LET’S SYNCHRONIZE!
Recently a woman told me an amazing story. She needed money to pay for some of life’s extras, and wished really hard to win the lottery. She didn’t, but shortly after requesting that the universe fill her need, she found a diamond studded watch buried in the sand on Cape Cod. When no one responded to her posted find, she sold the watch for a large sum of money. I myself had a similar experience the same day. Getting out of my car by my office, juggling a handful of papers and business cards, I thought--”Boy, could I use an rubber band!” No sooner had the thought left my brain, than my gaze landed on the curb by the car. Yup, you guessed it--and a new one to boot.
These are examples of synchronicity, a term coined by Swiss psychiatrist, Carl G. Jung. Synchronicity refers to phenomena that are not cause and effect, but have relatedness in some meaningful way. We commonly refer to events like these as coincidences; and most of us have experienced them in some form. They can be as simple and ordinary as knowing who is calling when the phone rings; or dramatic as what happened to my family not long ago.
Usually our family visits my mother in contingents of one or two at a time; however, on a certain Sunday six of us decided to go together as none of us had been to see her for a few weeks, and a visit was overdue. As soon as we arrived, we realized our normally exuberant matriarch was out of sorts,. Staunchly independent and unusually able for 83, this day she was having trouble with co-ordination. We realized that we had come in as she was having a stroke. Because we were all together, we were able to make an immediate family decision to get her to help. Had she been alone, we are quite sure she would have denied a problem and would not have made as fine a recovery as she has. We knew immediately that a synchronistic miracle had occurred. We needed all of us to guide her, talk her into going to the hospital, support her, call others and talk to the medical staff.
However, it is often as quickly that we realize that synchronicity has been at work. About 25 years ago, a good friend asked me accompany her to a program being run by a local counseling center. I went only as a favor to her, totally unsuspecting that the people we were to meet would become our mentors, inspiring us both to become therapists.
Think about your own life. Have you struggled to predict a certain outcome, only to find that what actually evolved was exactly what you needed? Have you ever had a sense you knew what was going to happen before it did? Have you had a night dream that helped you choose a life path; or a day dream that showed you a solution? These occurences, called“clicks” by one individual describing them to me, are part of our innate intuitive capacity, and a potential tool to be cultivated.
You can learn to both recognize synchronicity and to use it. Imagine you could believe at your deepest intuitive level that, despite difficulties, events are working in your best interest? Try this. Quiet your mind with deep breathing or meditation. Give yourself the suggestion that everything is working for your best. What? Your disbelieving mind says “Yah, Right!!” Okay, allow that negative thought to pass and return to the positive. Say something like this-- “Negative thoughts will have no negative effect on me.” “Balony.” your mind still says?” Well some people may think so. But most doctors and educators today do believe that what we tell ourselves can make a significant impact on our emotions and even on our physical health.
We now know that stress reduction achieved through stilling the mind and intuitively changing our thinking can improve health. Why not, then, use our intuition as a tool to view life’s events as synchronicity. This can give us the faith that things are happening in a way that is in our best interest. That view can actually alter the way we feel and how we cope. I know a woman who says “thank you” even when bad things happen. This would take some mental practice, but why wait years to see synchronicity at work? Why not believe that it is happening now. You might just give yourself relief from stress and the benefit of staying happier, healthier and of living longer. Perhaps it is sychronicity for you to give this idea a try!!