Shaaheda; other than what I’ve already mentioned I really don’t feel qualified to speak “at length” on Indian Spirituality; and Nandu could probably speak to the issue of Homelessness in India much better than I can because it is on a whole other level than in the west. But both he and Stephen might be able to provide a better context in which this is integrated within Joseph’s themes and ideas.

However; saying that whatever any new mythology that may evolve out of this situation we now find ourselves in he does talk a little bit about here in this particular clip from the Bill Moyer’s series: “The Power of Myth” and uses the God “Indra” as a metaphor for the personal myth people usually associate with his more familiar theme of: “Follow Your Bliss”.

(This unfortunately is not a foundation authorized clip and may need to be removed at some point); but none the less it does in a way deal with this question of marrying Joseph’s approach of the functions a myth is suppose to serve and in some way points toward the future possibility of what a new mythical consciousness might address. But as both Stephen and Nandu mention Joseph was a man of his time and could not have foreseen a lot of the future developments that have taken place since he was alive.

(In my humble opinion this would be an interesting take on marrying eastern and western approaches as Joseph illustates; and if nothing else you realize both sensibilities deal with long histories of varying relationships between God and Man and the development of consciousness as opposed to “subservience” to a deity.) The clip.

I want to go back to Shaaheda’s request about my earlier story concerning this conversation she, Marianne, and I were having about childhood experiences and “Synchronistic Meaning” and how these things can have such profound importance in the way we interpret our lives and how these things can come back in an entirely different way in later life. My narrative began with talking about the inner child within all of us and how it can later manifest itself.
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Marianne; I want to speak to this tender childlike voice for a moment because I think it represents a kind of voice so often missing when talking about these kinds of topics concerning analyst or therapist and personal connection to inner world relationships. I’ll mention a curious; possibly synchronistic; type of voice or tone if you will; that I began to explore concerning my reading and individuation pursuits after I retired upon one of my nighttime photo excursions shortly after the Parkland School Shooting in 2018.

I was in a favorite park of mine where I have much personal history early one evening where I like to go sometimes and take pictures when I passed a very special shrine to victims of teenage gun violence. It was during Christmas and the shrine was decorated with lights and displays that children might enjoy and was packed with grieving parents and family commemorating their loss. This chance encounter of this scene impacted me profoundly and I was determined to come back and photograph it when no one was around to listen to it what it had to say. As I returned later and quietly explored the different viewpoints to take my shots I began to hear the voices of the parents coming to grieve their loss and as the weeks and months rolled by I began to go back and explore all the different childhood stories and authors and teachers from my own past up to the present and listen to their voices and what they had to tell me. There would be Christopher Robin; and Mr. Rogers and all these: “once upon a time” characters from my youth and their stories and the books about childhood teaching development and childhood violence and the gun lobbyists demeaning the Sandy Hook Massacre because of efforts restricting gun rights swirling around in my head until I began to get a better sense of what was working inside me at the time. Movies, books, and documentaries followed in my pursuits as I began to explore this voice and it became incredible clear that this was a synchronistic influence in the path I had been on exploring what was leading me forward.

So as I’m entering this post and watching all these entries appear I think it’s important that the topic not be restricted to particular facets in an academic sense but to try and make the connection of synchronistic references more personal as well. And I say this because this material concerning Campbell and Jungian themes is not always communicated as deeply from a paper or a thesis or an analytical approach but also impacts lives in an extremely intimate way.

Not I’m not suggesting we throw out all papers and start reading nursery rhymes to people on a Freudian or Jungian Couch as Joseph might have put it; but when we are exploring personal experiences as well as documented themes this inner world is in some ways to me like sanctified childhood playrooms that adults have forgotten about and are part of what is driving this synchronistic bus we are all riding in. And the idea of Story as a framework that unlocks a lot of these doors that hold such much of this inner material we are trying to get at can get hijacked by theory and school of thought. To further this idea of the child voice I offer how this pandemic has brought the Shadow front and center into the room whenever we pick up a newspaper or look at our newsfeed and see what’s playing for our attention.

