2025 Day 29: New Year of the Wood Snake

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.

2025 Day 25: Tandem Surfing – Quantum Constraints (page 14)

2025-0125S-0001 Austin, TX

The last two days I have been posting images from my journal written eight years ago. The journal pages are the beginning of a second book on universe surfing that I started writing then.

The two posts above cover pages 1-13. I’ll continue now with page 14.

2017-0125W-0800 Home, Austin – Quantum Constraints (page 14)

Your quantum constraints are a small subset of your classical constraints. They include very few constraints in the literal sense, as we are only truly constrained by the physical laws of the universe, or multiverse if you will. From a more practical sense, you can think of them as the constraints on your parallel selves in nearby universes, were nearby universes are the most probable universes you might find yourself in were you to leave your current one. As you sense universes farther away, you will notice that many of the constraints on you in this universe are not present. Others may be however. It’s helpful in unisurfing to have a good understanding of your quantum constraint field.

2017-0125W-0815 Home, Austin – Quantum Constraint Field – Part 1 (page 15)

As I ponder this for the first time, I realize that an entire book could be written on the Quantum Constraint Field. For now, please allow me to use the simple analogy of an actual field with hills and valleys. Notice that this field in your mind does not have any discontinuities – the height of the field at one location is close to the height at a nearby location. We will save the calculus for another data, and now imagine a field of trees and rocks. Add a pond in the field and a log cabin. Let’s call this one universe. Now imagine a second universe where everything is there but in a different place. If we consider only these two universes and assign each an equal probability of occurring, then each thing has a 50% probability of being where it is in universe 1 and a 50% probability of being where it is in universe 2.

2017-0125W-1200 Jack Allen’s Kitchen, Austin, TX – Quantum Constraint Field – Part 2 (page 16)

If you were to walk across the field in universe 1, you would likely need to take a different path than you would in universe 2 in order to avoid the obstacles. The trees, rocks, pond, and cabin are all constraints on the path you can take. Now imagine that the cabin is not an obstacle but your destination and in both universes, it’s on the far side of the field but in a different corner. Your challenge is to get to the cabin as efficiently as you can without getting wet. There is one more rule for this game to make it interesting and educational. As you move, every step you take has a 50% chance to change the universe from one universe to the other. Think now about a strategy for winning this challenge.

2025 Day 24: Tandem Surfing – Page 10 – Sunrise

2025-0124F-1212 Radio East, Austin TX

I’m sitting in the sun with K as she get’s ready to host her cleanse. I just finished posting pictures from my journal from 8 years ago (2025 Day 23: One, Two, Three – Synchronicity). In this post, I am going to continue posting pictures from my journal from eight years ago today.

12 minutes ago, I was walking behind the back fence here at Radio East and I saw something shiny on the ground. It was a quarter, and then another quarter, and then a dime. Sixty! I quickly calculated. Wow!

K had just asked me about my birthday and what year I was born. I turn sixty this year! I’ve was already feeling the synchronicities around this number due to these past blog posts:

Anyway, back to eight years ago. I’ll comment on these another time. For now, I will just post them raw.

2017-0124T Sunrise – Austin, TX – Sunrise (page 10)

As I sit in my open doorway and watch the sun rise on another beautiful day, I feel joy, happiness, serenity, and a desire to change the electronic music playing … please wait … ok. Laura Marling’s “When were you Happy? (and How Long has that Been)” station is now playing.

"Wouldn't it be a thing
To live somewhere quietly where there's a breeze
And there's a moon for us to be"

From the lens of tandem surfing, this line from the song reveals some ideas we can use. To tandem surf successfully with someone else, it requires:

  1. a reason to surf together
  2. a quiet environment
  3. a gentle “breeze”

2017-0124T-0800 Home, Austin – A Reason for us to Be (page 11)

To “be” means to enjoy the present moment, or to at least experience it – joy or sadness. Solo unisurfing is about being present in the moment, classically experiencing it, quantum experiencing, sensing the possibilities, knowing why certain future possibilities are important to you, knowing why the present moment is important to you, and making choices that guide you to the present moments you desire and that increase the probability of future possibilities you desire. Knowing why helps you sort through your desires. Likewise, for tandem unisurfing, knowing why for “us to be” and jointly knowing the future possibilities for “us” and why that union is desirable, along with making choices together, allowing for an enjoyable tandem unisurfing experience.

