- Hafiz, version by Daniel Ladinsky
2.
According to the Buddhist understanding of auspicious coincidence, all circumstances can be brought to the spiritual path. Everything that happens in our lives, whether positive or negative, can serve to awaken us to the nature of the world. But occasionally, events cluster in particular ways that give us a glimpse of the deeper structures of reality, and suggest that time and linear causality may not be the ultimate way in which the world is ordered.
According to the Buddhist understanding of auspicious coincidence, all circumstances can be brought to the spiritual path. Everything that happens in our lives, whether positive or negative, can serve to awaken us to the nature of the world. But occasionally, events cluster in particular ways that give us a glimpse of the deeper structures of reality, and suggest that time and linear causality may not be the ultimate way in which the world is ordered.
There are many possible responses to such happenings, which Jung called synchronicity. Some people give them a highly individualized meaning, finding guidance in a personal decision they are facing or confirmation of a direction they have already chosen. But perhaps the real meaning of synchronicity is more universal than personal, with every instance simply pointing to the possibility of a hidden pattern underlying the events of this world.
Either way, these events offer us a certain reassurance, and they also have the power to awaken us. A common response to such an acausal happening is a sharpening of attention, a sense of the closeness of something unseen. Startled awake, we may listen for the direction in which the universe is moving, and discover a wish to participate in it.
Synchronicity often takes us unaware and may restore us to ourselves.
... Synchronicity is always an experience of the unknown. Events ... are simply a reminder to wake up and pay attention, because the mystery at the heart of life can speak to you at any time. - by Rachel Naomi Remen
[>] read the full article. / Thoughts from Rachel Naomi Remen / Shambala Sun
3.
In shamanistic cultures, synchronicities are considered to be teachings as well as sign indicating where one should focus one’s attention, such correspondences demonstrate the usually hidden links between the individual psyche and the larger world. Synchronicities express themselves through chance meetings and natural events as well as in dreams and supernatural episodes. - 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck
4.
I am open to the guidance of synchronicity,
and do not let expectations hinder my path. - Dalai Lama
. photo credit holudiya pakhi via flickr
COMMENTS