Please forgive me for going on so long about this but I think it’s important to keep it in mind while we are exploring this topic. In other words it’s not all about myths and legends; it’s also about human beings; and it’s not that no one is not aware of this; but I think this tender little voice that Marianne has illustrated often gets drowned out by the volume of the other.

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Shaaheda’s request to revisit this story has been on my mind alot these last few days and I couldn’t quite understand why until I got a hint this morning from something I was reading about the childhood transition into adulthood and how all these simple childhood memories stay with us and in many ways determine who we become. If we are introduced to good stories and influences that reference good solid value systems such as developing empathy and compassion then the child is more likely to look for these things in others later on. But so often in modern times it seems that children often become marketing devices targeted at purchasing consumer items and services connected to other themes not necessarily related to the older story values that were passed down; or that have in some way been reversioned, revisioned, or repurposed if you will; with other more profit motivated purposes in mind such as Disney, Mattel, or any other of the many corporations that market these kinds of children’s products. But to me what has become the greatest threat is the use of violence in many of these new stories and products. (Fred Rogers was particularly sensitive to this issue as he made his case before Congress for the establishment of children’s television with programs specifically centered around teaching children how to make the transition into adulthood with as little trauma as possible.)

Now the point I’m attempting to establish is not remaking the world to shelter a child from the harsh realities of life; but to give that child a kind of guidance system that will help them navigate the various crisis situations they will inevitably encounter throughout their life course. Joseph understood that a myth if properly introduced would provide just such a tool; and indeed much of his work was centered around this understanding. And indeed when Bill Moyers in the “Power of Myth”; asked him about why myths were important to which Campbell replied: “You bet they are because otherwise the individual may be headed for a schizophrenia crackup. The world is full of people who have stopped listening to themselves and have put themselves on a course that the body is not interested at all.” This inner world that becomes the life guide is directly related to the child that resides within us all; and to ignore or disregard the implications of this relationship to later life outcomes is to take away the meaning from which life values first come.

I was passing by a conversation on Facebook that was discussing the importance of the loss of innocence of childhood and it occurred to me that in many cases if not “properly implemented” this often dramatic transition is exactly what comes back to haunt the adult in later life. Now in my mind no one is saying that the often harsh realities of modern life are ever going to totally disappear; and to completely disregard this reality would be at one’s peril to be sure. But it seems to me that Joseph’s suggestion of finding and living out one’s: “personal myth” would a good way to reinterpret a more modern and doable approach to this age old problem as he describes the 4 functions that myth serves and his most well known theme of: “Follow your bliss” is what immediately grabbed me when I first encountered him on Public Television in 1988 after going through just such a crisis as I described above. And part of my problem as I was later to find out had to do with the conflict surrounding the difference between the: “Right and Left Hand Paths” that Joseph describes below.

Stephen; Shaaheda, Marianne, and Drewie; I promised you a response and my apologies for taking so long but it just could not be helped. I have been working on this entry for days and days; and I hope you know that I did not forget all of you; but this humble piece is the best I could come up with given it is still somewhat a work in progress. So; such as it is here goes. I’ll start with some various Facebook entries.

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Facebook discussion about Synchronicity experience – 4/17/2021

Hey Shaaheda; I’ve been trying to figure out a way to answer some of your questions without making a huge drawn out storyline without bringing in too much excess baggage and keep this narrative from getting bogged down with minor details and still address some of your points; which in my view have extremely valid relevance to synchronistic events and themes in all our lives; so the point of your questions has not been lost on me if I’m understanding them correctly. It’s just getting all this backstory organized and present it in a way that keeps it manageable.

Your questions to me were:
“James, I loved your story but I want to know more from your perspective, as to your own psychic condition before and after the experience. Could you elaborate upon that. Did you dwell upon it for days weeks and months and still do? And the meaning in that encounter…love to hear more about your second story.”

