Don't Ignore The Subtle Signs, Look For The Patterns in Your Life.

(Photo: StevenM_61)The Universe has a way of speaking to us, and that is worth listening to.  I don't suggest chasing after every single Déjà vu, but don't ignore the subtle signs.  I was reading Erin Pavlina's Blog and she has a great little post about How to Tell the Difference Between a Sign and Coincidence published.

Recently, I found out that the number 8 was prominent in my life.  Like freakishly so.  I'm fascinated by Jewish mythology, and as such, the Hebrew language, but one thing I've never bought into was numerology.  Jim Carrey in The Number 23 is enough to make my eyes roll, but when I started cataloging all the 8's in my life, it was eerie.

I used a simple uniformed convention to get this, and I'm going to lose most of you here, but for those that stay, you'll see what I mean.  For this observation, you take any set of numbers in your life and sum them up.  If that answer is higher than 11, sum those two also. 

For instance: my current zip code is 11978.  1+1+9+7+8=26.  2+6=8.

Coinkidink, right?  Except that ALL of these numbers in my life add to 8:

• 6-digit birth date: 09+07+82=26=8
• 10-digit phone number: 8
• Social Security number: 8
• Bank Member number: 8
• Bank Pin number: 8
• My dog's NYS Registrations number, even! 3026816=26=8
• How many total siblings do I have, including me? 8.
• What time is it RIGHT now as I look at the clock on my computer? 12:41. 8.  Seriously.
• When I first reported this, freaking out on Steve Pavlina's message board after I learned what 8 meant, that message posted at 08:45.  =17=8. 
• [It's the next day, I'm editing this, glance at the clock and it's 9:08. =17=8.  See what I mean?  Eerie.]

It's Psychotic, I know.  But it caught my attention.  I was in no way a believer before, but Mr. Pavlina had a breathtakingly smart way of explaining the 11:11 phenomenon.  Most notable about his explanation though is that if you allow something in your environment to be a sign, it will be a sign.  Allowing that, you can use the phenomenon to shore up intuition.  You can listen to what the Universe (God) is saying.

It becomes the "still voice" that I was always told to listen for when I was growing up in Sunday School.  It becomes recurring devices to aid your intuition, and if you test them frequently, they become reliable.  I smile now with every confirmation.

Examples

11:11, for example, is most commonly associated with times on a clock.  If you register with that sign in your life, and you ponder something, you might look up at a clock as you think about it.  If the clock is on 11:11, you're on the right track.  Your higher conscience is telling you to grab that bull by the horns and dance with it for a while.  If, perhaps, the clock reads 11:09, it's close, but you're a little premature.  Sit back and let things unfold.  Continue in your diligence, but this one is still maturing.

I started approaching the recurring 8's in my life in the same manner.  I see 8's in street signs, in number combinations like phone numbers, and sometimes as trailing digits.  If it's 9:08, that 8 jumps out at me.  Furthering that, for giggles, when I add it, 9+8 is equal to 17. 1+7=8.  I just see them now.  They jump out at me. 

What's interesting to note is that some of the numbers in my life are a digit off, if they're not an 8.  They add to 7's or 9's.  Still pretty eerie.  I use it though.

Things that I already know that I'm done with, or ready to move on from, like my Military career, don't add up at all.  Conversely, things that I know are in my general plan come in at, or around 8.  I keep getting American Express credit card offers, but I know it's too soon for me to apply.  For giggles, when I add the numbers on the fake card they send me, they add to 7.  Close, but not quite there.

I also use it as an exercise to increase total awareness of my thoughts and environment.  If I happen to glance up and see an 8 pop out, I try to recall what I was thinking about.  Often times this happens on the way to work.  I'll look up just in time to see one of the 35 MPH street signs passing by my truck.  Right after that, I'll slow down behind a school bus and it has a simple blatant "8" stenciled on the back door. 

This happens to me.  I'm allowing myself to have fun with it now.  It's become dialogue between me and my reality.

Subtleties And Patterns

In any case, my original point in this post is that signs are subtle.  They are often very quiet, and don't really speak until you are listening (then they get amusingly loud).  With that same understanding, however, not everything is a sign.  The point is to find the patterns, and allow yourself to respond, thus creating dialogue.

(Photo: My Majestic Pit Bull. We communicate with subtle signs.)My wife and I live with and care for a beautiful Pit Bull Mix, pictured above.  He is the quietest dog that I've ever cared for in my life!  He rarely barks, doesn't scratch doors, and occasionally whimpers when he wants to tell me something.  Normally though, he stands somewhere, or looks at me, when he wants something.  It's subtle.

Not everything is a sign from him, but if he looks at me three times in a row, and he's been standing decidedly by my back door, he wants to go out.  I've tested this sign, and it's become dialogue between me and him now.  It's subtle, and if you didn't know him you would miss it, but it's effective because he and I have included these signs in our lives with each other.

Further, I accept him as a choice in my reality.  There is a reason Roscoe is in my life.  When I started tuning into subtle signs more, it occurred to me that Roscoe had been sending them all along.  He makes me more aware of subtleties because that's all he and I have to communicate with.  Now when I catch his signals, I thank him and God for that awareness and our communication.

He's become an affectionate living parable of love and awareness in my life, and for that, among many other things, I love him dearly.  He's a blessing.

What Does Any of this Matter?

This can all be taken as hocus pocus, but it fits into business and entrepreneurship also.  You, as a leader and innovator, have to be in tune to subtle indicators.  You have to anticipate trends before they actually manifest, and you have to make bold decisions with limited data sometimes.

I also use this exploration of signs in my life as an experiment to trust my intuition more. I go with my gut often now, test the results, and if they are good I store that feeling as a reliable indicator.  It creates a stronger gut, so to speak.

My wife has recently asked why I do this thing or another. I answer, "because I had a whim and I want to follow my whims."  Follow whims.  See where they lead.  If they work out well, recall the feelings surrounding them.  If they don't work out well, dismiss it as a coincidence. 

Cultivate an awareness of the signs that are around you, the ones that steer you right, and learn to tune into them!  Where you want to take it from there is up to you.  I choose to apply it to my daily life and my business, and you can do the same.

Comments

[Matt]

as i was starting to read this i noticed the time was 2:15
2+1+5=8
weird

[Chad Tabary]

Lol. I wish I could say I was making all this up.
Sometime trends amount to be remarkable though.

I haven't noticed 8 as much as since I wrote this. Pavlina also shut down his forum though, and I think I didn't think of it as much. Recently over the last couple weeks I've made an effort to notice, but it all feels very forced.

I've got a lot of transition looming though, and it's easy to get lost in the rush!

Thanks for your comment.

[Reanna]

Oh my goodness, 4:13 4+1+3 = 8 Ahhhh

[Cortney]

2:45: 2+4+5=11!!! Oh....wait.

[captain obvious]

Everything in my life adds up to 0.

[Chad Tabary]

Reanna, the date you posted is a fat 8 also ;) 04/28/12. 4+2+8+1+2=17=8 Super hokey! But it happens.

Cortney, 11 is a huge number with big implications to people who go bananas over this. I was originally bummed that I was never finding any, and that's how I stumbled on the 8's.

Take care,
Chad.