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Musings on Synchronicity and the
Value of Paying Attention

Yes, Dr. Freud. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. But sometimes, it's not. Sometimes, it's a clue, a connection, an opening, an opportunity, a symbol of something else.

Easy to ignore — those twinges in the pit of the stomach, the small voice inside, the dreams, the photograph that catches your eye, the tune that constantly runs in your head, the recognition (finally) that you've had one too many accidents. Such are the signals telling us to pay attention. Such are the messages from the Universe that help us along...if we choose to take notice.

Sometimes, they arrive as whacks on the side of the head and an "oh, not again" groan. Sometimes, they show up as a pleasant little twinkle behind the forehead. Sometimes, they dance in as an a-ha, like the email message that appears one day, asking the question I'm thinking about but haven't said aloud. Sometimes, they're the pennies I find while walking in the parking lot or doing the laundry.

Mostly, these MFTUs show up only as nudges. Rarely do they lay out their contents plainly. But if they're to deliver true benefit, I know now that they require reflection, speculation, contemplation about what they might mean and which way to go next — or whether to sit still and be patient. For whatever time it takes to absorb their possibility, the value is immense.

I've had to give up the concept of "good" and "bad" MFTUs. The messages from the Universe just are. A friend's request to speculate on the possibility that some concept is keeping me stuck in a negative space is as "good" a message as the synchronicity of receiving a timely email or stumbling upon a $20 bill. All are MFTUs and all help me make connections, help me learn, and help me grow. I also do my best to "walk the talk" — staying open to recognize the wild variety of MFTUs that flow through each day — paying attention, as I recommend to others, without characterizing the messages in either/or fashion as "good/positive" or "bad/negative." Everything has value.

Of course, I don't always "get" the message right away! But when something finally does make a bit of sense — which generally comes out of huge levels of frustration and fear — I remind myself that even if I don't know what's coming next, I can't keep doing what I'm doing and expect a different outcome. Then I work at encouraging myself to trust and (with Julia Cameron's wonderful line) to "leap and the net will be there."

Nothing comes in a flash. However, a slight shift in thinking is often enough to allow me to stop dithering with the drunken monkeys in my head and sit down with more concentration on taking just one step, and one more, and then one more, until, before I "know" it, "everything" has changed, often for the better.

Yes, each individual story is unique. No matter what it says, it's "true." With any luck, the particular story also offers enough of a connection, similarity, or example that it can resonate in some way with another unique individual. When that happens, we're making everyday miracles. What could be better?

Read more...

Too Many Accidents

Pennies from Heaven

Nearly New Moon

Salvage Operation

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