Two in the Woods

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Trish and Rob

This synchronicity is another one that involves names – as well as some other peculiarities.  It occurred in the 1950s and the original source is Mysteries of the Unexplained, which has one of the best best collections of classic synchronicities.

So we have a chap named Eric W. Smith, a metallurgist with the English Steel Company. He lives in a quiet suburb of Sheffield called Ecclesall and behind his home is a wooded area where people stroll and used to horseback ride. Smith often walked in the woods, collecting manure for his tomato plants, which he picked up with a dustpan and put in an oilcloth shopping bag.


One day Smith is out walking, doing his thing with the manure, and saw another man coming toward him. He was also collecting manure. There was a bench between them and they reached it simultaneously and sat down. The stranger had a small dustpan and carried an oilcloth identical to Smith’s. They got to talking and discovered they had both gone into the woods to collect manure for their respective tomato plants.

Smith brought out his pipe and tobacco tin and when the stranger brought out his pipe, too, Smith offered him tobacco from his tin. The gentlemen thanked him and said he had his own brand. It was the same as Smith’s.

“At this point, both men had the sense that something eerie was happening to them.” (Gee, you think?!)
“My name’s Smith,” said the first man.
“So is mine,” the stranger replied.
“Eric Smith.”
“Me, too,” replied the second Smith.
“Eric W. Smith.”
“Yes.”
Smith # 1 clarifies things. “The W stands for Wales.”
Smith #2 says, “There we differ. I’m Walter.”
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It seems the trickster’s fingerprints are found on this one!

Posted in names, trickster | 12 Comments

Mike & Mac & their cats

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Trish and Rob

We’ve written about how scientists have independently come up with the same break-through theories at about the same time. Now here’s an example of two bloggers coming up with the same unusual approach to the UFO mystery. One of them is Mike Clelland, who has posted here about owls and UFOs. In this case, cats are used as the fulcrum for exploring the mystery of unidentified flying objects. Mike pointed out that the actions of cats to try over and over to catch a dangling string is very much the way he sees humans pursuing the enigma of UFOs.

“Do we say that the UFO occupants are visiting us in the same way my cat would say the string is alive?” he wrote in his initial entry to his blog that began March 3, 2009.

Mike’s ‘string theory’ was neatly complemented independently by Mac Tonnies on his blog, called Posthuman Blues, except Mac went hi-tech using a red laser dot instead of string. “To my cats, the red dot possesses its own vitality. It exists as a distinct entity…So they chase it. And chase it. And, if they get close enough, even take swipes at it — in which case I make the dot “flee” or disappear in what seems like a concession of defeat (which, of course, only further arouses the cats’ predatory curiosity).”

Mac went on–as Mike did–to compare the UFO scenario to the action cats.  “I can’t help but be reminded of our continuing search for assumed extraterrestrial vehicles. UFO sightings demonstrate many of the same aspects of a typical feline laser hunt: mysterious disappearances, “impossible” maneuvers and a predilection for trickery — the apparent desire to be seen despite (or because of) a technology presumed to be far in advance of our own. More than one UFO researcher has noted that UFOs behave more like projections or holograms than nuts-and-bolts craft . . . an observation that begs the nature of the intelligence doing the projecting.”

Interestingly, Mike originally wrote his essay in November of 2006 and Mac wrote his two months earlier. Mike swears he knew nothing about Mac’s cat & UFO prose. He remembers reading about Mac in March of 2007 leading him to discover their mutual metaphorical synchronicity.

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Man from Earth

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Trish and Rob

The other night, we were looking for a movie to stream from Netflix and selected Man From Earth. It’s a 2007 film written by Jerome Bixby, who has written for Star Trek and Twilight Zone. In a nutshell, the story is about a professor – John Oldman – who is leaving his teaching job and moving on to new things. Some of his fellow profs stop by to wish him good luck and to say good-bye. They’re all surprised that he’s leaving and keep pressuring him for a reason. So he finally says, “What if a man, from the Upper Paleolithic survived until the present day?”

