Synchronicity has been on my brain lately. I had some idea of it, but I wasn't sure exactly what it meant, so I went to Merriam to check it out. (I like to think of her as my own personal librarian) Well, on this question, she was not clear. I couldn't put it all together.
My favorite psychology pioneer, Dr. C. G. Jung wrote a book titled Synchronicity, and he tells this story about it. "A young woman I was treating had, at a critical moment, a dream in which she was given a golden scarab. While she was telling me this dream, I sat with my back to the closed window. Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, like a gentle tapping. I turned round and saw a flying insect knocking against the window-pane from the outside. I opened the window and caught the creature in the air as it flew in. It was the nearest analogy to a golden scarab one finds in our latitudes, a scarabaeid beetle, the common rose-chafer , which, contrary to its usual habits had evidently felt the urge to get into a dark room at this particular moment. I must admit that nothing like it ever happened to me before or since."
My connection with the synchronistic has been nowhere near as dramatic as that account, but it is evidencing itself nonetheless...in everyday ways. I've settled for a very simple definition of the word: 'a relationship between ideas or events that is not logical.'
That relationship has shown up in my life recently around the topic of healing. The impressive thing is how many times, and from how many disparate places it has shown up...in the chaplain training course I signed up for...in the book a friend sent me out of nowhere...in an off-the-cuff comment about stream of consciousness writing in a letter from someone I knew only slightly...in the writing project I was invited to participate in...and more...and more. Healing. Healing. Healing!
Alright, I get the hint. Healing is on the table. And it got there through a series of commonplace pointers that were not logical. So my journey has taken a bit of a turn, and I am excited about it! As well, I am especially delighted with my new traveling companions.
I have not yet experienced anything quite like Jung's dramatic event. But I am finding everyday evidences of synchronicity.
Neal,
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never. Not exactly on top of it this week... and feeling a little out of sync. I needed your writings tonight to point me back in the only direction that works for me. I call it God and I willingly, and in perfect free will, surrender again. I don't do it out of some pious duty... it is simply the only thing that consistently brings peace, joy, and a recognition of the beauty that is all around us.
Your thought on multi-tasking resonates. First... I can't, I am a male. Second, I don't want to work hard being a busy businessman or busy anything. Instead, I choose to place my life afloat upon God, relying on a faith that is knowing & relaxing in Spirit, caring nothing for what shows up, except to notice it and be grateful. When I live like this, the outcomes are universally better than I could have ever imagined, and the path straightens. I can't think of a time when I truly remained one-pointed toward the Lord, where the result hasn't been partially magical or completely miraculous.
My desire for tomorrow... really more accurate is only one moment at a time... is to try hard not to try hard. I realize I have the key and go in peace... can't tell you how often I thought that phrase related to my business pursuits; now I realize, the key is allowing God to drive the boat with zero interference. Every single thing that causes anxiousness, I will immediately turn over to God... leaving me free to only focus on what is creative and inspiring.
Thank you for your writing as it has brought me out of a temporary funk.