The Scientist Who Fell for the Stars

“As our world changes, we find new ways to make sense of it.” - Bill Harris

Issue #502 – Monday, November 17, 2025

Every once in a while, I come across a story that beautifully captures what it means to grow, evolve, and open your mind to new possibilities.

This one comes from my longtime friend, Michael Lovitch—someone I’ve known for almost 15 years. 

Michael is one of the smartest, most insightful people I’ve ever met. He has an incredible sense for what people really want and a gift for seeing patterns that others miss.

So when I heard that this lifelong scientist - a man deeply rooted in data, logic, and social science - had begun exploring something as mysterious as astrology… I knew there was a powerful story behind it.

In this week’s Mind Power essay, Michael shares how his skepticism slowly gave way to curiosity, and how that curiosity led to something even more profound: peace with not having all the answers.

It’s a fascinating, honest reflection on what happens when we let go of certainty and allow life’s mysteries to surprise us.

I know you’re going to love it.

Cheers,

MaryEllen Tribby
Centerpointe CEO

P.S.

If you like Michael’s story, I hope you’ll also check out the awesome sound-based astrology tool he created: Zodiac.fm. More on that below.

How a Social Scientist Fell for the Stars
A Lesson on the Beauty of Dissonance

By Michael Lovitch
Founder of Zodiac.fm

Hi, I’m Michael. I’m 55 years old. I’ve never believed in anything metaphysical or religious. My background is social science. I have a master’s from UC Davis in Communication Science. I love academics. I’ve pretty much been a materialist my whole life.

When somebody would tell me they believed in astrology or anything like that, I would not take them seriously. I’d laugh at them or make fun of them. It just didn’t make sense. 

That’s where I was for most of my life. Until a couple of years ago.

The Threat to Mr. Science Guy

I was making fun of a friend as we drove to a concert. He’s a really successful businessman and a respected sleep scientist. He had based his whole company, his employees, and even his family on Human Design, which is rooted in astrology and birth charts.

Finally, he looked at me and said, “Well, have you ever tried it?”

I said, “No, I’ve never tried any of this stuff. I don’t believe it. It’s silly. Why would I?”

He said, “Come on, open your mind.”

That stuck with me. If I were going to make fun of it, I should at least know what I was dismissing. So I decided, what the hell, I’ll try it. If nothing else, just to prove him wrong.

The Shocking Reading

I booked an astrology reading from someone who was highly respected. 

To my dismay, it was uncannily accurate. 

It described how I think, where I get stuck, and how I relate to people.

And here’s what really messed with me. A lot of what the astrologer said matched what my therapists had been telling me for years. Patterns, blind spots, how I operate. I would not have known those things about myself without therapy. So it bothered me how accurate it was.

I have a background in persuasion and unconscious processing, so I figured maybe it was a prime, or just really good guessing. So I went to another highly respected astrologer. They gave me different insights, but again, they matched what my therapists had said. I went to another. Same deal.

Not every reading was great, but most of the respected ones, both Vedic and Western, kept hitting things I already knew were true from therapy. It was crazy. It stopped being funny. It started messing with me.

The Curiosity Effect

Curiosity got the best of me. I started reading everything I could find and studying astrology and metaphysics. Some of the books were complete junk, but some were genuinely good.

Most of the people who were actually skilled at reading charts kept landing on things that felt specific and true. Not vague personality statements, but detailed insights that held up.

I needed to know why.

Digging Into the Ancients

I dug into the origins. Western astrology came out of Egypt and met with Greek philosophy. The other major system was the Vedic one from India, called Jyotish.

Then I found something that really caught me. 

The Jyotish scholars in the 6th century were taking people’s birth charts and creating sounds based on their planetary positions. 

Literal sounds.

That stopped me. Because if astrology were real, something physical would have to happen at birth. Some kind of imprint. 

In the Vedic worldview everything begins with sound, with OM. Everything is vibration.

And they didn’t just assign one sound. They gave four. Loosely translated, they represented sounds for Core, Love, Vitality, and Abundance.

I remember thinking, okay, where’s mine?

Building the Frequencies

That question wouldn’t leave me alone. I started researching how they might have done it. I talked to scholars, read papers, and started piecing together the algorithm behind how they might calculate those sounds.

