Do coincidences and accidental meetings occur for a purpose? That's the conclusion of the principle called "synchronicity." I first discovered the principle (originally developed by Carl Jung), when I saw the spirituality book The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield in my sister's bathroom reading pile. I had seen the book in stores, but never read it. I thought it strange that she had the book because neither she nor her husband are religious. So I got the book from my library and read it. I found the story (the book is in the form of a novel) engaging and the message interesting.
Since reading the book, I've tried to stay much more open to listening to "messages" from chance meetings and to understanding the opportunities they contain. Some of the messages have been powerful. One last summer - a chat with a good friend and neighbor - told me I should sell all my stock and keep it in cash for a while.
Alas, I've also learned that getting messages and acting on them are two different things. Both being open to receiving messages and acting on them take work. (My friend sold his stock; I didn't.) Fortunately, the chance meetings and messages keep coming, as do the opportunities. The message of synchronicity seems somewhat related to Malcolm Gladwell's less mystical Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
Oh, I asked my sister about the book I found on her bathroom pile. It turns out the book was a gift from a friend and she never read it. Was my finding the book there another example of a chance meeting, waiting for me to be open to its message?
