invisioningout ^tm
with Laura Turlington  

The universe has a voice. It converses in a unique way with every aspect of creation.  The universe operates much in the way a mother guides her children; she recognizes, loves, and respects the unique qualities of each child and communicates individually, based on this awareness. The ability to hear the voice of the universe is a characteristic that humans share with all creatures.  Animals know to listen as the universe whispers to them; they do not question.  Feeling the slightest change in barometric pressure all that is needed to signal an animal’s move to shelter. Humans are the only animals that question this messaging system.  Imagine a bird lamenting that it hears the universe in a different way than a tiger, or, for that matter, wishing the universe would use the same language to communicate with it as it does the tiger. This may seem silly, but is this any different than conversations we have with ourselves about how our connection to the infinite looks?

When we cannot hear the voice of the universe it is because we have learned to prioritize other means of communication.  We have learned to value another messaging system and have spent a lot of effort honing the skills of that system.  The other messaging system is oriented outward, based on feed-back we interpret from the world around us.  This system is fairly effective when communicating with others because it is based on agreements we make about the meaning of experiences and words.  It is solid because we agree to it and invest our faith in it.  The primary tool for this outward-based system is the mind. It is with our amazing mind that we take the direct experience of Life moving through us and translate it into concepts.  The concepts are surrogates for direct experience. We humans agree to alter experience in this way so we can communicate, can share concepts of experience, can live together. This way of interpreting experience becomes habit, and after time, we do not realize we have altered anything. What we do realize is that at some point in our lives, the surrogate completely replaces direct experience, and we feel disconnected from our source, our integrity, our individual expression.

The voice of the universe communicates uniquely with each of us. It is an inward experience.  The voice of the universe can also be
called intuition.  Intuition is felt through the body and senses.  It needs no agreement, no surrogate, no intermediate interpretation. Exactly how it feels is different for each one of us. Once we realize that the universe communicates with us through feelings rather than concepts, we can shift our senses to attune to this difference. From this point of view, we can withdraw our faith from the surrogate and reinvest it in ourselves, in our feelings. For some of us, this may be uncomfortable. We have put our faith in opinions for so long that we no longer trust our own voice, the voice of the universe.  Yes, they are the same. If we feel disconnected from our source, from our innate creative mastery, then all we need to do is look at where our faith is invested: in opinions and agreements or in ourselves? It takes faith to feel our infinite nature and belief to trust it.

Let’s hear the voice of the universe as it whispers in our ear, and choose to act form that inspiration.  Take the risk to ask the universe, “Let me hear your voice today so that I may know myself as you know me.  I believe that my intuition is the voice of the universe speaking with me, in a message uniquely designed for me, so that I may fully recognize myself as the infinite.”   

Laura P. Turlington, AIA, is the principal of Pirie Turlington Architects.  PTA provides design and facilitation services for all scales of the built environment.  Laura teaches at YaleUniversitySchool of Architecture and is an Associate of Life Mastery Programs.  She offers workshops and journeys of awareness to support merging spirituality and everyday life. Please contact Laura at lpt@pirieturlington.com and visit www.pirieturlington.com or www.lifemasteryprograms.com for more information about Laura and up-coming events.
Laura Turlington is a columnist for aspire… Magazine. Watch for her invisioningouttm column in every issue of aspire… Magazine.