Thought Of The Day

All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today.
- European proverb

Picture © M.Perry 2010

1918 Cornet Found And Played At Soldiers Reburials

A story I saw on the UK television news today and, after doing a search, also on Australia's Sidney Morning Herald.

It goes back to World War I and the battle of Mont St Quentin in 1918. Many Australian soldiers were killed and now some of their unidentified bodies are to be reburied, along with some British soldiers. With the help of DNA samples some of the soldiers will now be named on their headstones.

The story I want to mention is about an old cornet musical instrument which will be used in the ceremony to play the Last Post.

Today's reburials of the lost men of Fromelles, conducted with full military honours, will unfold to the haunting sound of the Last Post - played on a battered old cornet which belonged to the 31st Battalion and was found and bought by a soldier's descendant on eBay.

Peter Nelson, whose grandfather survived Fromelles, had been researching the 31st Battalion when he spotted the cornet which was clearly inscribed with the name of the company as well as the instrument's donor, a Queensland grazier.

"It was three or four months back and I saw a dealer in NSW put it up for sale. I'm a member of the 31st Battalion association. … the battalion is still current in Townsville and in service," he told the Herald yesterday.

"It's battered and bent and seen quite a few years gathering dust somewhere but the dealer who saw it saw the inscription and a dollar in it. I had it restored, a few spare parts and it's back to working order. I got in touch with Tim Whitford, [a descendant] of one of the men, who put me in touch with General Mike O'Brien. They checked their musicians could play it and now it's on its way to France with the Federation Guard contingent."

May they rest in peace.

More information on the reburials:
WWI war dead reburied in special service

Miles Of Smiles And Butterflies

I like to keep things simple. Why complicate anything with foreign or 'insider' words when it's not really necessary.

Not sure where I'm going with this theme but I've been thinking about how everything and everyone is all linked together and how coincidences and/or synchronicity may happen. Many give this linking together fancy names depending on beliefs, religions, the latest book they have read and so on.

This is fine but sometimes it's something almost simplistic that can get the message across. It did for me when I looked through an autograph book I had as a young child.

I've mentioned this autograph book previously and this morning I was flitting through the pages before putting it somewhere safe in my office.

My Dad's autograph and the verse he wrote, when I was seven, suddenly seemed relevant. Yes, it's simple, yes, it's quite well known but it does make a point about how we are all linked together and how what we do can affect others and, who knows, perhaps the whole world. Here's what he wrote:


He's was right - one smile can create miles of smiles.

I remember years ago writing something along these lines but from a negative perspective. It was about how a wrong word could set off a chain reaction.

ARAB PROVERB

The spoken word is soon forgot,
By thee - but it has perished not;
In other hearts 'tis living still,
And doing work for good or ill.I did a whole story about how a boss got angry with an employee. She went home and, as she was upset, had a go at her husband ... he stormed out down the pub where he met a woman ... they had an affair ... and, before you know what had happened, thousands of lives had been touched upon - and all because of a few angry words. In my story the reaction rebounded back to the boss who set the whole thing in motion.

And watching what we say is one of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path of: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

It's also a little like that saying about how the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil can set off a storm in Texas. Okay, unlikely in reality perhaps, but there's more on the Butterfly Effect on Wikipedia here if interested.

So there we go, never thought this post would end up being about this!

Further Reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 10 - about a coincidence and the autograph book.

Dead Mother Sends Her A Slice Of Pizza

Today's coincidence is from author David Richio, writer of such books as The Five Things We Cannot Change. What this coincidence illustrates is (perhaps) how questions can be answered by the most basic of every day items - in this case a pizza!

"One evening, my friend's cousin, Concetta, a middle aged woman, whose mother died recently, was sitting with her father in the house where she had grown up. Her husband would be coming later to pick her up to return to their home.

As her father dozed off, Concetta was reminiscing about her mother and was wondering if their was a heaven or any afterlife. Suddenly she found herself saying, "Ma, if there is another world, send me a slice of pizza."

Shortly thereafter, Concetta's husband called from a pizzeria to tell her he would not be able to pick her up but that her brother would come instead. She said, "That's fine," and was about to hang up when Tony added, "And, by the way, he's bringing you a slice of pizza."

