What brought you here? Why in this very moment when you could be anywhere doing anything, is it that you have found yourself on this blog? Chances are that you saw the image and it made sense to you! Do you see 11:11? Does it boggle your mind and at times create weird and wonderful confusion? Are you struggling to make sense of its meaning? Don’t worry, I totally understand and I hope this article can be of some comfort and you can see that you’re not alone and that it is not anything to worry about.

This article is not going to be just about 11:11 that is only a small part of the mysterious world of synchronicity. I am going to try and bring some kind of meaning to something that is hard to understand at a logical view point and something that I have to admit I do not fully understand.

The truth is we can try and bring logic to it and explain it in a scientific way, but it is my belief that synchronicity does not work on that kind of level. I know it is something significant, I know that following it brings great things, but it is not something that can be fully understood.

WHAT ARE SYNCHRONICITIES?

Synchronicities are a sequence of more than one event that coincide with each other and have significant meaning related to each other. These events would appear on the surface to be just chance, but are in no way a coincidence.

An example would be- You want to pursue your dream job and you are trying to make an excuse not to do so and for every excuse you make a solution seems to fall in your lap.

Or you attend an event you would usually avoid because every time you switch on the TV, radio or speak with someone it’s all you hear about. Then as a result of attending that event you meet someone significant, like a partner, a business associate or a future friend.

One extreme example from my own life was when I was thinking about giving up on my passion of writing and sharing information about spirituality and growth due to the financial strain it was causing. I had gone online looked up some jobs and was ready to quit, that night I went to bed and said- “If you are going to give me a sign, now is the right time” the next day I received a cheque from a family member that fixed that problem.

Synchronicities differ from coincidence, a coincidence could be you sneezing and at the same time a firework going off. It may be a little weird that it happens, but in most cases there would be no significant meaning.

TYPES OF SYNCHRONICITIES

Predictive- This is where you see, think or do something that links to an outcome. The classic example is thinking of someone and them calling you.

Guiding- This is where all signs guide you to a specific outcome. This could be you thinking of giving up on your music career because of a lack of work and just as you are about to do so, you get a phone call from someone trying to book you for work.

Reflective- This is where you are forced to reflect due to a synchronistic event. An example would be if you decided to cancel your gym membership and then as you go to do it an email hits your inbox about the benefits of exercise, making you reflect on if you have made the right decision or not.

Testing- This is where synchronicity tests you ego. An example would be if you had a food addiction and absolutely loved fried chicken, when thinking about this addiction a fried chicken advert comes on the TV. Testing your ability to fight the temptation. Be strong, don’t do it!!!

SYNCHRONICITIES ARE ALWAYS HAPPENING

One thing I have noticed is that there have always been synchronicities in my life, maybe not quite in the quantity that they are happening now, but they have always been there. Your job is to follow the synchronistic events. The magical thing is- the more you follow them the more they happen.

Don’t go searching for something that is not there, but learn to recognise when something is in front of you. If the perfect relationship seems to fall from the sky at the perfect moment and you decide not to pursue it, you are seeing the synchronicities, but not following them.

When you start to live out these synchronistic events you will start getting the little cosmic nudges, like 11:11 or in my case 33, I see this number everywhere and it was only on a doing a little research I realised the spiritual significance of it.

SYNCHRONICITIES IN YOUR LIFE

Think back to every significant event in your life, I am sure it is full of synchronicities and it is usually the bigger the life event the more synchronicities coincide with it.

The synchronistic events that led towards me being able to work at Truth Theory

Synchronicity number 1: A while back I had a list of around 30 blogs I wanted to write for, out of that list I sent my article- 6 Ideas For An Educational Revolution to Truth Theory.

Synchronicity number 2: The owner of Truth Theory was working on an educational website so he was drawn to the article.

Synchronicity number 3: Out of anywhere in the world he could have lived, he lived just 5 minutes from my house.

Synchronicity number 4: We decided to meet up and it turned out we were pretty much on the same wavelength and that he needed someone to write for Truth Theory and I had been trying to get in front of a bigger audience.

If anyone one of these events didn’t happen, I would not be here writing this article. But they all did and now I am here.

 

WHAT IS THE POINT OF SYNCHRONICITY?

