Tag Archives: Philosophy

MEMENTO MORI — YOU COULD LEAVE LIFE RIGHT NOW

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Memento Mori, translated from Latin, means “Remember, you must die”. It’s a wake-up that your life course could be radically altered and end at any moment. Our lives are impermanent, in constant flux and change, flowing through time towards entropy and inevitable death that might happen without warning. Memento Mori — You could leave life right now.

Recently, an acquaintance passed away. It shook our group as Rick, a likeable and apparently healthy man in his sixties, was suddenly diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Within a week, Rick was gone.

It made me reflect on my own mortality. I do this as part of my stoicism studies. As a student of stoicism, I carry a Memento Mori medallion in my pocket. I got it through Ryan Holiday who hosts the website and podcast called The Daily Stoic.

Memento Mori isn’t meant to be macabre. It’s a positive philosophical exercise to reflect on being in the moment and living life to the fullest. One measure of success is being free to live your life as you see fit and tchotchkes, or bric-a-brac prompts like this gold medallion, help keep me mindful of mortality and to live life in accordance with nature—in accordance with reason and harmony which is fundamental to stoicism.

Some time ago, I wrote a post titled Stoicism — A Philosophy, Not a Religion. I’m not going to go further into stoic principles. You can read them by clicking here. What I’m doing today is exploring the origin of Memento Mori and offering some advice on how you can use an old Latin phrase to help guide you through a wonderful, appreciative life.

According to a trusted source, the Galileo Galilei Institute in Turin, Memento Mori originated as an ancient Roman custom. When a victorious general returned from a battle, he was paraded through the streets of Rome in a chariot to honor his achievements. However, that praise and adulation could dent his hubris (go to his head) so a slave stood behind the general whispering in his ear, “Respice post te. Hominem te memento mori”. Or “Remember that you are a man who must die”.

Over centuries, the Latin phrase has been repeated among many cultures, in different languages, but always with the same meaning. Remember, you must die.

In the 17th century, for example, in the cloistered order of Trappist friars, they repeated “Memento Mori” to each other while they dug their graves, bit-by-bit, day-by-day. It was always to keep their death in mind and not lose sight of the impermenance and value of life.

During the Renaissance period of Europe, a dance genre called Danse Macabre was extraordinarily popular. People would dress as skeletons and waltz through the streets, impersonating death and singing praise to Memento Mori. One of the great art works of the era, Vanitas, portrays Memento Mori as a tulip for life, a skull for death, and an hourglass for time.

In simple terms, Memento Mori serves as a personal prod to be mindful and present in any given moment. It’s not to be depressing about losing your life. Rather, Memento Mori is a tool to create priority and meaning. It’s to gain perspective on what’s important and what’s not important.

Death doesn’t make life pointless. Instead, introspection of death shows how purposeful life is—what our lives are capable of and what we can accomplish with the time we’re granted—a reflection about the temporaryness of life and how we can live our moments with intention, courage, and gratitude.

The reality of death is it’s one of life’s guarantees. (So are taxes.) Death is the great equalizer. No matter where you were born, into what class, how rich or poor you are, how clever or dim, how famous or obscure, or what you did with your life, the Grim Reaper eventually calls.

What you do with your life, and spend your time, is one of life’s freedoms. Aside from the gene cards you were dealt at birth, you are the master of your fate. And you can use the Memento Mori concept to your benefit. Here are some practical tips:

Daily Reflection. Set aside a few minutes each day to contemplate the impermanence of your life and the inevitability of your death. This helps you stay grounded, lets you prioritize your time and tasks, and lets you put energy into what’s important in your life.

Practice Gratitude. Memento Mori encourages you to appreciate the people, opportunities, and experiences in your life. You can cultivate gratitude by expressing thanks for the things you cherish and the time you have to enjoy them.

Journal. One of the core stoic practices is to maintain a daily journal. Writing down your thoughts, including your reflection and gratitude, gives you clarity, focus, and purpose.

Mindful Decision Making. Use Memento Mori when faced with decisions, both large and small, as a guiding principle to evaluate choices and set priorities. Ask yourself if your time were limited, would you take on that activity or give it a pass.

Embrace Courage. If facing death, how would you respond? Memento Mori can help you overcome fear and weigh risks. By remembering your time is limited, you may be more inclined to follow opportunities and experience new challenges.

