Thursday, May 28, 2009

Synchronicity and the Blog World



What is synchronicity? Is it selective perception? Is it the law of averages, playing itself out? What about just a coincidence, or intuition? It was a term coined by one of my favorite psychiatrists - Carl Jung - who believed synchronicity is a glimpse into the underlying universe, a term to describe the connecting principle that links mind and matter. It manifests through meaningful coincidences that can not be explained by cause and effect and occurs when a strong need arises in an individual. He believed there were three types:

  • The coinciding with a thought or feeling with an outside event.
  • A dream, vision, or premonition of something that then happens in the future.
  • A dream or vision that coincides with an event occurring at a distance.
But I see this phenomenon in the blog world. I find that I can be thinking of something, and low and behold, someone is talking about it on their blog, or I will get a comment on mine. Or maybe it will be a comment on another blog that will relate directly to something that I need to know. 

Some scientists believe synchronicity as having a theoretical grounding in quantum physics, fractal geometry and chaos theory. That the isolation and separation of objects from each other is more apparent than real, that at deeper levels, everything - atoms, cells, molecules, plants, animals, people, and blogs, participate in a flowing, connected, sensitive web of information. The great Edgar Cayce, the most celebrated psychic of all time, believed there is a type of "grid" above the world that connects us all. Whether or not you believe that, scientists have proven that at the sub-atomic level we are made up of the same material. Even more interesting, they have found that two photons, when separated, no matter how far apart, when there is a change in one - it creates a simultaneous change in the other.

So maybe we are drawn to each other for a reason. Maybe there is something in the Universe that seems to swing into place to answer an inner need that we have, and that's why we love our blogging buddies so much. What do you think?

46 comments:

scarlethue said...

I've noticed this lately too!

I agree, I think we're drawn to people for a reason, and so drawn to certain blogs for a reason.

Lillian Robinson said...

God, in His infinite wisdom, came up with a magnificent design!

Verily I go. said...

Very cool and right on to my mind. Yes, yes, yes. I do love you guys. I do love it here. Teaching me all the time. Always. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

And coincidentally (or not?), just minutes before I read your post, I wrote a comment on someone else's blog about a post of theirs that told me exactly what I needed to hear today.

I believe there are no coincidences. Whether it's God, or Cayce's grid around the universe, or subatomic particles moving together in harmony, I do believe that things happen for a reason. And I think Carl Jung was onto something too - sometimes we catch a tiny glimpse into the part of the universe that we can't perceive, and it lets us know that there is still so much we don't understand.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Fascinating!!!! You have lovely thoughts!!!! ~Janine XO

Chris Wolf said...

Won't it be lovely when we all treat each other with care because it hurts us, our own selves, when we don't?

Patsy said...

I believe that there is pattern in chaos.


~Lorna

Expat From Hell said...

I think you are absolutely right, as usual! However, I trust that our blogging community will spend a bit of time to get below the surface of our writings. After all, you write about syncronicity, and I write about boobs? Oops.

EFH

Tess Kincaid said...

Oh, yes! Most definitely. I think we can see it more easily in the blog world, since there's so many of us sharing our thoughts and ideas on a daily basis. I find it very fascinating and encouraging.

Mom! Dude! said...

I agree...that connectedness is not just coincidence...

Love the way your blog forces me to think so deeply. Many thanks.

Whitney Lee said...

Like attracts like.

And I believe there is no such thing as a coincidence.

And thank you for posting things that are thought provoking.

Rachael @ The Little Birdie said...

I completely agree with this! I notice it often reading out here in the blog world. I believe that everything happens for a reason... even small things like being in the right place at the right time to read the right persons blog.

The Good Cook said...

I believe there are no coincidences - that we are all connected, to the earth, the sky, each other. I also believe if we ask, the universe will provide. Great Blog Post.

Anonymous said...

Happened on this post this morning and am intrigued that here in the Central Tablelands of rural NSW, Australia, I totally get what you wrote!

ellen abbott said...

Yes, yes, yes. I had all these thoughts to reply with but as I read the comments, I see they are all said.

