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Friday, 8 September 2023

Mycelial roots of coincidence

And thus did it occur to me, as I was walking up the escalators from Metro Centrum and across the patelnia on my way to Warsaw Central station, en route to Wrocław. 

That like the mycelial network of fungus under a forest floor connecting colonies of mushrooms, there is a similar unseen network of coincidence that holds events together.

A beautiful intuition! It draws me back to this worthy post from Lent 2021

Literally, the roots of coincidence. As in the title of Arthur Koestler's seminar book of that title. It's a book I read back in the late 1970s, when it was all the rage among students. [With the perspective of the decades, I'd argue today that Koestler's attempts to explain metaphysical phenomena using the scientific method were doomed to fail.]

But if you accept it as it is, and understand it, you can use synchronicities or observed coincidences to ward off misfortunes, as you walk your daily life along the edge of chaos.

To do so, you need to do just two things:

1) Accept that coincidences do contain meaning. This means stepping above the materialist reductionist mindset that would dismiss synchronicities as meaningless. 

2) Act consciously upon observed coincidences. If you consciously observe two people on crutches within a short space of time, it doesn't mean you will have an accident that results in you walking on crutches - rather it is a suggestion offered to you to be aware of the possibility of an accident occurring to you. 

There is a balance, between obsessively over-reacting to every possible manifestation of coincidence - and just outright ignoring this phenomenon. Seeking coincidences where there are none is as dangerous as dismissing coincidences that you do become conscious of. As I wrote two and half years ago, "don't go out of your way to look for coincidences; but when you do notice them - don't ignore them!"

The effect is weak but noticeable over the long term. But it will grow in strength as we evolve spiritually. Consciously observed coincidences can be a powerful set of signals to point daily life in the right direction.

This time last year:
Personal reflections upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II

This time four years ago
Best sandwich ever

This time five years ago:
Pictures of Warsaw

This time  eight years ago:
Scotland's independence referendum looms

This time 11 years ago:
Summer comes crashing to a halt

This time 12 years ago:
The atmosphere of impending autumn - Mono no aware

This time 13 years ago:
Time to recycle.

This time 16 years ago:
Coal train running

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