My Obse33ion with Numb3rs
Of all the newsletters I’ve written, this one about numbers has been the most difficult. Every time I create a category to help define them, each category spills into the others, thus limiting the value of each one. Nevertheless, I’d like to write about numbers with recognizable uses and then discuss some more esoteric uses of them.
First, numbers can be used to create solutions. For example, in the classroom and workplace, fractions and other forms of numbers can be used. Boundaries are also part of this category, whether it’s boundaries for perimeters and properties, geometric figures or for countries, numbers help to create limits that define space.
Numbers can also be used to create the concept of time. It seems like numbers are used to create limits on everything from microwaves to therapy sessions and sporting events. Although time is usually considered to be linear, it can also be cyclical when it comes to the seasons of the year.
I use numbers for a lot of reasons. One is for counting, for instance. I count my breath when I meditate in order to quiet my mind. I also often count my steps when I walk. By counting to eight repeatedly by alternating my steps, I can focus on the numbers instead of the feelings of stress from the exertion.
Numbers are also used symbolically and although I know very little about it, I believe that it has some value. For example, in mysticism, the number one can mean God, the number six is sometimes seen as death, the number seven means completion and nine stands for eternity. In addition, large numbers can be reduced to single digits so they fall into this pattern. For example, my birthday is 2/7/54. So, 2+7=9 and 5+4=9, 9+9=18 and 1+8=9, which is a single digit.
I believe there is a whole science dedicated to symbolic numbers, but I don’t understand it. However, I do know that this use of numbers as symbols can be important. This is difficult to explain and that is why this has been such a challenging newsletter to write. Numbers are everywhere and we try to create meaning from them. For instance, the number 13 is sometimes considered unlucky. 1st is the best but the higher the value of a number the greater the worth, except when it comes to body temperature and golf and cross-country scores, where the lower the number the better.
But a lot of the times numbers can be either providential or based on superstition. If one is constantly seeing numbers, like I do with license plates, then it is just a matter of creating subjective categories. However, numbers can be seen as providential when they appear in meditation. Sometimes individuals suffering from mental illness see subjective patterns when it becomes an obsession, and they create an entire delusional system with numbers.
Numbers can be fascinating to me because I recognize that they have power and symbolic value. However, I think the best way to interpret this newsletter is by seeing my ideas as strokes of a paint brush that are meant to be interesting. I’d like to close today with an excerpt from my book The Bipolar Challenge which discusses numbers utilized in meditation.
Basic Meditation Method
This is the meditation I have used for many years. It is a lot easier to practice than it seems. The whole method can take as little as fifteen minutes and is done silently. I created it out of desperation, and it is a synthesis of several methods. To begin, it is helpful to sit in a chair or lie flat on your back, so the spine is straight. Then take a few deep breaths. Then move to silently counting the in-breath and out-breath:
Part A: Counting the Breath
breathe in 1 breathe out 2
breathe in 3 breathe out 4
breathe in 5 breathe out 6
breathe in 7 breathe out 8
Begin again at 1
Repeat for about 5 minutes.
Part B: Categorizing Thoughts
Thoughts fall into four basic categories.
Memories:
- thoughts about the past
- It rained yesterday.
Planning:
- thoughts about the future
- My rent is due tomorrow.
Imagining:
- thoughts about imagination
- What rhymes with star?
Thinking:
- any thoughts you can’t categorize.
Part C: Counting and Categorizing
After counting the breath in, identify the thoughts as they enter the mind with breathing in and out the four thoughts:
breathe in breathe out
me mories
pla nning
ima gining
thin king
Part D: Breathing and a Meditative Word
Finally, a meditative word is repeated silently as is the rest of the meditation. For example, “Amen” is a meditative word:
breathe in breathe out
ah men
I hope things are going well for you. I’ll see you next week!
(Please remember these are my own ideas, and I’m not attempting to persuade anyone to change theirs.)
Quotes:
“God rejoices in odd numbers.” Virgil (70–19 BCE)
"If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have the key to the universe." Nikola Tesla
“Numbers are a key to the ancient views of cosmogony – in its broad sense, spiritually as well as physically considered and to the evolution of the present human race; all systems of religious mysticism are based upon numerals.” W. Wynn Westcott
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