Why Does Synchronicity Happen?

Synchronicity is a concept, first explained by psychiatrist Carl Jung, which holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship, yet seem to be meaningfully related. -- Wikipedia

That word came to mind recently when reading the wonderful book Bach- Music in the Castle of Heaven by John Eliot Gardiner. He referred to the three musicians born in 1685 as The Class of '85.

In 1685, within a period of eight months, three master composers were born: Scarlatti, Handel and Bach. Although each was extremely influential, they worked in very different ways because of the contrasting demands of their surroundings. --NPR

Three other amazing composers were born around the same time, Gardiner reports. The French composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau was born in 1683 and Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann, were born in 1681. In other words, the extended Class of '85 produced, in a four year period six remarkable, significant, and in many ways music-changing individuals.

Synchronicity: Meaningful coincidences.

Why? What happened in that time frame that brought about the start of some incredible musical changes by six men born within the same small window of time?

Coincidence? Sure, I can accept that. It doesn't have to be in any way related. Things happen. Kind of like enough monkeys "typing" on enough computer keyboards (had to update the image) could produce the works of Shakespeare. Except I am not sure that is reality. When things fall into "lucky" place like that, one does wonder why at that point in time and in that place those things happen.

I remember thinking of that about the rise of the major religions of the world as they have become in a relatively small time frame over the turn of the "eras" B.C. (B.C.E) and A.D. (C.E). It has made me wonder what was happening in the Western Hemisphere native peoples at the same time in the development of their religious life? If we could dig deeply enough, a "coincidence" would not surprise me.

Synchronicity: Meaningful coincidences.

I could cite others that I have considered but none of that would answer the question about why do coincidences like that happen? Perhaps even more broadly, why do coincidences happen in every day lives? Yes, many of them are false constructs, I realize. Correlation does not equal causation or even connection for that matter. The connection is in OUR minds and point-of-view; there is no actual connection in most instances.

And yet....

As I was pondering this question while reading Gardiner's book a thought did come to me. It comes out of the reading I have been doing on Quantum physics and waves and resonating frequencies. It is based on the thought that I had in an earlier post on The Physics of the Universe. At that time I wrote that the universe, creation and all of us...

...are energy vibrating, perhaps at our own unique wavelengths. Who knows but that we are finely tuned instruments who respond at our quantum level to the music and vibrations, the energy and pulsing rhythm always surrounding us.

I got this image of wavelengths of sound and energy flowing through the universe or, less grandly, in the vibration of lives and events around the world. As these vibrations propagate from life and the stuff of which this world is made, they interact with each other. They are like the waves from a pebble tossed into a lake interacting with waves from other pebbles, the wake from a passing motor boat, or the moving water kicked up by a fish's fin. It is basic physics that these waves move together or against each other.

In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude.
--Wikipedia

Like in this picture of waves in water.

At times these waves can produce interesting patterns. Sometimes they come together at points that bring about significant movement or other events.

So, as I pondered the Class of 1685 and the coincidence of time and place I wondered

What if these synchronistic events are a time and place where some of these waves, vibrations, overtones, and resonance come together in a unique way? In so doing they allow for things that have never happened before and in various places, the nodes of these interactions become the sits of coincidence.

Synchronicity: Meaningful coincidences.

Synchronicity: Resonance created by the constructive interference of vibrations and waves of events, people, and even quantum level overtones resulting in similar events that don't appear to have any causal connection, yet seem to be meaningful related.

Just thinking out loud.

Hearing the Changes

I heard the surf shift the other afternoon. I was sitting on the balcony overlooking the beach. I was meditating, practicing some mindfulness, with the surf as the background mantra. The surf had been loud and heavy for the past 24 hours. Even now it was loud, still a roar, the water constantly flowing like a perpetual motion machine. The wind had been a little calmer most of the afternoon. I was thinking how complete silence is not necessary for meditation when the power of moving water is behind us.

Suddenly I became aware that it was quieter; the breakers weren’t sounding as loud or as constant; the roar was more distant, a murmur. My first thought was that I had just gotten used to the sound and I’m focusing elsewhere, though still mindful. Or maybe I was heading into the near sleep neverland.

My wife sneezed and it was at it’s normal sound level. I pondered for a brief second and I realized what was happening. I had just heard the surf calm down. I had heard a transition from one state to another. I had heard the color of the sound of the surf change.

I opened my eyes and looked out at the water. The waves had gotten smaller, the breakers hardly making any noise. It had happened within minutes. As I wrote my thoughts down ten or so minutes later the sound continued to decrease. I checked the beach warning flag and it remained calm. I thought maybe I heard a wind shift but that isn’t what occurred. Or was it?

Over the past few weeks I have been paying a little more attention to the water, wind and weather. I have been seeing how winds from one direction can turn the Gulf into a sheet of glass as it pushes the waves back out to deeper water. Or, like the previous 48 hours, a strong south to southeast wind picks up water and moves it for miles, if not hundreds of miles before crashing ashore. It opened me up to being more aware when today I could hear the changes.

That kind of mindfulness is important to life, I realize. It can mean being aware of a friend’s feelings, the emotion in a situation, the right time to keep quiet. It can help us know when and where we may be getting a direction from a Higher Power. Jazz musicians train to hear chord and key changes so they can be better improvisers.

On the balcony the other day I experienced the wonder of being aware- mindful- of changes. By the time I went inside, it was still calm. There is a slight breeze and it is still from the south. A front will be moving in overnight and that no doubt played into the change I heard. The waves remained but were not as commanding as they had been with the flag barely moving and the palms just rustling silently.

An amazing world we live in.