Everyone thinks he’s either kidding or writing a sci-fi novel. But as the film progresses, John begins to talk abut how he sailed with Columbus, what life was like in the various stages of history since the caveman days. His friends balk, of course, in various ways, and the film is actually a thought-provoking dialogue on the nature of reality, religion, man, the environment. Now here’s the synchronicity.

The day after we saw the movie, I was talking to Carol Bowman. We often exchange book and movie titles, but as soon as I mentioned Man From Earth, there was a BIG silence. Then:

Carol: “I can’t believe this.”
Trish: “What?”
Carol: “I called my brother yesterday and he mentioned I should see Man From Earth. He loved it. So last night (the same night Rob and I streamed the movie) I tried streaming it from Netflix, but the buffer kept kicking in. I coldn’t get it. Now I’m going to have to try again. But, really, why this movie out of all the available films? What’s the message?”

Indeed! It’s not even a recent release. We also had trouble buffering the movie from Netflix, but after a couple of attempts got it. Interestingly, as if to put a punctuation on the synchronicity, the next day Netflix sent us the DVD of the movie.

Posted in movies | 9 Comments

Just for Fun

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Trish and Rob

Okay, this isn’t a synchronicity. But it sure is fun!

Take a look.

Posted in fun | 6 Comments

The Buddy System

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Trish and Rob

Natalie sent us this synchronicity. She called it “a funny little one,” but to me it’s not little at all. It illustrates the vast complexity of the underlying order where synchronicity lives and breathes. And when you think about it,the whole thing involves impressive odds!
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“In Australian schools, we have a buddy system for the little kindergarten children starting school for the first time. They are mentored by the six-year-olds.

My daughter, Isabella, is 6, so she’s a big buddy. Her little buddy is Katie. Katie  has a sister named Isabella, whose big buddy is named Katie.”

So we have the sisters Isabella and Katie, and we have their respective buddies with the same names. Now here’s where it gets even stranger.

“My Isabella also has a sister named Caity (my big girl), who have a father named Paul. The little buddies Isabella and Katie (from the other family) also have a father named Paul.

“I wonder if the other big buddy, Katie, also has a father named Paul? It is just a funny little one, don’t you think?”

Synchronicities like this one often feel like maybe the trickster is at work, tapping at the window of consciousness, chuckling and whispering, Hey, pay attention now. I’m going to tickle your mind!

Posted in names, parallels | 14 Comments

Oscar the Cat

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Trish and Rob

 AP Photo
 

We’ve posted several synchronicities that involve animals as oracles. But this next story is unique. It was written up in the New England Journal of Medicine and in a recently released book, Making Rounds with Oscar: the Extraordinary Gift of An Ordinary Cat.
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In 2005, Oscar was adopted from an animal shelter and became a permanent resident of the dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island. The staff adopted him because they feel that animals make the facility a home. The facility, after all, is usually the final stop before death, where patients with dementia no longer recognize loved ones, can’t talk, and are lost in chopped up  memories of the the past. 

So what is Oscar’s incredible talent? He knows when death is just a few hours away and snuggles up next to the dying patient, purring. In Oscar’s five years at the facility, he has predicted 50 deaths correctly and astonished Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician and professor at Brown University who works with the dementia patients.

In 2007, Dosa wrote about Oscar in the New England Journal of Medicine and is author of the book about Oscar. Dosa can’t explain Oscar’s talent and after the article was published in 2007, was concerned that people might consider the cat a furry grim reaper. Now he knows otherwise. “People actually were taking great comfort in this idea, that this animal was there and might be there when their loved ones eventually pass,” Dosa said. “He was there when they couldn’t be.” 

Oscar is apparently so accurate that the nursing home staff knows to call the family when the cat curls up beside a patient.

The CBS story is here.

