Synchronicity: Empower Your Life with the Gift of Coincidence

by Chris Mackey

the uncanny and fortuitous timing of events that seems to go beyond pure chance. Synchronicity can act as a guide along our life path, helping us through challenging times and nudging us toward self-fulfillment.Psychologist Chris Mackey offers astounding case studies, alongside a lucid explanation of the brain science underlying synchronicity and many practical suggestions for working with it, from journaling and symbol analysis to dream interpretation and ideas for accessing flow. He is convinced that synchronicity has a crucial role to play in helping us “go within” and tap intoour intuitive and spiritual selves.
This book is also a passionate call for a new, more optimistic “positive psychiatry” that embraces our transcendent experiences. A 21st-century take on Jung’s legacy, this exciting new approach to synchronicity will appeal to anyone interested in the opportunities for personal development offered by altered states of consciousness.

“A profound introduction to deep concepts of mind, meaning and the challenges of creating a life well lived for everyone.”
--Ernest Rossi, Ph.D., author of The Psychobiology of Gene Expression and Creating Consciousness

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Spirituality

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2014

Reviews

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts off wonderfully, mixing together various ideas from a wide range of topics, while quoting interesting people, such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. I was so intrigued by it all that I started a dream/synchronicity journal; something I’ve done in the past, but haven’t been interested in for years. As I kept reading, however, Chris Mackey became not only a bit too New Agey for me, but also became so engrossed in trying to tell the difference between hypomanic wellness and hypomanic illness that he basically lost me. I started skimming. Moreover, Mr. Mackey’s attraction to the 2005 version of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory left me amused and confounded. While he saw such deep meaning in the film, I remember it strictly as typical Hollywood garbage where a grown man gets to act like a little boy forever. The boy in the movie gets to be the adult, while the man gets to be the child. Hissssssssssssssssssssss.

Thus, am I saying I don’t recommend Chris Mackey’s Synchronicity? No, not at all. I’m just saying that it’s possibly going to have a limited audience, because the author is going off in too many directions; some being too odd for many readers. That is a shame, too, because Mr. Mackey seems so sincere and caring, as well as so dedicated to changing the psychology/psychiatry field to a more positive one, that does not rely so heavily on medication. He knows so much about all of this, because not only has he been a practicing psychologist for a long time, he has also been a patient in a mental hospital. He has had periods of severe depression and suicidal thoughts. This brings us back to the hypomanic wellness and hypomanic illness matter. In my opinion, the author dwelled on that too long, and was not totally convincing about something being a sign of wellness, as opposed to illness.

From Mr. Mackey’s first stay in a mental ward to the end of the book, I could not help wondering if he was in the right field of work or not. I could not stop wondering if it was his job, his profession that was making him depressed and suicidal. A lot of individuals go into the field of psychology/psychiatry for the wrong reasons, one being having a childhood where they had to deal with mental illness in the family. The author’s mother was bi-polar. While Mr. Mackey is obviously incredibly dedicated to his work and trying to revolutionize psychological treatment, all I could think at the end of the book is that he should really seriously consider getting totally away from the field of psychology! That thought was not to discredit him, but to get him away from something that seemed to have swallowed up his soul. Maybe, though, I am wrong about that, and hopefully am wrong about the possible unpopularity of this book. For it’s impossible not to like Chris Mackey and wish him the very best.

(Note: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

[Liudmila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though the title is interesting, which is why the book caught my attention, the contents are just plain boring. I had a feeling I was reading the author’s autobiographical therapy journal. Haven’t finished it and probably never will.

[Lora Milton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synchronicity was defined by Carl Jung as, "an uncanny timing of events that seems to go beyond pure chance, in a compelling way that seems mysteriously meaningful, or numinous." An Acausal Connecting Principle

In the early chapters of this book we learn what Carl Jung meant when he coined term, read some conversations with Einstein, and see why the idea got encouragement from Wolfgang Paulo, one of the fathers of quantum theory. We learn how advanced intuitive thought processes can serve as explanation for simultaneous occurrence of two meaningfully but not causally connected events and the term Kairos, which basically means the right or opportune moment.

I had mixed feelings about the book. Some of it is really good, explaining how meaningful coincidence can lead to a sense of wonder and even a spiritual perception of science and quantum physics. It explains how logical reasoning and intuitive insight, plus a little uncertainty, can make it seem as if things just fall in place by themselves when you're on the right path.

Then the book takes a turn towards the personal experiences of the author in a way that I felt was not likely to convince a sceptic and at times seemed perhaps too personal. There were good examples of coincidental events that the author saw as transcendent and spiritual, and several citations from the book, The Aquarian Conspiracy.

