23 Enigma
The "23 Enigma" is the Discordian belief that all events are connected to the number 23, given enough ingenuity on the part of the interpreter. The idea behind this is to get you to think. Have you ever bought a new car, and then suddenly realized that every other car on the road seems to be just like yours!? Or found out about a new band, and then realize that they are everywhere, you can't escape the song!?
That's idea behind 23. There is no real meaning, obviously, it's a random number. But what it represents is something huge. We take in information from all around us every day, but what we don't realize is that a lot of this information seems to be edited out if it means nothing to us. Everyone has tunnel vision.
Within our world some things are of great importance to us, some less, and some things we don't know about. The things that we don't know about are ALL around us, but until we take notice they are filtered out. The cars on the road are the same cars that were there the day before; you just had no reason to notice them. That song has played in the same room with you before, but you had no reason to take notice.
My number is 138 and 1031. I played in a band called Eerie Ln. for a few years and everything was centered on Halloween and 1031. So now I notice 1031 everywhere, I tend to look at the clock at exactly 10:31 regularly. I might have looked at the clock at 10:29, then again at 10:34, my brain just edits those out, only the one that is significant gets recognized. I also do this with 1:38 daily. 138 has become such a thing with me and my wife that she has the number tattooed and is always saying, "Play the lotto!".
What this means is something bigger though. There is information, concepts, theories, etc., that when we hear them, we overlook them, or just nod our head in a zombie-like fashion. But had we just learned that concept, it would stand out as a strange coincidence that we are hearing it again. The simple fact is that we now understand it, it's not the first time we had access to the information, it's the first time that it wasn't filtered out!
Based on this, I bet you recognize the number 23 the next time it is in your visual range. But more than that, experiment look up something on Wikipedia, read all about it. Then follow up by finding more information on another site. Now that you have these facts, or theories, or whatever it may be, you WILL notice that someone else mentions them. A friend, a radio DJ, someone behind you in line... someone will be talking about the thing you just learned about. What's even better, and more fully proves the point, is that you will notice that it was mentioned on your favorite CD, or movie, or book. And you heard it before, you just edited it out... you then suddenly realize that it's impossible to even comprehend the amount of the information that you have edited out in a lifetime. "Reality Tunnel" truly does seem to be a fitting label for our consciousness!
The "23 Enigma" is the Discordian belief that all events are connected to the number 23, given enough ingenuity on the part of the interpreter. The idea behind this is to get you to think. Have you ever bought a new car, and then suddenly realized that every other car on the road seems to be just like yours!? Or found out about a new band, and then realize that they are everywhere, you can't escape the song!?
That's idea behind 23. There is no real meaning, obviously, it's a random number. But what it represents is something huge. We take in information from all around us every day, but what we don't realize is that a lot of this information seems to be edited out if it means nothing to us. Everyone has tunnel vision.
Within our world some things are of great importance to us, some less, and some things we don't know about. The things that we don't know about are ALL around us, but until we take notice they are filtered out. The cars on the road are the same cars that were there the day before; you just had no reason to notice them. That song has played in the same room with you before, but you had no reason to take notice.
My number is 138 and 1031. I played in a band called Eerie Ln. for a few years and everything was centered on Halloween and 1031. So now I notice 1031 everywhere, I tend to look at the clock at exactly 10:31 regularly. I might have looked at the clock at 10:29, then again at 10:34, my brain just edits those out, only the one that is significant gets recognized. I also do this with 1:38 daily. 138 has become such a thing with me and my wife that she has the number tattooed and is always saying, "Play the lotto!".
What this means is something bigger though. There is information, concepts, theories, etc., that when we hear them, we overlook them, or just nod our head in a zombie-like fashion. But had we just learned that concept, it would stand out as a strange coincidence that we are hearing it again. The simple fact is that we now understand it, it's not the first time we had access to the information, it's the first time that it wasn't filtered out!
Based on this, I bet you recognize the number 23 the next time it is in your visual range. But more than that, experiment look up something on Wikipedia, read all about it. Then follow up by finding more information on another site. Now that you have these facts, or theories, or whatever it may be, you WILL notice that someone else mentions them. A friend, a radio DJ, someone behind you in line... someone will be talking about the thing you just learned about. What's even better, and more fully proves the point, is that you will notice that it was mentioned on your favorite CD, or movie, or book. And you heard it before, you just edited it out... you then suddenly realize that it's impossible to even comprehend the amount of the information that you have edited out in a lifetime. "Reality Tunnel" truly does seem to be a fitting label for our consciousness!