Posted in animals as oracles, death | 15 Comments

Back in the Groove

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Trish and Rob

Travel removes us from our normal routines and habitual ways of thinking, so it isn’t surprising that synchronicity often surfaces – and sometimes does so in the oddest ways.

Recently, Carol Bowman, author and past-life researcher,  and I (Trish)  went out to Malibu to see our friend Julie. Carol conducted a past life workshop and group regression and there were plenty of synchronicities along the way. But one of the most interesting for Carol occurred upon her return home. We’ll let her tell it:
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My friends, Rose and John, introduced me to a friend of theirs, Wayne, a few years ago. Wayne and his partner had moved to this area from Malibu and started a restaurant.  We had dinner there once, and he was intrigued by the books I had written.  So I sent him a copy of each book.  Rose and John  moved to Colorado, and the last I heard of Wayne was that he and his partner had moved out of the area.

Upon my return from Malibu, I had some errands in a shopping area outside of town that I rarely visit.  I
stopped at a Fresh Market there, one where I had never shopped before.  And there  was Wayne.  I approached him, and he had a jaw-dropping moment when he said that he was just back in the area for a few days and was in the middle of reading one of my books.  He had it in a pile for at least two years, and just started reading it.  We were both a little surprised.

I felt reassured that I haven’t “lost it”, and was back in the groove!

Posted in Carol Bowman, travel, writers | 6 Comments

Thugad thall a chrom thruaill sloightear

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Trish and Rob



No, we didn’t hit the wrong keys for that title, it’s Gaelic, and we’ll get to the meaning and the astonishing  synchroncity related to that line.

You may recall that we wrote earlier about a synchronicity related to time travel that occurred during our visit to the Central Florida Scottish Games.   We also stumbled upon another one during that visit, but decided to wait until we’d obtained accurate details.

So, thanks to the avid research of Ron McGregor, chieftain of the American Clan Gregor Society, we now have the full story, an incredible trickster synchronicity from the Scottish Highlands, dating to the early seventeenth century.

First, some brief background. In the 16th century, the MacGregors engaged in a series of conflicts with the Campbells, who had absconded with land the MacGregors claimed as their own. To say the least, there was bad blood between the two highland clans. Finally, with the encouragement of the Campbells, King James VI issued an edict banning the use of the name MacGregor, hence, abolishing the clan. In 1604, the clan chieftain  was hanged in Edinburgh. The proscription on the name lasted until 1774.

So here’s the story. The main character is Callum MacGregor, grandfather of the famed Rob Roy. He lived as an outlaw–at least in the eyes of the Campbells–during the early years of the proscription. The Campbells repeatedly attempted to hunt him down, but Callum was an elusive target. In one incident, pursued by Campbells and their hounds, he managed to turn the tables. Callum hid in a cave, while an ally offered refuge for the Campbells along with an abundance of drinks. When the men were drunk and passed out, MacGregor’s kilt was draped over the sleeping men. The hounds were released, and upon smelling the kilt, visciously attacked their own masters as Callum escaped.

That was a good trick, but now comes the trickster. On another escapade, Callum was discovered hiding on an islet in Loch Katrine, and the Campbell men were camped on the woody shore, close enough for their voices to carry over the water. Callum had taken the precaution of sinking all the boats except the one he had used  to reach the islet.

Knowing the islet was barren, the Campbells figured they would starve Callum into surrender. As night fell, one of the band, a soutar, or cobbler by trade, lit a fire to prepare a meal. Callum took aim at the smoke, shouted a curse: “Thugad thall a chrom thruaill sloightear!” and fired. The bullet struck the cobbler in the forehead killing him. Loosely, the Gaelic translation means: “Get lost you slimy crook.”

But, in Gaelic, the word for crook has a second meaning: cobbler. The Campbells had heard the shout, but misinterpreted the meaning when the cobbler dropped dead. They quickly agreed that Callum had second sight and might pick them off one by one. After they fled in fear, Callum rowed to shore, escaped and lived to enjoy a peaceful old age in Glengyle.

