Synchronicities: Just Coincidence, Or Signs From The Universe?
April 10th, 2008
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In The Matrix, Neo experiences some synchronicities, coincidences that are just so weird, so ironic, so impeccably timed, that despite his best efforts he can’t pass them off as being purely random.
A black cat walks by him, and then in a deja vu, another cat walks by, making movements that are absolutely identical to the first one. He gets an anonymous message on his computer saying “follow the white rabbit,” and then a few minutes later someone is standing at his door with a tattoo of a white rabbit on her shoulder.
Neo has a feeling that these synchronicities mean something, but he can’t put his finger on it. To the people who have already been enlightened, it’s perfectly obvious that they mean something. They’re signs from the universe guiding him, showing him the path he’s meant to follow according to the grand design.
Sometimes I can’t shake the feeling that the real world works the same way.
Have you ever been thinking about someone, when suddenly the phone rang and you just knew it was them? Or have you ever had a song stuck in your head, when suddenly you heard it on the radio?
To be sure, a good number of strange coincidences are bound to happen just by chance. There are only a finite number of people, places, and things out there, so every once in a while two things will just randomly be in sync.
But sometimes so many unlikely things all happen at the same time, that it seems to be beyond chance. Let me tell you about a few recent examples in my life.
Bracelets for a Complaint Free World
On February 19th, my boss called me into his office, closed the door, and asked me “What do you think this is about?”
The answer was that I thought I was being fired for my attitude problem (long story short: I hate my job). But of course I wasn’t going to say that. Like when a cop asks you if you know why they pulled you over, you don’t say “Oh, that’s because I’m wanted in 48 states. You must have found the gun I threw into the river behind Fat Tony’s safe house two miles down the road.”
It’s a good thing I didn’t say anything, because it turned out that I was getting a bonus because of my “attitude and enthusiasm.” I have no idea where that came from, but it was so out of place I could barely contain my laughter. I took it as a sign that I got lucky this time, but I really needed to do something to fix my attitude ASAP, before it caught up with me.
I had heard about these purple complaint bracelets that Rev. Will Bowen was using to get people to go for 21 days without complaining. I had ordered some bracelets five months before, but I was still waiting. I knew they were really backed up, but were my bracelets eventually going to arrive, or had my order been lost?
On March 2nd, Pick The Brain announced that they were giving away 15 copies of Will Bowen’s book A Complaint Free World. All you had to do was leave a comment on their site that week, and you were entered into the competition. Hmmm, was I supposed to win?
On March 5th, I discovered Clay Collins at The Growing Life. Click on that link–do you notice something about his picture? Yup, he’s wearing one of those purple bracelets. So I left a comment asking him how long he had to wait to get them. To my surprise, he emailed me and offered to send me one of his extra bracelets! Are you kidding me?
On March 9th, I learned that I had won a copy of the book from Pick The Brain.
The message was clear: I really need to stop complaining. I can’t just ignore it anymore.
It Don’t Come Easy for Ringo Starr
On March 24, I wrote a post that briefly mentioned Ringo Starr as an example of someone who is mistakenly believed to have had an easy life.
The next morning, Catherine Lawson left a comment saying she didn’t realize that Ringo had a tough time on his way to the top.
A couple of hours later, as I was coming back from lunch, the last song on the radio was Ringo’s “It Don’t Come Easy.”
That evening, I watched an episode of The Simpsons. It just happened to be the one featuring that song, where Marge paints a portrait of Ringo.
The next morning, the radio had an interview with photographer Nancy Lee Andrews, Ringo’s former fiance.
That’s an awful lot of Ringo! But I don’t know what it means yet. I guess if I see him in real life, I have to follow him. Barring that, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.
Kill Bill and Japan
On April 5th, my friend in Japan called me because I’m going to visit him soon. It was just by chance that he called on that particular day, because we hadn’t spoken in months. One of the things we talked about was whether we were going to make a trip to Tokyo. I had said that I wanted to go, but I didn’t realize it was going to cost $400 to get there. I didn’t mind paying that, but I didn’t want to obligate him and his wife to spend $800 if they didn’t really want to. After some discussion of the pros and cons, we decided that we’re probably going to go to Tokyo.
Right after our call, I went to Blockbuster to rent a movie. It was just by chance, because I don’t rent a lot of movies, and I wasn’t even supposed to be home that weekend.
I went through the new releases and didn’t see anything that seemed especially good. Then I considered action vs. drama, and decided to look through the action section, starting with the As. I got up to the Ks before I found something that caught my eye–Kill Bill. I didn’t know anything about it, other than it being a Quentin Tarantino movie, but I decided on it instantly.