When it got into Numerology lessons and dream interpretation, I felt the book had wandered too far away from speaking about a scientific principle. There were good references given and I can see the connection, but the tone had changed by then and was followed by a lot of information about the author's personal battle with clinical depression and dealing with the death of his mother. While I'm sure this was valuable and cathartic for the author, I don't feel it had much relevance to the subject of the book.

There is a lot about Psychology, which is not surprising when the author became a Psychologist, but I didn't feel this content actually related to the subject at hand as much as it could have. Some of it did point out how synchronicity could be partly perception, seeing relevance in things that could relate to something else in a person's life, but if anything I thought this reduced the idea to an imaginary connection and didn't explain external events in the way that the book was intended to.

I learned a lot about Positive Psychology and mystical connections, but basically I didn't feel this added much to Jung's original writings on the subject.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly fascinating book about how synchronicity has affected the author's life and about what many famous people have had to say about the phenomenon. Jung is probably the best known advocate for synchronicity and the way it affects and influences us. He came across it a lot in his work with patients and in his own life. Synchronicity is more than just coincidence. If you are at a cross roads in your life events can often lead you in a different direction to the one you expected to take - often because of a series of apparently chance happenings

I have often got interested in a subject only to find information about it coming to my attention in strange ways. Many people report walking into bookshops and finding exactly the book they needed in front of them with no effort on their part. I have had several people recommend a certain book to me recently which was published many years ago and I feel myself compelled to read it. Maybe that book will be important in my life as it is at the moment.

Many people experience synchronicity in the form of thinking about someone they have not heard from for ages and then immediately getting a phone call, e-mail or letter from that person. It's the sort of event that can send shivers down your spine because it makes you realise that you are not in control of your life to the extent you believe your are. Watching out for synchronous events can help to guide you on the right path in life.

This is a fascinating book which is part memoir - about how the author has experienced synchronicity in his own life and about other people's experience of the phenomenon. There are notes on each chapter about the sources quoted and there is a bibliography at the end of the book with plenty of further reading suggestions. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing blend of neuroscience, schools of analysis, positive psychology, and personal case study, combined to make a case for a) incorporating more of the spiritual and intuitive, especially synchronicity, into psychiatric practices and b) pulling back from such a mechanistic model of mental illness. If that seems like a mouthful, it is! In fact, the different threads may even turn off some readers. Maybe Mackey does try to capture too much in such a slim volume, but here's the deal. He's uniquely placed as a practicing clinician who a) has had to seek treatment himself twice and avoided it a third time by trying out the methods he's advocating and b) he's doing his best to introduce a different emphasis in our depiction and treatment of mental illness. Try not to get sidetracked by what you might disagree with. Instead, map out his whole picture of including the spirit and our gifts in treating mental illness rather than a deterministic, pessimistic, medical model alone. As someone who has published on sprite all direction, I found myself wanting to argue for seeking confirmation from other sources before relying solely on synchronistic events for insights and guidance, but he does address this in part. All in all, a great discussion starter for reviewing our still-lacking societal approach to mental health.

Thanks, Netgalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jona Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part 1 of this book was quite good. Someone I loved recently died and I had experienced a lot of coincidence surrounding the aftermath of the death. Part 1 seemed to confirm many of the synchronicities going on but because of the intense I needed to stop reading for awhile. Unfortunately the subsequent chapters in the book turned out to be about the author and his struggles with depression and contributions to the field of psychiatry. There was nothing in there about empowering one's own life with coincidence. Needless to say, I was highly disappointed with the rest of the book.

[Bookreadingnarcissist · Rating 1 out of 5]

Literally just an autobiographical therapy journal. Towards the end he totally goes off the deep end - should've listened to your friends and family, Chris, you were psychotic and made literally no sense. Also, do not 'stare at the sun during dawn'.
Anyways, this book was a complete and total waste of time don't waste your time with it, unless you buy into astrology, tarot cards, etc.

[Janna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely introduces some new perspectives about this subject, at least new to me. I work in the field of psychology so this was definitely an interesting book for me to read. I don’t know if I agree with everything but it was interesting nonetheless.

[Natalia Watt · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Tim Larison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a complementary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

“Have you ever been astonished by a striking coincidence? Indeed, so awestruck that you can’t help wondering whether there’s some kind of hidden order or organizing force at large in the universe?” writes Chris Mackey early in his new book Synchronicity: Empower Your Life with the Gift of Coincidence. “You might be a very rational-minded person, but this thought strikes you nonetheless. I’d call that kind of coincidence ‘synchronicity’.”