(The source of the story is Clan Gregor, by Forbes MacGregor.)

The photo shows Trish and Rob standing with Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, Bt, chief of the Clan Gregor, and Lady MacGregor, with Ron McGregor, (kneeling) chieftain of the American clan.

(The Bt, after Sir Malcolm’s name stands for barronette, as he is barronette of Balquhidder and of Lanrick.)

Posted in clans macgregor, trickster | 12 Comments

The Power of Pluto

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Trish and Rob

On January 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled two precedents about the First Amendment rights of corporations and said the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The repercussions of this ruling? According to the New York Times, this ruling will “have major political and practical consequences. Specialists in campaign finance law said they expected the decision to reshape the way elections were conducted. Though the decision does not directly address them, its logic also applies to the labor unions that are often at political odds with big business. The decision will be felt most immediately in the coming midterm elections, given that it comes just two days after Democrats lost a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and as popular discontent over government bailouts and corporate bonuses continues to boil.”

As I was listening to the story that evening on TV, my first thoughts went something like this: corporations can now fund climate change deniers and in my next life, I really will be living under a dome. The dome refers to a previous post about a hypnotic progression in which I saw myself as a tall, bald woman, living in a city completely encased by a transparent dome. The air outside the dome was toxic. This line of thought brought me to the power of Pluto.

Dissed by astronomers, Pluto was demoted to a dwarf star in 2006. But astrologers know better. Pluto symbolizes profound and permanent transformation. It’s all about power  and the abuse of power. It rules all that is hidden. In late January 2008, Pluto moved into Capricorn, the sign that rules corporation, politics, authority, government institutions. For some perspective on what this means – and what it might explain about the general state of affairs worldwide, here’s a brief foray through history.

Pluto’s last transit through Capricorn occurred between November 1762 and December 1, 1778. Unrest and outright rebellion and revolution were evident during much of this period in Europe and in the colonies. Spain acquired Louisiana from France; Catherine the Great became queen and presided over wars with the Ottoman Empire; Britain struck a deal with Spain to exchange Cuba for Florida.The first partition of Poland also happened during this period, where that country was divided into three areas owned by Russian, Prussia and Austria.The Quartering Act was passed, requiring the housing British troops in private homes. Parliament passed the Stamp Act, its first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. It was intended to pay for the huge national debt  Britain had incurred during the Seven Years War, but created a
serious threat of revolt. The Boston Tea Party also occurred during Pluto’s last passage through Capricorn. In other word, rebellion and collapse were the norm.

Now look at this timeline:
1/25/08- Pluto enters Capricorn 

3/10 -Dow Jones Industrial Average at the lowest level since October 2006, falling more than 20% from its peak just five months earlier

3/11: Federal Reserves outlines a $200 billion loan program that lets the country’s biggest banks borrow Treasury securities at discount rates and post mortgage-backed securities as collateral.

3/16: The Bush white house announces a plan to ease credit crisis. It includes provisions that require states to tighten rules for mortgage brokers and calls on lenders to make full disclosure of payment terms to buyers. Critics say the plan is too weak to have much effect.  The Federal Reserve approves a $30 billion loan to
JPMorgan Chase so it can take over Bear Stearns, which is on the verge of collapse.  The Fed had hoped the acquisition would avert a financial panic. Bear Stearns  sells for one-tenth of its market price.
Also on 3/16, Bear Stearns  is acquired for $2 a share by JP Morgan  in a fire sale avoiding bankruptcy. The deal is backed by the Federal Reserve, providing up to $30B to cover possible Bear Stearn losses.

 3/18 The fed cuts  short-term interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point.

In June 2008, Pluto – moving retrograde since April – entered Sagittarius again, where it had been between 1995 and early 2008, and resulted in idealogical fantacism. It moved direct again on September 8, headed for its appointment again with Capricorn. Coinciding with this movement:

9/7 – federal takeover of Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At that point, they owned or guaranteed about half of the U.S.’s $12 trillion mortgage market, and were now nationalized. This caused panic because almost every home mortgage lender and Wall Street bank relied on them to facilitate the mortgage market and investors worldwide owned $5.2 trillion of debt securities backed by them.


