As early as the age of five, my affinity with the spiritual was apparent. I had an inexplicable alignment with the idea of God. My family was not religious, not even on holidays. Whatever association I had with God took form and has expression in Christian-themed drawings from my childhood. I prayed, and always have. But it wasn't until I was 16 that I started reading the Bible and pursuing knowledge about God. In my twenties, my faith arrived at disillusionment and crisis, as I wrestled with philosophical questions that included free will and purpose.
I stopped going to church but never abandoned my belief in God. My faith, naturally, perhaps, remained Christian-based, and though I lost interest in studying the Bible and resist church gatherings, the dedication I had to learning about God still impacts my life. Where I stand today: I maintain that whatever God is, “His grace is sufficient for me.’" I trust that God understands my conflict and sincerity.
I believe in design, order within the apparent randomness of our experiences. This is not to say that the events and what occasions them are not due to a degree of randomness. I simply mean that somehow—be it through energy, fate, God—all that exists inside order. We have, or can have, a purpose or meaning that transcends our understanding and the transience of our daily concerns. I do not claim to understand the spiritual or metaphysical aspects of our lives or how they might work in my own life. However, I do believe that something is at work, and, as far as I can tell, it seems to be directing my awareness toward two things: first, that there is a design in life, something working behind the scenes; and second, that what we do matters and is connected to this design.
As for my position on the metaphysical (philosophical concepts about reality and existence) and the supernatural (beliefs in phenomena that defy natural laws), aside from what I’m about to share, I have experienced extraordinary events that may involve the supernatural. These experiences have disposed me to being open to ideas about the effect of frequency, energy, and attraction. However, I do not subscribe to any specific doctrines associated with these concepts. On that note, here's my story:
Journal Entry (6/30/19)
I had never given much thought to the significance of the number 4 until a few years ago. Over a consecutive three-day period, I noticed the time at 4:44 each day. What struck me as curious was that each instance occurred under unique circumstances. I would have thought such an experience would be a one-time occurrence—until it happened again today.
Over the past two days, I had noticed the time at 4:44 each afternoon. I wondered if today would mark a third consecutive occurrence. I made a conscious effort to ignore the time and focused on my work throughout the afternoon. Then, a sound alerted me to an incoming text message. When I picked up my phone, which prominently displays the time, it read 4:40. Since it was so close to 4:44, I decided not to count it as part of the succession, even though the text exchange continued during that period. The time passed, and nothing mysterious seemed to conclude from it; the two consecutive days of seeing 4:44 was simply a coincidence. Then a thought occurred to me…
I thought to myself, if there’s any significance to this number, it would find a way to make itself known today. I set aside the expectation of seeing “4:44” and resolved that if the number was to appear, it would have to be in a truly extraordinary way—something that would genuinely amaze me.
At 5:00, a torrential rainstorm hit. When it passed, with the sun shining again, I decided to head to the river for dinner. The jot involved a subway ride that included a transfer. While waiting for the connection, I walked the elevated platform periodically glancing down to the street. At some point, I noticed a bus. Atop the bus, through the platform structure, I saw three numbers: "744." A surge of exhilaration arose as I tried to look around the platform’s obstruction to get a better view, hoping to spot a third "4." What would be the odds? I reached for my phone, ready to capture what I thought might be that "extraordinary" sign. I eventually concluded there was no additional number across the top of the bus and put my phone away. Just as I started to walk away, through my peripheral vision, I saw the bus had started to move. As I returned my focus to the bus, it came into the clear. Atop the bus, in large numbers, I could clearly see the complete number. That number was "7444." I tired taking a picture but the moment had passed at the bus passed under the platform out of view. There’s more to the story.
While at the river, I wrote about the experience of the past three days that led up to tonight’s. I documented the story with an app on my phone. Once I conclude my notes, I copied the story to send to you in a text. In that process, I noticed the time: 7:44. I quickly realized that "744" was the number that I first saw on the bus earlier. The unusual synchronicity of the time with the numbers observed on the bus seemed to reinforce the possibility that my experiences were not just random chance but potentially a manifestation of design.
