Tune into the presence of miracles, and in an instant, life can be transformed into a dazzling experience, more wondrous and exciting than we could even imagine. Ignore it, and an opportunity is gone forever.
deepak chopra
The Magic of
Signs & Synchronicity
No doubt you have heard the term synchronicity before, but do you really understand what it is, how it works, and why it’s so magical? Even if you have never received a sign from a loved one or the universe before, I’m sure you’ve heard other people talk about it. But are you aware that we are all receiving them, and that “all” includes you? Both synchronicity and signs are gifts bestowed upon us from the universe, and they are not reserved for a chosen few or for those with a psychic gift. They are available to each and every person in this physical world and are meant to help our soul navigate this temporary existence as a human being. The universe, our loved ones on the other side, the angels, and our guides use signs and synchronicity to communicate with us, direct us, guide us, and even reroute us when we are headed down the wrong path.
In some cases, our guides and loved ones on the other side are helping us as part of their job and their own soul growth. I don’t believe we stop growing and evolving after we make our transition out of the physical body; it’s just that taking on a human body and experiencing life in the physical world helps us advance much faster because it’s so much harder here! The other side, where our souls return after physical death, is pure love and peace compared to the contrast and pain we experience here as a human being. These beliefs are based on what I’ve been told time and again by friends who are mediums and from interviewing so many top mediums for the magazine over the years, all of whom get their information from the souls who have transitioned to the other side. The unfortunate piece of this puzzle is that many people don’t understand the power these gifts of signs and synchronicity hold or how to recognize them and understand them when they arrive. As a result, these presents remain unwrapped, and the joy, reassurance, and direction they provide us remains unclaimed.
It’s not our fault, though. We were never taught how to recognize or understand the way the universe and our loved ones communicate with us. It’s not like it’s an elective you can choose in high school next to the options for woodworking and ceramics. For most of us, it’s not until we mature and start to long for more meaning in our life—asking deeper questions and exploring our belief systems—that we begin to realize this communication is possible. For me, the catalyst into a spirituality beyond religion was the death of my mom. For others, it’s the diagnosis of an illness, a divorce, or some other life-altering experience that sends them on a search. Something brought you to this book, and that means you are ready to learn the language of the universe and your loved ones on the other side. Don’t worry if you haven’t claimed the gifts they sent you in the past; the universe and your loved ones, guides, and angels are standing by right now waiting to send you more. Trust me, they are thrilled that you are reading this book and ready to open up to them. Remember, they want to help you, and it’s your divine right to accept their assistance.
In this chapter I’ll explain why signs and synchronicities are so important when it comes to creating a happier and more spiritually connected life. I’ll also share how communication with our angels, guides, and loved ones on the other side is really a two-way street. We don’t have to just wait for signs and synchronicity to occur; we can actually ask for guidance and direction and then anticipate their arrival.
What Is Synchronicity?
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung came up with the term synchronicity in the 1920s as part of his work as an analytical psychologist. The word describes the experience of two or more events being meaningfully related, although the events don’t have to be exactly simultaneous in time. In other words, you can discover synchronicities that occur and connect within the same day, week, or month, but they can also be years apart and still be meaningfully related. Jung called these events “meaningful coincidences,” where one event did not actually cause the other, but they are still connected.2
For example, when I was in college, I worked part-time as a receptionist for a chiropractor in the evenings. The owners hired a new employee the summer before my senior year, and she would make a lot of mistakes and leave them for me to fix. Over time friction developed between the two of us, and I became very unhappy working there. I was majoring in English with a concentration in writing, and because I was so unhappy, I decided to look for a different part-time job that would give me experience in the writing field. At the time I had no idea what I wanted to do with my writing degree, but I knew writing came easily to me. Plus, I enjoyed it and was good at it.
I started searching the local newspaper—that is how one found a job in 1998—and discovered a magazine publishing company looking for a part-time editorial assistant not far from where I lived. It said college students were welcome, so I applied, interviewed, and got the job. One year later, upon graduation, they offered me a full-time position as an assistant editor. That is how I began my career in the magazine industry, and it started with me becoming very unhappy in a former job.
Let’s trace the synchronicity that happened over more than a year’s time. First, after working for three years for the chiropractor, and being very happy there, a new hire changed the dynamic. This pushed me to find another job, one that would help me find a job in writing after I graduated. There happened to be a local publishing company looking to hire a part-time college student, and I got the job. Then they offered me a full-time position once I graduated, so when most college graduates are searching for a position, I had one waiting for me. This gave me the experience I needed to get a higher paying job and a better title at a new company the following year, and that is where I met the woman who is now the art director of Elevated Existence Magazine. It was years between me looking for that initial job and me creating the magazine, but it all connects. The events are all meaningfully related, and they all led me to where I am today.
When I was going through the turmoil that caused me to look for a new job, it was upsetting and frustrating, but it was meant to be. It was the friction I needed to push me forward and into my future in the magazine industry. When we are going through challenges that upset us, it’s hard to understand why it’s happening or what we did to cause or deserve it. But often it’s pushing us to take action and to move in a direction where something even more amazing is waiting. That is how the universe works, and it’s why I say even the situations in our life that seem negative are really for our own highest good.
In addition to tracing synchronistic events over one year or even several years, they can also happen within a much shorter time span. Let’s say you decide you want to start practicing yoga, and you look online to find a studio near your home. You decide to sign up, and that night a friend calls you and mentions she coincidentally (not, of course) looked into the same yoga studio the prior week. You make plans to go together, and now you are more likely to stick with the practice because you have one another to attend class with and can hold each other accountable. That is the universe reinforcing to both of you that you were on the right track and should be adding yoga to your life. Plus, it paired you up so that you could help one another get to the classes.
