Nowhere is the power of synchronicity more evident than in encounters of love. According to Robert H. Hopcke in his book, There Are No Accidents: Synchronicity and the Stories of Our Lives (New York: Riverhead Books, 1997), love between two people is “fundamentally a coincidence” because of the unlikelihood that out of the millions of encounters one has during a lifetime, one would meet those few who would be so significant and transforming.
Three features of the power of synchronicity in love are the random encounter, its emotional meaning and its transforming function.
Random Encounter and the Power of Synchronicity
The power of synchronicity in love means meeting the right person at the right time. Take for example the story of Pete and Mary (fictitious names) who met at a party in California. They were attracted to each other, but because Mary was in a relationship and Pete was not ready for one, they went their separate ways.
Decades later, Pete rented a car to drive to his aunt’s funeral. He checked into a roadside motel and bumped right into Mary who had just broken up with her partner and was returning to the city to start a new life. They reconnected instantly and were amazed not only at the randomness, but rightness, of the encounter: they were both more ready now than they were before to form a new alliance.
Synchronicity and Emotional Meaning
The chance encounter was also filled with emotional meaning for Pete and Mary. Pete had just concluded from many years of soul searching that his fear of commitment had been at the root of his problems. Emotionally he was ready to enter a new phase in his life. Mary as well as going through an emotional period by leaving an old relationship for a new chapter in her story.
To put it simply, the encounter occurred at a time when they were both ready for emotional engagement.
The Transforming Function of Synchronicity
There is no doubt that Pete and Mary’s encounter transformed them; their story is one that is positive and heart-warming.
Synchronicity in love encounters, however, can involve lessons that are painful and transforming. Such is the case with Camilla (fictitious name) who met a man over the internet with whom she had an online romance for a year. Since she was already involved in a relationship, Camilla disguised her real identity with a false name.
Both decided to meet in person and made an arrangement for an encounter at a local cafe. This encounter turned out to be a meaningful coincidence.
What surprised them was they had each known the other from a “nasty interaction” that they had professionally years earlier.
Going over the encounter, Camilla realized that there was a lesson to be learned: “I thought I knew this guy – knew and disliked him – but completely by chance I discovered what I could not have discovered another way, that he and I actually shared something quite unusual.”
This discovery imbued the encounter with a transforming function: it restructured Camilla’s way of thinking about herself.
The power of synchronicity lies in its timing: these meaningful coincidences occur at transition moments in life. Remarkable for their randomness, they nevertheless point to man’s connection with others and with a cosmic consciousness that seems to know all.
Mary Desaulniers - I am a retired teacher and grandmother looking forward to the next 30 or more years with great relish and enthusiasm. My passions are ...
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