"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." -- Steve Jobs
In 2004, I was working on Wall Street, researching stocks for hedge funds, living a stressful life in New York City. It was a way of life I had always known, but on Dec. 26, 2004, my life changed forever. That day, the tsunami struck Asia, killing hundreds of thousands of people. I learned that the resort I was scheduled to visit just three days later, Charlie's Beach Resort in Koh Phi Phi, had been completely wiped out, with no survivors. It made me deeply question the way I was living. I wondered, "What would I do with a second chance in life?"
A month later, I went to a yoga retreat in Costa Rica called Pura Vida. I was interested in learning more about yoga. After I took a private yoga class, one of the teachers suggested that I look into the Nosara Yoga Institute for teacher training.
A week later, I heard about Nosara Yoga from a stranger I randomly met at a Buddhist event in New York City.
That same day, I opened a yoga book called Self-Awareness Yoga, written by Don Stapleton, the founder of Nosara Yoga.
This all happened within a week's time. Nosara is a tiny surf town off the coast of Costa Rica. To hear about it three times in a week seemed beyond coincidence.
God was telling me something. Hadn't I just asked what I would do with a second chance in life? I felt the call to leave New York and go to Nosara to study yoga.
It was an agonizing decision in which I spent many sleepless nights wondering what to do. I feared not listening to my inner voice telling me to go. That same year, my company promoted me to partner.
That's when I took a leap of faith. I rented out my condo, got rid of my belongings and released the $2 million book of business I had worked so hard for. I flew to Nosara to study 200 hours of yoga with no plan afterward. It was a transformative experience that led me on an adventure around the world for a year and half. On the road, I discovered that I loved teaching yoga.
Since then, synchronicity has become a way of life. When I experience synchronicity, I know I am in my flow. When I don't, I know something is off and that I have lost awareness in a part of my life that is keeping me stuck. Synchronicity has become a guiding principle in the way that I live, and what I believe to be, the actualization of my human potential.
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist, was the first to coin the term "synchronicity" as a synonym for "meaningful coincidence." He was particularly interested in synchronicity because he believed that it could be used as a tool for spiritual growth, ultimately leading an individual towards liberation. Jung defined synchronicity as "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events" (a pattern of connection that cannot be explained through cause). Synchronistic events may at first appear to be random, but actually reveal a deeper meaning and order in one's life. Jung believed that the experience of synchronicity transformed an individual from one with an egocentric view to one with a greater worldview.
Synchronicity often happens during major life changes. Significant loss, a new birth, personal crisis, and illness are powerful breeding grounds for synchronicity. It's as if your soul is inviting you to take a new direction in your life. If you stay open and aware, you'll start to notice synchronous events that act as guides for your next steps. By looking deeply at general themes or patterns that emerge, you can see where in your life your soul is asking you to grow. Notice what is being asked of you right now. What keeps calling your attention? Who are the kind of people who keep showing up in your life?
Deepak Chopra coined the term "synchrodestiny," suggesting that synchronicity can accelerate you towards your destiny. He believes that synchronicity serves a purpose, and that such coincidences are not simply accidents, but are clues from the universe leading you toward your deepest dreams and desires.
Take time to notice the synchronicities that happen in your life. It helps to write them down and record them in a journal so that you can study them as a guide for your life path. Examine your experiences as you would a piece of art, because synchronicity will often speak to you in a way that is meaningful to you. The more emotionally charged your synchronistic experience, the more meaningful it is for your life path. What do your synchronicities seem to symbolize or say to you? What are you noticing lately?
If you haven't been experiencing synchronicity, ask yourself what you need to let go of to experience more flow and freedom in your life. Simply making the intention to experience more synchronicity can start the flow. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and healing can also increase your chances for synchronicity.
The more you are in your flow, listening deeply to your next steps and following your intuition, the greater your capacity becomes for realizing your true potential. When you live your true path, you will know by the synchronicities that happen in your life. Your life becomes a sacred dance with the universe, leading you to your true purpose and destiny.
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