Synchronicity and Coincidence
by Janice Matturro on 04/05/13
It is difficult to define the difference between synchronicity and coincidence. I know; I
have tried. I take comfort, though, in the fact that there is quite a bit
of academic debate over just what distinguishes synchronicity from
coincidence. In fact, this debate can be traced all the way back to the
time when Carl Jung was working on drafting his original paper on
“Synchronicity.” Wolfgang Pauli, a theoretical physicist and both patient
and student of Carl Jung, challenged Jung to further clarify and define the
term synchronicity.
I suppose synchronicity
and coincidence are like two sides of the same coin. In my personal
lexicon, I liken synchronicity and coincidence to a set of identical twins ~~
they are hard to tell apart. And so, to me, the important thing about synchronicity
and coincidence is not found in academic definitions that strive to distinguish
the two, but rather the importance is found in one’s personal experience.
I think most people are
familiar with this experience: You think of someone and a minute later
the phone rings; and, lo and behold, the person on the other end of the phone
is the same person you had just thought about not more than a minute
before. This is a “Wow, that was a coincidence!” moment that leaves
one with a sense of awe.
This type of experience
and its moment of awe enables one to glimpse ~~ even if only for a fleeting
moment ~~ the powers that speak to us from a deeper reality of our universe,
beyond what our five senses can perceive ~~ one begins to glimpse that mind and
matter are one, and there is no separation, in reality, between the two.
These powers are not entirely unfamiliar to us because they make themselves known in our dreams. However, we may need to be reacquainted with them when they speak to us in broad daylight through synchronicity and coincidence.
I like to think about these powers and the processes they use to facilitate communication through dreams and through synchronicity and coincidence in this way. This works for me; you are free to borrow it or create your own story:
When we sleep and dream, these powers have our undivided attention, so to speak, and communicate with us through symbolic story. During the daytime, however, when we are functioning from our waking consciousness, with our thoughts going in all directions ~~ work, kids, school, pets ~~ these same powers need to catch our attention at opportune times, while we are on the go. To do so, they employ, common, everyday signs and symbols, such as bumper stickers, road signs, license plates, a strategic encounter, or conversation here and there, to convey their message.
For example, the other
day, on the way to visit my grandsons, I found myself in bumper-to-bumper
traffic. It took me over one hour to drive two miles. Turning
around to go home was not an option; I certainly didn't want to disappoint my
grandsons, who were waiting patiently for me to arrive to take them out for
lunch and then to the park.
Reconciled to the long
haul, I began contemplating the meaning of faith, inspired, in particular, by
the recent Easter and Passover holidays. With deep emotion, I pondered faith
and how difficult it sometimes is to flow with the ups and downs of faith ~~
certainty and doubt ~~ that everyone experiences, at one time or another,
during one's lifetime. I asked for guidance in understanding what it is
that one has to do to help oneself hold on to one's faith through these
challenging ups and downs of certainty and doubt, like Jesus' Disciples did,
against all odds. No sooner had I finished that thought, a car cut into my
lane, right in front of me, carrying this bumper sticker:
A totally “Wow! What a coincidence moment!” right there, while I was sitting in traffic minding my own business. Wouldn't you agree?
Communication is tricky business. The pollster Dr. Frank Luntz often states on television, “It's not what you say, but what people hear." Effective communication depends upon “words that work.”
Personally, I am awestruck at the brilliance possessed by the powers that speak to us in dreams and through synchronicity and coincidence. Take a moment to think about it. At just the right moment in time, these powers choose the exact “words that work” to convey a message that is intrinsically personal and meaningful to the observer.
What “words that work”
have you received through synchronicity and coincidence? Please feel free to share!
References:
Moss, Robert. The
Three "Only" Things. First. Novato, California: New World
Library, 2007. 105. Print.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Pauli