Further Reading:
Coincidences From Author Colin Wilson

The Mantelpiece Buddha

From a very early age I've always been interested in Buddha. No idea why, as this was far removed from my upbringing. When I moved into my first home one of the things I bought was a small Buddha as an ornament. I didn't know anything about Buddhism at the time.


Later in life, when I was married, I saw another Buddha in a shop while visiting Spain. I just had to buy it. "Why?" asked my wife but I couldn't really give an answer. It was simply something I felt I had to do.

As the years ticked by I gradually got to know a little about Buddhism, not by seeking it out but because it simply presented itself to me. I also felt I had an affinity with Nepal and the Himalayas.

I'm not now a Buddhist - but it still fascinates me and is, somehow, within me.

Moving forward many years my mother had a severe stroke and had to move to a Nursing Home. It was a sad and difficult time. Just before she died we managed to get her to our house. It was very emotional as she said she had thought she would never see our house again.

As she sat in our living room she looked at my Buddhas on the mantelpiece (as per the photo above), where they had sat for many years including all the while my mother was fit and well.

"It's strange," she said, "My father always had a Buddha on the fireplace mantelpiece as well."

I didn't know this as I had never known my maternal grandfather. He was a lot older than my grandmother and died years before I was born.

My mother went on to say her father was a Buddhist.

I was amazed at this, as it was something I never knew and something my mother had never mentioned previously. My grandmother was very much a Bible person.

It's odd but years before, when I had seen photos of my grandfather as a young man, I felt I knew him. His face was familiar. As with Buddha and the Himalayas I felt a definite affinity with him. One of my prized possessions is a collection of several of his old fashioned gold tie pins.

A friend suggested to me that these connections are all down to reincarnation - but I guess that's another whole discussion, perhaps for a later date.

The young man looks and smiles.

His look, like his smile, is older than the boats, the nets, the old men, the women, the children, the cats, the seagulls.

In his look and in his smile there is the silence of peace, joy, harmony, acceptance, understanding and universal love.
- Giulio Cesare Giacobbe*

Further reading:
How to Become a Buddha in 5 Weeks by *Giulio Cesare Giacobbe (book)
Coincidence or Synchronicity - 9 - A link with my dad (blog post)

Telepathy, Coincidence Or Universal Currents

When we take that phone call, after thinking about the person concerned, we usually say it's a coincidence or maybe even telepathy. And things like this happen with animals as well.

I remember my wife saying how our lovely border collie dog, Toby, would get restless and want to go to the gate when I was on my way home. He seemed to know I was on my way, even though I arrived home at different times throughout the day.

There's also the theory of 'morphic resonance' dreamed up by the biologist Rupert Sheldrake. He saw, for example, how monkeys on different islands would often begin a new practice at the same time - such as washing yams before eating them. The groups on the different islands had no way of sharing this information. It just happened.

Sheldrake's theory could possibly be something to do with Carl Jung's 'collective unconscious' or maybe a link with the Akashic Records, where it is said all experiences are stored.

Like the monkeys, when it comes to thinking up new ways to do things, we often get conflicting claims as to who actually created various inventions - the telephone for example.

It does seem that several people, unknown often to the others, are working on similar theories and ideas at the same time. A coincidence or something more?

Occultism often teaches that there are currents within the 'Universal Mind' and if minds are vibrating sympathetically they can hook into these currents of a similar nature.

Richard Ingalese* wrote back in 1902, "... because your mind and mine are attached to the current, we are for the time being receiving in unison the same ideas."

Ingalese goes on to say, "Inventors often get into the same current of thought, and work along similar lines, and then suddenly startle the public with inventions of a like nature, each inventor declares himself the sole discover of the thing invented."

I'm not out to influence anyone about any particular theory being correct. All I can say with confidence is that I personally have had numerous coincidences, which I class as synchronicity, which are meaningful to me.

I feel that there is more to many coincidences than being something which happens purely by chance. As to what this 'more' happens to be is up to individuals to discover for themselves. It's something to think about.

Further Reading:
*The History and Power of Mind by Richard Ingalese - Book
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples - Post on this blog.

Robson Green Talks Love And Coincidence

UK actor Robson Green talks about love and a coincidence. Not a major, flashy coincidence but one that means something to him.

"I believe in love at first sight because it happened to me with my wife Vanya.

We first met when she was working as Simon Cowell's secretary. I'd gone to his office with Jerome Flynn and she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever set eyes on - she's a former Bond Girl and model.