Synchronicity shows us nothing is chance or coincidental. The people you meet, the ideas you get or solutions crossing your path, the places you go—it’s all leading you somewhere. It’s all for your benefit. No, it doesn’t always seem that way. In fact, it usually doesn’t seem that way when the events are unfolding before you. But the universe and your angels and guides really are leading you and guiding you, and if you give them enough time, the meaning will usually present itself.
What About Signs?
Unlike synchronicity, which is two or more events that connect in some way, a sign is often a single occurrence. Do some signs repeat in a synchronistic way? Yes. But many stand on their own, and the universe will use them to get us an answer or wake us up to something we should be paying attention to for our highest good. For example, let’s say you’re having a bad day. Maybe you’re fighting with your significant other or just feeling lonely and unloved. You decide to go for a walk outside in a nearby park and take a path you don’t normally take. As you are walking, you see “you are loved” written on the ground in chalk and you feel goosebumps on your arms as your eyes well up with tears. That is a sign meant to comfort you. There have been so many times I’ve come across a random heart shape on the ground or in food, and I take each and every one as a sign of love. I usually post them on social media. I have shared when my sweet potato cut in half made a perfect heart and the time I pulled a heart-shaped brown rice wrap out of the package where the rest were round. You will realize signs are everywhere once you start waking up to them.
In my synchronistic story from the last chapter about landing Deepak Chopra for the magazine, my getting a coupon in my email when I was contemplating if I should attend the retreat at the Chopra Center was a sign for me to go ahead and book it. If you are thinking about going to Italy on your next vacation, and then while you are scrolling through Facebook, you see that someone just came back from there and posted pictures, that is a sign to look into the trip, especially if you have never seen anyone post about Italy in all your years on social media.
While writing this book, my cousin called me to tell me about this “strange thing” that happened to him when walking out of the building where he works. A guy walking out behind him made a joke about him being dressed as a secret service person since he was in a suit and dark glasses. My cousin held the door for him, and the guy stopped and said he had something to give him. He handed him a white sheet of paper with the title “A Blessing” and went on his way. It was a typed note asking him to recognize the power of his soul and to remember he is not alone. There was no signature or company name on it. It was a simple blessing this man shared with him because he held the door open for him. Unhappy with his current job situation, it was exactly what he needed to hear.
Our loved ones often use a single sign to get our attention, whether it’s to get a message across or just to let us know they are around. I remember one time when I was feeling very stressed and overwhelmed and I accidentally stepped on the cordless phone laying on the bedroom floor. I sighed, annoyed at the phone and myself for leaving it there. But when I picked it up, I noticed my foot dialed the numbers 0509. That was my mother’s birthday: May 9. I knew immediately she was around and letting me know everything would be fine. I’ll go more in-depth on signs and how they show up in Chapter 4.
Life-Changing Benefits
Now that you know more about signs and synchronicity, can you see why I am so passionate about this topic? It’s truly life-changing once you begin to view the world through this miraculous lens. When you are going through something challenging and your life is being shaken up unexpectedly, you can view it from a new perspective once you understand how the universe works in this way because you realize everything is leading you somewhere for your ultimate good. Even if in the moment you have no clue why it’s happening or where you are headed, you can look back to see the guidance in your past and know that whatever is occurring has a purpose. When I hit roadblocks or am faced with a new challenge today, the first thing that always comes to mind for me is this: I don’t know why this is happening, but I know there is a reason, and I’ll figure it out eventually. I know it’s leading me somewhere good.
Carl Jung knew about the miraculous benefits of signs and synchronicity years ago, which is why he wrote and lectured about it during his life. In fact, as a psychiatrist, he found that when his patients started noticing the synchronicities in their lives, they began to make progress in therapy where they had not in the past.3
In one of his writings on the topic, he spoke of a woman who he called “psychologically inaccessible.” He struggled to break through to her until synchronicity intervened. While she was in his office describing a recent dream where someone gave her a golden scarab, which was an expensive piece of jewelry at the time, Jung suddenly heard a noise outside the window. Outside he saw a large insect knocking on the glass as if trying to get inside. He opened the window and as it flew in, he caught it in his hand. Realizing it was a scarabaeid beetle with golden-green coloring, he handed it to the patient, saying, “Here is your scarab.” This experience completely changed her. “Treatment could now be continued with satisfactory results,” he wrote.4
Why are signs and synchronicity so powerful that recognizing it can help people move forward in therapy when they’ve hit nothing but roadblocks before? It gives us proof we are not alone and that life is not random. It proves there is a force working on our behalf, trying to get through to us, so our lives can be easier. It boosts our faith in the universe and in our own future, and it allows us to face unexpected circumstances with confidence, knowing everything we experience in our lives is leading us somewhere good.
We live in a very uncertain world. It’s not possible to accurately predict everything that lies before us, no matter how psychic someone may be. Every day we face uncertainty about what could happen next, and this way of living is a breeding ground for fear. We all fall victim to it at one time or another, and for many people, it’s become the standard way of navigating life. We worry about what is coming next or what might not be coming next. We fear for our own futures and for the futures of those we love. What if we or they make a mistake? What if we or they head down a path that leads to pain and sorrow? It’s so easy to become caught up, consciously and subconsciously, waiting for the next crisis to occur, which only creates more crisis.
Recognizing and understanding signs and synchronicity can provide relief from all of that. It offers us a dose of certainty in the midst of uncertainty. It helps us find faith in the face of fear and provides reassurance when we need to keep moving forward. It’s a gentle reminder that we are not alone in this world. It gives meaning to events that may seem meaningless at first, and it provides guidance when we don’t know where to turn next. It opens up a whole new way of viewing life and the world we live in, giving us confidence in the future, no matter what may come our way.