Patterns of Nature: Divining

I constructing my divination box, I had “yes”, “maybe”, “dunno”, and “no” as choices for my answer of the day. I interpreted “maybe” as almost a “yes”, and “dunno” almost a “no”. This meant not only that would I capture shades of “yes” and “no”, but also that I would be more accurate in my answers.
After careful reflection, all of the answers that I received to my questions came true. What surprised me was that in one instance I thought I knew the answer but I was proved to be wrong. At first, I asked questions of things that I thought that I knew the outcome of, but were often contradicted by the “oracle”.

For example, I needed a name of a doctor to testify for a court case. I knew that the person I asked would provide me with one. However, the answer from the Divination Box was “no”. After I got the name, I thought that the answer that the Divination Box gave me was wrong. However, in later discussions, it turned out that I could not use this particular doctor. So the “oracle” was right.

Of course, this unsettled me that the “oracle” seems to have all the correct answers. Pondering this, I realized that by interpreting “maybe” as a near “yes” and “dunno” as a near “no”, I increased the accuracy. I inadvertently added more chances to “yes” and “no” by building in two extra tries for “yes” and “no”.

Afterwards, I decided to ask questions that were purely random: such as sighting a particular bird. What I discovered was that if the answer was “yes”, I would look for that bird. Otherwise, I did not pay much attention. Through my actions, I ensured the accuracy of the “oracle”.

My questions therefore have caused me to be more observant. The day that I asked whether I would see a goldfinch, I encountered all types of gold animals. I had “gold” on my brain, and saw “gold” everywhere – bees, butterflies, etc. I had created my own patterns of divination.

I believe that another factor in the accuracy of the box was my desire. I became unknowingly invested in every answer that I received from the “oracle”. Unconsciously, I had set up the outcome to be true. In addition, my questions were phrased in a way to ensure the outcome predicted by the divination box. I had set up a matrix of “seeing”, and set about filling it in. The adage of “if you have a hammer, then everything seems to be a nail” held true. I had a hammer, and wanted to pound nails. So I looked for birds when it said I would see them.