2017-0124T-1680 BBRovers, Austin – Know WHY you want what you want (page 12)

When solo unisurfing, you can begin surfing as soon as you know what you want. With tandem unisurfing, it is necessary to know not only what you want, but WHY you want it. Knowing WHY is also beneficial for solo unisurfing, so it’s good to get into the habit of asking yourself WHY you want a particular experience. As you explore your answer to WHY, consider your quantum self and sense all of the different answers to WHY. Compare these answers to the answers that your classical self is aware of. Once you and your surfing partner have a good understanding of the motivations of your quantum selves, then compare these motivations. By knowing each other’s WHY answers, you can have greater success in tandem surfing.

2017-0124T-1630 BBRovers, Austin, TX – A Quiet Environment (page 13)

By “quiet environment”, I mean not many external forces constraining your actions. Often it appears that we have many constraints, whether it’s our job, our mortgage, our family, etc. It is important to understand which of these are fixed constraints and which are flexible. To help you gain clarity, consider your quantum self, who has made different choices. What constraints does your quantum self have? Only those constraints where are shared …

Pool time with Ian

Parden the interruption, but pool is definitely not a quiet activity, especially with this pool table ihat is missing a plastic corner protector.

2025 Day 23: One, Two, Three – Synchronicity

2025-0123h-3210 Austin, TX

Last night I was going through old photos and I found some pictures I had taken of my journal. This morning, I looked at my journal photos again and decided to post them. Here they are, with transcription. I will save my thoughts on these until another day. The one extra synchronicity I will add is I just realized that I met Carmel on One, Two, Three – more precisely on One, Two, Three, Two, Zero, One, Three. Not in Jan but in Dec – you can do the math.

2016-0227-1019 Brenda’s French Soul Food, SF – Wow! (page 1)

“Wow!”

I texted Carmel from the lighthouse yesterday morning. I had gotten up early to catch the sunrise. It was my last day working at Apple and I wanted to experience the full day and start it off right. Charlie wanted to go too, so I got his leash and some poop bags and we walked down to West Cliff. As we walked along, we came upon the spot where I had taken the picture I used on the cover of Surfing the Multiverse. I looked down and saw a young man and his dog. It reminded me of when I had taken the picture and how I had wished I had known the gentleman’s name so I could acknowledge him.

2016-0229 Lou’s Fish Shack, Fisherman’s Wharf SF – What’s the Chance? (pages 2 & 3)

“What’s the chance?”, I thought to myself. A quick mental calculation resulted in “quite small” as an answer.

2017-0123M-1219 Samsung, Austin TX – Fast Forward

Fast Forward almost a year. I haven’t been writing and today decided that I would get back to it. As fate would have it (or as the synchronistic probabilities of the universe would have it), today was my first day at a new building at Samsung. I joined Samsung last year after leaving Apple. My first day at Samsung was 3/21. Today, being 1/23, I was remembering my start date and also wondering about the universe where I still worked at Apple. As I drove into work, I lost my way and ended up in the wrong office complex. I realized this when I noticed that the offices were Apple’s design center. This coincidence was also notable because yesterday I found myself searching jobs at Apple. I wasn’t sure why at the time and I didn’t look too carefully. Now it is clear to me that I am surfing near to universes where I am working at Apple, especially the Austin design center. I had considered transferring to the Austin design center last year.

2017-0123M-1300 Samsung, Austin, TX – Back to What’s the Chance (page 4)

So where was I in the story of my last day at Apple? Oh yes, I see now as I catch up with you, I was walking along West Cliff in Santa Cruz when I spied someone down on the beach with a dog and it reminded me of the picture I had taken for my 1st book back cover. Well, as odds would have it, the man looked nothing like the one I had taken a picture of, and so I continued walking.

This may be a good time to mention a universe surfing skill I have learned. Just as the wave surfer waits to catch a good wave, the universe surfer can identify conditions that are good for surfing between universes.

2017-0123M-1315 Samsung, Austin – Major Changes Bring Universes Together (Page 5)

When there are changes occurring in your life, then you are in an area of the multiverse in which many different (“far away”) universes are nearby and interfering with each other. This is much different than when you are having a day of habit when you are surrounded by universes very much like your own. As such, you should pay special attention to any thoughts, however fleeting, that cross your mind. These thoughts are from your quantum mind in other universes coupling with your classical mind in the universe you are experiencing classically. So, when I imagine I see the man and his dog from my photo and then quickly realize that it’s not them, I need to pay attention. And I need to pay attention especially so since its a day of high change.