Foster Deeper Connections. Recognizing that time is fleeting will make you more appreciative of family, friends, neighbors, and so forth. Remember that Memento Mori applies to them too.

Cultivate Detachment. Reminding yourself that you can leave life right now puts a new light on material possessions, social status, and achievements. This awareness fosters a deep appreciation for what’s truly important in life and, equally, what’s not.

Personal Growth. Memento Mori can inspire you to focus on self-improvement and embracing the four cardinal virtues: temperance, courage, justice, and wisdom. By understanding the impermanence of life, you’ll be motivated to continually strive to be the best version of yourself.

Remembering Memento Mori daily can be an ode to life. It encourages us to stop wasting time in pursuing other people’s goals, hoarding material possessions, or worrying about trivial matters. It’s about being free to live your life, and spend your time, as you see fit.

 

STOICISM—A PHILOSOPHY, NOT A RELIGION

The term “stoicism” radiates a negative vibe through some folks. They feel Stoicism is a detached, don’t care, and humorless religion where a practicing Stoic leads a selfish existence without contributing to society or helping fellow human beings. Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, true Stoics follow an ancient, common sense, and proven lifestyle where doing good, being righteous, and having fun are paramount. Stoicism is a philosophy, not a religion.

Yes, stoicism is a philosophy—a methodology—a life view dating back twenty-three hundred years to the robe-wrapped Greeks where emerging philosophers met under a “stoa poikile” in central Athens which was a painted portico or porch where they held a “symposium” (translated to a “drinking party”). Fundamentally, they guzzled red wine, got shit-faced, and talked about relevant stuff. Athenians called them “Stoics”.

Stoicism’s practice has never gone away, although for centuries it went underground, being overshadowed and somewhat extinguished by strict conventional religions. Today, there’s a huge resurgence in studying Stoicism, seeing it as a practical rather than an abstract philosophy. Just look at what Ryan Holiday has created with his Daily Stoic podcast and blog site. Ryan has well over a million followers, and he hosts highly insightful, delightful guests.

I recently deep-dived into Stoicism. It was part of research and development for an entertainment series I’m creating, City Of Danger, where a lead character is a practicing Stoic. My rabbit hole led me to reading Meditations written by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in AD 161-180. It was enlightening, to say the least. I’ll go into what Meditations speaks to, but first let’s have a Cliffsnotes version of what Stoic philosophy really is.

At its core, Stoicism teaches you to attend to things you can control and dismiss things you can’t control. Virtue is the highest good in Stoicism, and there are four core virtues in Stoic teachings—wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice.

Wisdom is knowledge. “The chief task in life is simply this. To know and separate matters so I can clearly say to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” ~Epictetus

Temperance is moderation. “If you seek tranquility, do less. Do what’s essential—what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do, less, not better. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, is this necessary.” ~Marcus Aurelius

Courage is action. “Life is like a military campaign. One must take action, serve on watch, act in reconnaissance, fight on the front line. So it is for us—each person’s life is like a battle. You must act like a soldier. Two words of action must be committed to memory and obeyed. Persist and resist.” ~Epictetus

Justice is righteousness. “Commit to justice in your own acts. Which means thought and action resulting in the common good. What you were born to do. Justice is the source of the other three virtues. After all, how impressive is courage if it’s only about self interest? What good are temperance and wisdom if not put to use for the whole world?” ~Marcus Aurelius

Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius were only a few of the ancient Stoics. Actually, Marcus Aurelius never claimed to be a philosopher—only a student of Stoics like Epictetus. And while Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful ruler in the world during his time, Epictetus was merely a crippled slave—a poor man who, arguably, became the most influential Stoic in history.

Other notable Stoics of history were Zeno (334-262 BC) who started the movement, studying under Cleanthes (331-232 BC) after being shipwrecked and financially ruined. Lucius Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD) was another Stoic philosopher who was perhaps the most outspoken. If you want to hear reality and plain truth, read Seneca’s On the Shortness of Life. He’s brutally straightforward.

Ryan Holiday is, in my opinion, the most influential of modern Stoics. He mentors leading sports figures, military commanders, and political leaders in person, as well as common guys like me online. Sahil Bloom is an emerging Stoic who I find completely credible and motivating. And there’s no one like Thomas Sowell to tackle life’s big issues and put them in Stoic perspective.

Aside from these ancient and current thought leaders’ influence, there are no bounds to what you, as an individual, can benefit from by studying Stoicism. After all, Stoicism is a philosophy, not a religion. It’s a methodology—an outline for living well, doing good, and enjoying life—a smorgasbord where you can take what you need and leave the rest.

