I received a complementary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
“Have you ever been astonished by a striking coincidence? Indeed, so awestruck that you can’t help wondering whether there’s some kind of hidden order or organizing force at large in the universe?” writes Chris Mackey early in his new book Synchronicity: Empower Your Life with the Gift of Coincidence. “You might be a very rational-minded person, but this thought strikes you nonetheless. I’d call that kind of coincidence ‘synchronicity’.”
Well, I am a very rational type of person. Yet I’ve noticed synchronicity in my own life so I was intrigued by what Mackey, a psychologist with 35 years of experience, had to say about the subject. I was impressed with the detail in which Mackey explains this phenomena. After you are done reading Synchronicity I feel you’ll believe in it, too.
“I believe there’s more to (synchronicity) than coincidence. In my view, it is a gift from the universe: a most valuable one,” Mackey writes. I think back to when I was dating my future wife. We lived 30 miles apart, the engineer (me) and the social worker (her) who met by a personal ad. By chance we happened to work 1/2 block away from each other, which gave us the opportunity for frequent lunch dates. Coincidence? Or Synchronicity? 27 years later I’d say synchronicity!
Mackey says if you tune into synchronicity you can tell if you are on the right track in life. “If you face a challenge or an opportunity that seems to call for immediate action, and if around the same time you experience a markedly uncanny coincidence, that amounts to an affirmation, a ‘tick from the universe’ –a cue to forge ahead with your chosen action,” he writes. I liked how Mackey points out the other side of synchronicity, too. “If we’re struggling with what we’re doing and finding it difficult to become focused and motivated, this might be a pointer that we could be better off following a different path.,” he says.
At times I felt Synchonicity was too detailed for me, written more for those in the counseling profession than the average Joe. Yet I still found value in Synchronicity; I find myself paying more attention to synchronous events (and conversely when things don’t seem to be working) since reading Mackey’s book.
