Defining Synchronicity

Trish and I do a lot of radio show about synchronicity and related subject and often the first question that comes up is: What’s your definition of synchronicity. When I answer that one, I usually  I go with Carl Jung’s definition. Synchronicity is when two or more unrelated events come together outside of cause and effect and the resulting coincidence is meaningful to the observer.

I usually follow up with an example, since that definition is a bit obscure to people who haven’t thought much about synchronicity. So I say, “For example, you think of a friend that you haven’t heard from for years, and an hour later you get a Facebook friend request from that very person. Two related events: a thought and an action come together outside of cause and effect. On the other hand, if  I’d sent the initial friend request, then of course when my friend responded in like fashion, it would be a matter of cause and effect, not synchronicity.

Some other comments I usually make:

*Synchronicity is the mothership of paranormal experience. It’s what connects our everyday reality with a deeper reality—the source of peranormation expieriences.

*You don’t have to psychic to connect to synchros. You have to be aware.

*Synchronicity doesn’t exist unless you recognize that coincidences can have meaning.

*There’s an underlying web of reality where our true selves or higher selves exist, where everyone and everything are interconnected…and  synchros are the most conscious aspect of the web. In other words, they hint at a deeper reality that exists outside of time and space.

I used to cite a quote from Jung that I’ve seen over and over on the Internet: “Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.” However, since finding out that Jungian scholars say there is no evidence that Jung ever said or wrote that, I’ve stopped using it. Well, someone said it, and must’ve thought that attaching Jung’s name to it would give  it more authenticity. Except, if he never said it, the opposite is true.

But now after watching the above  video by Tom Montalk, I’ve borrowed from Tom’s definition of synchronicity. Here it is: Synchronicity is when two or more similar things, that  arent’t connected, come together in a spooky or strange way. And the resulting coincidence is meaningful.

In fact, I was going to use that definition the other day to open an interview with Dylan Stewart, an Australian with a podcast called  Paranormal Thoughts. However, his electronic gear was malfunctioning and he had to postpone the Skype interview.

Trish told Dylan: “It’s Mercury retrograde.” Most of March, in fact, is enveloped in Mercury retrograde, which among other things, can cause problems with electronics. I’m not sure the interviewer was into astrology, but one thing was for sure, he recognized it as a synchronicity.

PS Mercury turned direct on March 28 and this evening, March 30, we had our interview with Dylan.