Well, I am a very rational type of person. Yet I’ve noticed synchronicity in my own life so I was intrigued by what Mackey, a psychologist with 35 years of experience, had to say about the subject. I was impressed with the detail in which Mackey explains this phenomena. After you are done reading Synchronicity I feel you’ll believe in it, too.

“I believe there’s more to (synchronicity) than coincidence. In my view, it is a gift from the universe: a most valuable one,” Mackey writes. I think back to when I was dating my future wife. We lived 30 miles apart, the engineer (me) and the social worker (her) who met by a personal ad. By chance we happened to work 1/2 block away from each other, which gave us the opportunity for frequent lunch dates. Coincidence? Or Synchronicity? 27 years later I’d say synchronicity!

Mackey says if you tune into synchronicity you can tell if you are on the right track in life. “If you face a challenge or an opportunity that seems to call for immediate action, and if around the same time you experience a markedly uncanny coincidence, that amounts to an affirmation, a ‘tick from the universe’ –a cue to forge ahead with your chosen action,” he writes. I liked how Mackey points out the other side of synchronicity, too. “If we’re struggling with what we’re doing and finding it difficult to become focused and motivated, this might be a pointer that we could be better off following a different path.,” he says.

At times I felt Synchonicity was too detailed for me, written more for those in the counseling profession than the average Joe. Yet I still found value in Synchronicity; I find myself paying more attention to synchronous events (and conversely when things don’t seem to be working) since reading Mackey’s book.

[Izzybatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book drew me in as synchronicity seems as though It should be more meaningful than we think. It often appears as if there is a plan behind it's operation. By the end of the book I had decided maybe there is less magic to synchronicity than I had imagined. There was one statement suggesting that one might get more synchronicity by becoming more involved in events or travel, which had never occurred to me, but makes sense.
The writer challenges the reader to be open to a new view of the mentally ill and their "spiritual" views.
He conducts experiments on himself as a psychologist who suffers from manic depression to attempt to open and close the hyper manic state at will when life gets difficult.
The narrative did provide an inside look at the psychiatric community studies that are out on the edge. The edge can seem unacceptable even within the community, but the author begs to be considered. The author succeeds in allowing the reader to see both his role as psychologist and his musings as a patient attempting to prove his point. The concerns of his friends and family are palpable.
Since I have some knowledge of the psychiatric world, I'm not sure he was successful with his study. His views are still on that far edge, and I don't know if his manic depression facilitates his cause.
The book title may tend to draw in the wrong audience. A better choice might leave synchronicity out. Maybe something to do with Utilizing the Manic Depressive Brain.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with the subject of synchronicity and the author’s belief that it has the potential to impact the brain and mental health if adhered to. A considerable portion of the book is autobiographical telling personal anecdotes of synchronicity the author has experienced with his perceptions and readings of these experiences. There are some case studies of Mackey’s patients that shared synchronistic experiences with him. A review of various authors such as Jung, Rossi, Jaworski and Chopra (to list a few) is made with emphasis on how what was written by these authors impacts the ideas that Mackey is positing. And what are some of these ideas?
• Synchronicity is more than it would seem to be and has potential to impact the life and health of individuals both with and without psychiatric problems
• More positive psychology is needed in the world
• More optimistic approaches are needed for mental health
• It is potentially possible to change brain chemistry/behavior without medication

I found that this book was not easy reading even though I have read many books over the years that helped me during my reading of this book. I believe that nursing psychology textbooks, emotional intelligence and brain science tomes, new age books (tarot, numerology, fortune telling) etc. did make this book easier to understand. I believe this book will have a selective audience and that it probably will not appeal to the run of the mill population.

Thank you to NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for the copy of this book to read and review.

3.5 Stars

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an interested reader, but by no means all-knowing on this subject, I did enjoy reading this book. I found it to be a little random at moments, but many books of this nature can be considered random in some form or another. I am glad to have been able to read the books and to ask myself how often I experience seemingly connected moments that seem to string together random moments into a meaningful experience? Some people believe there are no coincidences, that everything is preordained or preplanned, This book touches on all sorts of beliefs and tries to help make order from chaos. Reminiscent of What the Bleep, The Secret, and other New Age self-help books I take what I like from the reading and filter out the rest. It’s all subject to interpretation anyway. I am glad to have added this to my list of interesting books read.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly insightful exploration of the notion of synchronicity and its potential benefits to the treatment of mental illness. The author's personal style and own examples of synchronistic experiences make it not only entertaining and accessible, but also an excellent read.

[Meryan]

I won this book from goodreads. I thought it was a great book,giving lots of helpful insights