Synchronicity serves many purposes- it can serve as a reminder that you are on the right path, it can be for guidance, sometimes it is to test you, sometimes it will lead you to form significant relationships and other times it is just for you to stop and be present!

Much love to you and if you want to talk about this article hit me up at lukemiller@truththeory.com with the name of the article as the subject line, I would love to talk to you, just try to keep it as short as possible so I can respond!

If you want to get my free eBook which blends psychology and spirituality to help you create more happiness in your life.

Wang Enlin a farmer living in the Yushutun village, China has spent over 16 years studying law to sue the chemical company that allegedly polluted his land.

According to reports from Chinese news site The People, a 2001 government document claimed the contaminated farmland ‘can not be used for a long time’ due to the companies error.

The company in question- Qihua Group have assets of over 2 billion Yen (Around $200 million) and are thought to have dumped hazardous waste into the village from 2001 – 2016, making it impossible for the community to farm their land.

They are also reported to have created 71-acres of wasteland contaminated with calcium carbide and a 478-acre pond full of liquid waste.

Mr Wang decided to pursue the legal knowledge required to take Qihua on after writing a letter in 2001, to the Land Resources Bureau of Qiqihar complaining about the pollution of his village.

He said that he was asked to produce evidence of the contamination when dealing with local officials:

Mr Wang said: ‘I knew I was in the right, but I did not know what law the other party had broken or whether or not there was evidence.’ This was when he started his 16 year study.

Mr Wang also decided to use what he had learned to school the locals and help them gather evidence as their farms had also been affected by Qihua Group.

In 2007, a law firm which specialised in similar cases started to offer Mr Wang and his community free legal advice, and said they would help the villagers file a petition to the court. However due to legal complications, the proceedings only started in 2015.

Due to the case Wang and his community had built they won the first instance. The Court ruled that the Qihua Group pay the families involved a combined amount of 820,000 yuan (Close to $75,000). The case is currently being appealed by Qihua Group.

Mr Wang told the reporter: ‘We will certainly win. Even if we lose, we will continue to battle.’

What does the world know about Leonardo da Vinci? He painted the Monalisa, he wrote backwards, and he designed flying machines way before anyone else thought of them. But is that all this absolute genius created? Obviously not! We are mere plebs in the grand scheme of things and are properly uninitiated to the genius that da Vinci truly was. But there’s nothing to fret as the British Library has digitized over 570 pages of Codex Arundel– da Vinci’s personal notes. And let me just say this- you don’t have to be a Renaissance scholar to enjoy it. 

The Guardian reports that the diaries of da Vinci reflect the universality of his mind. And although he was a certified technophile, he didn’t really do it for the money. Or fame. He simply wanted to discover cool, fancy stuff. 

For centuries Leonardo da Vinci’s genius was kept hidden from the world- mostly as a scientist. His Mona Lisa had acquired fame, but that wasn’t all there was to him. After his death in France, his protege Francesco Melzi brought a lot of his manuscripts back to Italy. Unfortunately, Melzi’s heirs failed to see the brilliance in the manuscripts and disposed of them. Even today, there are a few thousand pages of his books still out there, containing designs for submarines, airplanes, cars, etc. 

LEONARDO DA VINCI AND THE BRITISH LIBRARY

Digitized notebooks came into existence in 2007, when the British Library and Microsoft joined forces. Their project was called ‘Turning the Pages 2.0’ wherein one simply turned the page using animation. As far as Leonardo da Vinci goes, you can definitely choose to scan the 500 odd pages of Codex Arundel. Or, if you think so much information might scramble your brains, check their site. The British Library has a miniseries on his life, and works. 

The entire digitization of the notebooks is quite ironic, considering da Vinci never wanted it to be seen. But it is high time that people recognize the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. He deserves all the credit that any library or government has to offer. Also, if one is interested, Guardian has a piece on his quirks– from wearing pink tights to shopping lists. Do give it a read. 

