Synchronicity

Jung coined the term synchronicity to describe "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events”. "When coincidences pile up in this way, one cannot help being impressed by them” - he wrote. And here is an example of what happened as he was running a therapy session. 

“By way of example, I shall mention an incident from my own observation. 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 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 that one finds in our latitudes, a scarabaeid beetle, the common rose-chafer (Cetonia aurata), which contrary to its usual habits had evidently felt an urge to get into a dark room at this particular moment.”

Yesterday as I had just arrived to San Francisco, I decided to drive by my ex partner Leila Janah who died in January. I stopped in front of Leila’s house and it was open for a showing as it is for sale. I did not go in but many memories of Leila came to mind. The same day a few of Leila’s close friends “randomly” contacted me and some mentioned how they missed her.

I don’t remember many birthdays. I always wish like most of us family and close friends birthdays and admit that Facebook reminds me of many others that I happily wish. I have to admit that since her death was difficult for me and she isn’t with us anymore I did not made a conscious effort to remember when her birthday was and I do not have have a calendar reminder for it. Facebook doesn’t give you notifications for birthdays of dead friends even though her profile still exists. 

I realized yesterday was her birthday, October 9th. Was it my subconscious that made me drive to her house as if she was here to wish her a happy birthday? None of the friends of Leila mentioned her birthday remembrance to me when we talked either, yet they decided to talk to me and talk to me about her that same day. 

It is a special day for me of course as we spent many of her birthdays together but also because for her birthday 4 years ago she asked me to go celebrate it in the Amazon forest. She was a very special human being in countless ways and who else would offer her partner to do a plant medicine ceremony deep in the Amazon forest for her birthday? 

Leila was one of the crazy ones that Steve Jobs wrote about.

I was scared and initially refused to drink the tea as I had done some research on it and was conditioned by my past that it wasn’t something I should try. Dark in the middle of the forest with thousands of animals who all seemed to be looking at us the then scary and now defunct Peruvian Shaman Edinson and Percy served the cup and we both drank it. 

I decided that day to surrender to the unknown. 

We drank it two nights in a row and both had extraordinary beautiful as well as seeing ourselves dead experiences in our dreams. It was mind opening and also very scary as our childhood traumas came to us one by one. I wrote tens of pages in my notebook the day after Leila brought to me a life changing experience that would change forever how I see the world and myself. 

Is this all random or is it the universe just making things happen as they should? 

I read “the surrender experiment” which I highly recommend. It is about just surrendering to what life brings you and seeing every person you meet or events that occur as non randomness but nature just guiding you. 

We can all decide at each moment to believe in randomness or in a higher order that we cannot understand. Call it Divine, God or just nature. 

That day 4 years ago I shifted from being an atheist to believing that there is something else than what we see and science. I started believing that everything happens for a reason and randomness does not exist. I pay close attention to any person coming to my life or getting in touch. I observe the events in my life as guidance even if I do not understand them most of the time. Many see what’s happening with coronavirus as a manifestation from nature taking over. I wonder what she would say about it. 

Thank you Leila, I am forever grateful for the connection and time we spent together. 

Life is more beautiful when you believe in nature and “something else”.