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..:: Synchronicity ::..
By
Alan Schneider
How does God speak to human beings here on the
physical, material plane of expression? I personally believe, as do so
many others, that He speaks to us through what C. G. Jung referred to as
synchronicities – meaningful coincidences. In fact, Jung was the first to define and
use this term as a descriptor of one of several ways that the contents
of the unconscious mind emerged into conscious recognition. The key
to understanding this process lies in examining the nature of meaning in
our human perception of the external world, dependent as it is on the
action of the physical senses.
Human experience of the “world” is dependent on the action of the
senses. All that we perceive, in the external “sense” of that term,
comes to us through this source – what we see, hear, taste, smell, and
feel. Many authorities in the field of psychology maintain that this is
the complete extent of our ability to perceive – that we are solely
dependent on this mode of perception to assess the condition in which we
find ourselves. Other authorities will allow for the existence of a
largely unconscious sphere of instinctual “activity” that influences
behavior, and is also largely perceptible through the experience of that
activity – both many of the physical drives and the primary emotional
states are presented as belonging to this realm of manifestation.
A select group of
other authorities, including the brilliant Swiss psychiatrist Carl G.
Jung, has suggested that the unconscious mind of human
beings contains more than instinct, emotion, and certain repressed
personal memories. They have suggested that what the senses experience
as the finite and limited condition of our existence (the physical body)
is in fact the distil end of the extensive manifestation of a virtually
unlimited field of Consciousness, and that we float on the surface of
that infinite field like the little experience of an island of the
senses, surrounded by a coral reef of personal unconscious expression,
and unknowing of the vast expanse of expression that lies beyond the
physical realm.
For Jung, the
action of the unconscious was not relegated solely to instinct, emotion,
and personal repression. He strongly suspected that information was also
filtering through the “coral reef” of the personal unconscious from the
vast ocean surrounding the island of personal recognition – the ego –
and that this information was of far more than idiosyncratic
significance for the Psyche – the total Self of all conscious
expression. Jung had begun to suspect that the ego, which frequently
tends to occupy center stage on the “island”, was in fact a relatively
minor player in the pageant of life, and that the extended Psyche
contained intelligent expression organized on a level far beyond the
linear data processing of cause-and-effect associative principles seen
in the ego.
And he identified
and defined the synchronicity as the medium of transmission for the
information being transmitted through the personal unconscious from the
extended field of the Psyche beyond the physical boundaries of the
senses. What is implied by “meaning” under this condition is frequently
more than the simple, trite definitions of mechanical operations seen in
the ego. In the terms of the total psyche, we are dealing with an
extended panorama of meaning that connects the limited ego perception
with the Psyche as the source of all implication, and redefines the
limits of perception in terms of the most expansive expression of
meaning attainable – essentially, God. For Jung, God was the Self as the core of
Consciousness, the ultimate driver of all perception occurring on any
level of expression. In this context, all meaning derives from the Self
as the source of all meaning everywhere.
In the case of the synchronicity, an initial “trigger concept” is “sent”
to the conscious mind (where it is eventually noticed by the ego) from
the Self. The mechanism of this process is the occurrence of the
perception of this trigger concept in a chain of seemingly unrelated
environmental conditions with the passage of time. These triggers are
frequently manifest in the form that Jung referred to as “archetypal
symbols” – perceptible expressions generated by more generalized states
of expression that he labeled as “archetypes”, and were presumed to be
emerging from beyond the range of any perception of any kind, at any
level. Jung postulated the archetypal symbols as having the property of
“numinosity” – the tendency to stand out in the personal consciousness,
apart from the more mundane impressions of the senses. It is noteworthy
here that presumably anything could assume the significance of an
archetypal symbol in conscious awareness – even common dirt – but the
Self decides what is of numinous character for a given individual ego.
The emergence of a synchronicity is frequently perplexing, even
disturbing, for the ego. The ego may attempt to dismiss the synchronous
information as simple coincidence, and carry on “business as usual”.
But, the genuine synchronicity will persistently recur until it is
acknowledged as being well out of the ordinary range of experience. It
simply will not be ignored or rationalized out of existence. It is at
this point that the individual begins to seriously address the meaning
of whatever symbol is being transmitted by the Self. Many people will
seek therapy at this point, if they are sufficiently disturbed by the
symbolic content presented. Others will begin a less “illness-oriented”
investigation, inquiring among their friends, or will begin to search
for literature giving information about the symbols in question. The
mechanism of response is of less significance than the fact that the
response has occurred, and a search for a new level of meaning has
begun. If such an inquiry is carried far enough by a sufficiently
determined individual, the Self – God – can even be attained and
experienced directly, not just as an intellectualized thought construct,
but as the existential and experiential root of all Creation at the core
of the Psyche.
There are many,
many archetypal symbols. As has been said herein, anything could
conceivably assume archetypal significance. One could conceive of the
archetypal symbols as the (frequently preconscious) building blocks of
the forms that we eventually perceive in the physical universe. Whether
they remain preconscious depends on whether God chooses to speak to us
through synchronicity, thus calling our conscious mind and ego away from
the ongoing din of sensory distraction that otherwise occupies our
waking attention.