Dan Harrison and his girlfriend Laura are originally from the UK and they decided that they had enough of “life in the Matrix” and moved to Portugal where they bought a small “abandoned” farm. With zero knowledge of building or farming, they started turning this place into an off-grid homestead. They have been documenting their adventure on their YouTube channel. Their story is really inspirational, many people might think that such a move would require many skills. They aren’t builders or farmers, but they show that with a little bit of hard work and courage, it is possible to get off the grid. There are pros and cons as well to life in Portugal, summer can get very hot there. Also, such an option works well for someone who can generate income online however there are other ways to make money and live off grid, costs of living on your own farm can be greatly reduced.

 

Most of us have many memories of car trips. Be it the games with our siblings or fighting over who gets the window seat, car memories are always fun. And one such fun car was the Volkswagen Beetle. But since the company stopped production of the car long back, one enthusiast built his very own Volkswagen Beetle mini bikes!

The Beetle was well-known for its bubble-like structure and an icon of the yesteryears. The Beetle stopped selling in the US back in 1980 but the worldwide production continued till 2003. Brent Walter, a fan of the Beetle decided to repurpose the remaining cars into nostalgia-soaked adorable little Volkswagen Beetle mini bikes.

Walter is the mastermind behind the “Volkspod” mini bikes. He welded the fenders from the 4 corners of Beetles and reused the taillights from the cars as well. These mini bikes have a bicycle-type handlebar for the rider but they are not your average bicycles. With their 3HP engines, these Volkswagen Beetle mini bikes can manage to reach 25m/h.

And the VW Beetle details don’t stop with the exteriors. While the mini bikes retain the bulbous shape of the Beetle, they also have the crest on the front, the step from the car, and even the engine is the same.

If you are planning for a long road trip with the Volkswagen Beetle mini bikes, let me remind you these are just scooters. So, instead, you can go for a short ride round of the neighborhood and see your neighbors’ faces light up with nostalgia. Want to buy one immediately? But what if I tell you, you can even build your own! Just follow Brent on Instagram and learn all the details.

We currently live in a society that is over stimulated, undernourished and expected to sit still and not make too much of a fuss. I recently spent some time in Peru and one of the things I noticed is they allow children to get on with things. Kids are running around the streets doing flips, handstands and playing football. In a store you will see kids walking down aisles picking things up and curiously exploring. Other adults talk to the kids and there is not the incessant need to control. This is a far cry from what I am used to in the UK and what seems to be the trend in the US also. One of the things that is really upsetting is the need for children to be still. I was at a school assembly for my son recently and the teachers are obsessed with the children being silent and not moving. Could you imagine this anywhere else? When do we ever sit still, in a non interactive and silence way for long periods of time? There are some exceptions for this of course, but it is pretty exhausting to be silent and still, day in, day out. This spills out onto society and what is expected manifests into external expectations of our children. This often leaves parents feeling hopeless and unsure of how best to raise their children.

The following facebook post came from a young single Mum who was struggling in a supermarket and was verbally attacked:

It finally happened. As I stood in the customer service line of Walmart to cash my paycheck with a cart of groceries(and some wine), Sophie sat/stood/did heads stands in the cart, whining over a bag of chips I took away and because she called me a butthole in line. She’s relentless. I know this. I live with it. Her ADHD and obsessive little heart gets on these subjects of things she finds unjust and wrong and it doesn’t stop until she eventually falls asleep or something very dramatic happens to snatch the attention off the obsessed about subject. We stood in line for several minutes, me ignoring her whining and refusing to give in. What’s giving in to bad behavior going to do but reinforce the bad behavior? I’ve walked out of stores hundreds of times because of her. Almost every time, actually, I end up leaving with nothing I came for and a tantrum having four year attached to my hand and a baby on my hip, but this time I had to stick it out to get the groceries. I tell her for the tenth time to sit down so she doesn’t fall and the next thing I hear is a woman behind me in line saying “oh, for Christ’s sake give her a cookie so she’ll shut up!”. I could’ve responded in a nicer way. I could’ve explained to her that my four year old has pretty severe ADHD, I raise both my children alone, I’m doing my best, and had no choice but to wait it out for the groceries. Instead, I heard “she’s four years old and you need to mind your own f***ing business” come out of my mouth. I kept my composure until I finished what I was doing and walked to self check out so I could avoid facing anyone else as “that person”. The person with the misbehaving child. The person who seems lazy because they’re ignoring the behavior. The person who knows doing anything but ignoring it is only going to make it worse. By the time I made it to self check out, tears are pouring down my face. I’ve lost it. I’m angry, my feelings are hurt, I’m offended, and I’m just freakin sad that I can’t have one good experience in a store with my children. As I scan my things, a woman walks up and begins to talk to Sophie. She asks her questions to distract her, but backs me up when Sophie begins to go on about wanting the chips. “No, you can’t have those today. You have to be good for your mommy. She needs you to be good for her. I have a little girl just like you. How old are you? How old is brother?”. Honestly, this woman could’ve been the antichrist and I would’ve had more appreciation for her kindness and compassion than I have for anyone else I’ve ever encountered. It only takes one comment to break someone down. You never know what someone’s going through. You never know the problems a child has that causes them to misbehave and unless you know the struggle of being a parent to a child like mine, you cannot judge me. But It also takes one small act of kindness to make a mama feel comfort and validation. Thank you to the woman in Walmart today, for showing that kindness to my children and I. Thank you for walking us out. Thank you for backing me up. Mamas have to stick together.#lovewhatmatters #MamasUnite