I headed home, my mind still buzzing with the day’s events. On the train, I replayed the occurrences of the past few days, particularly the curious pattern of seeing the number 4. The train pulled into the transition point where earlier I had seen the bus, number “7444.” As I waited on the platform for the next train to arrive, I wondered how I could dismiss such occurrences of seeing 444. Deep in thought, trying to make sense of the repeated sightings, I concluded this could not be a coincidence but continued to wonder about its meaning.
After some time, I looked up into the distance and my attention settled on a building directly in front of me. There, prominently displayed, was a sign with the phone number: 718.383.3444. Overwhelmed, tears welled up in my eyes. The connections seemed too precise to ignore, leaving me with a profound sense of order, structure, and meaning, even though I was unable to articulate what that meaning might be.
Tracking Sightings
One afternoon, I received a text from my father at exactly 4:44. That week, the lottery jackpot had surpassed $300 million, so, given curiosity about the meaning of 444’s following me and the sum of the lottery, I decided to buy a ticket. The following day, I checked the results and found there were no winning tickets. More intriguing, however, was seeing that the jackpot had risen to $444 million.
My father, being more scientifically minded, suggested that I keep a journal to track occurrences of the number sightings. He thought that a pattern might emerge to revlea some worthwhile insight.
Here are a few of my initial entries over the first few days:
· 444 mph – the speed of the plane during my flight to California
· 444 – phone number of the restaurant where I made a dinner reservation
· 444 – license plate number of the car in front of me
· 444 – confirmation code for tickets purchased to the Getty Villa
· 444 – address of a parking lot and loading dock number
· 4:44 – time of an automatic site backup
· 444 – car’s trip meter
Additionally, I noted: "In the past week, I've had two dreams in which I saw 444, though I don't recall the details." The results of the tracking exercise: 15 occurrences of 444 in 23 days. So, what does it means?
Probability
I presented AI with the results from my tracking and asked it to conduct a probability calculation. Here’s its response:
To determine the odds of seeing the number "444" 15 times in a 23-day period, you need to consider several factors, such as the frequency of seeing this number compared to random chance and how often you are exposed to situations where seeing such numbers is possible.
Here's a simplified way to approach it:
1. Determine the Probability of Seeing "444" in a Given Time Frame:
· Assume each day is an independent event where you might see "444."
· If you observe numbers frequently (e.g., checking clocks, seeing bus numbers, phone numbers, etc.), let's approximate this by assuming you have 10 opportunities each day to see the number. This could be adjusted based on your actual observation frequency.
2. Probability Calculation:
To calculate this, you need to estimate the probability of seeing "444" in any given opportunity. For random 3-digit sequences, this probability is typically 1 in 1,000, which corresponds to a 0.001 chance.
3. Binomial Distribution Calculation:
· The probability of seeing "444" at least 15 times in 23 days, with 10 observations per day, requires using the binomial distribution formula:
Where:
n = Total number of observations (23 days x 10 observations = 230)
k = Number of times “444” is seen (15)
p = Probability of seeing “444” in each observation (0.001)
AI’s calculations concluded: “Seeing "444" 15 times in 23 days would typically be interpreted as more than just a coincidence. It suggests a noteworthy trend or pattern.”
What do you think?
Postscript
On 9/18/24, weeks after writing this article, something amazing happened. LinkedIn notified me of two new followers (I receive about 100 new followers per week). Both new followers had the number "444" in their follower counts (one at exactly 444, and the other at 2,444). I asked AI to check the probability of receiving two followers back-to-back with the number "444" in their respective follower counts. Answer: "...this occurrence is extremely rare—about once every 192 years."
Have you had such experiences?
UPDATE:
The "444" force didn't wait 192 years. I just gained a new LinkedIn follower with... well, you know. Amazing!
© copyright 2024 Steven Robert Young. All rights reserved.
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