So here is what I’m going to say and combine the above first story with the second forthcoming one in a way that should marry both. First of all I think we all carry this what I call: “The what if” narrative from childhood into adulthood because it has to do with life possibilities. You look at something and ask yourself: “What if I did this and what would happen afterward”; and we are constantly evaluating everything as we do as we go along as measured against possible outcomes and how they might affect our lives within the choices we make; or put another way what we might call life potential for fulfillment. Now you could get Jungian about this and Joseph mentions the difference between the power drive and the erotic within the main drives of the ego system and that you are either one or the other and the libido; (or psychic energy if you will); gets caught up in this struggle of back and forth for balance so that it can flow properly when enantiodromia is taking place; but that is way too technical for what we are trying to flesh out; which is why do these moments of extraordinary coincidence strike us at certain moments and what do they have to do with our life track choices; because yes; I think synchronic moments have very much to do with how all these things affect us so profoundly and make us wonder why they happened and what to do about them.

So to answer your first query; I’ve had many of these moments all my life but I just didn’t know what they were and I’ll give you an example. One day I was leaving a job that I had and as I went out the door I was trying to decide which direction I needed to go to take care of some errand or something like that and in mid stride I suddenly decided for whatever reason I should go in the other direction and changed directions. After about 4 or 5 steps I heard screeching tires and a car slammed into a wall that probably would have killed me and I was pretty shaken up after seeing this and accessing what had happened. Now what had happened was an accident caused by a drunk driver; but immediately the question arose of why all these circumstances came together and what made me change direction or I would not be typing this. One might ask is that synchronistic?; well maybe or maybe not. But the experience made a profound impression on me that my life might be determined by some mystery force and I should be aware that this mystery was always close by ready to intervene whether I was paying attention or not; for after all is not the possibility of walking out in front of something and not seeing always a possibility?; well of course just as an earthquake or lightning striking or any other phenomena occurring that; but we go on about our business just the same; yet still aware we are not always in control.

So back to how we become aware of how this mystery dimension affects our lives; and steps in at the most unexpected moment to get our attention. Throughout a good part of my life many of my choices have been influenced by this awareness that following my intuition was what I was suppose to be doing; and I think for many of us it’s a guiding force that is directed from inside our consciousness be we are not always aware of it’s presence; and Joseph talks about this mystery dimension over and over again; but in different ways; and one of these ways is what we might call a Life Track; aka “following your bliss”; that is if it’s something that’s pushing you for your own inside or what you might call your sense of existence which he talks about in his conferences he would have with his students at Sarah Lawrence.

And to answer your question Shaaheda so many of my sychronistic experiences have been related to this dynamic but I was completely unaware that these experiences were connected to this idea.

It would take way too long reconstruct completely how all these pieces of a puzzle were interconnected to where I am now; (but they most certainly were); but I can tell you a short example. Many years ago when I first started playing I ran into someone one night I had briefly met a year or two earlier that was a recording artist and he had moved away but was in town to play a concert the next night and was looking to jam with somebody for some fun. I had already finished my evenings performance and had packed up but I knew the band across the street and told to wait and I would try and set things up. Well; it was a fortuitous moment and everything fell into place and I pulled out my equipment and joined in and everyone had a great time. So when we were all about to leave he asked if I would be interested in coming to play a few songs at his performance the next night and I did. Well; just as I was about to leave he asked if I would be interested in finishing his album tour and I said of course. Here is where it starts to get interesting; he said to wait by the phone and he would call because he had to clear it with his manager. So all the next I waited and that night I decided to go out for a bit but I asked my roommate to watch the phone and take the message and number to call him back. when I returned there was no message on my door and his lights were out so I went to bed. The next morning my roommate rushed in with the call back number at his hotel and of course they had just left with no forwarding number to reach him by. Well that’s the end of that I thought and forgot all about it because there was nothing I could do anyway. Well one fine day months later around Happy Hour I decided to stop in this same place we had jammed in for a beer and someone bumped into me from behind and low and behold it was this same fellow. We both had a good laugh when I explained what had happened and he again made me the touring offer which I accepted and I toured with him for 3 different albums over the course of three years before we went our separate ways. This work was very important in that moment of my musical career for it raised my status as a sideman to a whole other level. and during this time I met another by-chance encounter that led to even more touring work. So I’m going to end the story here because it’s relevance is concerned with synchronistic possibility about which you asked.

