The moment I became open to the possibility of a synchronistic function of reality was when I began to notice it. Distinguishing this pattern has transformed into a process of how I see the intimate relationship between my inner "I", and the external world around me―also a part of my "I".
This being said, I aim to describe how forming a conscious relationship with the unconscious psyche can help us evolve as individuals towards healing, growth, and success.
As one who grows from a practical and mind-dominated viewpoint, this discovery has been quite shocking. And liberating.
I wish to share one of my own personal experiences with a synchronicity that somehow personified my unconscious in such a way that it led me to the study of the unconscious. Talk about correlating webs of coincidences! It is too 'meta' for me to fathom at times. And if it wasn't for my own self-experiments with consciousness in this way, surely I could not possibly believe.
Manifesting in the realm of the psyche, these experiences are mysterious and by nature are unable to be proven physically. For this reason, it makes any kind of scientific validation impossibly difficult in the traditionally rational and positivist sense. This need not be a drawback, for this is a phenomena that we can all perceive firsthand. As we evolve, we continue to stumble upon the more subtle layers of our reality: the intangible, the irrational, the invisible; some might even dare to say the mystical.
It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it surely has a grip on my own awe and purpose in this life. It is a natural work of mine to observe divine happenings and try, with my human machine, to make a human meaning out of it.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this is experiencing and studying the interface between us as individual Beings and the universe outside of us. The correlation between the microcosm and macrocosm; the compound of the internal and external life; the oscillation between all opposites in the dual theme of this reality. This study is a practice, an art, a science, a magic. It is boundless and limited only to the degree which you believe it to be.
Synchronicity is interesting because it shows us the abstract cause and effect of our more subtle energies, which prove to be very powerful and potent in our lives: emotion, thought, sensation, intuition, fear, love, wants, hopes, desires, hatreds, vulnerabilities, etc.
I'd like to note, for the more positivist-minded readers, that the world of the inner is strange. The unconscious is quite the opposite of the conscious mind in that it speaks in irrational, symbolic, and awfully bizarre code. It is a true anomaly. It often has primordial themes; archetypes that seem to be biologically wired deep in our psyche. It communicates in ways that seem silly in how symbolic they are. The realm of the unconscious has a different filtering system than that of the conscious ego, which likes to believe it is a purely rational Being.
One might say the realm of spirituality is all imagination.. to which I would say, EXACTLY. In the peak of rationalism, the creative mind is not to be underestimated. It has functions even deeper than creating art, music, poetry, myth, ingenious inventions, for these are branches of it.. but the creative mind knows no limits to what it may manifest. Therein lies an eternity of all that ever was and all that ever will be; an endless source for creative manifestation. We live in an infinite universe, but the universe within contains an infinity even greater-as they say, some infinities are bigger than others. Perhaps we can learn to grow this relationship between our inner and outer experiences to great heights, navigating this human life with ever more awareness and freedom.
All of this being said, I wish to share my first experience with you as an example of this interesting phenomena, in hopes that you may observe and share some of your own experiences as we learn more about this "universal algorithm" of sorts.
It would have been around this time last year: mid-February. The bitterness of the long Midwestern winter blending into the faint oncoming glimpse of a renewing spring. This time of year for me can be summed up as being cooped up in the house spending long nights drinking coffee, writing, and trying to maintain a sense of sanity until the easy living of summer returns.
This was when I had just began taking an interest in studying the subconscious. I had known very little, this interest was barely an infant. The only thing I had known was that I was intrigued in learning about higher abilities, capabilities, and insights that one could gain through evolving consciousness. This has been something that always called out to me. For being a logical thinker with a big imagination, I had an intuition about such divine things, yet wanted to approach such a formless, watery, intangible notion as scientifically as one could. Though I also began to realize that many of these capacities could only be understood through individual experience. This is tricky for a positivist to grasp, and the only solution for those who genuinely seek this study is to find their own way. I wanted some kind of evidence, even if only personal, to know if this other-dimensional interface could be real and if it could expand awareness to greater heights of perception. Of course, I had no real idea of how one can learn to navigate this study, let alone find the right language to communicate it to others who may be interested.
At this point I has been practicing meditation for a couple years. I have always been drawn to Eastern philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism. This was the main type of meditation I would practice; trying to relax the mind and concentrate on the present moment.
However one night I tried something different. I wanted to practice my imagination by having a visualization meditation. I closed my eyes and began to relax, breath, be. I began imagining with my senses whatever would flow into my mind. Visualizations are interesting in that they feel like they are being created consciously in an awakened state but also contain unconscious themes and symbols throughout. Furthermore, it is peculiar that when you create conscious fantasies that the unconscious will begin to interact in it's own way. It is a method that upon reflection the interpretation can be quite meaningful and spiritual to the individual.
