Does the Science Back Angel Numbers?

Are angel numbers really a strong, auspicious spiritual sign? Or just random junk New Age hype?

According to author Doreen Virtue, “One of the most common ways in which angels speak to us is by showing us repetitive number sequences. Since the publication of her best-selling book Angel Numbers, Doreen Virtue has received even more information from the angels about the meaning of number sequences such as 111, 444, 1234, and so forth. Angel Numbers 101 clearly explains how to receive accurate messages from your angels and heavenly loved ones whenever you see repetitive number sequences on telephone numbers, license plates, receipts, clocks, and such…” Thus reads the Google Books summary description of her book, Angel Numbers 101: The Meaning of 111, 123, 444 , And Other Number Sequences.

Whether you are a believer in angel numbers or not, you have to believe that, for people who do believe, the power of their thoughts and beliefs is enough to have very real energetic effects. Research in science increasingly is finding support for the power of belief, for example with the placebo effect and with quantum entanglement. (See also Dr. Jeffrey Rediger’s and Dr. Shamini Jain’s books on healing, linked below.)

So can angel numbers just be viewed as an extension of quantum entanglement? It’s certainly one strand of interpretation of how quantum entanglement works. New research, as discussed in the article, Brain Experiment Suggests that Consciousness Relies on Quantum Entanglement, supports that human consciousness works not as “a classical system” but that it instead relies on “quantum processes” (Fernandez, 2022). (Funny aside; notice that this article was published on 11/22/2022).

So perhaps you take a light-hearted approach toward angel numbers as I do. You smile in consideration of the possibility that angel numbers may be auspicious signs.

Yet, whether you see angel numbers as having profound spiritual significance or you see the reification of angel numbers as ridiculous and silly, you would do well to recognize the power of belief. Once we recognize the true latent power of belief, and once we begin to return to tap into our own potential for self-belief, we begin to be able to harness the healing and transformational powers of belief.

As Dr. Katie Spalding wrote of angel numbers, their significance is not mathematical, but rather taken from numerology, which is not strictly viewed as a scientific perspective. Spalding, however, continued, “The real explanation for angel numbers, though, doesn’t lie in math, but psychology: it’s a manifestation of the very real and scientifically backed effect known as apophenia.

“Apophenia is an error of perception: The tendency to interpret random patterns as meaningful,” explains John W. Hoopes, Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences Anthropology at the University of Kansas, in an article for Psychology Today dated 11/11/11.”

Yet is this not the task of life? To make meaning of our lives, and the events in our lives? Spalding agrees that pattern recognition is an important skill which can even be a survival response.

A related concept was coined by Rob Brezsny is that of “pronoia,” the idea that the universe is conspiring in your favor (as opposed to the idea of paranoia). Indeed, Brezsny asserts the concept of pronoia as being the antidote to paranoia. Positive thinking, optimism, and mindful manifestations all relate to this concept of pronoia, and they also rely on the foundation of a positive worldview.

So, in terms of the angel numbers in my own Medium stats that I highlighted above, while of course it takes a certain exaggerated bit of optimism to see earnings of 77 and 88 cents as auspicious angel numbers when the earnings are still so meager, the stats of 3,333 views are a little more promising. One of the points behind angel numbers is that reality is a matter of perspective. Being encouraged by numbers can only help you work harder to work toward further successes.

When we choose to see things as aligning in our favor, as the perspective of pronoia espouses, then things are actually more likely to line up in our favor.

Such is the power of manifestation — paired with hard work, of course. To be successful on any endeavor, it takes work and dedication, of course, but it also takes the vision and self-belief to accomplish one’s goals.

Dr. Jeffrey Rediger and Dr. Shamini Jain are two proponents of consciousness-based healing. As Rediger elaborates in Cured, healing is multi-faceted; it takes finding self-belief and changing your mindset as well as working on lifestyle and diet changes to support a healthy life; there is no singular solution to finding wellness, but having the conscious mindset that you are capable of healing, and that the body indeed seeks to maintain wellness, is foundational to finding healing and transformation.

So, I think it’s fair to say that angel numbers can be powerful and real indeed, but only as much as you believe so and are ready to put in the reciprocal work to help the seeds of the auspicious signs grow.

Sources:

Breszny, Rob. (2009). Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia, Revised and Expanded: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings. Amazon.

Fernandez, Elizabeth. (November 22, 2022). Big Think. “Brain Experiment Suggests that Consciousness Relies on Quantum Entanglement.”

Jain, Shamini, PhD. (2021). Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health. Sounds True, Boulder, Colorado.

Rediger, Jeffrey. (2020). Cured: Strengthen Your Immune System and Heal Your Life. Flatiron Books.

Spalding, Dr. Rebecca. (January 23, 2023). “What Are ‘Angel Numbers’ Like 111, and What is the Science Behind Them?” IFL Science.

Virtue, Doreen. (2008). Angel Numbers 101: The Meaning of 111, 123, 444 , And Other Number Sequences. Hay House Books. Carlsbad, California.

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