THE 11PHENOMENON

            I can’t really pinpoint exactly when it started but a while ago I noticed that every time I looked at the clock it was 11 minutes after the hour. I shrugged it off as coincidence and didn’t really pay much attention to the unusual repetition of seeing the number 11 many, many times a day and not only on clocks. I’d see it everywhere.

So I started to pay closer attention. I couldn’t help it because it was happening more and more it seemed. Was I more cognizant of it because I kept seeing it or did I keep seeing it because I was more cognizant? Seeing it once or twice per day is one thing but when one opens one’s eyes to check what time the digital alarm clock says it is for the middle-of-the-night-loo-visit and it is consistently 3:11, 4:11 or 5:11it gets a little hard to ignore.

Apparently, I’m not alone. Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler have been experiencing the number 11 phenomenon for some time now. And that’s the other thing…so many other people have and are experiencing number 11 sightings that there is actually a website devoted to the “Number 11 Phenomenon.” You can find it at http://www.11phenomenon.com/. Have a look.

So what does it mean? There are numerous theories that have popped up over the years with some suggesting that there is a connection with the Mayan Calendar and 9/11, obviously, also the Illuminati, Spiritual Awakenings and links to the Bible.

One popular belief, and one held by Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo, is that our Spirit Guides are contacting us through the number 11 and are trying to get our attention. To what end? Only the spirit knows.

Number 11 is a Master number in Numerology. It represents spirituality, insight and a direct channel to the subconscious. It is the most psychic of all numbers and can also be a doorway to your inner self.

Not all people believe that there is a spiritual significance to the number 11, though. Many believe it is related to the brain recognizing patterns and has no other meaning. The truth is that no one can really say for sure what the 11 Phenomenon is because the experiences that it brings are unique to each individual experiencing it.

That said, my research into the 11 Phenomenon has revealed some very interesting facts about the number 11. The number 11 has been an enigmatic number in mathematics, quantum physics, astronomy, politics, history, religion as well as spirituality.

Even conspiracy theorists see it as a significant number as if 11 has been embedded in the very fabric of existence. Its significance in world history and the numerical correlations are so frequent in so many varying ways that you have to dismiss them as merely coincidence. Yes, an argument could be made that you can find significance in many coincidences, if you look hard enough, but I would urge you to do your own research on the subject of the number 11 because it is just flat out fascinating. To me, anyway.

There is not enough room in this column to give you all the information that I have uncovered during my research but I will leave you with some very interesting facts regarding the number 11: Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon. The approximate periodicity of a sunspot cycle is 11 years. If you multiply 1111 X 1111 the answer is 1234321. After Judas Iscariot was disgraced, the remaining apostles of Jesus were sometimes described as “the Eleven”; this occurred even after Matthias was added to bring the number back to 12.

In regards to Canada specifically, the stylized maple leaf on our flag has 11 points. Our loonie is a hendecagon, an 11-sided polygon. Clocks depicted on Canadian currency, for example the fifty-dollar bill, show 11:00. 11 denominations of Canadian currency are produced in large quantities. Due to Canada’s federal nature, 11 legally distinct Crowns effectively exist in the country, with the Monarch being represented separately in each province, as well as at the federal level…I could go on and on.

I have not come to any definitive conclusions, yet, as to my relationship with the 11 Phenomenon but I am keeping a keen eye and an open mind and I am confident that the significance will become clear to me in time. Oh, yeah, by the way…this column will be my 211^th contribution in this editorial spot in The Citizen. Just saying.

“The universe is always speaking to us…sending us little messages, causing coincidences and serendipities, reminding us to stop, to look around, to believe in something else, something more.-Nancy Thayer (1943-).