Coincidence - Shopping mall style!

I've read many threads about member experiencing coincidences of their own. I admit, the majority are by far more impressive and throught provoking than the particular ones I experience, but coincidence is coincidence.

So this is something I notice a lot at shopping malls.
I usually pay attention and take note of the people around me while out in public. I've noticed on a few occassions that the people I see entering a shopping mall (park, building etc...) with me, also end up leaving the said location at the EXACT same time. As I said, I only realise it because I take notice of the people around me (It helps if they wear distinct clothing), and no, I do not know them.

It's not uncommon for me to walk into a mall next to random person X, do some shopping, pay a few bills, get some chow, only to exit the mall walking a few steps behind person X, 2-3 hours later.

I'd like to think people's behaviour and habits are not that similar or predicatble.
Last night I went for a run around the park. I ended up entering and exiting the track area at the same time as another couple, and they were not even runners. I ran for about 35 mins.

I'd like the know if anyone else has experienced this. I haven't the slightest clue what it means, if anything.
I do believe there is no such thing as coincidence though, only design.

I liked Kurt Vonnegut karass idea. Though beware, it might be only a granfalloon.
Seriously though - it can be due to fact that other people have their own routine. There are people who work at malls and thus come and go in the same hours. There are people who eat on breaks in the same places at the same time. There are people who even have established times for doing nothing but walking. Or running. For 35 minutes.

reply to post by ZeroKnowledge


I would have agreed with you, except I am not exaggerating about entering and exiting the locations closely in step with these people. I am talking about being 1-2m apart, which is what forces me to call coincidence.

35 mins is a standard length of time, I'll give you that. What about 3 hours?

Carl Jung called Synchronicity

basically he said that there was no such thing as coincidence and everything has meaning

The idea of synchronicity is that the conceptual relationship of minds, defined as the relationship between ideas, is intricately structured in its own logical way and gives rise to relationships that are not causal in nature. These relationships can manifest themselves as simultaneous occurrences that are meaningfully related. Synchronistic events reveal an underlying pattern, a conceptual framework that encompasses, but is larger than, any of the systems that display the synchronicity. The suggestion of a larger framework is essential to satisfy the definition of synchronicity as originally developed by Carl Gustav Jung.[2] Jung coined the word to describe what he called "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events." Jung variously described synchronicity as an "acausal connecting principle", "meaningful coincidence" and "acausal parallelism". Jung introduced the concept as early as the 1920s but only gave a full statement of it in 1951 in an Eranos lecture[3] and in 1952, published a paper, Synchronicity — An Acausal Connecting Principle, in a volume with a related study by the physicist (and Nobel laureate) Wolfgang Pauli.[4] It was a principle that Jung felt gave conclusive evidence for his concepts of archetypes and the collective unconscious,[5] in that it was descriptive of a governing dynamic that underlies the whole of human experience and history—social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Concurrent events that first appear to be coincidental but later turn out to be causally related are termed incoincident.

That was just from Wiki but there are better places to read about it.

The universe is trying to tell you something dude

I have been noticing a lot of synchronicity recently, especially here on ATS. I will be thinking about something, and then I come on here and sure enough there is a topic just written about it. I am not sure what the difference is between synchronicity and the law of attraction, but I am sure the answer will show up for me.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Now that I think about it, it bears some characteristics similar to chaos theory.
What else does a person do besides acknowledge the coincidence?

Does the Universe want me to approach these randoms...

reply to post by label


I suppose synchronicity is a product of the the laws of attraction. A Root cause perhaps
What other coincidences have you noticed besides the threads?

reply to post by Bagel


My take on it is that the universe is trying to tell you something, what it is is the part you have to figure out

reply to post by Bagel


Many things, here are just a few:
-We see a mouse run across our floor seconds after watching a video clip coming from a mouses point of view
-I dropped a piece of popcorn and then the character on TV suddenly had popcorn in the next scene
-I was talking about my mom to my wife, and then she called
-I was reading a book, Zen and the Art of Happiness and it talked about how losing your job could be the best thing that happens to you. That same day I get notified that they are laying off 50% of staff.
-My coworker had a plant that I liked, but never told him. One day he said, I am going to get rid of this plant, you want it.

I am sure there are rational understandings of why all of these things could happen, but that is not the point. The weird part is, the more energy I put into trying to attract something the less it happens. If I think, "I wonder what kind of frogs live around here" and then never have another thought about a frog, I will almost definitely see a frog that same day. But if I tell myself, I really want to attract or see a frog. I may never see another frog again.

Originally posted by IkNOwSTuff
reply to post by Bagel

 

My take on it is that the universe is trying to tell you something, what it is is the part you have to figure out

I have thought about this: maybe the universe just wants us to know that it is aware of us.

reply to post by label


I've had a few incidents similar to the ones you listed. I was in a car was waiting room a few years back. This car wash was equipped to clean 4 cars at one time. I noticed that the car next to mine was the same colour, model and spec. Absoloutely no difference.I noticed the owner, he was also sitting with me in the waiting room.

As I was sitting there going over the coincidence in my head, both our phones ring, at the same time.
I was about to start a conversation with him about his car, but was stopped by the phones.

reply to post by label


Thats a good point. From what I've read, it is the way in which the Universe communicates, but making us aware of its existence is surely only part of it. There must be something more.

I've heard and said and seen it written that there is no such thing as coincidence, only design and the laws of attraction at work. Perhaps people who notice, or experience the coincidences are more aware and thus able to benefit from having the experience.
I remember reading in the book, "The Celestine Prophecy", that the more one notices the coincidences that occur, the more frequent and common the coincidences become.

It's the next step that I'm unable to figure out.

Originally posted by Bagel
reply to post by label

 

It's the next step that I'm unable to figure out.

That makes two of us. When you figure it you want to let me know?