What is a synchronicity, you may ask? A synchronicity is a coincidence where an external event mirrors emotional states and inner experiences. Carl Jung believed that synchronicities mirror deep psychological processes, carry messages, have meaning, and provide guidance. In 1952 Jung published an essay titled Synchronicity – An Acausal Connecting Principle. In this essay, Jung became aware that the study of synchronicity leads to the formulation of a new worldview entirely. Carl Jung’s famous anecdote of the scarab is an example of the “meaningful coincidence” he associated with synchronicity:
A patient he was treating had a dream in which she was given a golden scarab. While she was telling Jung her dream, he was sitting with his back to the closed window. Then he heard a noise behind him, like a gentle tapping. He turned around and saw a flying insect knocking against the window from the outside. He opened the window and caught the creature in the air as it flew in. It was the nearest analogy to a golden scarab one could find in his geographic location, a scarabaeid beetle…
Once you start noticing these cosmic signs and understand that you’re on a path, you will see them everywhere. Synchronicities are cosmic miracles, little mysteries pointing to a bigger one, perhaps a central one, of which we're all a part. According to anthropologist Michael Harner in The Way of the Shaman, synchronicities are considered “a kind of homing beacon analogous to a radio directional signal indicating that the right procedures and methods are being employed.”
The notion of synchronicity is based on the idea that life is ultimately one single process, that operates similar to the flow of a stream. This process naturally maintains itself without effort, and inherently acts in its own best interests. What could seem to be division on one level, is harmony on another, and although there may be conflicts between different life forms, all of this is ultimately an expression of unity, of ONENESS.
When we are contemplating our synchronicities, it is important to find their meaning, not just to marvel at the improbability of such coincidences. “The primary reality of synchronicities is emotional, not intellectual,” says Mark Holland, co-author of Synchronicity. “The reason they’re there is to make us feel something, and the feeling that our lives are rich and worth our reflection comes in part from our sense of the depth and mystery of life.”
Synchronicities remind us to use more heart, less head, more intuition, less intellect, more flow, and less forcing. More of the inner life, more emotions, more listening, more self reflection. More of what Carl Jung referred to as the anima, the force of the feminine in a man. Synchronicities often show up more when we are questioning a decision, a relationship, or a career choice. As far as interpreting these messages go, rely on your intuition. Intuition means "inner teacher" and if we listen to ourselves, we will find the answer.
Spirituality is about becoming aware of, and aligning oneself with, the inherent unity of life and understanding that if you're in conflict with the world, you're basically in conflict with yourself. By 'going with the flow', and becoming non-resistant to experiences, it is becomes evident that life naturally looks after itself in such a harmonious way. Synchronicity is the realization that when you stop trying to force change, or bend the world to your will, things will begin to unfold in your best interests without having to struggle at all.
This is not, however, a mentality that works without action. If you just sit at home doing nothing, your dream career will not magically find you. Rather, it is the awareness that there is no difference between you and the world you think is separate from you, and the more you can surf the tides of life, rather than fight against the current, the more the process will take care of itself, which is what it does naturally. First and foremost, this is a mentality of trust. Trusting the fact that the more you stop fighting against the world, the more the world will stop fighting against you, allows everything to run more smoothly. Rocket ships can fling themselves enormous distances, and save huge amounts of energy, by simply cooperating with the force of gravity. The sense behind synchronicity is very similar. The more synchronicities one perceives, the more states of flow they are in. Perception of Synchronicities is a sign of being aligned with the UNIVERSE.
"In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order." -Carl Jung
"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." - Albert Einstein