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Coincidence, Synchronicity & Dr. Joe

Coincidence, Synchronicity & Dr. Joe

What Do You Believe?

Do you believe that there’s no such thing as a meaningless coincidence? That everything has meaning and there’s a reason for everything, and that even seemingly unrelated events and conditions are somehow brought together at the right time and place or a reason? Or – do you believe that coincidences are just that – two or more events can coincide without greater meaning or significance and that it is only the subject that is striving to make meaning out of the meaningless?

Meaningful Coincidences & Synchronicity

A meaningful coincidence is when two or more events that are unlikely to be related in any way, come together for a reason. When it happens or when we reflect on it later, we get the shivers and goosebumps and feel deeply connected to something greater than ourselves and have a gut sense that it’s more than mere chance at play. Carl Jung described the concept of Synchronicity as “temporally coincident occurrences of causal events” and drew from his theories of the “Collective Unconscious”. Synchronicities give us the impression of a deeper order and that noticing and reflecting on such interesting moments could shift our often egocentric thinking to one of greater wholeness – that we are all connected in unseen and immeasurable ways. Sometimes the perfect thing happens at the perfect time and we notice the coincidence, at that moment and it feels serendipitous – that’s a synchronicity. Here are some examples that have either happened to you or you’ve heard of them from others.

  • You think of someone you used to know, an old friend, a family member, a colleague and within minutes or even days, that person calls you.
  • You’re down to your last few hundred dollars and you wonder how you’re going to pay your bills and out of the blue you get some money in a strange way – someone who owed you money and you chased them for years until you gave up then drops off some cash.
  • You need to make a decision about something and don’t know what to do and everywhere you go, you keep seeing ‘sign’s (words, phrases, symbols, numbers, etc.) that give you the answer or confirmation of what you feel you should do but have doubted.
  • You’re downtown on a busy day and need to get to a meeting on time and can’t find any parking and add to that you realize that you have no change either. Then you turn the corner and all of a sudden someone is walking to their car, they open the door, grab something, then close it again. You think “it was too good to be true – they just forgot something and aren’t going to free up the spot.” Then they walk over to you and hand you their parking ticket with 2 hours left on it and just smile.
  • You meet a friendly stranger who starts talking to you about the very thing that’s on your mind. They tell you one thing that makes all the difference and you sit there dumbfounded, grateful and in awe. You never forget them.

There’s so much content and discussion about coincidences and synchronicities online for both the skeptic and the believer. The rest of this post is about one example that just came up in my life (all of the above have happened to me and some more than just once). The point that Jung made about pulling ourselves out of our egocentric thinking into a greater wholeness – and something that Deepak Chopra says – that synchronicities are clues to fulfilling our deepest dreams and desires is why I’m sharing this with you. Perhaps it will help you reflect more deeply on a coincidence that’s happened to you or is about to happen for you and helps you decide what to do next in your life.

So What About This Dr. Joe?

There’s this film called What The Bleep Do We Know – I bought it in 2004 when I was learning a lot about spirituality, consciousness, and personal growth (the start of that journey was also a strange series of coincidences but I’ll save that for another time). As a new spiritual seeker still full of doubt, skepticism, cynicism, and a left-brain dominated analytical mind – the teachers and books I was reading felt good but didn’t fully convince that part of me that needed proof – I needed something more… scientific and fact-based, instead of faith or trust based – just to trust or have blind faith was too hard for me sometimes. Science still gave me comfort and I felt ok with that.

At a point close in time to when I was introduced to the Law of Attraction, Manifesting, the film “The Secret”, books like Think and Grow Rich, Manifest Your Destiny, The Master Key System, I was also introduced to What The Bleep Do We Know and I was blown away. Different but similar – the core to me is very similar – that we create our own realities and that we have the power to influence what we attract into our lives.

What the Bleep was all about Quantum Mechanics/Physics – coming to understand the nature of our universe, the role of energy, beliefs, thought, emotion, consciousness – the nature of our perceived reality. It was part documentary, part movie portrayal, with smart, eccentric and interesting academic types – doctors, PhDs, professors, researchers, theorists – just right for my academic analytical mind to trust and to get excited about – each with a different angle to share.

I won’t go into more detail about the film except to share this – one of the interviewees, was a doctor by the name of Dr. Joe Dispenza – a young, seemingly sweet, soft man (at least on film) who was tangible, accessible, real, down to earth, and easy to listen to and understand, and believe. This one part (below) I must have watched a dozen times.

Creating My Day

Fast forward 10 years or so – to last summer. I read his book Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself – it complimented a lot of what I’d been studying and working with in my life and in my coaching and workshop development – neuroscience, changing beliefs, adding some science to help me explain the power of meditation to transform our lives from within.

Fast forward one more year to 2 weeks ago. I’d been meditating regularly, doing yoga (also a form of meditation and building the discipline to go within and get our minds out of incessant thinking to put it simply). I’d been feeling more connected than I had been the previous 12-18 months (another story) and OUT OF THE BLUE – out of NOWHERE – I get an email from someone I don’t know – never met – never came across before, inviting me to be a volunteer at a weekend seminar being led by…you guessed it, Dr. Joe Dispenza! (Thank you Cheryl!)

I could only be available on one of the days due to family commitments but the person who reached out to me said I can come for any part of it and that once I fulfilled my duties, I could watch Dr. Joe for the rest of the day. I’m used to be an ALL-IN or ALL or NOTHING kind of guy but this was too much to pass up, so I said count me in for the Saturday. I was breaking the habit of being the kind of guy I used to be 🙂

Fast forward one week and I was the humble and happy parking lot assistant directing people where to park. Overqualified? One could say so. But above that? No way! I arrived, met a few volunteers, saw in the group an old friend from high school that I had no contact with in over 20 years and the synchronicities kept unfolding.

After the event, and getting to know some of the names of the other volunteers, I must have come across at least half of them (online) over the years. Needless to say, I enjoyed the seminar, the meditations and the style with which D. Joe presented – with light, humor, grace, passion, enthusiasm and compassion. I loved his content and believe it’s made a great impact on me personally and as a coach.

At the end of a long day, I took up one more role – to help with the book signing. When that ended, I bought the last copy on site of his newest book You Are The Placebo and was the last person in line to meet him and get it signed. And my old pal from high school was kind enough to take the picture of us you see above.

You tell me that was all just a meaningless coincidence – my right brain, my heart and even my left brain will not believe you.

Be on the lookout for what you’re creating and attracting into your life. Watch out for signs, symbols, people, and events that seem to come out of nowhere at just the right time and know that it was meant for you.

Perhaps you created it somehow or perhaps some unseen forces ‘out there’ conspired to help you. It wasn’t just random and it had greater meaning – just give yourself a chance to open your mind and find the reason – you’ll be glad you did!

Here’s to more synchronicities unfolding in your life!

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