When the synchronicity is finally noticed and accepted by the ego as a
legitimate expression of consciousness, it can be followed along an
often very protracted course of ongoing manifestation, much like ripples
spreading out from the point of impact of a stone tossed into a pond in
which there are many intervening objects at fixed points in the water –
logs, boulders, branches – that interfere with an orderly dispersion
pattern. This is why life seems to be so filled with obstacles – they
act as harmonic balancers for God’s Words. Without the obstacles to
be overcome, the achievement of listening successfully is meaningless,
and meaning is what God is all about. So, every investigation of any
synchronicity will invariably yield a deeply meaningful discovery about
life and living that would probably never be suspected otherwise, and
ongoing investigation will reveal extensive and interrelated families of
meaning, as all the ripples in the pond are followed through the
intricate path of all the obstructions. As the ego passes through this
process of discovery, it becomes, and we become, more and more like the
Self that initiated the process – filled with grace and reverence for
the Creation all around us, and aware of the supra-intelligence that
achieved all that we experience.
Synchronicities are occurring around, and to, us continuously as we
progress through life. God is always speaking to us. The significant
issue here is whether or not we are listening! The action of the
senses creates an ongoing level of pronounced distraction in the
conscious mind. And the ego, as an integral part of our physical
survival mechanism, has an inherent tendency to delegate sensory input
as the highest priority of waking consciousness. So it is little
wonder that we frequently either fail to notice, or chose to ignore, the
“still, small voice” from beyond the boundary of all that we know as
familiar and, most importantly, comfortable. More often than not,
confronting synchronicity forces us out of our comfort zone into what
can be very confusing and disturbing terrain as we deal with the moral
implications of these messages from the Self.
The synchronicity is, in fact, the subtle voice of the Logos
calling out to human beings from beyond the Cabalistic Abyss of Ignorance
on the Tree of Life that
blinds and confuses our perception of events in this existence, although
many beginning Seekers on the Path do not initially realize this, since
there is rarely a spoken voice heard, nor spoken words uttered. Rather,
the synchronicity is a message presented to the human mind using
symbolic images and processes that may initially perplex the
perception of the observer. For Jung, symbols were larger than
life, and indicated the action of a world of constructs that
presupposed the apparently random events of existence in the senses.
This is how the synchronicity, once identified, must be
considered by the observer who sincerely wishes to grasp its extended
meaning and purpose in personal existence. One must consider the
entire class of events and images suggested by the symbolic
information present in the process of understanding the symbol itself.
The more instances of that class, or those classes, of images that can
be brought into consideration, the clearer will be the conclusion in our
understanding of the underlying meaning, or meanings, present. Depending
on our personal, and group, Karma, we may spend lives or lifetimes
working with only synchronistic messages, until this phase of our
spiritual “introduction” has been fulfilled. I still experience
synchronistic messages to this day, but have also “graduated” to the
next levels of spiritual perception – the subsequent Steps along the
Path described in the following paragraphs. It is quite possible that
the full meaning of synchronistic symbolism can never be known by
the human mind, limited as it is by the physical senses, brain
morphology, and personal ego. But sufficient understanding can be
arrived at to recognize the symbolic significance of the information for
our spiritual existences as Souls, and assimilate this
information as spiritual lessons in living.
Synchronicities tend to eventually assemble themselves into
comprehensive systems of conceptual thought. These may be of strictly
psychological import, psycho-spiritual import, or specifically only
spiritual in valence, but the Seeker needs to maintain an awareness that
these three categories are ultimately interchangeable from the
perspective of the Logos, who sees only the Light of the Soul, and this
as the abiding Truth of Consciousness. At this, highest, level of
Awareness, all lesser expressions, including the physical body and
senses, are seen as temporary vehicles of Karma that serve the evolution
of the Soul. For the Logos, the life that seems so real to us in the
senses is an illusion placed before us to condition our consciousness,
nothing more. In the informational context on the Astral Plane, the
systems of conceptual thought referred to here have taken the many forms
of communication and content demonstrated by the Mystery Schools and
Mystery Theories, including those currently in practice, and those
surviving from historical antiquity. And, again, it must be noted that
one can spend additional lives and lifetimes working only at this
level of development, until this Karmic requirement for the
evolution of the Soul has been fulfilled. One must not judge this
process too harshly – the Soul must pass through many experiences
and levels of refinement along the spiritual Path back to its Origin in
the Logos, and all are necessary and instrumental for spiritual
growth.
At some point in this tempering and refinement process, the
Mysteries of Yoga and Meditation will be encountered by the Seeker.
Either activity is of the utmost importance in the development of higher
consciousness, and both have been noted extensively in these articles.
However, some additional information and commentary may be useful at
this time, particularly as regards meditation. It is often not clearly
perceived that the Eight Limbs of Yoga defined by Patanjali in The
Yoga Sutras, and still considered by scholars today as completely
comprising the Yoga System, are all essentially methods of
meditation practiced from various functional perspectives.