This story had a happy ending and I like to believe that for every person who is inconsiderate of someone who is struggling there is at least 10 people who care. Apathy is the problem and the sooner we speak up in the face of injustice the sooner we encourage others will follow suit and do the same- the takeaway from this, is you can and should speak up and be that ray of light that is needed in times like these! Please share this beautiful story!

I am Luke Miller the author of this article, and creator of Potential For Change. I like to blend psychology and spirituality to help you create more happiness in your life.

Could adopting a vegetarian diet reduce the number of premature deaths worldwide? According to researchers with Harvard University, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Dr. Walter Willett, a professor epidemiology and nutrition with the university, says the benefits of a plant-based diet is vastly underestimated. This is because he and his colleagues concluded that up to one-third of early deaths — or approximately 200,000 lives each year — could be prevented if everyone were to adopt a vegetarian diet.

Said Willett, at the Unite to Cure Fourth International Vatican Conference in Vatican City: “We have just been doing some calculations looking at the question of how much could we reduce mortality shifting towards a healthy, more plant based diet, not necessarily totally vegan, and our estimates are about one third of deaths could be prevented.”

“That’s not even talking about physical activity or not smoking, and that’s all deaths, not just cancer deaths. That’s probably an underestimate as well as that doesn’t take into account the fact that obesity is important and we control for obesity,” he added. “When we start to look at it we see that healthy diet is related to a lower risk of almost everything that we look at. Perhaps not too surprising because everything in the body is connected by the same underlying processes.”

At the same conference, Professor David Jenkins of the University of Toronto (who is credited with developing the glycemic index), said the benefits of consuming a vegetarian diet have been “undersold.” As The Telegraph reports, Jenkins said human health would improve if a “simian” diet were to be adopted. Unlike the “paleo” diet which cuts carbohydrates but allows meat, the “simian” diet is rich in stems, leaves, vines, and fruit.

After traveling to central Africa to study the feeding habits of gorillas, Jenkins and his colleagues recreated the diet for humans — which amounted to 63 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. When the unconventional diet was adopted, participants experienced a 35 percent fall in cholesterol in just two weeks.”

Said Jenkins: “That was quite dramatic. We showed that there was no real difference between what we got with the diet and what we got with a statin.”

“We’re saying you’ve got a choice, you can change your diet to therapeutically meaningful change or you can take a statin. Drug or diet,” he added.

Now that researchers with Harvard University recommend adopting a plant-based diet, hopefully the masses will consider adding more fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, nuts, and seeds into their diets.

A DMT church in Winnipeg, Canada was recently granted a government exemption to legally import and use Daime tea, which is a DMT-based brew very similar to ayahuasca, but a little bit less potent. The church is called “The Centre for Universal Illumination Luz Divina” and it is one of six churches in Canada that have received special permission from the government to use DMT.

Vice has indicated that the churches will also be serving ayahuasca, but the report is unclear because the terms ayahuasca and Daime are used interchangeably. While each brew contains the same ingredients, ayahuasca tends to be stronger and contain more DMT than Daime tea.