Philosophy comes from the Greek word “philosophos” which means the love of wisdom. Stoic philosophy doesn’t evoke a higher power or enforce strict practitional dogma. It’s a collection of views based upon a collective experience—an experience gleaned from understanding the dichotomy of what you can control and what you cannot control. In other words, being stoic.

Another core principle of Stoicism is valuing your limited time. Memento Mori is an often-heard saying. Translated from Latin, it equates as “remember death” or to “appreciate the moment”. It’s also said, “You could leave life right now”. You’ll often see a Memento Mori image with a tulip representing life, a skull portraying death, and an hourglass reminding you of time. Many practicing Stoics carry Memento Mori and Four Virtues medallions in their pocket.

Although Greek was the main language used by the early Stoics, Latin is the most common carrier of Stoic quotes. Here are a few common Latin sayings and translations you’ll find in a brief study of Stoicism:

Summum Bonum — Living well, highest good, true virtue.

Festina Lente —Make haste slowly, faster is not better.

Carpe Diem — Seize the day, waste no time.

Fac, Si Facis — Do it, if you’re going to do it. Let the rubber hit the road.

Quidvis Recte Factum Quamis Humile Praeclarum — Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.

Semper Fidelis — Always faithful, do the right thing.

Per Angusta Ad Augusta — Through difficulties to honors, the obstacle is the way.

Amor Fati — Love of fate, a reason, a purpose.

Fatum Ingenium Est — Character is fate, destiny.

Semper Anticus — Always forward, keep going, get better.

Vivere Militare Est — To live is to fight, train, life kicks us around.

Part of my research process in any subject is to encapsulate the key points on paper. I use sheets of 11 x 17 white bond and basically map out the concept and highlight the takeaways. Last week I took time off, and I did this mapping thing with the ideas of Stoicism and with the content of Meditations written by Marcus Aurelius. See the images. (Note from my wife: What kind of guy goes on vacation and spends his time perched at a woodland picnic table by our cottage reading and annotating scriptures quilled by an old dead Roman?)

I didn’t find Meditations to be an easy read, but it helps to know the context in which it was written. Scholars agree that Marcus Aurelius, who wrote it in Greek, never intended this work to be public. These were private thoughts that he journaled for himself during his period as Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD. There are twelve parts or “books” to Meditations, and they show a continual progression and evolving simplicity of his views on life. Particularly on death.

Scholars also agree that the books have nothing to do with mental meditation which is generally perceived to be a relaxation method. Likely, the works were never titled “Meditations” and nowhere in the text is the translation for “meditation” found. Some critics claim the work is a hoax as the documents didn’t surface until a thousand years after Marcus Aurelius’ death.

The original Greek to Latin manuscripts are said to be housed in the Vatican and are not available for public view. Numerous translations exist in English and other languages. Note that Marcus Aurelius spoke Latin as a working language but wrote in Greek which was the scholarly language of the day. The English version I read was prepared by Gregory Hays and is the version recommended by Ryan Holiday who offers an online course in how to read and interpret Meditations. It was a challenging read, but by following the course I found it well worth the time to help understand the Stoic mindset.

Stealing from Ryan Holiday and The Daily Stoic, here are 12 Stoic Rules for Life:

  1. Own the morning.
  2. Focus on what’s in control.
  3. Don’t suffer with imagined troubles.
  4. Treat success and failure equally.
  5. Do one thing every day.
  6. Make beautiful choices.
  7. Ask “Is this necessary?”
  8. Love your fate.
  9. Speak with the dead.
  10. Be strict with yourself and be tolerant with others.
  11. Turn obstacles upside down.
  12. Memento Mori. Be aware of your mortality and love life.

And stealing from Marcus Aurelius and Meditations, I’ll leave you with this quote:

“When you need encouragement, think of the qualities of the people around you have: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another one’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when the virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re practically showered with them. It’s good to keep this in mind.” ~Marcus Aurelius

DO YOU TRUST YOUR GUT FEELINGS?

Everyone—you and me included—has heard their small inner voice speak. It might have been a muffled word of sage advice, a loud yell of urgent caution, or a simple suggestion towards the right move. Evolutionary, our subconscious source of wisdom has served us well—“Whoa! Don’t step outside the cave right now” to “Hey! This wheel and axle invention will be big.” But as real as intuition is, many people choose to ignore their instincts. How about you? Do you trust your gut feelings?