Coincidentally she'd seen me the night before on television in The Gambling Man and she told me it was wonderful and I'd made her cry. Then she asked me out and I declined!

The second time she asked me out I said yes and we've been together ten years. Our marriage lasts because it's passionate, we understand each other and we're developing together."

Extreme Fishing with Robson Green can be seen on Five on Thurs at 9pm (UK TV)

Other Celebrity Coincidences:
Coincidence From Actor Jonathan Pryce
Arlene Phillips Talks About Coincidences
Coincidences From Author Colin Wilson

Thought For The Day: Keep One Green Bough In Your Heart

Nothing really to do with coincidence or synchronicity today. I came across this saying / proverb and thought it was apt for a 'Thought Of The Day'

If you keep one green bough in your heart, someday a singing bird will visit you.
- Japanese 17th Century Poem

Picture (c) Mike Perry 2010

The Art Of Finding Coins Or Anything Else

The photo below shows a few of the coins my wife has found. There are hundreds of them and she keeps them all in a big pot.


No, my wife isn't one of those metal detector obsessives. She simply found the coins walking the streets. Perhaps I'd better phrase that differently!

My wife and I walk a lot, we usually do a routine three miles daily where we live in lovely Cornwall. We then have longer walks along cliff paths, through the countryside and like to visit Austria where we ramble in the Alps all day long.

But my wife doesn't waste her time on our walks she finds coins. So we get the enjoyment and benefit of the scenery plus the fun of finding a coin or two.

I say 'we' but it's her that finds the coins. I never see them myself, but she spots them without trying.

I put this down to the fact that she expects to find coins.

The coins usually arrive in batches of three. They, whoever 'they' are, say things come in threes. And this seems to be true with coins. If she finds two coins, she expects - and therefore gets - the third.

My wife even found a coin in the snow high in the mountains of Austria, where I took the photo below. We were walking along and she suddenly bends down in the snow and pockets a coin!


I know my theme on this blog is generally about coincidences and synchronicity but I wanted to mention the coin finding as it is a form of coincidence - especially as it's only my wife who always finds the coins, even though I'm with her.

It's the belief thing. If you believe something it invariably comes true. But, of course, really believing something isn't easy.

It's easy enough to believe you will find a few coins, when walking, but not quite so easy to believe that you will, say, attract several million pounds or dollars. It's all about getting yourself into the right frame set, well that's what I feel. And also concentrating on, reading about, meditating on, thinking about, whatever it is that you hope to bring into your life.

Doors open once we definitely decide on something. It's like when someone mentions a certain make of car to you. Suddenly you start to see them everywhere. They were there before but you didn't see them.

It's the same with absolutely anything else.

So talking about coincidences and synchronicity brings them into focus and they happen. It doesn't take effort, you don't need to go looking for them they happen all by themselves.

Sometimes we just have to let go.

Further Reading:
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

How The Past Can Link To The Future

This is an example of a coincidence which I find interesting. It was initially reported in the New York Times by John Stickney back in 1975.

It's the 1960's and an eight year old girl, Helen Montgomery, was playing in a London (England) park when, quite by 'chance', she found some money hidden under loose earth. She was hiding while playing hide and seek. It amounted to just over eight shillings - quite a prize at the time for a young girl. As the money was never claimed Helen was allowed to keep this.

Now we move forward 13 years and Helen is walking through the same park with her boyfriend. She mentioned her find to him and amazingly it was her boyfriend who buried the money years before! He told her that he had stolen the money from his mother and knew he would be in serious trouble if she ever found the coins on him. So he buried the cash to retrieve later.

Problem was, for Helen's boyfriend, when he went to dig up the cash it was gone ... Helen had got there before him ... and now they are sweethearts - ahhhh! Well they were back in 1975, hopefully they are still together.

As I see it, this coincidence indicates how the past and present are interlinked as are people, especially important people in our lives.

Can such things be, and overcome us like a summer's cloud, without our special wonder?
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act III

Further Reading
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 10: About a link from the past

Dead Wife Helps Husband Win £26 Million

Not sure what you'll think about this one, or even if it's really about coincidences. It's something I read about in the Daily Mail yesterday and I have to admit I am a little sceptical about it all.

The story, in my own words, is about the EuroLottery winner, George Sturt, who won £26 million (about US$42 million).

