The Quickening

“Practice not-doing,

And everything will fall into place.” Tao Te Ching, #3

As the world hums along on its ever-quickening pace I often wonder, is time speeding up, or is it just me? No one disagrees that just in the last century our world, its economy, populations, and technologies have advanced at an increasing rate. How often to we take time to stop and smell the roses anymore? Multi-tasking has now become routine and many see idle time as wasteful or unproductive. This value is a relic of the Protestant work ethic; some say it’s what has made our country unique. Certainly it has fueled our leadership in many scientific and technological fields, though the decline of moral values and the increase in violence and fraud – including war - seem to be the dark side of this obsessive-compulsive tendency.

James Gleick wrote a book called Faster in which he describes the accelerated pace of everyday experience over the course of the ‘manic’ 20^th century - from so-called ‘hurry sickness’ (waiting anxiety) to automatic appliances, express mail, speed-dialing, the internet, and a general increase in type-A personality flaws that cause people expect fast service and are rude or impatient when it’s not. Time is money, believes this over-worked society with busy schedules and demands for instant gratification. Our stress levels have increased to match this quickening pace and it’s making many of us sick. “Future shock” and “information fatigue syndrome” are two terms created to describe this phenomenon.

But is time actually speeding up? Most people will tell you, it only seems that way as you get older, as each increment of our lives become ever smaller parts of an increasing whole. An hour seemed like an eternity when we were five; at fifty, it seems to go by in a flash. Or maybe it’s what we’re doing with that hour; waiting for a bus can seem eternal, but while having fun with friends, time seems to fly. One is reminded of Einstein’s theory of relativity; time passes slower the faster you travel. It doesn’t matter much to those of us without the opportunity to swing through space at the speed of light; however, it is known that our solar system itself is traveling through the galaxy at dizzying speeds, and that the universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate. Could this be influencing our world in ways we’ve not yet imagined?

Terrence McKenna admits, “It has become a cliché of modern parlance and journalism that time is speeding up, that history is moving faster and faster.” He suggests “we have entirely misunderstood the character of time”, and believes we are “…on a collision course with a temporal vortex of some sort…wrapping ourselves around a cosmic endpoint of some sort.” Montalk suggests there is a shift from 3D to 4D in which “linear time is giving way to nonlinear time…with a shift in priorities, trivialities fade into a repeating background pattern while spiritual events (leaps in awareness and maturity) increase in their frequency and novelty, both of which lead to the perception that time is speeding up for different reasons.” Others such as 2012 Unlimited suggest humanity is going through a shift in consciousness and that time is actually speeding up as we enter a new era. Some like Gregg Braden believe the Schumann resonance (like the Earth’s heartbeat) is increasing in frequency, causing us to experience the equivalent of 16 hours in a day instead of 24. Skeptics debate this view. Interesting to note the earth’s rotation is actually slowing down, causing scientists to add an extra “leap” second to our atomic clocks last year.

In response to this increasingly complicated and hurried way of life, some are making an effort to slow down. Wikipedia has a page on the Slow Movement, an attempt to slow down the pace and savor the good things in life. Check out slowdownnow.org, funded by ‘the international institute of not doing much.” Or how about the Slow Society, created as an alternative to the short-sightedness of a fast-paced society. I appreciate the sentiments – but what a shame we need to be reminded. As for myself, I continue to struggle with the expectations of this frantic world. For the first time in my life, this past year or two, I’ve had the luxury of staying at home, and I never hear the end of the questions, “what are you doing with your time? what do you do all day? what do you do to keep busy?” As if sitting on my porch enjoying the Hawaiian sunset isn’t enough. It’s tough to Surf the Tao in today’s world – but at least I have the words of Lao Tzu to comfort me. True wisdom seems foolish, remember.

“Therefore the Master acts without doing anything.” - #2

11:11 Phenomenon

“We work with being, but non-being is what we use.” –Tao Te Ching #11

As we approach 11/11, I want to mention the phenomenon surrounding those numbers. About two years ago I noticed that for some reason I always checked the time when it was exactly 11:11. When I mentioned it to my husband, he said the same thing had been happening to him. Soon after it escalated to include 1:11, 3:11, 9:11; nearly every time we looked at a clock, it was 11 minutes after the hour. Since we are both aware of numerological and other types of synchronicities, we knew it had some significance but couldn’t quite place it. Since then we’ve been hearing the same thing all over the place from all kinds of people.