We are all connected since we all come from the same source, the cosmic consciousness. An idea whose time has come will appear simultaneously all around.

Joanne said...

There are definitely virtual connections that draw us to one another, and it's amazing how out of thousands? millions? of blogs, we find each other and that connection. If I stopped blogging, I'd actually miss many people who I consider blog friends.

GreenishLady said...

I think you've articulated something that I've been feeling about blogging for a long time. The sense of connectedness and the degree of synchronicity experienced is remarkable to me.

Erika C. said...

I love the idea of synchronicity and try to live by it. I find and this is not an original idea I know, that the closer I get to my true path, the more synchronicities that I experience.

love,

Erika

Andrea said...

Ah, synchronicity. There has to be some pattern, some great web holding it all together.

Another great post that gets us all thinking!

Linda Pendleton said...

Yes, I find it rather amazing that many of us bloggers are on the same subject at the same time. I love the synchronicity of life. There are no coincidences and everything happens for a reason, usually a larger reason than we can see at the time.

luksky said...

I'm just so glad to have found someone that shares the same "thought level" that I do. In the past, anytime I had ever mentioned the things you spoke of in your blog today it went straight over their heads and I got a blank stare. I don't feel crazy anymore. :-)

Hilary said...

More and more I believe that there's no such thing as coincidence .. that we're connected to our surroundings, near or far. I have no doubt you speak reality.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

I believe you have said it well.

Bogey said...

Envision your blog as a huge bowl full of seeds. Now, take the number of people who come by here and read your blog on any given day. If each person leaves here with a small hand full of seeds and they plant those seeds in every blog they visit. The flowers bloom, turn to seed and the whole process starts all over again. People take what they need, leave what they can and share what they have. It is pretty amazing don't you think?

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

It is quite ironic that all things coincide whether through Jung's beliefs or otherwise. Everything is cyclical to a degree and perhaps that is what happens in the blogging world. I believe that all things happen for a reason whether we understand them at this very moment or not.

Unknown said...

It's a funny thing....
fractals, chaos, "branes"....
philosophers have been tossing around these ideas for centuries, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato....
and many more. The more we live the more we know the truth.
Smiles

Butternut Squash said...

I was just thinking about that...

I wonder if I only choose to read things that I would write.

I really enjoy you! Peace.

Marlene said...

Funny you should bring this up....
I have been wondering about that same thing...I decorate and create
to stop my mind from deep thinking which I tend to do too much..yet in this Blog world..which I started as a avenue for creative expression..I have found and become a daily reader of Blogs that are full of the questions I so carefully try to not think of..
I have read things in your blog that have answered questions in my mind.. I have seen a beautiful perpective in "Being Gemel" which mirrors my thoughts just on the right day...Synchonicity..Cosmic teaching and learning for us all.

California Girl said...

Did synch ro ni zing inspire you?

Jo said...

Oh, goodness, yes, we are all connected. I believe there is a universal consciousness -- definitely. I don't think it is chaos at all, but highly organized. We are all like "cells" in one large organism. Ask not for whom the bell tolls...

Anonymous said...

When I studied fashions design at one point in my life, I went out to the stores to study the craftsmanship of the designers' garments. I could tell from studying the authentic work of the designer that it was definitely a Chanel or a Christian Dior. I could also tell if the garment were a copy from the lack of the same craftsmanship. The same is true when we look at objects in our universe, whether its macro or micro or sub-atomic. Its a reflection of a Creator, God. As MzzLily said, "God, in His infinite wisdom, came up with a magnificent design!."

I recently received a comment from a blogger concerning a post on my blog, a layered taco salad. Her comment said she was thinking of making a layered taco salad earlier in the day.

A few week later, while I was reading the blog of the lady who commented on my post, I noticed that her most recent recipe was lemon curd. I said to myself as I read it, "I was just thinking of making this earlier today."

I don't think there are any accidents. We meet whom we are suppose to meet. There is a magnificent design by a loving God.

pam said...

I agree! Like this post for instance. Just this week, I was reading (or listening to) the part in The Short History of Nearly Everything where he talks about the change in one photon causing a change in the other simultaneously!