Meditation itself is a psychic practice that uses various different
techniques to still the agitation of the mind represented by the action
of the senses and ego, thus enabling the perception of higher states of
awareness as they occur in the Soul, which is capable of its own
independent perception completely apart from the ego. The Seeker will
eventually assume the practice of meditation as part of spiritual
involvement, and this in turn will ultimately result in the development
of more refined perceptions of the I AM Presence of the Logos, including the
forms of spoken and written language!
As the meditation process opens the Lotus of the Heart
Chakra, the resultant compassion released among the Spiritual Planes of
Awareness initiates a state of Divine Grace in the total consciousness
of the Seeker. The presence of this compassion creates the psychic
sensitivity required to hear the Divine Voice, and eventually
see and enter the Divine Light. I regularly converse with the Logos
as I would with human beings using physical language, with the exception
of the observation that those “higher conversations” take place on the
Planes above even the Astral Plane, and are verbally silent from the
Physical Plane perspective. Nonetheless, I perceive myself as internally
speaking words, and also internally receiving intelligent, meaningful
verbal responses. On occasion, these conversations take place within
the Divine Light, although this does not appear to be required – they
also occur within my Heart, at the Astral Level, and in my normal waking
consciousness on the Physical Plane, with equal candor.
These conversations involve several different modalities.
Some are simply exchanges of vibrational energy with the Logos, using
words as the medium – what would be referred to as “socializing” on the
Physical Plane. Some are task oriented, and involve requests for
information, guidance, or intervention. Occasionally, I complain to the
Deity about my problems and limitations experienced while locked away in
my body of flesh, but I know that my frank disclosure of these matters
is always understood and appreciated. Often, I offer prayers and
requests for the well being of afflicted persons I have met along the
way in life, regardless of their circumstances, material condition, or
spiritual orientation. Sometimes, I simply sit in the Presence without
any other interaction taking place – in silent Communion. I may or may
not meditate in conjunction with any or all of the above activities as
well. Thus, the perception of the Divine Word is another, higher level
of interaction with the Logos, beyond synchronicities and Astral
interaction, one initiated in the Fourth, or Heart, Chakra, and
comprehensively developed in the Fifth, or Throat, Chakra, through
internal discourse with God, and external discourse about
God.
Furthermore, the nature of the Logos as the Divine Light can
be seen from the perspective of Ajna, the Sixth Chakra, nominally
located between the eye brows, with the caveat that this is an Astral
perception concerning a post-Astral manifestation. Ajna actually looks
within at the Logos, perceived as the Divine Light. Many
incredible visions of Ascension are possible at the level of Ajna –
including the full comprehension of the meaning and purpose of life,
Karma, and the Soul. What cannot be known at this level is the
Omnipresent state of unconditional Love and Light that is the essence of
the Logos – this can only be experienced at the level of Sahasrara, the
Seventh Chakra, which lies completely outside the body, immediately
above and beyond the head. Since perception at this level requires the
release of the illusion of all physicality associated with the
body and senses – including the “physicality” of personal emotional
perception – functionally in a dead state, very few Seekers
manage to achieve this experience. Even the desire to end desire is
still a desire, and this demonstrates enough residual ego to prevent
entry into Sahasrara – one must approach the Logos with an absolutely
innocent, clear, open, and expectation-free consciousness.
Beyond even the Seventh Chakra experience of full Communion
with the Logos in the Divine Light is the condition of the Brahman, the
omnipresent Divine Essence permeating all objects and processes,
yet not specifically represented in any single sensory condition
perceptible on the Physical Plane. The Brahmin is analogous to the
Buddha Mind of Buddhist philosophy – the indefinable condition of
being in not being/not being in being – direct experience of
the state of profound nothingness that exists beyond the duality
of any subject/object perception. To my knowledge, this condition can be
initially accessed only in deep meditation, but, with repeated
experience, becomes a readily accessible state of mind for the Mystic,
who well knows that the nothingness of the Primal Void is the fertile
source of all manifestation, and additionally represents the most
absolutely peaceful condition that can be known in the flesh. This is
the utter limit of perception for human beings, as the last remnant of
the personal mind dissolves into the unknown and unknowable.
Synchronicities, extended Astral perception, Divine
conversations, Divine visions, intimate personal Communion, and, lastly,
the non-dual experience of the Divine Essence, describe the sequence of
interactions along the Path to Higher Consciousness that the Seeker may
experience as the Word progressively permeates the flesh. Even the
darkest practices of Black Occult intent represent the initial stumbling
onto, and along, the Path to Ascension, albeit from a pointedly selfish,
unenlightened initial perspective. This matters not – all
sentience – all self awareness – must continuously seek
out the highest possible level of expression as a consequence of its
nature. Eventually, even the darkness seeks out the light, because light
is what we are. So I say to you all, “Live Consistently at the
Highest Level Attainable!”
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2007, Alan Schneider)
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