#12 - Coincidence or Synchronicity?

1) QOTW
"Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous."
Albert Einstein


2) Story – Universal Code
I’m thinking about putting my first blog post online.
I’ve been doing a weekly mailout for a few months which started off as a "Quote of the Week" sent to a few friends. Each time I sent out the goodness a few people thanked me so I gradually increased the number of mail recipients. As the format developed into something more substantial I’ve got more and more positive feedback and encouragement.
In sharing things I’m learning I use some personal examples and I’ve pretty much got used to sharing my thoughts with the people I email it to. A blog seems different though, random strangers and Internet gangsters will be able to see my work and comment on it. Also I’m no saint or authority and I’m wary of setting myself up as one. There’s also potentially a lot more work involved, but I’ve decided to do it anyway because it feels like the right thing to do, an idea whose time has come.

Still, I’m thinking I might call a few people to ask their thoughts.
I call P. P says that he understands where I’m coming from but the thing is the best stuff is always personal, that’s why people relate to it. He also reminds me that I’ve already suggested people share the mailout with others it if they like it.
Yes P, that’s why your emcee name is Logic.
I text T to say I wanted to ask his advice on the blog. He is juggling 26 things as per and he misses me when he calls back. He leaves a voicemail saying he’s on the way to the hospital. A little while later he sends me a picture of a quote displayed at the hospital:

"In humility there is no expectation of success. Accomplishment comes naturally, unthreatened by what is said by others."

"Saw this in hospital as I was thinking about when to call u back."
T
I had to read the quote twice for it to sink in.

These kinds of coincidences have been happening for me with ever-increasing frequency for years. In The Power of Discipline, Dr Brian Tracy defines synchronicity as "coincidences which lead in the direction of your goals." I first began paying attention to them after someone gave me a copy of The Celestine Prophecy to read many years ago. The book is a fictional tale about evolving consciousness and suggests that one of the signs of gaining momentum is "an increase in the number of synchronicities you experience." Up until then I hadn’t really paid attention to them, I kind of brushed them under the carpet, but from this point onwards I began to notice that the more I acknowledged them and appreciated them the more often they happened and they almost always helped me. Reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho further helped me to wake up to the many omens and signs hidden in plain view every day. It was like learning a new language.

Initially I found them exciting, sometimes almost scary, the precision with which certain things fell into place was incredible. For me, it raised questions of unbelievable statistical probabilities, choice, destiny and the possibility of creating your own reality. It demanded that I be more aware of my thoughts and intentions because I saw their impact so clearly. It spoke to an interconnectedness between things way beyond my conscious mind’s ability to comprehend and arguably beyond the Newtonian model of the universe which has dominated Western scientific thought for the past three centuries. Over time however, I’ve become quite accustomed to these happenings to the point where now I just smile and give thanks for them, however ridiculous they are. I remember when I first spoke to T about this and I’ve watched him go through the same process from curiosity to shock to acceptance so it’s quite fitting this quote came to me through him.
I think most people dismiss coincidences as random events without meaning:

Video - Richard Dawkins on Why Coincidences are Meaningless (6mins):

YouTube Link

Maybe that's a more sensible  way of perceiving reality, perhaps Mr Dawkins is right.
Personally, I can only follow my own intuition - things tend to go pear-shaped when I don’t.

Interestingly, according to quantum field theory physicists are now beginning to discover that at the quantum level solid matter becomes ‘weird excitations and vibrations of invisible field energy’ and superstring theory seeks to "unite time, space and matter" (Gribbin & Davies - The Matter Myth). Perhaps the scientist of tomorrow will have a little more in common with the mystic of yesteryear.  

One of my most memorable experiences of synchronicity happened this summer. I was at work one afternoon about 6 weeks after finding out my post was being deleted in the latest staff restructure. I’d decided to follow my instincts and take redundancy even though I didn’t have any kind of plan for the future and for the first time doubts began to creep in. How would I support myself if my savings ran out and I couldn’t find a job? What was I going to do? I’d made the decision to leave and felt happier for it, yes there were times I’d have negative thoughts but I’d bat them down and stay true to my instincts, it was either worry or trust. However on this particular afternoon that little gremlin got the better of me for the first time.

It had been niggling away at me for a few hours and I was just thinking about what to do to turn it around when a colleague (L) stepped into my office. My managers were out so she sat down and we started chatting. She popped the top off an apple-flavoured beverage and paused to read the inner side of it. She shrugged and was about to throw it into the bin when I asked her what it said...

(Just in case you can't read that it says: "I CAN FREE YOU FROM WORRY")
I laugh and in my mind I wink back at the Universe/Life/God/Higher Intelligence or whatever you happen to call it. I explained to L how perfect her timing was, how perfect the message was and then joked about how I was going to sabotage the place before I left. Just then C popped in. C is invariably chipper, I’m not sure what he eats for breakfast but it’s definitely working for him. He breaks out his phone and shows us both his latest batch of video clips which are range from hilarious to very disturbing. By the time the 2 of them leave I am in great spirits and I know that everything will work out.
I don’t know how all this works. Obviously I can’t prove how much of our reality we create or how much guidance we receive along the way. But what I do know is that there is a flow to Life, like a stream, and when I am present and living within it with trust and clear intention, magic happens.

Epilogue
At the time of writing this it's late November and there have been too many strange synchronicities in the time since I wrote the above story to name. Last night while I was updating the mailing list for the w0nd3r I typed down the email address for Marina (a friend of a friend who has exchanged emails with me recently). As soon as I typed her name down I got an excited text from Audra telling me that Marina was doing a firewalk live on television in LA right now. Later on amongst the pile of business cards and contact details I was sifting through I found a note from one of the many helpers that crossed my path when I was travelling in Peru 5 years ago…

Yup, it’s definitely time to post #12 :)

3) Song - Perfect Timing by CL Smooth & Skyzoo (4mins).

YouTube Link

4) Video - Paulo Coelho on Luck, Coincidence and Faith (2mins).

YouTube Link

Let me know if you have any interesting or bizarre coincidences/synchronicities you’d like to share.

Dx