75 year old George reckons that his late wife, Maureen, is watching over him and is also helping him financially. It started out with small amounts. On Saturday 9th January he won £22 ($35) on the lottery, this was followed by £52 ($84) on Wednesday 13th and then finally on Friday the 15th of January came his massive £26m jackpot win.

Maureen died six months ago and George describes her as being a 'bit psychic.' As a matter of habit, when she was alive, he always touched her wrist at night and said, "Goodnight darling."
George said that since she died a crystal ball, she had placed by the bedroom window, had 'sparkled' every night as he repeated the same words.

On the Saturday night, following the win, he said the same words as usual and also added a big 'thank you' to his wife for her help. At this moment, according to George, the crystal ball 'danced with light.'

So was George's wife really helping him from beyond the grave? Or did the crystal ball simply sparkle and dance with light because of reflections from an outside source - perhaps a car going by or a myriad of other things?

I suppose it doesn't really matter to George. If this is what he believes and it comforts him it's all that really matters.

Also on the winning money theme: 41 year old hairdresser Susan Herdman predicted on her Facebook page that she would win the lottery. This was after she had been for a tarot card reading. Two weeks later, on Saturday 16th January, Susan won £1,182,714 on the UK National Lottery.

Further Reading:
10 Coincidence or Synchronicity Examples

Spike Milligan: I Told You I Was Ill Coincidence

Nothing too dramatic today as far as coincidences go but it's another small personal experience from one of our holidays last year.

We were staying in a 16th century cottage in Rye, East Sussex, England. That's the row of cottages at the front of the photo. This was taken from the church bell tower opposite.

One day my wife and I set off for a long walk heading in the direction of the sea. As we crossed some open fields I started talking about Spike Milligan, a British/Irish comedian, writer, actor, musician and poet who died back in 2002. Nothing specific, just general chat as we walked.

After crossing the fields I wasn't too sure which way to head but saw a sign saying Winchelsea, so I suggested we went in that direction. As we approached the village it was highish on a hill and looked to be old and interesting.

We made our way through the old gatehouse and into the village. It was typically, old fashioned England with a big church in the center. Though I don't belong to any organised religion I like churches: the way they feel, the atmosphere inside and so on. They are usually full of history.


We spent an age in the church and my wife even made a 'rainbow' woollen bracelet, which she attached to her rucksack. As we were leaving my wife saw a photo of Spike Milligan in the church!

She beckoned me over and it was Spike's picture with directions of how find his grave in the churchyard. This was completely unbeknown to us. We had no idea where he lived when alive or where he was buried. It seems that on his death he was living in Rye.

We found his grave outside and paid our respects. In typical Milligan humour his stone bears the words "Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite". This is Irish and translates to "I told you I was ill." I have since read that the church would not allow this to be written in English.

Below is a very silly video showing Spike Milligan - he's the 'woman' in the horned helmet!



Further Reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 1 Another Rye Coincidence

Spike Milligan Books on Amazon UK

Coincidence Of Lucky Numbers

Coincidences seem to arrive in various categories. The sort I'm mentioning today is where numbers, or perhaps a symbol, keep popping up throughout a lifetime.

With me it's the number 76. This has appeared from time to time ever since I can remember.

As I see it 76 comes about in two categories.

Firstly it seems to be a sign for me of something good or perhaps to indicate that I'm on the right track.

Let's see, examples of this would be that I met my wife on the 7th of the 6th, the house I bought, which was very lucky for me, had the door number 76, my son was born in 1976 - and so it goes on and on.

Now it's easy to say that this happens all by chance or, perhaps, I've picked numbers or circumstances to fit this post. I can understand this thinking but for me when the number 76 comes up, in some way, it means something good will happen. And, yes, you could also say that if you believe something to be true then it will be.

Moving on to my second category for my number 76. Sometimes it links with the past. Or you could look at this the other way round and say that it links with the future.

There are many examples I could offer. For example in the early 70's I owned a car with the number plate 76GMP. Now my initials are MP and a girlfriend I had back then used to say the GMP meant 'gorgeous Michael Perry' - blimey how times have changed, those were the days!

Anyway, the 76, even back then, I felt was lucky and the car was lucky in more ways than one, which I won't go into!

The strange thing is that later, when I married, I moved into a house, as I mentioned earlier, numbered 76 and the road I lived in started with a G - and me, MP, lived there. So the 76GMP all fits nicely into place.