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(I’m going to add a footnote concerning the above story that underlines the significance of “meaningful chance” to this encounter that I meant to mention but I accidentally left out. The fellow that I ran into was only in town for “one day” to pickup his belongings from the place he had formally been living just outside of town. And the odds that he and I would bump into each other at that particular moment were literally as the saying goes: “a million to one”. I’ve thought about this often over the years and Joseph’s saying that: “if you follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been waiting for you all along; and people will open doors to you and the life you are living is the life you ought to be living and you can see that.” I would also add an important caveat that “bliss does not necessarily mean: “happy, happy, joy, joy all the time” but can also include great suffering for it represents as Joseph also said: “the push out of your own existance”; and this understanding represents if followed the metamorphasis out of which your life path comes to realization. Only now am I coming to realize the depth of this understanding which I will attempt to explain below.)
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(The bottom two excerpts were taken from a couple of exchanges I had at the: “Friends of Central State Hospital Cemetary” Facebook website out of which a forthcoming book is being published in the coming weeks ahead.) This website was put together in efforts to raise some kind of effort at restoring the 1700 grave stones that have been removed; so that all one sees is an open field as though these people never even existed. And what prompted these exchanges was what I would definitely call: “syncronistic experiences of connection” because of their relation to my past as you will see.)

Decenber 30th, 2019

About a week or so ago I was watching the evening news covering a gathering commemorating the passing of the homeless who had died on the street. No one knew who they were; no family or friends to mourn them. And one woman being interviewed; with tears in her eyes defiantly said:

“Everyone deserves to be remembered. And although I didn’t know them; I am here on their behalf to remember them.”

This city has a long history with cemeteries located all over town where family members are laid to rest that bear reverence to those who died. Military as well as civilians have special designated cemeteries that honor the memories of those who were either killed in battle or have passed on. We even hold special memorial services with parades commemorating public military events where their lives are celebrated. Yet the most vulnerable among us whose only crime was they were sick from a mental disorder are ignored and forgotten as though they never even existed. Every life has value; every life has meaning; and the way we treat those that are helpless as individuals is a reflection of who we are as a society.
Our stories are our legacy that we leave behind that says: “We were here; this is who we were”; their stories are important too and worthy of the same respect.

First off; I want to say I how much I admire what you are doing; words like: empathy and compassion immediately come to mind; but I have a personal connection to this place that bears a special meaning for me; one that is not easy to talk about; one that holds a story very difficult to tell. I’ve been reluctant about sharing it since it involves a connection to a piece I think is very important to the history of this place; but may cause distress to some who have memories of it.

My mother was a patient off and on here for many years throughout my entire early life. And the treatment she got was sometimes very inadequate; over medication; lack of proper diagnostic care; even shock treatments. Over the years as she was admitted in and out for treatment. At one point she lost all hope; and quietly one morning slipped out the gate; took the bus downtown and went to the tallest office window she could find and ended her life. She is not buried in the hospital cemetery; but in her family’s plot.

But what I’m about to share takes this situation much deeper and involves one of the most important mental health scandals in the city’s history; and telling it may cause pain to those whose loved ones are buried there. If you find it unsuitable for what you are doing with this site; I will certainly understand a request to remove it.

About 2 years after she died the Tennessean newspaper decided to do an undercover expose’ on the unacceptable conditions that existed there. They had a young reporter named: “Frank Sutherland”; (who years later became the paper’s editor); trained to be a patient suffering from deep depression with suicidal tendencies; and under an assumed name was admitted where he stayed for a month while in touch with the paper. When he released himself; (again walking out that same front gate); he wrote about 18 articles documenting his experiences.

Those articles exploded across the front page causing the most profound uproar the city had ever experienced concerning mental health treatment. State and local legislative measures were immediately proposed and he covered the results of those efforts as they evolved. From January through February on into March the stories ran and public concern and outrage changed the public’s perception of what mental health treatment had been and what it should be.