Those who are into numerology and the symbols used in various secret societies probably already know about the strange reoccurrence of the number 11 in the events on September 11, 2001. You can find more about this online, here is one example.

Similar coincidences are found for the numbers 11.11. The WWI armistice was signed at 11:11 AM on 11/11/18. World War II ended on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month. The Berlin Wall fell on 11/11/89. Supposedly the Mayan calendar end year 2012 is timed at 11:11 Universal time; the U.S. Navy lists the 2012 solstice for 12/21/12 at 11:11 Universal time. Yasser Arafat died on 11/11/04. JFK was assassinated on 11/22. Wikipedia lists the events, births, deaths, holidays and observances on this day. Interesting to note that 1.11111111 squared = 1.2345678987654321 and 111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321, like a count-up and count-down, or pyramid. I discuss the number 11 in my book Surfing the Tao, which was published before I started noticing the 11:11 phenomenon on clocks, because in my spirit I sensed it was important to have at least some awareness of how others think of and use numbers.

Note that the twin pillars are significant Masonic symbols. They are found in our dollar sign, along with an encircling serpent. According to their legends, sacred knowledge was inscribed upon two pillars called Boaz and Joachim, which were then lost in a great flood. Pythagoras and Hermes Trismegestus supposedly found them later and passed this wisdom on to others. Also it should be noted that the numbers 11, 22 and 33 are considered “master numbers” to occultists. Aleister Crowley revered the number 11 and considered it to be an object of magic, believing it was more powerful than the number 13, which to those ‘in the know’ is just a red herring in terms of power numbers.

The number 11 means different things to different people. It’s considered a ‘bad’ or ‘unlucky’ number to the Hebrews; for them ‘11’ stands for transgression of the law, rebellion, sin, war, sorcery and martyrdom. To others it represents the ‘Old World Order’ (thus the destruction of the twin towers to usher in the New World Order, so they say). According to numerologists, ‘11’ can mean anything from intuition, honesty, spirituality, light, gentleness, and insight to justice, karmic burden and growth in consciousness. Some say it stands for destruction, the battle between good and evil, or the birth of something new.

The 11:11 phenomenon can be found everywhere now – online there are many websites, forums, discussions, blogs and articles about it. There’s even a 4 minute video called “11:11 Wake Up” on Google. Renowned psychic Uri Geller noticed 11:11 too; he believes it is a “pre-encoded trigger placed into our cellular memory banks prior to our descent into matter which, when activated, signifies that our time of completion is near.” He says 11:11 is our wake-up call, and when it happens to reflect for a moment, look larger, ask for help or simply listen for a revelation. Geller asserts that 11.11 is “the bridge to our vitality and oneness. It is our pathway into the positive unknown and beyond.”

Solara says people notice these numbers more during times of “accelerated personal change”, as “a reminder of your true purpose here on Earth”; she also describes an 11:11 Doorway or Gateway, like a crack between two worlds linking two different spheres of energy. She says when you see them, know you are on the right track. 1111spiritguardians.com says the 11:11 reoccurrence is the work of “fun-loving Spirit Guardians, or Angels” to get our attention. Crystalinks says 11:11 can be seen as a key to unlock the subconscious mind, to remind us that we are spirits having a physical experience, rather than the other way around. Graham Tucker also wrote about 11:11, noting some crop circles with this design. Many more links to 11:11 synchronicities can be found here. I also found it interesting to look up 11:11 (Chapter 11, etc.) in different books of the Bible and other spiritual sources.

For me, numbers resonate in different ways, and in the grand scheme of the multi-dimensional universe we live in, I know enough to pay attention to them. 11:11 has happened to me so many times now I just laugh, and think of it as God winking at me. They are like messages from the Universe, little synchronicities and signs that at the very least, confirm for me that there is a much bigger, much more elaborate plan in the works than my puny mind can comprehend. What does it mean that so many people are experiencing the 11:11 phenomenon, I can’t be 100% sure; simply that those of us who do sit up and pay attention is what I believe is important at this point. “Wake up”, as the video warns. Perhaps it’s just another guidepost on our journey towards Surfing the Tao.