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I will admit upfront that I do pretty much accept Jung's ideas of synchronicity.

HOWEVER, whether we believe or not is really beside the point. Mayhaps we cannot truly know if "something" caused these connections or it is just random chance.

The point, though, is that we don't really need to know the "how" of it - what matters is what WE feel and interpret because of it.

A conflicted man opens up his Bible and randomly chooses a passage. After reading it, he feels comfort and a new direction or perspective on his troubles. He feels embraced by God and of value.

The only thing that's important here is what the man feels before he opens the Bible and what he feels after reading the passage. If he has found comfort, why should one discount it? Something in what he read provided meaning for him.

A conflicted man opens up his Bible and randomly chooses a passage. After reading it, he feels worse, that he's being punished and he's done wrong, displeased God.

The only thing that's important here, again, is what he feels both before and after the reading. Something in what he read touched on something he already felt inside of him. A fear or a guilt.

Is either situation synchronicity or pure random chance?

We need to look, instead, at the man's experience of the events. Because he has given it meaning is the crux of the issue. It is our own thoughts and feelings about the world around us that dictate who we are and how we're going to proceed. If we chalk it up to chance or some guiding hand really doesn't matter.

If someone takes the idea of a guiding hand to an extreme, where they see portends in everything, we must ask ourselves why? What are the hidden issues this person is dealing with?

"There is currently a controversial debate concerning whether unusual experiences are symptoms of a mental disorder, if mental disorders are a consequence of such experiences, or if people with mental disorders are especially susceptible to or even looking for these experiences." -Dr. Martina Belz-Merk

This is known as apophenia - spontaneously seeing connections and meaning in unrelated occurrences. But it is not the "seeing" itself that calls for exploration, but the meaning and connections the person defines the events with.

Extended, the issue becomes one of phenomenology - focusing on the uniqueness of someone's perception which determines their reality. We can generally accept this principle, that everyone views things differently, so why should the issue of apophenia or synchronicity be any different? It is THEIR reality, not ours, and no one really has the right to judge the voracity of another's reality. We can seek to help and guide when their reality is harming them but any change in thought patterns or perceptions of reality must come from within themselves.

And for those who find "truth" and guidance in apophenia, who are we to deny them that?

A conflicted man opens up his Bible and randomly chooses a passage. After reading it, he really feels no different. He didn't receive any special insight.

Has he been "cheated" or deprived by God because he didn't experience synchronicity? Only if that is important to him. And if it is, then we focus on the meaning of that importance and what he's going to do about it.

Coincidences happen and whether they are causal or mean anything or not is not the issue. It is our perception of such that matters.

Learn more about this author, Amaris Michael.
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