I know this may sound like I'm away with the fairies, and it's often possible to make things fit the way you want. All I can say is that I 'feel' that 76 is an important symbol of good in my life. And I believe that lots of people have special numbers or symbols.

Having written the above I had a look on Google for a meaning of 76, I had never done this before. All I could come up with was a website called Riding the Beast which gave the following:

"76: Represents the termination of the individual Karma, 6, by the completion of its cycle of evolution, 70, passing from the death of the matter - or of oneself - to the birth to the spiritual, that is to say the passage on a higher level of existence - 7 + 6 = 13."

Whatever! All I know is that 76 is a positive symbol in my life.

Do you have a special number or symbol in your life?

Further Reading:
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

A Coincidence From Actor Jonathan Pryce

A coincidence today from the actor Jonathan Pryce (Pirates Of The Caribbean series, The Brothers Grimm, Tomorrow Never Dies, Evita and so on). This tells the story of when his mother died.

"She was 83 but had been ill for a while. My sister called and told me to come home, so I got the next plane out (he was in New York). Now this could have been complete coincidence, but I remember getting on the plane and telling the crew why I was going back, just in case I broke down and they thought, "Hell, call the captain."

I did get a bit tearful and short of breath. I remember looking down at my watch to see how long before we arrived. I sat with the stewardess for some of the flight and then went back to my own seat.

The driver I'd worked with on some films came to meet me. He was going to drive me to Wales straight away. I phoned my sister and she said, "She's just died." I asked what time and she'd died exactly as the plane had landed.

My sister took me through the last night with my mother. She said she started to slip away about 2am and they'd said to Mum, "Hold on, Jon's coming." It coincided with the time I'd got short of breath.

Further Reading:
Coincidences From Author Colin Wilson
Arlene Phillips Talks About Coincidences
A Life Changing Coincidence For Hayley Mills

10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

I've now posted 10 Personal Coincidence or Synchronicity Examples on this blog, and have listed these below, together with their links.

My aim isn't to convince anyone that these have any great meaning. They are purely genuine examples of ten of the many coincidences I have personally experienced.

As to what they may, or may not, indicate is up to the reader to decide. Hopefully though they - and the other coincidence or synchronicity posts on this blog - may get the reader thinking about such things.

Example 1
A question is automatically answered by a coincidence.

Example 2
A coincidence of family dates.

Example 3
About an unexpected and unlikely meeting which happened by 'chance'.

Dreams prepare, announce or warn about situations long before they happen. This is not a miracle or precognition. Most crisis have a long incubation in the unconscious.
- Carl JungExample 4
How dreams can forecast future events

Example 5
A coincidence of how names and dates can be linked.

Example 6
A precognitive dream.

Example 7
A coincidence of reading about the Peruvian Nazca Lines.

Example 8
A coincidence about identical photos.

Example 9
Was this a message from the dead?

Example 10
How an early life event coincidentally links with the present.

Also see:
Top 10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories

Coincidence Or Synchronicity - Example 10

This isn't a big flashy coincidence but nevertheless I thought I'd tell you about it as it only happened yesterday. I liked what teapotshappen said of these sort of 'smaller' coincidences when he left a comment yesterday. He described them as, "a wink from the Universe."

I had been clearing out the loft in our house and came across a case full of bits and pieces from when I was a child. Amongst the items were two autograph books. I kept these out as I wanted to look at them to see if any of the more famous names might be of interest.

An autograph I did notice, as I absent mindedly flicked quickly through the pages, was one of somebody called Don Robertson who wrote in my book, "Hi Mike, Don Roberston Yo-Yo Instructor."
I didn't think any more about this until I was watching The One Show on (UK) television last night. Who did they bring on as an odd interest item? Yes, an 81 year old Don Roberston!

Seemingly Don is still technically the reigning yo-yo champion because the title has not been contested since he won many years ago - and I've got his autograph! Small world.

There was another aspect of this coincidence as well. On the front of my autograph book (pic right) was the word 'Corbiere'. I had never realised this previously.

Corbiere is something I mentioned in my post Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 4 about how I dreamt a future happening, where the word Corbiere played an important part. By another coincidence I also used to live in Corbiere Avenue, years back, when I bought my very first house.

