As I said earlier, I started writing down my synchronicity experiences in 2010. After a couple of these entries, I started to recall other strange coincidences in my past that now appeared to me in a completely new light. As I went farther and farther into my past I realized that synchronicities have actually been with me for as long as I could remember. So rather than starting the blog with my current synchronistic experiences in 2010, I began with my childhood memories.
And after I went that far back, I thought to myself that I might as well write an introduction to the phenomenon itself - which is what I posted here first.
Anyway, here's the chronology of my synchronistic experiences as best as I could remember:
ca. 1984 (Heidelberg):
As a 6 year old kid I discovered a Spider-Man anthology at a kiosk that caught my eye because of its shiny golden cover. This was the first comic my mother bought me and the beginning of my passion for collecting comics. It also marked the beginning of my artistic aspirations. For weeks I drew nothing but this one superhero.
One day day, while playing in a fountain in the old town, I found a small small blue banana-shaped plastic plaque that had a sticker with the title "The Amazing Spider-Man". This plaque, which must actually have been something like a toy dog tag for kids, probably came from the US Army base in Heidelberg. It makes the most sense, because the title was written in English and at that time the name Spiderman didn't exist in German, only "Die Spinne" (the spider). It would take another 15 years more or less, before Spider-Man would become a household name in Germany as well.
Now that I reflect on it, I remember how impressed I was by my discovery back then. For me, this small piece of hard plastic was more than just a toy. I recall that even then it was clear to me how unlikely it is to find something like this in a fountain. The plaque had something magical for me. I felt chosen. I threaded a cord through the loop of the plaque and hung the dog tag around my neck. I gave myself the name Spider-Boy and drew one of my first comics. In this comic, Spider-Man was abducted by aliens, and Spider-Boy had to rescue him. The identification with my invention became so strong that I even wrote the name of my alter ego in my school books, along with a small drawing of a red Spider-Man mask - basically my first avatar.
Ca. 1993 (Munich):
One day, while browsing through my mother's bookshelf, I noticed some books that I had always found mysterious because of their covers. These were books by the horror author Stephen King. My mother was already reading these books in their original English versions. Out of curiosity, armed with an English dictionary, I began reading his novel "Misery." This marked the beginning of my interest in the English language. About 17 years later, I learned that King is known for addressing the phenomenon of synchronicity repeatedly in his books, much more intensely than I had originally thought. His magnum opus, The Dark Tower, essentially representing the meta-story of the universe in which most of his novels are set, is teeming with descriptions of parallel dimensions and synchronicities.
On June 19, 1999, Stephen King was hit by a car during a walk, sustaining life-threatening injuries. He used this event as inspiration to write the synchronicity-laden novel Dreamcatcher, in which he partially processed his trauma. But that wasn't enough for him. Later, he wrote himself into his Dark Tower series. In the fifth book, he personally encounters the characters he is currently writing about and goes so far as to meticulously recreate his own accident in his writing, connecting his own fate with that of his fictional characters.
1995:
I was already familiar with the concept of reincarnation in third grade, although I don't know where I learned of it, probably from religion classes at school. I only knew that reincarnation had always been the religious concept of my choice. There was never even a hint of doubt about the reality of reincarnation for me. It was as much a cosmic law as gravity. The same applied to the topic of extraterrestrials. Given the unimaginable number of planets in our Milky Way alone, logic dictates accepting the existence of other inhabited planets; anything else seemed illogical to me.
Regarding the concept of a universal being, in the third grade, I shared the following theory with a school friend: "Could it be that we are a human within an even larger human?"
Even though reincarnation was a fact for me, I only actively began to show interest in it around the age of 17. Additionally, I learned that my grandfather independently conducted research on reincarnation until 1990 and self-published books on his findings.
1996:
My interest in anime and manga, sparked by two of my French friends, had grown so much that I began to take an interest in the language I heard in the often subtitled films. I told my mother that I wanted to learn Japanese. She told me that, just like me, she had been interested in Japanese at the age of 18 and dug out an old language exercise book. Again, it became apparent that my mother had been interested in the same topic at the same age during her youth as me.