There are lots of terms for gut feelings. Intuition is the main one, but there’re differences of opinion as to what constitutes raw instinct, subtle intuition based on life experience, and plain old gut feelings—also known as the sixth sense, vibes, foresight, precognition, visceral nudges, being-in-the-world, hunches, and downright lucky guesses. These are socially-acceptable labels, not to be confused with pseudoscience stuff like tactic knowledge, remote viewing, morphic resonance, ESP, clairvoyance, and cryptesthesia. Then there’s a half-way, new-age idea called Grok. You might want to Google that.

What got me going on today’s post is a recent comment left on an old DyingWords thread where a fellow made a statement that relying on gut feelings amounted to as much as taking a ride on a Ouija board. “Hang on a moment,” I replied. “I have decades of investigation experience and, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, I’ve come to rely on my gut feelings—hunches, intuition, Grok, or whatever you wanna call them.”

Just a quick personal story before we move on to look at the philosophy, psychology, and physiology behind intuition as well as taking a test to see how much you trust your gut feelings. In 1985, I was part of a police Emergency Response Team (ERT or SWAT for Americans). We were sent to the frozen wilds of the Canadian north to arrest an armed and murderous madman. Michael Oros, the bad guy, got the drop on my partner and me just as I had this incredible gut feeling that he’d silently crept up behind us. I spun around right as the fire-fight started. Because of this intuitive gut feeling—this overpowering presence of imminent danger—I was able to react to save my life and probably the lives of other teammates.

I didn’t imagine that gut feeling. It was as real as the keyboard I’m writing this on, and I have no explanation for it other than we, as human beings, are hard-wired to receive subconscious information through a process best known as intuition. Whether we use our gut feeling’s information or discard it is a matter of personal choice.

Gut feeling intuition has fascinated scientists and philosophers. It fascinates me, as well, and I don’t qualify as either a scientist or a philosopher. It’s not just people who have intuition and gut feelings. Why do dogs seem to know when their owners are coming home, and why do horses naturally understand what people to trust and what people to mistrust? Is it animal common sense?

Surely there’s more to human intuition/gut feeling than common sense. Something else is at work here, and the philosophical theories go back as far as Plato. In his book Republic, Plato defined intuition as “a fundamental capacity for human reason to comprehend the true nature of reality—a pre-existing knowledge residing in the soul of eternity—truths not arrived at by reason but accessed using a knowledge already present in a dormant form and accessible to our intuitive capacity”. Plato called this concept anamnesis.

Ancient Eastern and old Western philosophers intertwined intuition with religion and spirituality. From Hinduism’s Vedic, we get two-fold reasoning for human gut feelings (mana in Sanskrit). First, is imprinting of psychological experiences constructed through sensory information—the mind seeking to become aware of the external world. Second, a natural action when the mind is aware of itself, resulting in humans being awareness of their existence and their environment.

In Buddhism, you’ll find a similar take on intuition. Monks teach that intuition is a faculty in the mind of immediate knowledge that’s beyond the mental process of conscious thinking, as conscious thought cannot necessarily access subconscious information or render such information into a communicable form. Gut feelings, according to Buddhism, are mental states immediately connecting the Universal Mind with your individual, discriminating mind.

More modern-day philosophers, like Descartes, say intuition is “pre-existing knowledge gained through rational reasoning or discovering truth through contemplation that manifests in subconscious messaging.” Descartes goes on to say, “Whatever I clearly and distinctly perceive to be true is true no matter if I see it subconsciously.”

Immanuel Kant offered this: “Intuition consists of basic sensory information provided by the cognitive faculty of sensibility equivalent to what loosely might be called perception through conscious and subconscious.”

In Psychological Types written in 1916 by Carl Jung, you’ll read this: “Intuition is an irrational function, opposed most directly by sensation and less opposed strongly by the rational functions of thinking and feeling. Intuition is perception via the unconscious using sense-perception only as a starting point to bring forward ideas, images, possibilities, ways out of a blocked situation, by a process that is mostly unconscious.”

Freud—always the contrarian—called bullshit on Jung. Freud said, “Knowledge can only be attained through the conscious intellectual manipulation of carefully made observations. I reject any other means of acquiring knowledge such as intuition (gut feelings).”

