The Significance of Synchronicity
When a meaningful coincidence (Synchronicity) occurs, we are often left to ponder its meaning
Renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung coined the term Synchronicity, which he defined as events that are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related.
Jung said of synchronicity:
it is impossible, with our present resources, to explain ESP, or the fact of meaningful coincidence, as a phenomenon of energy. This makes an end of the causal explanation as well, for "effect" cannot be understood as anything except a phenomenon of energy. Therefore it cannot be a question of cause and effect, but of a falling together in time, a kind of simultaneity.
The experience of a synchronicity can be a powerful, often mind-bending incident where it is easy to question how such an event is even possible. A common example is when you are thinking deeply about a person you haven't spoken to in a long time, only to have them call or contact you that very moment.
Synchronicity can puncture our rational, strict cause and effect view of reality
I'm not one to put a ton of faith into the concept of divine intervention. I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea, but I don't live my life as if there is a higher power guiding my movements and shaping my path.
But there have been times where a particularly significant synchronicity puts my deterministic and rational mind back in its place, opening me up to the possibility that there is something much more powerful and mysterious at work in our lives.
One such event occurred last weekend. My brother was visiting me for the first time in my life, as we've always had a distant and difficult relationship. I considered this to be a big step forward in the process of potentially having an actual semblance of a brotherly relationship.
On a whim, we decided to go out to a local bar with friends for the monthly funk night dance party they hold there. About an hour into our time there, I spotted someone I had known since grade school from across the room.
His older brother and I were best friends from 3rd grade until high school, and as a result we were also close. If there was someone I would consider to be like a younger brother to me, this individual would definitely fit the description. The fact that he was present at the same time that my older brother was visiting me was one of the most stark and meaningful coincidences I've experienced in my life.
Is it confirmation bias or something more?
The skeptical mind would likely state that such an occurrence was merely due to my desire to draw connections from events that confirms my preconceptions. If we really want to find meaning or coincidence in our life, we can find any number of signs to reinforce this.
I can walk out my door with an eye for finding a synchronicity, and likely be able to produce such an experience with ease, especially if I lower my standards for what constitutes a meaningful coincidence. In psychology, the term 'apophenia' is used to describe the mistaken detection of a pattern or meaning from random or meaningless information.
In the skeptic's mind, the synchronicity that occurred with my brother and old friend was nothing more than a statistical anomalie and bringing mystical interpretations to such incidents would be a frivolous attempt to find meaning from a random occurence.
The meaning of a synchronicity is in the eye of the beholder
My older brother is someone who falls very much in the skeptic camp. As such, he was mostly unimpressed with this synchronicity, and seemed to draw very little meaning from the event. I'm someone who is more open to these events having some sort of signficance in my life, and as such I believe I took away much more meaning from this incident.
This example is evidence that a synchronicity in and of itself does not carry meaning. Ultimately, it is up to the individual who perceives the coincidence to embue it with purpose and significance.
This falls in line with my understanding of fate and free will, in that while we mostly cannot control what happens to us in our lives, we always have the ability to consciously choose what the event will mean to us. Even the most objectively horrible events, like the unexpected death of a loved one, can produce dramatically different responses depending on the person that witnesses it.
I don't have a clear definition of why certain synchronicities occur in life, and I believe that's kind of the point. We are left to interpret the meaning from such events, whether it be a pointless occurrence or something deeper that empowers our sense of connection with the world we exist within.
I don't know about you, but I choose the second option.
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I just had a similar experience when I texted 2 friends I hadn’t talked to and both immediately responded saying they were just thinking of me that day. I love to see the Majick in the everyday experiences that could be perceived as just coincidence, yet I see them as gifts and reminders of how powerful and connected we humans really are.
It's those incidences that breathe more meaning into what would normally be mostly insignificant. It's a beautiful thing ;)
I agree:)
There was a time when I was quite overengaging with number synchronicities. You probably know all those 11:11 etc... themes. And the way it happened was that I was overly paying attention to those number signs, whether on the clock or on license plates. Even though I wasn't consciously on the lookout for these numbers, I found myself suddenly watching license plates where 777 or 444 stood on it. So I wasn't thinking of these numbers, but the moment I glimpsed at a license plate it was suddenly a number synchronicity. Yet with all these number interpretations I eventually found myself seeking synchronicities with a good meaning.
This finally led me to overanalysing every little incidence, which I then stopped doing because for me synchronicity means breaking down routines instead of establishing them.