Ripples on a pond

Steve Duffy wrote to tell us about a three-volume book by Peter Lavenda called Sinister Forces: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft. Sounds sinister and grim – lifting words from the title. We’ve never heard of the books, but Steve calls them “essential reading for thos interested in meaningful coincidence, particularly in the avenue of American politics and history.”

Steve went on to explain that at lunch with a colleague one day, he was trying to explain his interest in synchronicities related to Jack the Ripper murders, magic, and historical events.

“I illustrated this by having him visualize time as a pond, and certain historic events as a stone that cast into the pond causes a ripple effect which reaches individuals and changes their life in turn. Some people are more attuned to this effect than others. A pretty simple explanation of a complex theory.

“After that lunch hour I wandered into a nearby bookstore. Skimming the spines of several books in the science section, I spied the title “There are No Accidents” by Robert H. Hopke. Picking it up and glancing at the cover revealed the sub-title: Synchronicity and the Stories of Our Lives.

“The cover, however, knocked me off my feet. It depicted a watery surface with a slow drop of water causing concentric ripples to splash out in rings! exactly as I had been trying to illustrate to my friend. When I bought the book I returned to work and showed him, explaining how the very purchase in my hand demonstrated the feasibility of synchronicity in one tiny little package. A great little bundle of ‘proof’ so to speak.”