Either brew will be legal for these churches to serve under their special permissions, but shamans associated with the Santo Daime religion are known to have a very specific recipe. During Santo Daime religious services, the brew is usually ingested in small doses spread out over a few hours, while ayahuasca is typically consumed in larger doses in a shorter amount of time.

Santo Daime churches have also silently traveled the United States in recent years, operating legally but still maintaining a low profile by doing pop-up services and retreats instead of keeping a permanent address. The church has run into trouble with the law in the past, but after winning a battle against the government in the US supreme court, they are able to operate legally in the country.

Last year, a friend told me about a Santo Daime service that was taking place in rural Maryland, not far from where I live. It was not something that was advertised to the public, but there was a close-knit community that arrived for the service, and all of them seemed to be taking the spiritual aspect of the experience very seriously. In fact, it was basically a day-long church service, in which everyone was dancing around and chanting in Portuguese, then stopping to line up for a shot of the psychedelic brew every hour or so. I was told that some events are more laid back than the one I visited, but it seemed like a very safe environment with a genuinely spiritual staff.

In the 21st century, the name of the ‘Son of God’ has been synonymous with Jesus. But, several theologians and historians show that the very name of Jesus has gone through multiple translations and alterations over the centuries. This implies that Jesus’ real name is actually not Jesus, but some ancient name that is different in different regions. In ancient Greek, the real name is Iesous. In other Hebrew texts, the name of Jesus is Joshua. And in multiple versions of the Bible- the New Testament- the name of Jesus is Hoshea. This name is in itself a variant of the name Jehoshua. The latter predates the mass exodus of the Jews centuries before he was even born, which then evolved to Jeshua, and finally- Jesus. Needless to say, this name has been in usage since modern times as his devotees call him by it.

JESUS’ REAL NAME- YESHUA, JOSHUA, OR IESOUS?

Interestingly, there is a certain section of the Christian population that believes that when people call out to Jesus- their Son, they are actually worshipping the wrong person. Jesus’ real name is Joshua or Yeshua- not Jesus- which leads to some Christians commenting on the veracity of their Gods. For example, Messianic Jews believe in worshipping Yeshua, rather than Jesus.

Some believe that Jesus’ real name wasn’t given to him by his parents, the name was a ‘command from the Heavens’. It should also be mentioned that Christ’s name was not at all unique, and there were quite a lot of people who had the name Yeshua or Joshua. During the second century AD, the name Joshua or Yeshua was quite common among the Jewish population. Therefore, in order to differentiate between them and the “real Jesus”, several Biblical texts changed the name to Jesus of Nazareth. He himself was born among humans who had the same name as he did.

THE ETYMOLOGY BEHIND THE NAME JESUS

According to multiple theologians who have worked on Biblical texts, the name of Jesus has quite a vibrant etymological and historical background associated with it. Jesus is the Grecian form of the Hebrew name that was ascribed to Joshua, the son of Nun, and the great Israelite leader. Apparently, Jesus’ parents also decided to call him Hoshea or O’Shea in this Jewish tradition. In the Bible, Joshua succeeded Moses as the Lord’s Servant. He managed to bring Israel to the promised land as he had sworn to Abraham, and was a very important figure to Hebrews all over the world. From an etymological standpoint, when the word Jesus is broken down- it means ‘Lord is Salvation’.

When it comes to matters of Theology, it is advised that religious texts not be translated on the basis of their etymological meaning- but rather the purpose behind the name.

NAMES OR DEVOTION- WHAT MATTERS MORE?

Jesus’ real name is usually used for identifying Christ as the Son and Servant of God who would show the path to God to other people. This not only speaks volumes about the omnipotence that Christ has, but it also indicates how favorable he is to his believers. Therefore, it is understood that while Jesus is a distinctly human name, the translation and use suggest that God has come to mortals in this form. Regardless, several questions have been raised about the name. Some people believe that Jesus’ real name is actually Yeshua. Other Christians believe that the name is nothing but an error- and somehow equate calling Christ by Jesus as calling God by the name of Zeus- the Greek God. It is possible that people who think they pray to Jesus do not pray to the actual Jesus but to someone else.

Now, while Zeus and Jesus sound similar when one is pronouncing them, the similarities end there. The name Jesus has absolutely no connection with the Greek God of thunder, with the latter being connected to a completely different form of life and worship.