Rethinking Synchronicity

The weekend after Thanksgiving, I worked at a holistic art fair with Carmen and Janet from Aligned Wellness and Events. It was one of those fun weekends where all we had to do was show up, be present, and connect.  

During a lull, Carmen and I were talking about her use of a pendulum. The conversation shifted naturally to dowsing rods. I shared that I had bought a pair years ago, probably fifteen or so, when I first moved to Colorado. What stood out about them was that they had crystals on them. I could not remember where I bought them. I mentioned that I had kept them on a bookshelf with other items from different trips and different chapters of my life. But I was stuck on one question. Who did I buy them from? 

Soon after, a man we had never met approached us we started a new conversation. I cannot remember what triggered it, but a few minutes later, he reached into the front pocket of his shirt and pulled out a small, pocket-sized dowsing rod. Casually, as if it was the most normal thing in the world!  

As the conversation continued, we realized he was the person who had made the dowsing rods I bought all those years ago. How he wrapped the crystals on the copper was his “signature” way of making them. He had sold them in another town I used to live in. A part of my past I had not thought about in a long time, now standing in front of me, holding the missing context... ha! 

That was the moment I started calling our space Synchronicity Corner (our table was located at the corner of the building), and it remained the theme of connection and conversation for the weekend.  

Moments like this are often labeled as signs or messages, and I get why. But I invite you to disrupt that assumption for a moment. 

The man existed whether I noticed him or not. The coincidence existed whether I named it or not. What shifted was not the event itself, but my awareness of it. Meaning did not arrive from the outside. It emerged at the intersection of attention and experience. 

Synchronicity is not something that appears to guide us or get our attention (and yes, that can still be pretty cool). Instead, it becomes visible when our internal state is settled enough to register patterns that are already present. What I am noticing is that this has less to do with attracting something new and more to do with being attuned to what is already unfolding. 

When we are rushed, guarded, or focused on outcomes, our experiences stay fragmented. We can miss or forget conversations and life becomes a blur of doing. When attention is present, patterns converge naturally and we are available to notice them as they unfold. 

What stood out to me in that moment was not the man himself (although he shared many fascinating stories), it was the sequence. A conversation about a forgotten tool. A passing internal question. A stranger carrying the missing context in his pocket. Past and present meeting without effort. 

That is what synchronicity is. Feedback. It reflects the coherence between our inner state and external experience.  

Many things are always happening around us. Our state influences what we notice and how we interpret what we experience. When awareness shifts, the world does not suddenly change. Our relationship to it does. 

Experience does not arrive with meaning attached. 
Meaning emerges in the moment it is noticed. 

If you find yourself questioning how you interpret the world around you, my Pattern Disruption workshops explore that more intentionally. You can learn more here: https://www.disruptinggracefully.com/