Anyways, I begin to imagine a landscape. A warm, sandy beach: my "happy place". I am sitting in front of the ocean, listening to the relaxing ebb and flow of the tide and enjoying the salty smell of the air. It is night, though stars light up the open sky enough to see my surroundings. It appears to be a tropical area, for a very green and exotic vegetation stretches over a mountainous geography behind me.
I am meditating in my bedroom. But in my mind, I sit on the soft sand in pale starlight of what could be South America. I stayed there for maybe 15 minutes, absorbing the stillness, when something unexpected happened.
I shit you not, a little brownish-tan being appeared next to me, not unlike how I would imagine Terrence McKenna's infamous "machine elves". It was not shaped like human form besides that it had two arms and two legs. Though it almost looked like a beetle. I immediately sensed the energy of this thing to be mischievous and silly, yet helpful. It seemed to be giggling at the nature of my seriousness. Or at least, giggling at something. This was the first time I experienced anything like this. I wanted to communicate with this little entity, I began asking questions. It answered none of them, but suddenly my brain was flooded with the words "Carl Jung". I wanted more information, but the Being disappeared. I tried imagining it back, but my concentration was then abruptly interrupted by the ringing of a phone.
Carl Jung.. surely I had heard the name before, maybe offhandedly seeing a quote of his on my Facebook news-feed or something. Beyond this, I truly had no idea who this man was. I had no clue on any conscious level that it was the name of a Swiss psychologist legend; I especially had no idea that it was going to be the guide to the EXACT information I needed at the time.
After this experience, I looked up the name and discovered a scientist who dedicated his life's work to studying the psyche: symbols, archetypes, dream interpretation, individuation, and the many mysteries of the unconscious with a unique intelligence and vision. It still amazes me and strikes intense gratitude deeply that I was able to find his work, through the help of my own unconscious. In fact it is nearly too meta for me that my own unconscious would so directly guide me to studying the unconscious. And while this story may seem crazy, and indeed it is, it is the complete truth of how I discovered my favorite psychologist and one of the most influential minds of my current personal ideology: Carl Jung. The light this information has brought me in the course of my study is truly indispensable.
Though I have had more encounters such as this since, I still can't fathom how or why. Are these real entities, or am I personifying my unconscious through the creative mind? Could it be both, or neither? Even a worthy explanation would only incite many more questions about this simulation-like reality. I enjoy pondering these questions though they are still far too abstract for my grip. Nonetheless, the real substance it does demonstrate is how helpful it can be to form a relationship with the unconscious in this way. Although the unconscious can imitate the physical reality of the devil (especially if the conscious relationship with it is a blind one), it can also work tremendously in your favor if you learn to work with it. If you can begin to practice a harmonious relationship with this "dark" part of your psyche, you can experience what one can only describe as the Divine. Synchronicity, which is actually a concept introduced by Carl Jung, is only one example of this.
One can dig out deep information from their unconscious, whether it be for healing subconscious knots leading to suffering, refining the personality, creative powers, developing a helpful guide towards your goals, expanding your awareness, creating opportunities, and overall learning how to use the subtle psychic energies within to navigate this realm optimally. By optimally, I mean in a way that expands our liberation from the dark of blind ignorance.
Though the realm of the unconscious could be described as irrational, it would be truly irrational to believe that we have the mind figured out. Despite millenniums of evolution we are still a young race, our consciousness not full but shrouded with darkness. Seeing as how the minds of humanity are responsible for all actions and events in the world as we know it, one would think we could deem these powerhouses of information with a little more reverence. As we move forward, the discovering of the Self is only going to become more essential as we are faced with new problems; namely the philosophical and spiritual nature of our existence which currently plagues many lives with neurosis.
I would like to end this with a simple poem I wrote, which perhaps uses more concise language to paint the significance of the phenomena of these meaningful, connected coincidences which we call synchronicities.
Click the image for a video of this poem in spoken word.
Synchronicity.
A universal algorithm
which pulls together experiences
like an ever-fractaling web of
unseen, connected threads.
How?
Why?
No
fucking clue.
It's bloody strange.
Matters,
it doesn't.
For I witness the oscillation of physical events
respond to
the happenings of my own spirit.
For the observant,
the interface of reality speaks in
a mysterious code of nature.
Sometimes in experiences,
symbols,
emotions,
archetypes,
conversations,
and many other
abstract languages.
Intuition is the only translator.
An irrational language that communicates
in sensation more than in words.
Only those who consciously witness
the active constructing of perception they create
will know with this kind of integrity
that the realm within us
is far more intelligent than our powerful minds
can give credit to.
I am unsure if I use this mechanism,
or if it uses me.
Regardless, it furnishes the divine sentiment that makes existence feel more familiar.
It fills my cup with a sense of peace and gratitude,
and it is the kind of phenomena
I seek to explore.
Thanks for reading, hope to hear your own feedback on these ideas!
"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." - C.G. Jung