I am starting to feel that these are indeed 'winks from the Universe!' Ten, twenty, forty or hundreds of years apart are all linked and threaded together. In some respect time is meaningless.

And just in case anyone is interested in either yo-yo's or Don Robertson here's an old fashioned video I found titled Don Robertson Live Yo-Yo 1990

Coincidence and Synchronicity - Example 9

This is about a personal coincidence I mentioned in my post The Beginnings Of My Interest In Coincidences.

Thinking about this today perhaps it doesn't sound such a big deal but, at the time, it affected me greatly and still intrigues me now.

My son had just told us that he had qualified as a Chartered Accountant, which takes quite a few years work here in the UK. I was, of course, chuffed to bits about this and, after talking about it with my wife, I went upstairs to our bedroom.

I wanted to get something or other out of my wardrobe and, for some reason, I was wondering what my father, now deceased, would have thought about my son's success. As I reached into the wardrobe a small bag fell out.

The bag just happened to be one in which I kept a few of my dad's possessions. Nothing of value but they all mean something to me: his old watch, cigarette case, penknife, wedding ring, darts, a tie and a few other trinkets all full of memories.

I then looked at the watch. Dad was always one for punctuality and often asked, "Do you know what time it is?" when I was a teenager either arriving home at night or getting up late in the morning. Then I noticed the time where the hands of the watch had stopped and have remained ever since.

The time on the watch was exactly the time that my son had been born (3.20pm).

Perhaps I was in an emotional state but this really hit me. It was as if it was a message from my father saying he knew all about his grandson.

Okay, this may sound very fanciful but what are the odds of the watch stopping exactly at the time of my son's birth? Plus the bag fell out of the wardrobe 'by itself'.

Anyway, that was one of the first things that got me paying attention to coincidences and synchronicity. They have fascinated me ever since.

Further reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 8 A concidence about photos

A Coincidence Was Life Changing For Hayley Mills

A photo of a young Hayley Mills, the child actress.

Perhaps best known for her 60's classic films such as Pollyanna and Whistle Down The Wind.

Hayley was born 18 April 1946 in London.
Hayley Mills reckons a text, sent on her behalf, was life changing, and it happened all by chance - a coincidence if you like.

I've always had a sort of philosophy that 'you never know what's round the next corner.' A coincidence could well change life dramatically.

In Hayley's case, purely by chance, she was spotted on a Eurotrain by actress, and Britain's Got Talent judge, Amanda Holden.

Amanda was starring, at the time, in a popular UK series Wild At Heart and recognised Hayley. She straight away texted the show's producers saying, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if Hayley Mills played my mother in the show?"

The rest as they say is history. Hayley can now be seen on UK television on Sunday evenings playing the role in Wild At Heart.
Hayley said, "I love this job and I love being in Africa. I love the show, I love the character and I love all the people I am working with. It doesn’t get any better than this."

Amanda spotting Hayley on a train turned out to be a life changing moment. As I said: You never know what's round the corner.

Further Reading:
Coincidences From Author Colin Wilson
Arlene Phillips Talks About Coincidences

The Beginnings Of My Interest In Coincidences

I've been asked, "Why this fascination in coincidences and synchronicity?"

As far as I can remember it first started after I had read The Celestine Prophecy. This is an adventure by James Redfield that first came out in 1994. It's about a man on a quest to find a set of nine manuscripts containing 'insights into life itself - insights each human being is predicted to grasp sequentially, one insight then another.'

I won't go into what all of the manuscripts are about but will just say that the first one is about coincidences. The unnamed 'hero' in the book is told:

"These coincidences are happening more and more frequently and when they do, they strike us as beyond what would be expected by pure chance. They feel destined, as though our lives had been guided by some unexplained force. The experience induces a feeling of mystery and excitement and, as a result, we feel more alive."

The adventurer is then told:

"The manuscript predicts that once we reach a critical mass, the entire culture will begin to take these coincidental experiences seriously. We will wonder, in mass, what mysterious process underlines human life on this planet. And it will be this question asked at the same time by enough people, that will allow the other insights to also come into consciousness ..."

At the time of reading the book I was getting a few coincidences in my life, especially one about my deceased father that I haven't written about as yet on this blog. Because of this I started thinking about and recording coincidences.

Now you might well feel that all of this is a load of hogwash but you've got to admit that, when a coincidence happens in your life, it makes you think - and perhaps this is one of the reasons for coincidences and synchronicity.

