Author: J. Sands Loch

2025-0129W-0900 Austin, TX

As I’m typing this, the beautiful being in the apartment I’m visiting is getting ready to have an Ecstatic Dance inside. I have a choice now. I can continue typing OR I can stop typing and start dancing. Both universes exist regardless of the choice I make. Neither universe is of lesser value than the other. My quantum self will experience both. My classical self will experience writing now, and dancing later. I will finish this blog post first …

As the Year of the Wood Snake (乙巳, Yǐ Sì) begins, we are invited into a space of transformation, wisdom, and adaptability. The Snake, in Chinese tradition, is an intuitive navigator—one that moves between shadows and light, sensing the unseen and shifting effortlessly through obstacles. The Wood element brings an added layer of growth, flexibility, and resilience.

Universe Surfing can be thought of as the conscious movement between possibilities—the shedding of past skins and the emergence into new timelines.

The Wood Snake and Universe Surfing

The Snake thrives in subtlety, navigating through unseen forces, much like the way we experience quantum reality—the multiverse in which infinite versions of our choices play out. We surf through these possibilities not as passive observers, but as active participants, shifting realities with every decision, every intuition, and every unexpected moment.

The Wood Snake year calls us to embrace this movement, to sense the energetic flow of the universe, and to trust in our ability to shape our experience. In this spirit, let’s revisit the Three Hypotheses of Universe Surfing, now through the lens of the Snake’s wisdom.

Universe Surfing Hypothesis 1 – All Parallel Classical Universes Hold Equal Reality

Universe Surfing Hypothesis 1 – The classical universe we experience is equal in reality to the multitude of parallel classical universes that we do not experience.

Just as a Snake sheds its skin, revealing a new but equally real form beneath, we are constantly shifting between realities, even if we only experience one at a time. Each moment contains an interwoven web of potential timelines, and the version we perceive is simply the one we have tuned into—not the only one that exists.

The Wood Snake does not resist change—it embodies it. And as we step into 2025, the invitation is to release attachment to a singular, linear narrative. Whether we choose to dance or write, both universes are real. The wisdom of the Snake reminds us that we do not need to fear change, for every moment of loss, transformation, or uncertainty is also a doorway to new possibilities.

Universe Surfing Hypothesis 2 – Unexpected Events as Windows to Possible Futures

Universe Surfing Hypothesis 2 – Unexpected events are more connected to your possible futures than to your possible pasts, and therefore are useful signposts and windows to your possible futures.

In the mythos of the Snake, it is often a guardian of hidden knowledge—the whisper of insight in the darkness, the flash of intuition before a choice. When an unexpected event occurs—whether a moment of synchronicity or a sudden shift in plans—it is not random. It is a glimpse into a branching universe where other potentials are waiting.

The Snake moves without hesitation, sensing the right path not through force but through deep internal knowing. This year, we are invited to pay attention to disruptions in our paths, to treat them not as obstacles but as signposts to alternative futures. A missed train, a chance encounter, a sudden change in plans—all of these are moments where we stand at the threshold of parallel worlds, invited to peek beyond the veil of our expectations.

Universe Surfing Hypothesis 3 – The Non-Directionality of Time

Universe Surfing Hypothesis 3 – Related events influence each other and the order in which we experience two events gives us the classical impression that one event caused the other.

The Wood Snake weaves through past, present, and future, reminding us that time is not a fixed stream but a spiral, folding in on itself in ways we may not always perceive. Events that seem to be “causes” may in fact be the echoes of a future already in motion. The choices we make now ripple backward and forward, shifting the intersections of possibility in ways we might only recognize much later.

In the Year of the Wood Snake, we are called to trust the timing of things, to embrace the idea that every moment is interconnected—not as linear progressions, but as interwoven threads of experience. When an opportunity arises, ask: Is this a calling from my future self? When a challenge appears, consider: Is this an invitation to shift my path in ways I have not yet seen?

The Snake reminds us that wisdom is not just found in analysis but in deep, embodied knowing. Sometimes, we must simply move forward, even when the path is unseen.

Surfing the Year Ahead

As we step into 2025, we are surfing a universe of infinite choices, synchronicities, and realities. The Wood Snake invites us to move with purpose yet fluidity, to sense the unseen pathways, and to trust in our ability to adapt. Shed the skins of past limitations. Let intuition be your compass. The universes unfold before us, waiting to be explored.

新年快乐，万事如意！ (Xīnnián kuàilè, wànshì rúyì!)
Happy New Year! May everything go as you wish!

… such a sweet dance I just had, classically just now and my quantum self while I was blogging. In fact, while I was blogging, I noticed myself being pulled into the dance from time to time. Z was dancing with a lot of Shakti energy and it was difficult for me to stay focused in my Shiva energy.