I had no idea that half the movie was set in Japan! And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie set in Japan before. Even the version of Godzilla I saw was set in New York.
In the movie, Uma Thurman travels from the U.S. to Okinawa, and stays there for a month. Then, she goes off to kill Lucy Liu, the head of the Japanese crime world, who just happens to be located in…come on, you know this…Tokyo.
That settled it. I’m definitely going to Tokyo. I just don’t know why…yet.
The Karate Kid and Moving from New Jersey
Now that I think about it, I experienced another location-related synchronicity from a movie years ago. I was living in New Jersey, and I liked the area OK, but I didn’t like the career options that were available there, especially during the dot bomb days. My sister was trying to convince me to move to L.A. (where she lived) so I could do something more creative.
When we went to the beach that summer, she brought a movie for us to watch, The Karate Kid. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Daniel moves from New Jersey to L.A. before learning the secrets of karate from Mr. Miyagi. Yeah universe, real subtle. I didn’t move to L.A., but I did move to Virginia (which is where I got my black belt many years ago). Still working on doing something more creative, though.
Is This For Real?
Bear in mind that I’m not trying to convince you that any of this is more than coincidence. I’m just sharing some things that have happened to me, and suggesting that this might be worth thinking about. I do experience a lot of synchronicities, and they seem to happen more often the more I accept that they might mean something.
Could it all be in my head? Of course. But the more I think about it, the more I find it possible or even likely that some force is out there saying “Take the hint, moron” every time a sign appears. I really wouldn’t be surprised if I suddenly realized that life is just a dream, and everything happens because it’s supposed to happen.
What about you? Do you find that things happen to you that seem like they could be not just coincidence, but signs from the universe?
April 10th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Hunter,
You’re not lucid dreaming as you write this post, are you?
This is really going to freak you out. One of your AdSense ads (that I’m seeing) is for “No No Song Radio Free”… “Listen to (guess who?) RINGO STARR…”
Is this the Twilight Zone? Ooops, you might be too young to remember that.
Actually, I think there is more written about this in “The Secret”. I’ve had it happen to me…thinking of someone and they call, quite often.
I don’t know what the Ringo Starr thing is. Maybe as you are traveling to Tokyo, wearing your purple bracelet, sitting next to you will be …..Ringo Starr.
BTW: Congratulations on your promotion.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Control Your Comments – Gain Readers
April 10th, 2008 at 4:01 am
LOL – I can just see the news headlines now: Stalker Says He Was Trying To Give Ringo A Purple Bracelet.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..If You Want F…ing Glamour – Do Something Else
April 10th, 2008 at 4:02 am
Sorry – forgot to say – thanks for the link Hunter.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..If You Want F…ing Glamour – Do Something Else
April 10th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Yes, it is sometimes scary, but I’m beginning to accept these events. “How in the world could I
I think it is related to making decisions.
ever create this??” It’s just too far out sometimes
If I change my mind about something and I’m really positive that this is going to happen one way
or another, I often get help from very unpredictable sources.
Promotion… are you thinking out of the box, again?
April 10th, 2008 at 9:10 am
I think I heard/read Joseph Campbell say once that he felt he was guided through life by “invisible hands.” Seems like the same idea. Love the pop culture references!
April 10th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Ha. Interesting. But I am a big skeptic. I have a friend who likes to say “it is all random nonsense”. Sometimes I wish I didn’t agree with him – maybe it would be easier for me to find meaning in life if I didn’t – but for the most part, I do.
Vered’s last blog post..4 Tips for Protecting Your Money in a Slowing Economy
April 10th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
This is just my personal beliefs coming through, but I think that everything happens for a reason. The gods/universe has a funny way of showing me the way, so I believe that for you, this is more than coincidence.
RLD: Taekwondo Happiness’s last blog post..Whoops!
April 10th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Fun post.
Most films are filmed on sets in say, Hollywood, Vancouver, Pinewood Studios, etc., so even though they may mention certain locations, odds are other than the establishing shots, the majority is not shot where the story takes place.
And Barbara, Adsense (usually) gives “contextual” ads, meaning they’re based on what’s written in the post.
Looking at it another way: the odds of knowing someone with the same birthday as yours is pretty good — a few of my math teachers always did this in class. You have 365 (or 366) possible birthdays compared to the number of students at a school (1000 or 10,000) — a match is waaay more certain than winning the lottery!