9/14 – collapse of Lehman Brothers

9/18- the fed loans too big to fail AIG $85 billion to avoid bankruptcy.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke meet with key legislators to propose a $700 billion emergency bailout through the purchase of toxic assets. Bernanke tells them: “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday.”

Late November: Pluto enters Capricorn again. Timeline?

11/18 – Treasury gives out $33.6 billion to 21 banks in the second round of disbursements from the $700 billion bailout fund. This payout brings the total to $158.56 billion so far

11/24 – The US government agrees to rescue Citigroup after an attack by investors causes the stock price to plunge 60% . They inject another $20 billion of capital into Citigroup bringing the total infusion to $45 billion

11/25 – The US Federal Reserve pledges $800 billion more to help revive the financial system. $600 billion will be used to buy mortgage bonds issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank

That’s just for starters and was topped by the election, when Obama won and the Democrats were swept into power in Congress. In 2009, Pluto went after the health care industry, insurance, the still faltering economy and everything else that has dominated the news lately. Granted, events aren’t brought about by a single planet or transit. But Pluto works on deep levels and those individuals and institutions that have abused their power will be knocked down and  will have to rebuild from the ashes.

Posted in astrology, economy, Pluto, supreme court | 10 Comments

High Tech Synchro Revisited

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Trish and Rob

(image from Center for Touch Drawing)

On August 12, we posted an entry on high tech synchronicity. Synctxt  is a way to explore synchronicity from your email, phone or wherever and however you are connected to the Internet. It’s described as “a research experiment and self-exploration tool that combines modern technology with the concept of synchronicity as postulated by the psychologist Carl Jung.”

In a nutshell, the technology behind the software grew out of the Princeton Anomalies Research Lab, where it was discovered that humans could influence quantum scale events, even at a distance. Once you sign up, a random event generator is assigned to you 24/7 and periodically it generates a message through email or a text message, written by you. You can create up to 64 messages.Ours consisted of things like: Go with the flow. Relax. Time to withdraw. Whatever we need comes to us. Call so and so. Have you forgotten anything? We also included more specific messages related to our work, family, finances, etc

In the five months we’ve been subscribing, we’ve discovered some rather intriguing elements to this marvel. It actually seems to pick up on emotional/mental energy. You know how some days you bound out of bed, eager to get started with your day? On those days, it’s likely that your synctxt alerts will come in fast and furiously. The messages generated may not always relate to exactly what’s going on in your life,  but when you get a flurry of them, you know for sure that stuff in your life is moving.

It also works on days when you get out of bed as sluggishly as a snail. You feel out of sorts – physically, emotionally, spiritually, whatever. Often, the messages generated on those kinds of days act as butt kickers, as if the universe is telling you to get your act together, to get the show on the road, to forgive the past and just, well, move on.

Then there are the times the alerts seem be tricksters. For instance, on Jan 4-5 South Florida experienced really cold weather (at least for us) – in the low to mid 30s. So on the 5th  we found seven synctxt alerts, a sure sign for a high energy day, right? And two of them said, “Chill.” We had written that message as a reminder to relax, but it addressed the weather situation!

A few days later, there were eight alerts today, and I knew that something had to be moving, shifting. So late that evening, Rob says, “Hey, Whitley Strieber has a new journal entry up. Knowing that my editor had sent Strieber my novel, Esperanza, to Streiber, asking him to blurb it, I  replied, “Oh, c’mon, Whitley, please blurb Esperanza.”

Five minutes later, I received an email from my editor with Strieber’s blurb.

So does synctxt work? It definitely has done so for us. It works especially well if you compose your messages with thought and deliberation and if you update your messages periodically. We plan to continue our subscription!

Posted in synctxt, technology | 11 Comments