About 1980 President Ronald Reagan signed the new Omnibus budget: (the beginning of what came later to be referred to as: “Reaganomics”; and the Federal Funding for large institutions like Central State were drastically cut back causing many of the places similar to this across the country to close down. Thousands of patients were left to survive on their own; many of them: “Vietnam Veterans”. A new word began to enter our vocabulary: “Homelessness”. I remember seeing some of these people for years sleeping on park benches and begging for food.

Central State became: “Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute”; and closed in 1995; and there were other similar institutions across the city that suffered from these cutbacks as well.
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(excerpt #2 from the same above conversation)

Over the years it was always difficult for me to revisit thoughts of this place; and since each person’s story is different; mine was hard to process because of the personal trauma involved. I came by the front gate and took a couple of pictures of it in 1992 when it was still in existence as the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute; but when I came back recently to take a few more current shots I was staggered by what I saw; nothing left; nothing of what was once there; it was though it never existed. I was stunned; I drove into the Dell complex and could not believe what I was looking at. The Central State complex had been like a small city that was almost completely self-contained; a little world unto itself.

When I would go to see my mother we would walk around the grounds and she would describe some of the things that were there. When she would come home for a visit there was always the sad moment when we had to take her back. She had periods where she was well enough to go back to work and raise her family; but always the deep debilitating Depression would return and she would have to go back for treatment; (which was not very successful); read the expose’ included earlier for insights into why this was the case for so many people who were treated there).

Seeing the entry gate house again all nicely manicured instead of the natural foliage that previously enclosed it; only underlined the starkness of the total transformation that had taken place. And except for the new historical placard recently put next to it; you had no way of knowing when looking at it; what had previously existed there before.

She was usually housed in the newer Hauk building instead of the much older ones in the surrounding campus; but when visiting you could not help but notice the large number of people who were in residence crisscrossing each other with their families on visiting days. It was a huge place in constant movement; but one you were glad to leave when returning home; (hopefully with your loved one).

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Over the years experiences that I had were directly linked to another place where I myself had lived for 5 and a half years that also had a huge connection to my mothers placement in the above institution and her later tragic death which put me on this road that I will try and explain which is why it has taken me so long to assemble a response to the above topic of “synchronistic meaningful chance”; for it was these experiences that told me I was following my own “Bliss Journey” but that I did not know what was pushing me from inside at the time. And it is only recently when I visited this former place and saw it completely demolished that I came to understand the realtionship of what I experienced there along with my mother’s death that I was able to assemble all the various pieces of this life puzzle into a comprehensible and explainable whole. (It’s still ragged but it will have to do for now.)

Mother’s Day has always been a particularly difficult time for me to celebrate because her suicide had been on May Day and of course Mother’s Day follows in close succession. And when my mother passed because we were so close I usually tried to block all this past history out.

Well; after getting more familiar with Joseph’s and Jung’s themes over time I began to realize these things you repress will begin to resurface and demand attention and all of your powerful earlier experiences will need to be assimilated in a different way and in some way re-introducted and “integrated” from their earlier repressed state or they will continue to manifest into a more darker aspect of the shadow.

One of the things that keeps coming back to me is where Joseph mentions along this line in my own words is this realization of: (that which you embrace will inform you and enrich you; but that which you deny will destroy you. And this embrace of the shadow; or your dragon if you will; takes on a difference tone of which instead of threatening you will show you in some kind of way how your difficulties may actually be your saviors in a different way.) And over time I have been able to come to terms with many of these experiences and understand that without them I would not been able to become the person I am now. We are not talking about perfection and enlightenment in the way of a sage; but that if we are able to recognize and assililate our shadow’s dark experiences a change begins to take place within the psyche that brings the “senex/crone” archetype into play; and the path you are on is not one of accomplishment; but of “meaning” which is the “marga path”; or that of the animal path that is followed back to it’s den which represents the human heart.

So in essence it is only now that I’m coming to realize that all of those earlier experiences were part of a larger mosiaic that brought me to where I am now.

(I will stop here for now since this entry could become much larger and is already becoming quite unwieldly. Hopefully it makes some kind of sense in relation to the above discussion we are having about: “Synchronicity and Meaning”. Sorry this took so long; it’s the best I can do for now.)

