Synchronicity (Синхронизм)

(English and Russian)

Synchronicity, as Jung described it, or karma, as it might be referred to in Indian philosophy, is an event that seems random but simultaneously carries deep significance for a person. It surprises and astonishes, and most importantly, it has a pivotal impact on one’s life. For instance, a man named Lin emigrates from China to the USA and struggles for a long time to find a job in his field. One day, he accidentally steps on a stranger's foot in a New York subway and suddenly realizes that it’s his former roommate from university, with whom he studied 20 years ago. This roommate now works for a company that is looking for a specialist with exactly the skills Lin possesses. Such an incredible coincidence makes one wonder: do coincidences really exist?

From a mathematical perspective, such coincidences are possible and, given enough events, even inevitable. There’s no need to generalize this into a universal law of synchronicity. However, it's hard to deny that such situations can have a profound effect on a person’s psyche. They evoke strong emotions and may seem significant, important, even fateful. In a religious context, synchronicity often takes on even deeper meaning. When such coincidences occur in relation to acts of faith—such as prayer, pilgrimage, or visiting sacred sites—the significance attributed to them becomes even greater. For example, a person may pray for guidance or visit a holy shrine, only to experience an unexpected and desired outcome shortly thereafter, such as a new opportunity or the resolution of a problem. In these cases, the synchronicity is not just a meaningful coincidence but is also seen as a sign of divine intervention or guidance, adding an additional layer of spiritual importance.

Religious synchronicity reinforces the belief that life events are not random, but orchestrated by a higher power. Whether it is a prayer being answered in an unexpected way or a significant life event occurring after a religious act, these coincidences are often seen as evidence of the divine working through seemingly ordinary circumstances. This strengthens faith and the sense that there is a greater purpose or plan behind the unfolding of events. But there is another side to this: statistically, an enormous number of people engage in prayer or religious rituals daily, yet only a small fraction experience the desired results. This raises an important question: how many people actually see their prayers answered or experience a significant event after performing a religious act? And what percentage of all these religious activities results in the desired outcomes? Could this be a case of the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy, where people assume that just because something happened after a religious act, it must have been caused by it?

Furthermore, there is a tendency to emphasize and spread stories of miraculous, successful coincidences, while completely ignoring or forgetting the countless ordinary cases where nothing remarkable happens. This selective attention reinforces the belief in the power of religious synchronicity, even when the majority of experiences might suggest otherwise. It would be fascinating to test this assumption in a more scientific way. For instance, imagine a controlled experiment where 10,000 people are asked to pray to a traditional religious icon for healing, and another 10,000 are asked to pray to a completely unrelated object, like a piece of machinery or random artifact. Would there be any significant difference in the outcomes between the two groups? Has such an experiment ever been done? How would we measure the effectiveness of prayer or religious rituals in a controlled, scientific environment?

If we could conduct a study comparing the outcomes of prayers to traditional religious objects versus neutral, non-religious objects, it might help shed light on whether there is truly a causal link or if the results are more about human perception and selective reporting of positive outcomes. Without such a controlled approach, it is difficult to determine whether prayer and religious rituals are more effective than random chance or coincidence. The challenge lies in designing a fair and unbiased experiment that can accurately measure such effects, something that remains complex due to the subjective and deeply personal nature of faith. But what if divine intervention does not, in fact, surpass random chance? What if chance itself is the divine law? This raises an even deeper question: is there any way to truly understand what is happening? If randomness is the very tool of divine intervention, then the distinction between "miracle" and "coincidence" dissolves. In this context, every event, whether predictable or random, could be seen as part of a larger, incomprehensible divine order.

If chance is indeed the divine law, then we may never have a clear way to discern when divine intervention truly occurs and when it is simply coincidence. Even conducting an experiment with 10,000 people praying to icons and 10,000 people addressing neutral objects might not reveal the nature of the divine. If chance is part of the divine plan, then both success and failure could equally represent its manifestation. These thoughts bring us to a profound realization: if everything around us is part of a divine design, is there even a way to prove or disprove its intervention? Perhaps our attempts to scientifically explain such phenomena are destined to fail because divine intervention may not follow the usual laws of cause and effect.

However, what if divine intervention does not break the physical laws at all? Instead of extraordinary or supernatural occurrences, what if divine influence operates entirely within the bounds of the natural world? In this view, divine intervention would work harmoniously with the physical laws that govern the universe. There would be no need for miracles that defy reason or logic. Instead, synchronicity and meaningful coincidences would be understood as natural events that follow the principles of cause and effect, probability, and chance.

In this perspective, what we perceive as divine intervention might simply be ordinary life that still adheres to the laws of physics but is interpreted in a specific way. Nothing supernatural is required—just the intricate interplay of circumstances that can create surprising and significant outcomes.  Divine influence, in this case, wouldn’t be about breaking the universe's rules. Here, most people will deny the idea of the divine. However, there is still a possibility that intuitive traditional interpretations of divine interference do take place, but working subtly within them. This more grounded understanding of synchronicity offers a way to appreciate the wonder of life’s coincidences without expecting them to defy the natural order. Ultimately, whether we see these events as miraculous or as part of a broader divine plan that respects the physical world, they can still hold deep meaning and significance.

Синхронизм, как называл его Юнг, или карма, как сказали бы в индийской философии, — это событие, которое кажется случайным, но одновременно имеет глубокое значение для человека. Оно удивляет и поражает, а главное — оказывает решающее влияние на жизнь. Например, человек по имени Лин эмигрирует из Китая в США и долгое время не может найти работу по профессии. И вот однажды, случайно наступив на ногу незнакомцу в метро Нью-Йорка, Лин вдруг обнаруживает, что перед ним его бывший сосед по университетской комнате, с которым они учились 20 лет назад. Этот сосед теперь работает в компании, которая как раз ищет специалиста с нужными навыками. Такое невероятное совпадение заставляет задуматься: действительно ли случайности существуют?




С математической точки зрения, такие совпадения возможны и, вероятно, даже неизбежны при достаточном количестве событий. Необязательно выводить из этого идею универсального закона синхронизма. Однако сложно отрицать, что подобные ситуации могут сильно повлиять на психику человека. Они вызывают сильные эмоции и могут казаться знаковыми, важными, судьбоносными.




Вопрос, считать ли такие впечатляющие совпадения "багом" или "фичей" нашего восприятия, остается открытым. Синхронизм — это иллюзия значимости, возникающая из-за нашего стремления найти смысл в случайных событиях, или же он действительно отражает некий скрытый аспект мироустройства?