Sometimes you know you want something to change before you know what to do about it. You make a decision after months of thinking it over. Then the next day fills up, and somehow it slips down the list again.
You might choose a talisman at a moment like this, while the wish is still clear. Later, it can remind you of what you decided.
Keeping a decision in mind
The original Sirendipity Method brings together intention, emotion and a symbol: choosing something that matters, paying attention to how you feel and connecting that choice with something you can carry. [1]
You don’t have to know how it will all work out. Perhaps you want to pick up a project you left unfinished, have a difficult conversation or make time for something you keep postponing.
When you wear the talisman, you know the story behind it.
When your hand finds it
You touch it while thinking about something else. You feel the scales, turn the coin over and find the spiral. For a moment, you remember why you chose it.
That’s what we mean by an anchor here: something you can reach for when the decision you made feels a little further away.
Research by Rogers and Milkman found that linking an intention with a distinctive cue could help people remember to act. Their studies looked at particular cues and situations, rather than our talisman. [2]
Taking the next step
Remembering what you wanted is one thing. Making time for it can be harder. There may still be worries or practical problems to work through.
Research by Gollwitzer and Sheeran suggests that making a specific plan for when and how to act can help. [3] You might decide to spend ten minutes on your project after your morning coffee, or set aside a time to make a call you’ve been putting off.
If you like, you can connect that plan with the talisman. Forgetting it one day doesn’t mean you’ve lost the reason you began.
Changing while staying true to yourself
There’s a Spira Mirabilis on the back of La Moneta. For Sirendipity, it’s an image of going through change while keeping what matters to you. [1]
There’s room to change your mind too. Connecting a decision with a piece of jewellery doesn’t mean you have to stick to it forever.
The piece may remind you of the day you decided to begin. What you do next will depend on the choices you make from there.
A note on quantum physics
The original Method also uses the language of quantum physics and energy. We treat that as part of the project’s spiritual outlook. It isn’t evidence that thoughts, through a talisman, change matter or attract events. The psychological studies cited here concern intentions, reminders and actions. The Nobel Prize’s account of the 2022 physics award describes the quantum research itself. [4]
[1] Sirendipity, original materials on the Integrated Transformation Method and Spira Mirabilis. Sources for the project’s meaning, rather than experimental studies.
[4] The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022, popular information on quantum entanglement and Bell inequalities.