That’s a short canvassing of philosophers. So, what do the scientists say about gut feelings?

Well, neurologists have a lot to offer about how intuition is biologically tied into the gut. They say our gut, our gastrointestinal (GI) system, has an entire mind of its own called the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) that operates alongside, but independent of, our brain and Central Nervous System (CNS) functions. Our ENS is two layers of more than 100 million nerve cells lining the entire GI system from start to finish—from our esophagus to our anus, or from our yap to our hoop as a layperson might say.

This incredibly complex ENS has a full-time job of regulating our GI tract whose main purpose is to keep us alive through sustainable nutrition. Neurologists say the ENS acts on instinct and constantly exchanges information to our brain through our CNS. When the ENS senses something awry, it immediately alerts the brain that can choose to react consciously or subconsciously.

That works both ways. When the brain consciously or subconsciously alarms, it notifies the ENS which just might explain why you get that feeling in your stomach—that gut feeling. It’s why anxiety can bung you up or make you throw up. In the end, it might be diarrhea that ultimately lets you know to trust your gut feelings.

Okay, that explains the neuroscience behind the ENS gut feeling reaction. But it doesn’t explain what intuition is, and it’s probably worthwhile to look at a definition of intuition which seems to be a different process than a physical gut feeling. Here’s the best differentiating explanation I could find about instinct, gut feeling, and intuition.

Instinct — our innate inclination toward a particular behavior as opposed to a learned response.

Gut Feeling — a hunch or a sensation that appears quickly in consciousness (notable enough to be acted upon if one chooses) without us being fully aware of the underlying reasons for its occurrence.

Intuition — the process giving us the ability to know something directly without analytic reasoning, bridging the gap between the conscious and subconscious parts of our mind, and also between instinct and reason.

If I understand this correctly, gut feelings are short flashes of raw sensory alerts while intuition is a higher-evolved mechanism of subconsciously processing information without stopping to run reams of paper through the mental printer. So, my reasoning goes, intuition must be more of a learned behavior manufactured through experiences, both consciously built and subconsciously retained. Gut feelings, on the other hand, are more instinctive and primal.

I looked around for scientific studies on intuition and found credible works by Daniel Kahneman who won a Nobel Prize for his work on human judgment and decision-making. Without going into detail, Dr. Kahneman and his group conclusively proved there was a valid science behind human intuition which included—not surprisingly—gut feelings.

Another scientific study led by Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer of the Max Plank Institute for Human Development, agreed. Dr. Gigerenzer stated, “People rarely make decisions on the basis of reason alone, especially when the problems faced are complex. I think intuition’s merit has been vastly underappreciated as a form of unconscious intelligence.”

These intuition studies tie into works done by Dr. Gary Klein’s organization at the Natural Decision Making Movement who studied real-life decision processing by people in high-stress situations. They observed police officers, soldiers, paramedics, nurses, and fighter pilots coming to the conclusion that these professionals’ intuitive abilities developed from recognizing regularities, repetitions, and similarities between information available to them combined with their past experiences.

Out of their scientific work of studying intuitive reactions under stressful and challenging situations involving time pressure, uncertainty, unclear goals, and organizational restraints came a fighter pilot training model called the OODA Loop or the Circle of Competence. It’s a simple formula every high-performance jet jockey now memorizes to the point of being instinctive, intuitive, and gut-felt. It goes like this:

O — Observe
O — Orient
D — Decide
A — Act

So, is developed intuition, or its cruder form of visceral gut feeling, reliable? I’d say if it’s good enough to train fighter pilots with then it’s good enough for us. Let’s put it to the test.

I found a terribly non-scientific (but totally fun) click-bait site with a ten-question roll-through called the Queendom Gut Instinct Test. You can take it for a spin here:

https://www.queendom.com/queendom_tests/transfer

To score your results, you have to click the boxes at the site, but don’t worry—there’s no cost involved, and it’s an interesting self-perspective based on your gut reaction answers. These are the ten questions and multiple choice answers:

1. Did you ever get the sense that something was wrong or someone was in danger and ended up being right?
Yes ———  No ———

2. Do you believe that your gut instinct is at least as reliable as your rational mind?
Yes ———  No ———

3. Do you believe that a person can give off good or bad “vibes?”
Yes ———  No ———

4. You’re shopping with your partner for a new home. The real estate agent you’re working with pulls up to a beautiful house in the exact style you are looking for. However, when you walk through the front door, you are suddenly overcome with a sense of dread and foreboding. The place has a really creepy ambiance. What would you do?
A ——— Walk right back out. There is definitely something wrong with this place.
B ——— Ask the agent about the house’s history. If something bad happened here, I am not      buying it.
C ——— Do a tour of the place, since I am here anyway. If I can’t shake the negative feeling       AND there are major structural issues with the house, then I won’t buy it.
D ——— Shake it off. Even if something occurred, my partner and I will fill it with better memories.
F ——— Make an offer. Who cares about the house’s history? This is my dream home!