Eventually I was able to create something that turned those calculations into frequencies, actual sound.

And after some trial-and-error testing, we finally got the formula right.

When I started giving these sounds to friends who shared their birth data, people began coming back with stories. They said they felt like they were coming home to themselves. They said they were getting along better with others. They said they were finally asking for the right things in life.

Some people said they felt their whole body vibrate. Others said it was more subtle but still powerful. 

The pattern was clear. The people who listened to their astrology-based frequencies seemed to tap into their true selves.

Their lives got better.

I did not get the same dramatic results as others. Some people felt strong body sensations. I did not. But I noticed changes. I was calmer. More patient. Kinder with my family and friends. That was apparent.And the fact that it worked actually really bothered me. The dissonance was unreal.

On Dissonance and Wrestling with Identity

This is the real story. The hardest part wasn’t the research. It was the shift inside me. The identity piece.

I’d always been about science and data. It was my armor. If I couldn’t measure it or model it, it didn’t exist.

So starting to believe that something like astrology could be real felt like a kind of betrayal. It wasn’t just an intellectual problem. It was emotional. It shook my foundation.

That’s why I started this journey in the first place. I wanted to prove astrology was fake so I could go back to being the guy who could explain everything. 

But I couldn’t.

People kept having real experiences, and I couldn’t explain them away.

So instead of choosing sides, I started reading. 

I looked for people who were trying to bridge that gap. Rupert Sheldrake on morphic fields. Lynne McTaggart and The Field. Dean Radin at the Institute of Noetic Sciences with his work on consciousness and random number generators.

These are not New Age gurus. They’re scientists exploring the edges of what science can measure. Reading them gave me room to breathe. It made it possible to let both parts of me exist at once.

I still believe in science. I still love logic and the scientific method. I still believe in testing things. But I’ve also seen too much to pretend that science has the full picture anymore.

The truth is, I’m still working it out. The struggle is ongoing. And maybe that’s the point. To live in that in-between space without needing to shut it down or make it fit.

The Upside of Embracing Dissonance

Here’s what changed. I became more open to other people’s beliefs: religious people, metaphysical believers, and those who I previously viewed as “whack jobs.”I’m not rolling my eyes anymore. I listen. I’m less judgmental. I’m more curious. 

That’s made my life better. Not perfect, but richer.

I’ve made new friends. I talk to people I would’ve written off before. I read things I used to mock. My life feels more interesting and more layered.

It turns out that life is actually more interesting when it’s complicated.

It’s the upside of embracing dissonance.

There’s a balance here. 

I still have my science brain. I still look at things skeptically. 

But at the same time, I’m open. 

You can love science and still admit it does not have the whole map. In fact, the greatest scientists are those who go beyond what’s currently “known.”

So I’ll keep searching, learning, and growing.

Because new, unexplainable experiences are waiting just around the corner - if you’re willing to open your mind and take that first step.

Check It Out!

Zodiac.fm

There’s an ancient principle that every person carries their own natural frequency, encoded in their birth chart - the precise time, date, and place they were born.

Zodiac.fm translates those frequencies into beautiful soundscapes you can listen to anytime - while you’re working, cooking, or resting.

In just 9 minutes a day, you can:

🌿 Feel more aligned, grounded and at ease
💗 Deepen emotional balance and self-trust
⚡ Reconnect with vitality and flow
💫 Restore your natural rhythm

Best of all, your frequency is completely unique to you. 

And right now, just for being a part of the Centerpointe Family, you’ll receive:

✅ 15% off your Zodiac.fm subscription (automatically applied)
✅ A 30-day money-back guarantee
✅ A 5-day free trial

Wise Words

“You can love science and still admit it does not have the whole map.”
- Michael Lovitch

This Really Happened

As someone who’s meditated for years, I thought I knew grounding… until this. I literally felt my nervous system exhale. Sleep improved. Focus sharpened. I even stopped using it for a week as a test, and whew—the difference was loud. The second I came back to the app, I felt like myself again.

~Hilary P.
Zodiac.fm User

Pay It Forward:

Your story may profoundly affect the life of a person you never meet,
but who will be forever grateful.