Signetology

If I were to describe myself, I would say that I’m spiritual, strongly connected to my Jewish roots, very tolerant of people’s religiosity, and also a believer that there are vast mysteries our intellects are not capable of fully understanding and processing. Its constant searching for answers creates a barrier to embracing universal mysteries and catalyzing within us feelings of awe and wonder that make us feel a sense of deep connection, aliveness, and an overall expansion of our consciousness.

Carl Jung was a firm believer that our unconscious speaks to us via symbols and dreams and we should pay close attention to them. This is what a Google search using AI reported back regarding Jung and symbols.

Carl Jung believed that the world speaks to us in symbols, and that symbols are a way to connect to our unconscious minds. Jung’s ideas about symbols are explored in his book Man and His Symbols. 

Explanation

• Jung believed that symbols are made up of conscious and unconscious contents. 
• He thought that symbols are used to represent concepts that are beyond human understanding. 
• Jung believed that symbols are present in all areas of study, including the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. 
• He believed that symbols are used in dreams, art, and culture. 
• Jung believed that symbols are bridges that connect two realities that would otherwise remain isolated. 
• Jung believed that symbols can help us to better understand ourselves. 

Jung believed that humans use symbols unconsciously and spontaneously, especially in dreams. He thought that dreams can help us to find our way in life, both in the inner world and in the outer world. 

And while some people might disregard this as a new age type of mumbo jumbo, I don’t share such skepticism and disdain. In fact, I embrace it. As a huge music fan and student of creativity I read a lot of interviews with musicians and writers. Far too many have talked about how some of their best works came to them in dreams, epiphanies, or flowed through them like another force was writing on their behalf to dismiss the power of the subconscious. It’s akin to the line in the Grateful Dead song The Music Never Stopped which says that “the music played the band.” Bypassing our intellect and listening to our internal guide even flows into the world of one of the most analytical professions, investing. George Soros has said that the way he knew his portfolio was positioned poorly and changes needed to be made was when his back started hurting him. He listened to this far more than his intellect since the latter would only serve as a barrier to him having the courage to make the aggressive changes he felt needed to take place to reduce risk.

Last week I wrote about my trip to Madrid with Heather. During our trips to London for my insurance meetings we try to visit another city since we are already in Europe. We’ve gone to Paris and Amsterdam and, while we were hoping to go to another one last year, this wasn’t feasible because we had a wedding to attend in New York City after London. Had we not had the wedding we were aligned on going to Madrid. Clearly we had our sights set on visiting there. 

Fast forward to a month or so ago and my partner Steve asked me if Heather and I wanted to accompany him to Spain, as well as others, where he goes shooting every year on a beautiful private ranch about two hours south of Madrid. And while shooting birds is really not my thing, or handling guns in general, we couldn’t pass up such a generous offer. Add to this that Madrid was close by and wallah, there’s our opportunity to make our first visit there. The trip was fantastic. There were nine people on the ranch and Heather and I got to spend four days in Madrid which was such a treat.

We put our Madrid intentions into the universe and it conspired to help make it a reality for us. So what is next in terms of what I would like to see? I have had the great fortune to travel to a lot of places in Europe. As a result, there are not many major cities I haven’t been to. The one that sticks out and is spoken about so highly by others is Budapest. 

2025 is the year I turn 60 so naturally we have contemplated various options to celebrate it. Someone suggested we have the 6 Love fest at The TenniSphere which was such a creative name for a party and would be a lot of fun, and is still under consideration.

Returning to signs. A couple of months ago I was on a group text sent by someone who led a tour of Poland that Roneet and I went on in 2018 that was extraordinary. His expertise is Jewish history and bringing it to life on his tours. He is the best at doing so. His knowledge, story telling, and deep emotional connection made our tour so powerful and memorable. 

The text he sent to our group was announcing that he and a colleague were going to be leading a tour of three cities. These were Prague, Vienna, and the third you ask? Ding, ding, ding: Budapest! And when does the tour begin? My birthday, June 29th. It lasts eight days. And since 60 is a big deal Heather and I talked about making it a Price Is Right showcase and adding Wimbledon and an Oasis reunion show in the UK to the mix since both occur after the tour ends.

Time has gone by and I have been wavering. Part of it has to do with my concern about all of the walking that may be required on the tour since my sciatica issue was really bad in Madrid and I don’t want to be a drag on the group. In addition, I reached out to David, the organizer, and asked him if spots were still available. He said there were but he knows I’m not Orthodox and wanted me to know that at least half of the attendees are so he just wanted me to be aware of that. I appreciated him sharing that with me as I would have wanted to know that going in.

So I’m still in the “I’m not sure camp” but I still can’t fully let it go and I know Heather would love to do it. I had to travel to Seattle last week for a quick trip. Prior to going to the airport I was hungry and decided to stop off at a sports bar and eat before my flight. Not surprisingly, the bar area has a lot of televisions (I counted 18). Five of them were most visible from where I was sitting with one of them being smaller than the other four. Not surprisingly, there is soccer and basketball on the televisions with the exception of the small one. I scan the games and then turn my attention to the anomalous television to see what’s on there since it’s not sports. What do I discover? It’s the Scientology channel. First of all, I never knew such a channel existed and, secondly, that is a real testament of the owner’s commitment to Scientology to have that channel on. I’m assuming it’s all of the time but that’s the first time I had been there in probably at least five years so I can’t say for certain 

I found myself fascinated by his willingness to put his faith out there so publicly in his business establishment and also curious what programming the channel had on. The show was subtitled so I could get a feel for what was being presented. A few minutes into watching from afar I start to see some pictures of beautiful architecture and people being interviewed. It turns out that this segment was about the church’s venture into opening a facility in Budapest of all places. As part of it they showed some of the stunning sights of the city and I was hooked. And while I didn’t expect Scientology to be the messenger that we do need to go to Budapest, it did reinforce in me the power of commitment to one’s beliefs and faith and the owner’s willingness to broadcast the Scientology channel to all his patrons was pretty impressive from my perspective and it’s probably a sign I need to SIGNup for that tour.

Although the Manfred Man song “Signs” laments the restrictivenss of all the physical signs the song’s narrator sees, the chorus “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign” still has great relevance if viewed more symbolically. 

It seems to me that I am being nudged along to take the next step and sign up for the tour. This will help me connect even more deeply with my Jewish roots and be a great catalyst for the potential to have the trip of a lifetime if we add Wimbledon and Oasis into the mix.

I’ll turn it over to you and ask if there are any signs, symbols, dreams, or works of art that are speaking to you in ways that are telling you to take a certain action or refrain from others?