Please respond by 11-11

The 11-11 coincidences continue, following a phone conversation I had with Uri Geller.

It seems that every time I turn around, a new 11-11 coincidence is waiting to remind me that the human mind is designed to find what it is looking for.

The 11-11 phenomenon first came to my attention when Uri Geller called me about a story I wrote about him for The American Chronicle. In the 1970s the CIA was interested in studying Geller to learn the secret behind his psychic powers.

Since our conversation I have experienced numerous 11-11 coincidences. They arrive in subtle ways, like a sales receipt that "expires on 11-11-2007" or a request from a DVD club to "please respond by 11-11."

I apparently have achieved "11-11 status" in the "cosmic coincidence control center" that manages all of the weird synchroncities across the planet (I am also a proponent of many-worlds, where all that can happen does, somewhere in the multiverse -- so I am not surprised by amazing coincidences, merely impressed that I inhabit a universe where the unlikely is either randomly OR intelligently selected to appear to look non-random! )

I'll leave you with one FINAL thought ... consider this -- St. Malachy forecast the lineage of the Popes until the present Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger):

Malachy's final numbered Pope, number 111, "De Gloria Olivae (The glory of the olive)"

And after number 111?

In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations; when they are over, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible or fearsome Judge will judge his people.

The End.

My son also experienced his own personal mystical numerical revelation. I present it here for your edification and entertainment:

That Other Phenomenon by Justin Bekkum

After recently reading Uri Geller’s stimulating article involving the phenomenon of 11:11, I have noticed a new and possibly more potent, time: 12:34.

I’ve encountered these numbers on clocks, but even more startling is hearing them every time someone counts out loud. Yes, this oddly sequential series of numbers is used whenever one wishes to count to any number greater than three.

The number four itself is quite odd. A quick examination yields that 2+2=4, 2*2=4, and yes, even is equivalent to four. Four is also the second square number and the second centered triangular number. Once again we are met with the two 2’s! But the four’s don’t end there. There are four cardinal directions, four seasons, four dimensions that we see, and four letters in the word four! Humans have four limbs, and are capable of counting to four on the phalanges of any of those limbs or even with the limbs themselves! Don’t even get me started on the Tetragrammaton or the Four Horsemen.

The mystery of 1234 further deepens when historical events occurring on 12/34 (a.k.a. 1/3 or January 3^rd) are examined. On January 3^rd there are 362 days remaining in the year. Six times two divided by three happens to equal four. And, not to forget leap years, in which 363 days remain, we find that the average of three plus six plus three is once again none other than four.
On top of all this are several important events that occurred on January 3^rd: the birth of Cicero (106 B.C.), the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892), the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb (1924), Benito Mussolini declaring his takeover of Italy (1925). Perhaps most startling of all is the 1967 death of Jack Ruby, killer of Harvey Lee Oswald, the man many conspiracy theorists believe didn’t shoot JFK.

Sadly, the year 1234 yields much less spectacular results, although in the Holocene calendar it corresponds to the year 11234 (oh my, an 11 sighting!). A little more Googling digs up House Resolution 1234: To end US occupation of Iraq immediately. Is someone trying to tell us something here? Finally, and perhaps most compelling, is the fact that this editorial is made up of one, two, three, four paragraphs. Coincidence? I think not!

This editorial should not be taken seriously in any way, shape, or form. Furthermore, my goal is not to discredit Uri Geller’s article and ideas about 11:11. I myself have seen 11:11 at least twice since reading his article, and I am currently ambiguous as to whether or not such a phenomenon exists. This article is merely meant to be a short and amusing read.