1997:
was a very special year for me. It will always mark the moment of my occult initiation. I experimented with various consciousness-expanding substances, delved deeply into Hinduism, Christianity, and various New Age literature, encountered conspiracy theories for the first time, and had my first UFO sighting. I simultaneously read Bhakti Yoga books and the Bible, becoming aware of the concept of karma. I meditated, envisioning Krishna in my mind's eye. I then embarked on a spiritual journey into my past, apologizing for every misstep I could remember.
At that time, I had the image of a spiderweb in my mind, with the actions and reactions we cause in our lives being the karmic entanglements that gradually envelop us like a cocoon. Through my "penance journey," I felt like I was gradually freeing myself from these entanglements. I unwound myself from my karmic cocoon, and upon returning to the present, I was aware that I had shed the innocence of my ignorance. I became conscious of myself and the law of action and reaction. I knew that every action of mine had consequences, both good and bad.
Understanding these connections had advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that karmic events seem to manifest faster for me since then. It felt like I never had to wait long for a reaction to my actions. The disadvantage was that karmic events also seemed to manifest faster against me.
However, my perspective on karma has evolved over time. In my imagination, the nourishment cocoon of the karmic spider has given way to a pupation cocoon of a butterfly. We are ensnared in our karmic cocoon, and when we transcend our karma, we will emerge as complete beings.
In addition to various New Age literature, 1997 was also the year I first learned about conspiracy literature. I'm referring to Jan van Helsing's "Secret Societies." This book exerted an immense fascination on me and like-minded individuals, not only because of its extremely controversial content but also because the book was banned in Germany at that time. The copy circulating in my circle of friends came from Austria, where the book was freely available. The fact of the ban seemed to be the ultimate proof of the genuineness of its content. Some of my friends and I considered it our sacred duty to distribute the book and enlighten people about the global political connections that the author described.
Initially, we tried to scan the book, but the scanner didn't recognize the pages properly. Consequently, I was forced to transcribe the book by hand, which took me a whole month. One could consider it a kind of second edition, as I also corrected all spelling mistakes I noticed during my revision.
In this book, I encountered the term "Illuminati" for the first time. Shortly afterward, a friend introduced me to Robert Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus" trilogy. In his book "Cosmic Trigger," I learned for the first time about the concept of synchronicity. From that point on, I had a term for events that seemed to be more than mere coincidence.
These were the cornerstones of my connection with the theme of synchronicity, with the experiences of 1997 being more of a general biographical nature, except for the introduction to the phenomenon. Although I became aware of the concept in 1997 and encountered it from time to time thereafter, it was the frequency increase I noticed at the end of 2010 that prompted me to document my experiences. Regarding the years between 1997 and 2010, I have no memory of specific synchronicity experiences, at least none that I would remember well enough to record here. Except for one incident in 2007:
28.07.2007:
I was exploring EVP (electronic voice phenomenon). In a YouTube video from a Japanese ghost show, a clip was shown where EVP was captured during a quiz show on camera. In the clip, you can clearly hear the words "yamete" ("leave me alone" or "stop"). A month later, while watching a funny clip from a Jay Leno show, I also noticed an EVP on camera. In this particular clip, a voice clearly says, "I'm ready to go" while Jay Leno is speaking.
The synchronicity here, in terms of time, is significantly shifted since a month separates the two events. However, it is still significant because it involves exactly the same phenomenon. But what makes this clip so special is that the EVP wasn't part of the show, it was just something you could hear in the background. No one in the show noticed or commented on it. It was just sort of there. To my knowledge, no one else has noticed this curiosity to date. Unfortunately, the file fell victim to a hard drive crash. I mourn the loss to this day. Such a curious and creepy little clip.
This concludes my recollections from the time before my "official" blog. Now then, let the synchronicity experiences begin in earnest!