Still, it’s fun to see how things seem to tie together in some complex, web-like weave in the fabric of space-time-thought.
Nez’s last blog post..The Lure of Ludlum
April 10th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
@Nez,
Yeah, I knew that, but it was funny because as the first commenter, the ad was right in front of me…..and with Hunter and the Ringo obsession (??!!), I had to share.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Control Your Comments – Gain Readers
April 10th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I particularly enjoy just walking around aimlessly in an unusual direction or even just driving around someplace where I don’t normally go. Randomness, the unknown, breaking the routine: you just never know what might happen. And then, like you indicate, sometimes several events happen that seem to reinforce a certain choice or behavior.
I’m on the fence as to whether or not synchronicity or coincidence are actually planned or pre-destined, but it’s a fun thing to ponder.
Mark Dykeman’s last blog post..Back from the dead? Catch The Brainwaves
April 10th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
**NEWSFLASH** More Ringo Starr news. This week in Liverpool, UK (his former hometown), his head was lopped off a local statue of him (is that a Kill Bill link too?).
Ringo was wheeled into Liverpool in January to lauch the city’s celebration year of being the European Capital of Culture 2008.
He stood up on stage at the brand new concert arena. And wooed the audience with how much he was loving being here and that he may even move back.
Later that week he was interviewed on BBC1 in a prime-time chat show.
He admitted he rarely returns to his home city and doesn’t miss a thing about it.
Then, when asked if he would move back there, he pulled a comedy face.
Hailing from his home town, I don’t think I’m going to bump into him. As you can imagine, the local reaction to his hypocrisy and betrayal has turned him from popular to “most hated” overnight.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..How Awful Is My First Attempt At An E-Book? Tell Me The Brutal Truth
April 10th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Hello, I’ve been reading some of the articles on this blog, and including this post (which I’ve stumbled). Very well written! I’ve enjoyed more than a couple of them and am subscribing to your posts!
All the best in your success,
Evelyn
Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..3 Basic Principles to The Art of Giving
April 11th, 2008 at 1:20 am
@ Barbara, I’m not too young to remember The Twilight Zone, only for me it’s the one hosted by Forest Whitaker. I saw Ringo in the AdSense and chuckled. At least it can be explained in that AdSense is a contextual ad program and displays ads related to your content, but there are plenty of other ads that could have been shown.
@ Catherine, as much as I’d like to inspire a headline like that, I wouldn’t give my bracelet to Ringo even if he begged me. Fate wants me to have the bracelet!
@ Thomas, you think it’s scary? I think it’s maybe 10% scary and 90% just plain weird. I believe that in time I’ll begin to accept these events as normal.
@ Amanda, also, Adam Smith wrote about the “invisible hand” that runs the economy, basically the sum of each person’s actions takes on a mind of its own. Glad you liked the pop culture references. I do use them pretty frequently just because I always find connections to them.
@ Vered, what do you mean you don’t instantly accept these wacko theories?
I can certainly understand being skeptical, and I come from a purely logical world myself. It can’t be proven one way or the other until we leave this world and jack out of the Matrix.
@ RLD, I think that’s the belief I’m coming to as well.
@ Nez, when I went to the WB studios in Burbank, CA, I saw the “New York” set where they shot Friends, and the “Chicago” set where they shot ER. I definitely agree that very little is shot on location. I just meant that Kill Bill’s story takes place in Japan, not that it was shot there. My high school class was 365 students. I don’t specifically know anyone who had the same birthday, but if there were just two more students, it would be impossible for everyone to have a unique birthday.
@ Barbara #2, I’m not obsessed with him–he’s the one who chooses to keep popping up!
@ Mark, I’ve heard about people doing something different specifically to stimulate creativity, because new things always pop up when you break routine. I’m on the fence too. Isn’t the fence great?
@ Ian, hmmm, more Ringo info, this time painting an unflattering picture. Now he’s definitely not getting a bracelet.
@ Evelyn, thanks for stumbling and subscribing! Your blog seems related to this kind of stuff, so I’ll check it out. It’s 2 in the morning now, so maybe tomorrow.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
…and my 6 year old loves “Yellow Submarine” and would be devestated id she watched and understood what he’d done!
This year we’ve been celebrating local culture. As you can imagine, the Beatles are a big part of it. And a dismissive comment about your home-town creates divides when the city has raised a small fortune to pay your fee for smiling to the flashing cameras.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..How Awful Is My First Attempt At An E-Book? Tell Me The Brutal Truth
April 12th, 2008 at 1:12 am
OMG.. This is os true. I’ve experienced these countless times.. In fact, I write them in a diary even.. Too much of a certain thing in one day.. Happens often!