Okay I have a small disclaimer to add to this post before going any further. This will be a “collaborative effort” between me and Marianne and should be considered: “a work in progress” so to speak because some editing on my part may be required before it’s completed. Marianne and I have been in collusion about setting up her part II and my role I feel is to “compliment” her thoughts on this; and our separate experiences concerning synchronicity may be quite different; so here goes.

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In discussion earlier she asked me to post part of a conversation we were having which starts here:

“Also the Paranormal aspects surrounding Jung are something that definitely need to be brought out in more detail I think because this dimension is a major connection in many ways between Eastern and Western understandings regarding their ancient philosophies; especially in relationship to nature. Anyone who has been exposed to things like Tai Chi, medicine, acupuncture, to name but a few can immediately see this connection in a way far different than the west; and the idea of harmony is a major factor in how these things operate throughout these mindsets and how they interconnect with Chi and nature’s way. The Tarot and astrology provide similar mystical functions in regards to one’s interaction and their “Karma” as one work’s through various life situations to come to their fully balanced potential in another way concerning relationships and life course and what they may encounter. Divination is a huge overriding factor in one determining these how these outcomes will play out; both in the decisions they make and their interconnection with others. To me this is one of the dimensions Joseph is talking about when he mentions putting yourself on a kind of “Track” that takes you where your heart and mind want to go. (Can this be seen as part psychological; you betcha); but this is not my area of expertise except some of these things definitely played a role in certain parts of my own life when trying to chart my course through it; so to speak.”

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Now Marianne may see this quite differently and that is to be expected; but if I understand her thoughts concerning Joseph on this then the part about an individual’s life trajectory would play into my quote here:

“To me this is one of the dimensions Joseph is talking about when he mentions putting yourself on a kind of “Track” that takes you where your heart and mind want to go. (Can this be seen as part psychological; you betcha); but this is not my area of expertise except some of these things definitely played a role in certain parts of my own life when trying to chart my course through it; so to speak.”

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Now I’m going to let her speak for herself in the next part since this was what she requested that I add and it’s her voice I’m listening for; not mine.

While Marianne is preparing the second part of her excellent set up to this extremely wide ranging topic on the relationship of synchronicity with meaning has with existence I going to take a bit of a detour and add: story, intuition, and mystical to the mix by recounting an experience I had a few years back that pulled me into the meaning of timelessness of existence. (Mouthful huh?)

By this I’m asking the reader to imagine looking back over their life to the people, things, and relationships they have had and within the context of a reunion of old friends considering what the impact of such a moment might have on them within the context of how they might view their own life. (Another mouthful; hmmm; what is he asking?)

So let’s for a moment consider “why” this idea of meaningful coincidence; this mystical: “by-chance-occurrence” that you encounter unexpectedly out of nowhere; that’s known at least in some instances as: “synchronicity” should happen to “you”. So now I’m going to share a story that rocked my world in a way I could never have imagined and still astonishes me.

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(From: “The Story” thread in the old retired CoaHO back in 2014.)

“When I left this discussion the other day I went to hangout with a group of old friends who have been getting together once a month to reminisce about our youth and kind of reconnect. It’s a small handful really; that meet at the same place where we all use to gather. And during that period 4 decades ago it came to kind of represent a symbol of the times for the city back-in-the-day; where once dozens of young people; then later sometimes even hundreds collected at the ” in place ” or ” hot-spot ” to be immersed within a festive atmosphere that provided the chance to seek adventure and life-possibilities. Many cities had a place like this; and yes there were drugs and the usual hair styles and clothing one associates with that era; but it served as more of a refuge and not the sort of wild ” bacchanal ” that was the impression given by the media for hippie groups of the time; And we were a rather free-spirited and rebellious bunch that were exploring the social boundaries of a conservative straight-laced community that wanted things kept as they were. Social change was in the air; and ” the times they were a-changing ” as the saying from one of Bob Dylan’s songs went. And what’s interesting about this gathering now that we are starting to evolve into the ” Autumn of our lives ” is that it provides a kind of long-range retrospect for us that gives one a sense of how the life-choices that you made worked out; not only for you but your friends as well. The first one of these events that started this regular get together had a very ( mystical ) moment as you will see for at it’s conclusion it was almost as if there was an otherworldly presence involved.