Reya Mellicker said...

We are definitely entangled, deeply entangled, with each other.

One of my great teachers used to say, "Energy follows attention." We pay attention to each other, we tune in to each other, and so it's easier to pick up on wavelengths. It's not about how far away we live from one another. Here in cyberspace (does anyone use that word anymore?) we're all one, just like the Zen monks say.

Stella Jones said...

Yes, we do feed off each other. It's the same with conversation. One person brings up a topic and the other person remembers a similar event in their life. Coincidence, yes that too.
Blessings, Star

Pyzahn said...

I very much believe in synchronicity. And that all things happen for a reason.

There was a great "B.C." comic many years ago that's still on my fridge. One of the caveman character wakes up with a start, mumbles the name of a friend thought lost, walks outside and looks at the sky, then says..."oh my goodness... we're all connected."

I found that very profound, especially for a comic strip.

Great post. Also liked the one on gratitude... which is what I believe responsible for changing my life in such dramatic ways.

Spiritual Journey said...

I first had an articulation of this principle when I listened to Deepak Chopra's audiobook entitled The spontaneous fulfillment of desire: harnessing the infinite power of coincidence, which he later on called synchrodestiny. I highly recommend this book (I listened to this twice to grasp the deep thoughts he masterfully explained). As of now, I don't see things as just coincidences. Most of the time, it's our intentions that set out the motion for things to work harmoniously, just like how an orchestra conductor brings out good music out of each different instrument players.

Swetha said...

you are a wonderful writer!!

And yes i agree to what you say!..
there is some strong force which is connecting all of us together!

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

Hi - We found your site through a Google alert for synchronicity. Terrific stuff here! We hope you'll drop by our site on synchronicity, which we started as a research tool for a book on the topic. We would be delighted to post any synchronicities you and your readers would like to share and use them in our book. www.ofscarabs.blogspot.com

Many thanks.

Trish & Rob MacGregor
macgregors2@gmail.com

dragonflydreamer said...

You are a wonderful writer. I've been thinking and wondering about this topic lately more than ever before. When I was young, I thought I knew everything and then one day I realized that I didn't really know much at all. I am more aware of everything now, more conscious of how my words and actions effect others. Being "right" used to be so important to me and now being kind and making connections has replaced the self-absorbed arrogance of my youth. Your blog is very spiritually nourishing to me. Thank you. Have a great weekend!

Marguerite said...

I totally agree. Like attracts like, according to the Law of Attraction. Positive thoughts attract positive thoughts and negative thoughts attract negative thoughts. Great post!

Natalie said...

Ha,ha,ha!!! My post I was working on for today (SAT.) was SYNCHRONICITY!!!!!Ha,ha,ha. Gotta love you, LOL.

Unknown said...

I believe that this holds to be true. Millions of people synchronize their thoughts in the blogosphere. The most facinating thing is that they don't plan or agree to do it. It just happened. It's amazing!

Bee said...

I really appreciate the way you've grounded this phenomenon in Jungian thought. I've noticed this synchronicity many times -- and so has every other dedicated blogger, I'm sure.

We are all seeking out what we need to find . . . and I think that you are so right about how/why blog friends become so important to us.

Bee said...

After writing my comment, I started reading through the other comments . . . and discovered so many of the blog friends that I hold dear. What an interesting web!

Just yesterday, I connected Margaret Godsden with Reya because they had both been working on/thinking about Vietnam.

critterlover said...

Absolutely. I've believed for years there's no such thing as coincidence. It's synchronicity.

In synchronicity, there are messages, if only we pay attention.

I've had many messages over they years that I've ignored and let me tell you, they get louder if you don't pay attention. It's not coincidence.

You're right there, as usual. Well posted,

Anonymous said...

It's like the 100th monkey effect. My husband is in love with Carl Jung and all that is quantum mechanics.

I feel like my energy can be spread very easily. If I'm feeling down others tend to jump on the bandwagon, even my dogs. If I am happy, the same things occur.

If we can spread energy, then I think it it absolutely possible to spread thoughts and ideas.