Further reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 6 Precognitive dream
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 5 A coincidence about names and dates

The Celestine Prophecy is availiable from Amazon:
The Celestine Prophecy for the USA
The Celestine Prophecy for the UK.

Coincidence and Synchronicity - Example 8

The strange thing is that when you become interested in coincidences they seem to be everywhere. Or perhaps you start looking for the slightest thing that may just be one.

This coincidence is about the 2010 Calendar that a friend brought us. I opened it up and the picture I saw was the one on the left. "That's exactly like the photo I took last year when we toured Dorset (England)," I said to my wife.

And sure enough when I checked it was very similar. The photo I took was the large one at the top of this post. Okay the calendar pic is brighter, they no doubt did some work on it to make it so, but it is an identical view: same cottages, same trees in the background and so on.

It's a small world or maybe everything is simply interlocked and we don't fully realise this.

"Do we see in these singular coincidences the purpose of a supernatural power to enforce the attention of mankind to the fact that there is something more in this world than mere matter."
Ignatius Donnelly, diary entry July 4, 1881.

Further Reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 1 About a question being answered
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 5 A coincidence about names and dates
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 3 About an unexpected meeting

Famous Coincidences: Abraham Lincoln

There are lots of famous coincidences. Here's some about Abraham Lincoln that are quite well known.

Actually, thinking about it, the first part perhaps isn't quite so well known. When Abraham Lincoln was a young man he knew of someone in financial difficulties who had to sell all of his belongings to survive. Being a compassionate sort of man Lincoln bought a barrel from him for one dollar.

As for the barrel, he had no idea as to what was inside and simply put it into storage.

Years later Lincoln wasn't sure which path to take in life: either journalism or the legal profession. While thinking about his future he came across the barrel again and decided to see what was actually inside.

In the barrel was a set of law books. He took this to be a sign and chose the law profession which, in turn, led to politics and eventual presidency. Sometimes it's as if coincidence and synchronicity are pointing to our destiny.

Coincidences Between Abraham Lincoln and
John F Kennedy

Moving on, there are many coincidences linking Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. They are fairly well known but make an interesting read for anyone interested in coincidences.

1. Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846 and John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946, one hundred years apart.

2. Still on the hundred years difference theme, Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

3. Now their deaths. A month before Lincoln was shot he was in Monroe, Maryland and a month before Kennedy was shot he was with Marilyn Monroe.

4. Both Lincoln and Kennedy were shot on a Friday, behind the head and in the presence of their wives. And so it goes on.

5. They were both assassinated by Southerners and succeeded by Southerners.

6. As for the assassins we go back to the hundred years difference. John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839 and Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

7. If you are into numbers both Booth and Oswald were known by three names and their names are made up of 15 letters.

8. Lincoln's assassin shot the president in a theatre and then hid in a warehouse. Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and hid in a theatre.

9. Both Booth and Oswald were themselves assassinated before their trials.

10. Moving on to their successors, both were called Johnson and were born 100 years apart. Andrew Johnson was born in 1808 and Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

11. There are also other similarities such as Lincoln having a secretary called Kennedy and Kennedy had a secretary named Johnson (though some dispute this fact) and both of the presidents' wives lost a son while living in the White House.

Can this really be all by chance? Or is there something greater behind these coincidences?

Coincidence and Synchronicity - Example 7

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about the author Colin Wilson and his coincidence of how, after reading something, he picked up another book and opened it at an article written about exactly the same subject. Yesterday the same thing happened to me.

I was reading The Power of Coincidence and it mentioned the Nazca Lines in Peru and how Maria Reiche, a German mathematician, had devoted most of her life studying these lines.

I finished reading and, for some reason, picked up Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World. It opened to page 189 where I read, "In the last 1940's, Kosok teamed up with Maria Reiche, a German mathematician and astronomer. She had come to Nazca to pursue a theory of Kosok's that the lines were astronomically aligned ..."

The same page went on to tell of how, "Kosok died in 1959, but Maria Reiche has devoted her life to the study of these lines, living rough in the desert, tracing new alignments and preserving them against the inroads of tourists."

So in the world of coincidence it seems that one thing leads on to another with the aid of synchronicity. And when I was looking for a photo to include on this post I searched on Google Images and the first one I clicked on was the one I have used. This turns out to have been released to the Public Domain by - yes, you've guessed - Maria Reiche!