MindBlogger’s last blog post..4 common misconceptions of the blogosphere that will RUIN your blogging
April 12th, 2008 at 11:20 am
You asked if we have incidences that happen to us that we perceive to be more than coincidences…well, this one topped the list for me.
For 10 years I wanted to bring a Golden Retriever into my life. For 10 years I said it was going to be impossible with my schedule etc. Finally after naming the puppy, always imaginging she was with me, telling all my friends about her, buying books on Goldens’s and whatnot…I took the plunge. I called the Registry of Golden Retrievers here in BC and asked for the top breeders.
They kindly sent me a list of mostly local names for me to call. No information given on the puppies just a name an phone number – maybe 6 or 7 on the list. I did what I usually do and set the list aside waiting for the right moment to give it thought.
About 7 days later, in the late evening I had an “overwhelming sensation” to call a breeder. Those who know me, know I don’t want to be on the phone at the best of times, so certainly not in the late eve. Besides, it’s rude to call.
So, there I was, on the phone, calling people I did not know and…I didn’t call one local breeder! I was dialing the number of the breeder who whas 4 or 5 hours away from me and over the mountains…(it is January – not the time to drive the mountains!) The whole thing made no sense, but I continued, following my “gut.”
After reaching the breeder, I poured out my story about my little girl Ginger bla bla bla… She patiently listened and then replied with laughter, “Well, I think you are in the right place, your puppy is coming out of her mommy right now.” She was literally being born the moment I called.
So, like the proverbial chicken and the egg…
Who called first? Ginger or Me?
Harmony’s last blog post..THE MOON IS TWO FACED!
April 12th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
@ Ian, that’s unfortunate that you have to hide your 6 year old from the truth about her hero. Don’t famous people know that people who look up to them are watching all the time?
@ MindBlogger, I’ve never thought about writing them down before. I wonder if that lets you notice certain patterns emerging, or gives you better insight into your synchronicities.
@ Harmony, that’s a great story! I wonder who really did call first.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:37 am
Hunter, great post! So many people go thru life without seeing these signals. They are like the guy in the cell-phone commercial where the phone pops off the display into his hand, he puts it back, then says, “I just need a sign”.
Sometimes, when you so not see the signs, the universe will roll over you like a Mack truck. Keep your eyes open, and let us know what happens in Tokyo!
@Stephen | Productivity in Context’s last blog post..Spring is Here!
April 26th, 2008 at 5:46 am
@ Stephen, I haven’t seen that commercial, but it still sounds funny. The thing is, you can’t see the signs if you don’t believe in them. For many people, it’s hard to believe in something you can’t prove. I’m pretty new to this myself, so I can easily understand why many people don’t want to accept that things might happen for a reason.
April 29th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Hi Hunter, I love this topic, so much so that I’m desiging a whole website around synchronicity. You and I should stay in touch! I believe the next step after recognizing sychronicity in one’s life is asking for specific signs, and then setting a particular amount of time for synchronicities pertaining to the answer of that question to present themselves to you… say in a 24 hour period. If there are no signs, the answer is ‘no’, though synchronistic signs can also give a ‘no’ answer. And of course ‘yes’ synchronisitc mean… “Yes!” Thank you, lovely and thoughtful post.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Hi, Amber. I’d love to see your site when it’s ready! Please come back and leave a comment when you have something to show us.
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December 3rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
Hi,
Thanks for this great post. I see that I’m very late joining this conversation, but I just got your link from Barbara’s Blogging Without a Blog.
I have experienced these coincidences at various times throughout my life. Usually what it means is that I’m in a good flow, doing the right thing with my life and for myself. When I’m off-track and feeling down, the coincidences stop.
A writing teacher I had says it’s all part of the Reticular Activating System (RAS). If you haven’t already, you might want to google it. Very basically, it’s a part of our brains that is concerned with arousal and motivation.
It’s what is activated when we buy a certain car, then suddenly see that car all over the road. We have become aware of it, so our RAS takes notice and points it out at every instance.
Still, I’m partial to my more spiritual take on the issue. I definitely take it as a sign from the universe.
Is there a follow up to this post? I’m going to look around.
PS. Kill Bill – awesome isn’t it?
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:12 pm
These kinds of synchronicities happen to me ALL the time. They kinda weird me out and I have no idea what they mean. They happen to my mom too.