Synchronicity

​This morning was a welcome reprieve from the heat wave we have been experiencing the last few days. It was clear and sunny, but cool. I decided to take a bike ride and take advantage of the beautiful day. So, I grabbed my Cannondale mountain bike, checked the air in my tires, loaded the bike bag with an apple, KIND bar and small thermos of coffee and took off. Little did I know that on this bike ride I would experience a significant synchronicity, as defined by the respected psychoanalyst Carl Jung.  Not only was it profound and meaningful, but extremely practical and actually made my life easier in its immediacy. This, by the way, is not dissimilar from a much earlier but equally significant synchronicity I had some years before—deeply impactful.  I recognized this would be a wonderful example to share with clients and readers of my blog.
 
For those not familiar with the term synchronicity, it is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as a coincidence of events that appear meaningfully related, but do not seem to be casually connected. But Carl Jung thought that these kinds of “coincidences” were evidence of the connection between waking consciousness and the transcendental world; that two or more seemingly unrelated events can, in fact, mysteriously (or not so mysteriously) be co-mingled. Many academics, many subscribing to a reductionistic worldview, downplay any such connection, attributing any interpretation of meaning as “confirmation bias”. Carl Jung wrote extensively of synchronicity and in the transpersonal worldview, in the Quantum, in the expanding co-creative worldview, these events are assuredly quite connected.
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When I had finally decided to return home while on the bike ride. I could see a relatively large bird (crow sized) on the side of the road. Getting closer, I saw that it was a small hawk, what I believe to have been a male Cooper’s hawk, and it wasn’t flying away as I approached. I thought its stillness strange, perhaps it was wounded. Hit by a car? Dazed? I saw no apparent injury. I was concerned, surprised, and intrigued. I hoped it would sit still just a bit longer while I retrieved my phone to take its picture to confirm identification as well as to share with family and friends.

But, when I reached behind my saddle to get my phone, all I found was the lightening cord that was attached to my solar charger. My iPhone was gone. Of course my stomach fell. So much of our lives are on our phones now. They are expensive to replace, etc., etc. I know the reader can empathize. I had also been riding in the county forest, off road. The phone could be anywhere! Plus I was tired; I had been riding much of the morning. The tri-corner flies were on attack like a squadron of F-16s and biting. I didn’t much feel like returning to the woods. But I had no choice. So, I thanked the hawk, and after doing so, he immediately flew into the forest and seemed completely unharmed and healthy.

So I remounted and headed back. To my good fortune, I found the phone on the paved roadway about 1/4 of a mile back. I didn’t have to go far or face the squadron of deer flies. The phone was intact and also unharmed. Boy, was I lucky!

I consider myself a naturalist and very much attuned to the natural world. I have always been interested in the forest, forest creatures, flowers, plants, everything really in the natural world. I have always respected indigenous teachings and felt a connection because of indigenous knowledge and respect for the natural world. In my personal life, as well as my counseling practice, I often consult with a resource known as Medicine Cards, developed by authors and native teachers, Jamie Sands and David Carson. It is a deck of cards they have developed which outline and emphasize different animals’ abilities to teach, guide and heal us “two-leggeds”. I use them quite frequently and have benefitted from their messages many times. I often gift them to people who I believe will appreciate and benefit from this system.
Well, you may have recognized by now that “HAWK” is represented in the cards, and Hawk is considered by native peoples to be the “Messenger.”

“Hawk teaches you to pay attention to your surroundings. To observe the obvious in everything you do. Life is sending you signals. Hawk brings you the power to overcome a currently stressful or difficult situation.  Are solutions always hard to find because you have lost the broader vision of Hawk? Have the colors of your morning inspired you to create? (Consider the conditions I described concerning my morning.)  Pay attention! You are only as powerful as your capacity to perceive, receive, and use your abilities. What is called for here is an intuitive ability to discern the message carried within the cry of the hawk. Hawk’s call pierces the state of unawareness (my emphasis) and asks you to seek the truth. If hawk has inserted itself into your experience one is to be aware of the signals, even sometimes subtle signals… we are encouraged to notice and receive them. Hawk is a master of discernment and is likely to reveal the hazards, attitudes or unconsciousness that bar one from freedom of flight.” Sams and Carson (1999), The Medicine Cards

I find it very interesting that Carl Jung thought of synchronicity as a deeper order of the Universe. That our waking state personality-self and our inner deeper-self are interconnected. Granted he did share that this is a subjective experience, and the interpretation of that particular experience may have particular meaning to the individual … unless, like many of my synchronistic events, were shared experiences—shared with my lover or friend whose interpretation independently mirrored my own.

Carl Jung was also an authority on symbols. His last published work before his death was a book titled, Man and His Symbols. In Jungian psychology, symbols were important tools used in analysis, particularly symbols of animals. You may have already guessed, I’m going to say Hawk was one of them, indeed. According to Jung, Hawk symbolizes vision, perspective, and the ability to rise above limitation. It often represents the Self, the core of the personality, and can signify a need for clarity, focus, and independence. He also recognized that in indigenous peoples, Hawks also symbolize the connection between the earthly and spiritual realms, acting as messengers or guides. Sound familiar?  Well, Hawk certainly gifted me with an important message today and indirectly served as a guide to my lost iPhone. His message saving me great heartache, reminding me of my connection to the natural world, and suggesting to stay aware of my surroundings.

Further, I felt this heightened sense of awe, a quickening—a rising feeling of gratitude and renewed deep appreciation for Higher Wisdom. So, I hope you can see this sagacity for what it is, whether you have an appreciation for the transpersonal and understanding of Wisdom Teachings or come from a traditional Christian background, not all guidance comes from saints or fully realized human beings. Not all guardian angels come in human form. Today a beautiful Coopers Hawk was my guardian angel. A mystical being who quickened my heart and saved me a great deal of human trouble(s). I always encourage my clients to pay attention to their dreams, synchronicities, and the mysterious. There are no “coincidences”.