Further Reading:
Coincidences From Author Colin Wilson
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 3 About an unexpected meeting
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 1 About a question being answered

How To Get A Car Parking Space Using The Power Of Coincidence

As you will have gathered from this blog I'm interested in coincidence and synchronicity. I'm even more interested to see if it's possible to make such things occur consciously. A lot of coincidences don't appear have any apparent value - though some do, especially after writing them down or dwelling on them for a while.

One easy(ish) way to test out coincidences is with car parking! It's something I've done for ages.

I don't like going in official car parks (object to having to pay!) so I try to find space in side roads that are convenient to wherever I want to visit. Before I set out I 'request' that a perfect parking space will be made available for me.

Yes, it does sound a bit nutty but the strange thing is that a parking space is usually made available to me. Another car may just leave at that very moment I arrive or everywhere will be stacked with cars except for one space perfect for my car.

It happens over and over again.

A good example was when my wife and I visited Arundel on a sunny day when there was a street music festival taking place (that's Arundel castle on the right). The only place to park was in the official car parks as everywhere else had been made no parking areas.

We arrived after events had started and the car parks were jam packed full. People were driving round and then leaving the car park. I did a circuit once and then, instead of leaving, 'asked' for a space.

I was following another car and he suddenly stopped and waved me on - he wanted to let his wife get out of the car - I overtook him and immediately another car drove away from a parking space and I was able to drive in and park. Plus it was right near the center of all of the attractions - perfect.

I know this all sounds far fetched but give it a try for yourself.

When I say 'ask' for a parking space I mean to request one from whatever/whoever you feel comfortable with: the universe, your inner self or subconscious, the cosmic, God, an angel or saint, infinite spirit or virtually anything. As I see it the important thing is to actually ask. It can all happen inside your head or you can make the request aloud. This seems to make no difference.

Try it. It's a bit like the Bible says: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find ..."

Further reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 4 About Dreams that come true
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 3 About an unexpected meeting
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 1 About a question being answered

Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 6

I mentioned a couple of precognitive dreams in a previous post Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 4. Here is another instance of a dream I had which came true.

I had this dream in March about my stepdaughter, Jan, standing with her suitcases and being surrounded by blackberries. An peculiar dream so I made a note about it in a note book I kept for such things.

I thought nothing more about the dream. Jan had started working as a trainee hairdresser but after a few months the chemicals, used in the profession, effected her hands. So much so that the doctor advised her to give up her job.

She had a couple of other jobs but, where we live in Cornwall, work isn't exactly in abundance. Jan got it into her head that she wanted to look after children and secured a position with a wealthy family in London. In late August we said goodbye to her and saw her off on the train with her luggage.

It was a sad occasion for my wife and I and in the afternoon we went for a long country walk. You've probably guessed the rest. One field we past had blackberries galore in the hedgerow. As we had an empty picnic box with us we picked as many of them as we could. My wife likes to make jams and pies.

I was putting the full box into my rucksack when, out of the blue, I remembered my dream from earlier in the year: Jan with her suitcases surrounded by blackberries.

I've found that dreams can prove to be a wealth of information, some even see into the future. I must admit, though, that most are just gobbledygook. I've found it to be quite interesting to record dreams and see what turns up.

Sometimes dreams may just surprise you.

Coincidences From Author Colin Wilson

The coincidences today come from the author Colin Wilson. His classic books include: The Occult: For Those Who Would Walk with the Gods, Mysteries, and Beyond the Occult.

"I was reading Hawkin's Stonehenge Decoded, the last section on the standing stones of Callanish, which Hawkins describes as a kind of Stone Age computer.

I finished the book and immediately picked up Bell's Mathematics, Queen of the Sciences. It opened at Chapter 6, and I found myself looking at a footnote on Stone Age mathematics.

The chances against coming across it immediately after the piece on Callanish were probably a million to one.

Again, last night I was reading an account of the Domenech murder case at Moher, in Galway, and noted that the victim had been at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where I had lectured recently. Ten minutes later I opened Wanda Orynski's abstracts of Hegel, and saw that the introduction is by Kurt Leidecker at Mary Washington College.
There are nothing startling about these coincidences except the odds against them."

Other Celebrity Coincidences
Arlene Phillips Talks About Coincidences