Our gathering took place at a replica of the Greek Parthenon on the steps where we use to rendezvous and it was during a ” cultural arts festival ” this happened. And we were there surrounded by thousands of other folks in the park; ( complete with bands and booths that had absolutely nothing to do with us ); while trying to navigate to our little spot to meet and recognize each other; now sporting greying hair and all the attributes that age bestows with meds and walkers and bags of assorted foods and beverages to share. As the faces and stories began to connect and wipe away the mental cobwebs of confusion; the laughter and flow of conversation mixed old times with our new life realities and some of the former bonds began to restore themselves and the old sense of familiarity returned. The minutes became hours and the glow of the afternoon was all to soon about to pass when one of the group asked for a special moment to gather around at the other end of the steps which was our special spot. ( Then he told us his tale and what he wanted us to do ).

A lot had happened over the last 40 years and one of our friends had died. The story went that when he had passed his ashes had been given to this fellow since he wanted no burial and no real instructions for where his ashes were to be spread. They had been kept all these years in a drawer for safe keeping until the right time, place, and moment presented itself and he would know what to do. Of course none of us but our friend were aware of any of this and he said for some strange reason remembered ” The Urn ” as he was about to leave his house. So as we were gathering a small group of much younger folks; ( about the same age as we were back then had been watching and were intrigued by the incense and our makeshift ceremony we were in the midst of performing and very respectfully asked to join in. As we pause for a moment of silence and the poured ashes drifted into the wind you suddenly were overcome with this feeling that this was exactly what was suppose to happen and the way it would have been planned for it was one of his favorite places and we were all there to see him off. And as we talked about this we looked at our new young companions and explained who he was; for a short instant it felt as though perhaps he was there with us and had been honored and that a torch had been passed of youth’s promise of adventure.

I thought about the poignancy of that moment for days after that and the odds against it’s mystery ever happening. I don’t recall how we were told this fellow had died and we were not necessarily extra close friends; but everything seemed so right the way it had all unfolded being the ” Free Spirit ” that he was. And although the times were so very different back then and so much has happened over the years I like to think that each of us in our own way have lived much of the promise of our moments there and found our way through our lives; though who can really say otherwise since our stories are not yet finished.

So to close my story there is one last thing I am reminded of when looking over my life that Joseph Campbell’s work has helped me try and come to know. Joseph mentions that the authorship that composes one’s life comes out of their own intent; and Carl Jung tells us that through the various life stages we tend to look at things from an ever-evolving point-of-view. And as Clemsy suggests: ” We are who we are at the moment we engage “. But as Cindy’s work with Jung has helped me to see; it is the self’s journey toward ( wholeness ) that we are seeking; along with Joseph’s reminder: ” that it is the privilege of a lifetime to become and realize who you truly are “. We are all on that journey in one form or another I think; and to be surrounded by others of like mind is truly one of the best things that one could wish for.”

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Now I could go on and on about what this is suppose to mean concerning the nature of existence; but my point has to with “synchronicity” so I’ll just mention what blew me away was I was left with this question of: “why did this happen and why was I there to witness it?” All I can say is Joseph mentions that every now and then you may stumble upon this sense of “profound mystery” that myths are the vehicle of. I barely knew this fellow and had no prior knowledge this event was going to take place. But what it did impress upon me was the sense of asking myself: “What questions does this experience raise to me about the meaning of my own life in the grand scheme of things?; “What does this tell me about all these big questions that people ponder?” And when I think about things that happen out of nowhere; things that seem to tell me or ask me or pull me in a certain direction for some unknown or coincidental circumstance that seem to point in a certain direction this is what I come away with.

Now I’m still trying to locate another even better example of meaningful chance that had a huge impact on my life in a much more explainable way; and if I can find it I’ll post it later after someone else has had a chance to jump in on this topic. I think Shaaheda has something she is working on to contribute; and I know Marianne still has more to add on this as well.

Marianne; your setup was a great startup for this topic. Well done and looking forward to more!