2017-0123M-1320 Austin – Listen to your Quantum Mind (page 6)

As I continued walking down West Cliff, I arrived at the entrance to Dog Beach. There was some safety tape across the entrance for some reason and I paused to ponder why. I was still feeling a pull to go down to dog beach, plus I knew Charlie would enjoy it even if I didn’t manage to surf any universes. As I was paused at the entrance, a man and his dog walked by and I asked the man if he came there often – hoping that he might know the man in the picture on my phone. He waved me away as if he couldn’t be bothered and began walking down the steps to the beach. As he walked down, I noticed his dog looked very familiar. Could it be the same dog in my photo?!

2017-0123M-1325 Austin – In Search of a Dog (part 1) (page 7)

I search my phone for the photo I had taken six months prior. I found it- same dog! Or at least it looked the same from the photo. As my heart stated beating faster, I stepped over the safety tape and made my way down to Dog Beach. As I got to the beach, I looked around and saw no one. I began walking down to the area where I had first taken the photo. As the hidden area of the beach revealed itself, I saw the man and his dog. I approached him and tried to explain how I had taken a picture of him six months ago, had written a book, and had been looking for him. He waved me off as if I were crazy. I persevered and asked for his contact info so I could send him a copy of the book and asked for his permission to use the photo.

2017-0123-1330 – In Search of Dog (part 2) (page 8)

He said I could use the photo but he didn’t want a copy of the book, and he went on his way. I felt like there must have been a reason why I had thought about meeting him, and then had met him. Certainly today was when we were supposed to meet and become connected. As he walked away, I thought about how close I was to knowing how he was and how I wanted to acknowledge him in the book credits. I decided to follow him and try again. He walked down to the lighthouse and then out to the cliffs where the surfers jump into the sea. The sun was rising or had just risen as I approached. I began to engage him again.

“Excuse me, …”, I said.

2017-0123-1340 – “Move it! You’re in my View!”

“Move it! You’re in my View!”, he yelled at me. I was startled by his passion.

“Stop following me! I don’t want to talk to you.”

Wow, I had not expected that. I thought I had been universe surfing according to the book. I had been noticing “days of change”. I had been paying attention to “fleeting thoughts” and to “unexpected events”. I had made choices which I thought would increase my chances of experiencing classically the universe I desired. Unfortunately, I was only solo surfing. I was not tandem surfing. I realized as I walked away that I needed to understand and write about tandem surfing. And I already knew the title of the book –

“Move it! You’re in My View!”

2025 Day 22: Revisiting Habits in the Multiverse

2025-0122W-4444 Austin, TX

Five years ago I wrote 2020 Day 22: Habits in the Multiverse. Today, I would like to revisit this blog post and update it. In the blog post, I discussed how in one universe, I write a daily blog, and in a neighboring universe, I don’t. By deliberately focusing on my “new habit” universe, I attracted more of those “new habit” universes to be closer to me, increasing the likelihood that I would daily blog.

I continue to find value in universe surfing as a mental model to assist me in understanding and navigating the world. Whether habit formation requires 19 days, 29.5 days, or 12 lunar months, continuing to focus on the habit daily is the most important universe surfing technique. Focus is the energy that resonates in parallel universes and brings them closer to you. You have free will over your focus. Focus on the habit. For creating a habit, focus itself is enough. Whether you actually do the habit or not is less in your control. Regularly focus on the habit you are trying to create. Practice self-awareness of whether you actually do the habit or not. Notice any resistance and be curious about where the resistance is coming from.

In my last blog post, I said I would revisit “did some universe surfing magic” in a future blog post. This is that future post. When I say I “did some universe surfing magic,” I’m essentially describing the process of consciously shifting my attention and energy toward a version of reality—one in which a particular outcome or habit already exists. It builds on two core ideas:

1. Resonance: We all carry an energetic signature, influenced by our emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. By deliberately aligning that energetic signature with the feeling or state we want—such as Love, Compassion, or a new habit—we “tune in” to the parallel universes where that state is already established. It’s akin to setting a radio dial; you carefully adjust your thoughts, feelings, and bodily awareness until you lock onto the station broadcasting that specific vibe.

2. Embodiment: Once you’ve identified the state you want to resonate with, you practice embodying it deeply. Yoga, meditation, Qi Gong, and similar practices teach us how to direct energy through breath, movement, and focused awareness. By unifying your mind, emotions, and physical sensation of that new habit or state, you effectively “surf” closer to the version of yourself—and the parallel universes—where the habit is a lived reality.

The “magic” part is less about supernatural forces and more about the surprising power of sustained intention. Over time, as you keep revisiting this specific resonance, you’ll notice that your external actions begin to align with it more consistently. You might spontaneously feel motivated to wake up earlier and blog, or naturally gravitate toward people who share your vision of living with more compassion. From the outside, these shifts can look almost magical, but they are underpinned by the everyday work of repeated focus and embodied practice.