My question is: What is coincidence? I’m reminded of the old cliché, “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” Our lives today are so busy, so distracted and with so much to do with so much information that the task of sifting through it all is too enormous, that it becomes too difficult to ‘see’ something of true value that seemingly appeared by “coincidence”. Unplanned and unbidden it just showed up one day at one particular time and is remarkable just because of that. But is it just chance, pure luck and nothing more?

So, what is coincidence really? Is it plainly the randomness of nature and the universe where we take what we get, and if we get anything at all we should count our blessings? Or, can we perceive, anticipate and perhaps even create coincidence? Perhaps we need only fine-tune our perceptions to ‘see’ the trees in the forest and pick out the one for us? Perhaps then the myriads of events; information, opportunity, insights, that occur around us all the time are coincidences waiting to happen and what sets certain ones apart from the others is the realization of, to cognize, and recognize, them as they come along and determine if they will be of use to you. It is utilitarian in outlook for oneself, but it is also of benefit to others for they in turn can draw from you what they may need. You and what you have done, or have to offer, may be their coincidence. The question of being at the right place, the right time and recognizing it as such is the hard part and we all seek it in some fashion – some fervently, some passively aware and others blithely stumble along.

The day to day drudgery of sifting through life for the opportune coincidence, which, if you are not diligent enough at all times, may never come about, can have a life of its own. For some the bombardment of potential ‘signals’ is too much. They seek shelter and isolation in their lives; their lives become their universe. Others, friends, family or acquaintances, see opportunities continuously slip by them; they try to inform them of it, but soon become discouraged by the refusal to acknowledge this information and so remain insolated and insular from the greater universe. For some people the search for the pivotal coincidence is frenetic to say the least. They look hard for these moments but they cannot see the forest for the trees. Their search, their life is dotted with disappointments and dismal failures. They have the knack for picking the coincidence, which all about them say is the wrong one and clutch it to their breast as if a life preserver.

Security and survival are actually quite simple – going beyond that is somewhat more difficult. Being satisfied with what you have materially is the door to awareness of a much greater universe of fulfillment. But that is a whole other …

And now for something somewhat, but not really, different …..

Energy? What is energy – really? Is it kilocalories/m2? Or is it MC2? Desire? Willingness? Vitamins? Quantum Mechanics? Belief? Oh, so many questions – both mechanistic and mystical. Can the power of the mind influence the day-to-day flow of the physical universe?

(1) Can I determine in some way my future, my destiny? Can I orchestrate events and experiences to facilitate my destiny? Can I create my own coincidences? I think through my choices I can guide things to be more likely to occur, but I am not truly enamored with the idea that I could actually create my destiny. Perhaps that requires a better definition. Destiny is pre-written, pre-ordained by some higher power. A future is just that, the future. Very poor to use the word in its definition, but what I mean by that is the future is what it will be regardless of any notion of pre-destiny. The future just happens and as such one could perhaps shape how the future could unfold. Do this and that happens, do that and this happens. Good choices and bad, good decisions and bad, good luck and bad? Hmm. But still I like that idea of future much better than the idea of destiny. I like the idea of a future that I can influence largely because it gives me some control over my future. I can make it willy nilly, or I can make it very deterministic. BUT …
I can’t help thinking what if my shaping of the future IS in my destiny? Huh. That one will take more analysis later.

Can I create light? Its that most enigmatic thing, simultaneously both wave and particle. Mechanistically ‘pure’ energy is Einstein’s E=MC2, fantastically large numbers, far beyond my being able to imagine them. If, as the physicists say, everything exists at different levels of energy and therefore reality is a myriad of energy levels, from undetectable (lower energy) to detectable (the five senses and perhaps six) to undetectable (higher energy) again, we ‘live’ in a very narrow band indeed. Perhaps as scientists detect more and more formerly ‘undetectable’ energies, we can begin to ‘see’ these evermore-sensitive devices as extensions of our minds and senses, or better still, replace our senses with these devices as our minds learn to see beyond the presently perceptual physical Universe and begin to ‘see’ at a whole new energy level. What would we see? A new level of existence – is it a new level of sort of the same thing, just at a lower or higher energy setting? Being aware of this energy however is a bit of a plague. If I have it so must others. Do we converse with it? Can we get more? Can I give it to someone else? Can it be taken away against my will? Can I lose it through poor husbandry? Or by disaster?

BUT science is pessimistic. In its quest for the ultimate in determinism, the creation of the universe, it applies the notion of birth and ultimately death. So if there is a start to the universe there must be an end, which scientists have said will be the slowing down of the expansion of the universe and then its retraction back to the singular point. All will be destroyed in the process. So, why should humanity struggle to know? Why the struggle for better, or to be better, or good? Why think of the great things, why do the great things when the rationalists would have us lose it all in the end anyway?
So, to heck with the poor, sick and disadvantaged! Who cares about the environment, global warming or cooling (take your pick), the aged, the young, the dolphins and the whales?! I mean really, if its all gonna die anyway, what the hell am I worried about? And why do some people think they have the ‘God given right’ to make me feel like I should care?

Truly unpredictable, random, events and occurrences are rare – if they exist all. Events are predictable in as much as circumspection being incomplete renders choices as either best guesses, vibes, intuitions or stabs in the dark. This is where statistics enters the fray. There is no certainty, only best ‘mathematical’ approximation. There is no substitute for knowing. However, the degree of knowing required to take the seeming ‘unpredictability’ away from existence would seem supernatural. Ignoring the consequences is a whole different matter, as is letting go of the sense of foreboding or dread of having to endure the unknown every second of existence. This latter ignorance is the most prevalent and causes the most anxiety and fear.

Coincidence …

Infinite possible realities simultaneously exist – one’s we recognise consciously are what we term as coincidence. The realities co – incide. Serendipity, some call it. What we choose to recognise , or let in to our minds, becomes the ‘new’ reality. Orchestrating the appearance of coincidences is controlling one’s own existence within the many possibilities, actively searching, recognising and choosing among them the course of one’s future. Doing some action ‘when the time is right’ is an attempt at this. Patience is a virtue in these instances as is no hesitation and quick action when that time does come. The exhilaration of having ‘guessed’ right or doing what ‘feels’ right is second to none. But to actually explain this, or the sense of catastrophe when things go poorly, is very difficult as often the words cannot truly be found to express it. We just knew.

Regrets are the retrospective view of the past, knowing in the present, other choices that may have been taken in the past ( which were not known then ) to perhaps alter the present existence. One cannot know a regret until an action has been taken, but one can attempt to predict a possible regret as a possible outcome of a choice.

In this light ‘unintended consequences’ have new meaning within the process of choices of realities in which we find ourselves. Unintended consequences may appear ‘unpredictable’, but this is because of limited circumspection before a choice was made. True, we cannot know all the possibilities and consequences of our actions, but this is more a result of our lack of ability to do so than the notion that it cannot be known at all and so is naturally unpredictable.

Just thinking out loud here …