In Synchronicity 101 I had described the concept of Synchronicity and the work of Carl Jung. This was just a top-level overview of the topic and was meant to satisfy my curiosity on the subject as I noticed it was something that I felt may have occurred since I made the shift to creative work. I had also heard of this happening among other creative types. The basic research needed to write that article led me to a book called Synchronicity An Acausal Connecting Principle, which is a collection of work performed by Carl Jung on the subject of synchronicity. One theme that Jung discusses throughout this book is that of “acausal connections” which I had not encountered in the past. I will explain the concept of acausal connections and how they relate to synchronicity.

Causal Vs. Acausal Connections
What exactly is an acausal connection? Let’s look at causal connections first. Causal connections are events linked by cause and effect. The causal connection has a distinct event that occurs which directly results in another event, either good or bad. The key here is that the second event would have never occurred without the first having happened. For example – I decide to meet a friend for lunch – so I call her to plan the time and location, and we meet for lunch at the agreed upon location and time. Our meeting for lunch was a result of us making the pre-planned arrangement to do so. The cause was my calling her to request a lunch date, and the effect was us meeting for lunch at the specified location and time.

Acausal connections are exactly the opposite. Acausal connections still contain two or more events, however one occurs with or without the other. Acausal connections are events that occur, but are not related to one another in terms of cause and effect, but appear so similar as to be beyond a normal coincidence. For example -  let’s say I have a friend I had not seen or spoken with for ten years. One day I just starting thinking of this person out of the blue, for no apparent reason. Later that day I bump into this person at a restaurant and we decide to have lunch. In this instance my thoughts were not the cause of us meeting but may be considered as potentially forward-looking.

More Than A Coincidence
The example of an acausal example may seem coincidental at first glance. This is the tricky part about acausal relationships, where does one draw the line between labeling an occurrence as coincidental and synchronicity? There does not appear to be a clear cut method of distinction, at least nothing I have come across at this point, however admittedly I am very new to the subject of synchronicity and have much to learn. My examples were very simple in nature, simplified to explain the basic concept without muddying the waters by adding unnecessary complexity.

For those interested in this subject Carl Jung provides many examples in his book Synchronicity An Acausal Connecting Principle. These are not simple examples which may be written off as mere coincidence, they are much more complex with strings of events. What I found interesting was that the more acausal events that are strung together, the more difficult it becomes to label these occurrences as mere coincidence. Add to the fact that Carl Jung was a trained Psychiatrist with a lifetime of experience in human behavior and phenomenon and the subject becomes even more fascinating.

A word of caution is warranted. At 115 pages his book seems like an easy read at first glance. However the concepts are complicated and run counter to traditional thought and training. Being such the book takes time to read and much of what is written must be considered and re-read for thorough understanding. That being said, if you persevere through his work it is my opinion that it is well worth the time and effort. I plan on purchasing more of his books and will continue to update this blog with simplified concepts in order to inform others of his fascinating work.

Acausal connections appear to be much more than mere coincidences!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding