Frederick Buechner, Patrick Murray, Carl Jung: Synchronicity
“I remember sitting parked by the roadside once, terribly depressed and afraid about my daughter’s illness and what was going on in our family, when out of nowhere a car came along down the highway with a license plate that bore on it the one word out of all the words in the dictionary that I needed most to see exactly then.
The word was TRUST. … The owner of the car turned out to be, as I’d suspected, a trust officer in a bank, and not long ago, he found out where I lived and one afternoon brought me the license plate itself, which sits propped up on a bookshelf in my house to this day. It is rusty around the edges and a little battered, and it is also as holy a relic as I have ever seen.”—Frederick Buechner in Telling Secrets (HarperOne, 1991).
Frederick Buechner beautifully relates this instance of synchronicity, or meaningful coincidences, also known as serendipity. Many believe that such an experience occurs when the unconscious mind speaks to our conscious mind. How this happens is a mystery. Jung and Patrick Murray describe it as “a simultaneous relationship between an inner psychic experience and outer external physical event.” The inner experience and external event of the synchronicity then become “a meaningful coincidence contributing to one’s sense of wholeness.”
In spiritual direction, we discuss seeking times of synchronicity, the occurrence of meaningful coincidences, being aware of them, and pondering them—not letting them pass unnoticed. Patrick Murray calls these “moments of transformation, embracing us with a profound sense that life is ultimately purposeful.” Some believe these are a sign that we are on the right path.
We sense a divine connection. A friend happens to call just when we needed it. We turn on the radio and hear a musical piece that brings back pleasant memories of hearing it with a loved one or dear friend. We feel peace. There are moments like that every day if we just step out of our routine to be aware of them.
Before the pandemic, I would stand in a particular spot and talk to those who came by for food at our food pantry. Once, when we arrived a little late, people were already sitting outside waiting for the bags filled with their orders. For an unknown reason, I decided to go out and greet people there.
Suddenly, I saw a friend I had worked with for thirty-three years who had just lost her job. We hugged, and she told me about her struggles to find another job. I saw courage and faith in a way I had never seen before. She had a plan and was not giving up, and she still felt cared for by a loving God. For me, this was synchronicity—that by some miracle, we ran into each other and could openly share the Christ within each other for a few moments.
I will put this visit in the memory book of my imagination, and hope to remember to be on the lookout each day for times like this—when the Holy Spirit calls us and offers us an opportunity to share Christ in one another.
At our staff meetings at Saint Mark’s, our rector begins the meeting with prayer and then asks if we have any “God moments” from the week to share.
Times of synchronicity are “God moments.”
[See Patrick Murray, “Jung’s Concept of Synchronicity,” The Haden Institute, December 2002.]
Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/