Synchronicity is an unfolding story

Synchronicity: A Theory of Interactions, part 3

Each interaction we have with people or with systems in the world affects us in some way.

In many cases even difficult interactions (like the ones with my Aikido teacher in the last two blog posts) can help us grow.

But can we trust that events have deeper meaning?

Can my interaction with my Aikido teacher be seen as part of a broader personalized learning experience?

How can the random, seemingly unrelated, events of daily life sometimes seem so personally relevant?

Histories are flexible

The basic physical idea that I think underlies synchronicity is what I call retroactive determination. In the traditional theory of quantum mechanics, it's known as “Wheeler’s delayed choice effect." The idea is that when you measure something, for instance light from a star, it's only at the last minute that you force it to choose its past.

Let's say the light left a star far away and on its way to Earth passed by a black hole. On one possible path it bent around the left side of the black hole, and another possible path it bent around the right side of the black hole. And in either case, it hits a telescope on Earth.

Only when you actually observe the image of the star do you force the light traveling across those vast distances to have a specific unique history--path 1 or path 2.

Here's the key point: all the moments of the light's journey on its way to Earth become retroactively real. When we choose the final outcome, we also retroactively determine the path.

Language is retroactive too

Think of the phrase: "The old train…."

Does it end with "The old train left the station" or "The old train the young"?

The ending alters the beginning. Similarly, when voice-typing on your phone, you can see the sentence adjusting and changing as you speak because the meaning of what you're saying gradually becomes clearer.

“Retroactive determination” is applying that reasoning to entire chains of events in our lives.

Bumping into a friend

How might this explain synchronicity?

Here's an example. While getting ready for Burning Man I had to run to Berkeley, about 20 minutes away, to buy a used bicycle from someone on Craigslist.

It turns out, this person lived close to my favorite restaurant, a salad and sandwich place called Intermezzo that is frequented by college students, so I decided to get dinner to bring home to my family,.

I had only a brief time before an important phone call, so when I noticed how long the line was I decided to leave.

Suddenly I recognize the person in front of me. “Is that Lia?!” I exclaimed. The woman in front of me turned around and it was indeed my sister-in-law! She explained that she had started a new master's program on the campus that very day. I stayed in line and we chatted as the time ticked by before my meeting.

I got to the front of the line and ordered my food, and then I asked Lia if she would mind finishing my order and bringing me food while I got started on my call.

It all worked out, and the gift here is that I got to see a close relative on a particularly special day, when she was starting on a new direction and had traveled close to an hour to be there.

What are the chances?

Retroactive adjustment

I would say the chances are good.

If you think about the situation as random chance, the likelihood is not super high. You have to consider how likely it is that this particular day is a school day for her, and that she's in between classes, and that she came to this very restaurant, and that her timing was such that we met at that exact moment.

But if you think of each of us like the light coming through space, you can imagine her world adjusting to mine, or my world adjusting to hers, so that our worlds intersect.

For instance, when I chose to go to the restaurant, I chose a “timeline” in which she went to the same restaurant. It's not the only possibility, but it was one of the possibilities. All of the events and choices which led her to that restaurant at that time become retroactively true (from my perspective!).

And it doesn't happen until we actually meet.

We are always reaching across time. The past is adjusting in order to match our choices in the present.

News

Sky is teaching for the semester! Community Chat schedule is changing.

A moment to moment practice

Seeing your life as a relational, subjective world, you might practice Imagining the various ways history has unfolded to put you, and others, right where you are.

Then think of the world around you as flexible, adjusting your present circumstances to your everyday choices.

I find this an empowering way to understand the flow of circumstances in daily life. As you choose your path, the world responds and your story emerges.

Welcome to a Leap to Wholeness

We are starting a new series of social media posts around my second book, Leap to Wholeness, How the World is Programmed to Help Us Grow, Heal, and Adapt. One of the big themes in the book is identifying the filters that color the way we look at the world and ourselves. When we can identify a filter or belief we have, without trying to change it, we naturally start to see it better and it's easier to see beyond it. I offer this as a way of healing our old patterns of behavior.