master of Commerce examination. As I stood in the crowded bus, my mind
unexpectedly drifted to a troubling thought, that my handbag might be
pickpocketed. I began mentally running through scenarios. What would I do if
that happened? How would I write the exam without the hall ticket? The thoughts
felt oddly specific, yet I dismissed them as unnecessary anxiety. After a
while, When I got down from the bus, I realized my handbag had been torn open
and everything inside was gone. My hall ticket, my calculator, my belongings
had vanished exactly as that thought.
Looking back, what lingers is not the loss itself (I managed to explain the
situation to the examiners and wrote the exam), but the question it left
behind. Was it merely coincidence? or does the mind, at times, register subtle
cues long before the conscious self becomes aware of them? perhaps the
subconscious notices patterns, movements or irregularities that the waking mind
overlooks, and expresses them as sudden unease or intuition.
If that is so, why does such clarity arise only occasionally? why does the mind
alert us in some moments and remain silent in others? These questions have no
easy answers. Yet, experiences like these gently suggest that the human mind
may be perceiving more than we consciously acknowledge. This pattern of
selective awareness does not appear only in moments of danger or discomfort. It
quietly shows up in other subtle ways too.
Repetitive patterns
A similar experience can be seen in the way some numbers seem to repeatedly
catch our attention, patterns like 222,555 or 111. We do not notice these
numbers all the time, nor do they appear meaningful in every phase of life.
Yet, during certain periods, they seem to surface repeatedly, on clocks,
receipts, phone screens, car number plates or random places, persisting for a
while before fading away. This raises an interesting question! Is the mind
selectively tuning itself to these numbers during particular phases of life? Or
is there something deep, an interaction between awareness and circumstance that
draws our attention to specific patterns at specific moments?
Perhaps the numbers themselves are not carrying a direct message. Instead, they
may act as subtle prompts, encouraging us to pause, reflect or become more
attentive to what is unfolding within and around us. The mind, after all, is
highly skilled at recognizing patterns, especially when it is in a heightened
emotional or reflective state.
Sometimes, our dreams too seem to speak to us in symbols rather than sentences. Some dreams carry a quiet tension: standing at a great height with no clear way
down, a tooth falling out, being chased by an animal, missing a train, bus, or
flight. These may be subtle signals from the mind that we are entering a
challenging phase, a period of uncertainty, transition, or the risk of missing
something important.
Other dreams feel expansive and abundant : lush green grass, trees heavy with
fruits and vegetables, flowing water, sacred spaces like temples or churches,
or even seemingly unusual symbols such as repeatedly seeing “poop.” Across many
traditions, such imagery is interpreted as a sign of prosperity, renewal, or a
positive phase about to unfold in life.
In many ways, dreams can be thought of as practice runs for our waking
awareness. They present challenges, opportunities, or subtle messages in
symbolic form. If we cultivate the habit of observing and reflecting on them,
could these nightly visions teach us to recognize patterns in waking life too?
Could they be a bridge to “seeing from within”?
Once again, there are no straightforward answers. These experiences resist
rigid interpretation. They invite curiosity rather than conclusions, and perhaps
that is their true purpose. If we consider these patterns as cues arising from
within, an important question gently surfaces: can heightened awareness help us
recognize them earlier and respond more consciously? Can we learn to understand
what the mind, or even life itself, is communicating by tuning ourselves to
deeper perception? Can “seeing from within” truly guide us? And if so, how?
Each of us will have our own way of quieting and centering the mind. Speaking
from personal experience, I have found meditation and breath awareness to be
deeply transformative. They increase clarity, deepen reflection, and cultivate
presence. When the mind becomes calm, perception sharpens. Scientific studies
suggest that in states of relaxation and focused awareness, the brain
transitions through different wave patterns, moving from more active states
into calmer, deeper rhythms, allowing access to layers of awareness often
masked by everyday mental noise.
Yet, it is important to remember that many of these insights arise
spontaneously. Forcing or chasing them rarely yields meaningful results.
Instead, we allow them to unfold naturally, and reflect upon them gently
afterward. Perhaps this quiet observation leads to a richer understanding of
the beautiful life we are already living. It makes me wonder: had I paused and
reflected in that pickpocket intuition moment, could I have altered my course
and avoided the incident? Or was the experience itself part of what I was meant
to learn? who can say?
Pausing to notice subtle cues and reflecting on them deeply becomes easier as
awareness matures. Cultivating that awareness may be the first step toward
truly “seeing from within.” The method need not be rigid or uniform. It could
be yoga, meditation, a long walk in silence, prayer, journaling, or even an
intense workout that brings the mind into focused stillness. What matters is
choosing a practice that resonates with your values and making space for it
regularly.
Even in the midst of daily chaos, it is possible to return to your quiet
center, using the tools you have patiently explored and understood for
yourself. The key is not to seek something outside, but to connect with
yourself more often to see from within.
Happy reading. Stay tuned for future reflections.