5. Two weeks before you’re about to go on a trip overseas, you have a recurring dream that the airplane you’re on needs to make an emergency landing due to a technical failure. What would you do?
A ——— Ignore it. It’s just a sign that I am nervous about flying.
B ——— Go on the trip, but say a few prayers or bring my lucky charm.
C ——— Reschedule my flight. There’s obviously a reason why I am having this dream every night.

6. Your friend introduces you to his or her new significant other. From the first conversation, you get the sense that there is something off about this person – like he/she is hiding something, or not being genuine. What would you do?
A ——— Dismiss it as paranoia. I barely know this person, so I have no right to judge him or her so quickly.
B ——— Put the feeling aside for now, but keep an eye out for suspicious behavior.
C ——— Try to probe a bit and/or do some research to see if there is something to my hunch.
D ——— Warn my friend to be careful and not to trust this person too quickly – my gut is never wrong.

7. Time to upgrade your wheels. How would you most likely approach this purchase?
A ——— I would conduct some research, weigh the pros and cons of different models, and then find a car that fits my needs and budget.
B ——— I would do some research on different models, then test drive the car to see how I feel in it.
C ——— I would have a general idea of what I want, but it would come down to one thing: if it’s the right car for me, I will know it when I’m in it.

8. You’re out buying coffee when you come across an old colleague who left the company to start his own business. He had a major fallout with management when he was turned down for a promotion. He says his startup is doing great, and he offers you a job on his team with a lucrative salary as well as benefits. It sounds like an amazing opportunity – but your gut is telling you to turn it down. What would you do?
A ——— Thank him for the offer, but decline. My gut is obviously picking up on something that he’s not telling me.
B ——— Ask him to give me some time to consider the offer, and then do some research on his company to see if it’s doing as well as he says it is.
C ——— Jump on the offer. There is no way I would turn down this amazing chance for a better job!

9. As you’re leaving your friend’s place and walking to your car, you hear a clear voice in your head say, “Don’t drive home. Stay here for the night.” You decide to listen and sleep over. The next morning, you find out that there was a fatal 8-car accident the night before – on the exact road you were planning to take, at the exact time you were about to leave. What would you most likely be thinking?
A ——— “Interesting coincidence.”
B ——— “That’s so strange. Maybe someone is looking out for me.”
C ——— “I am so grateful I listened to that warning in my head.”

10. You’re at a convenience store to pick up a lottery ticket. How do you choose your numbers?
A ——— I let the machine pick them at random.
B ——— I play the same numbers every time.
C ——— I pick the numbers based on what my gut tells me.

Again, you’ll have to take the test at its online site to get your Gut Instinct Score. How did I make out? I got an 85, and here’s what the site said about me:

Your gut instinct has been your ally. It’s that older, wiser friend who always has your back and stops you from making stupid decisions. When your gut tells you to pay attention, to be careful, to not trust someone, or to go right instead of left, you won’t question the information. You are in tune with your intuition. Chances are that on those rare occasions when you didn’t trust your gut, you regretted it. Just keep in mind that your logical reasoning is your ally too. It is not the antagonist to your intuition, it’s simply an additional source of information and a way to process it all. Just as you shouldn’t rely solely on your intuition to make major financial decisions, you also shouldn’t rely on logic alone as a survival mechanism. Make good use of both. When you use analytical reasoning to evaluate a problem and your intuition to pick up on deeper, more hidden sources of information, you’ve got the best of both worlds.

The Gut Instinct Test doesn’t tell you which questions you got “right or wrong”. I think there’s some sort of algorithmic scoring process that gives you a value which is why I got an 85 or an 8.5 out of 10. I know which one I bombed (for sure) and that was the lotto number thing. I always use the machine quick-pick because I’m too lazy to think it out for myself.

How about you DyingWords followers? Do you trust your gut feelings? And if you take the test, how about sharing your results?