Synchronicity, coincidence, perception, and perspective
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20070128000845
A ramble on conversations and shared ideas
This is going to be a long bumpy one, I'll try not to meander too much.
I have a mild case of Asperger syndrome. I don't usually mention it because I don't accept the whole power through victimhood trip and because it's often used to "excuse" my "odd" behavior. Explain AS and you can almost see comprehension rising in the other person's eyes, quickly followed by condescension. "It's not REALLY his fault, poor thing, he's just made that way."
I don't really need people blowing me off because my "brain is wired wrong." When people hear that but they don't know me, my non-mainstream faith and beliefs are often "forgiven." Add some of my other "unusual" behaviors like using magick, casual nudity, mood swings, reading several books and magazines at the same time, composing free verse at the drop of a hat, and well, you get the idea.
Things get more complicated. As a kid, I would make critters. I can tell you now that those are lower elementals and the ability to make them "naturally" is rare. I can even recite some of the better known theories. But as a little boy, I just had odd insights and things had a way of getting "nudged" in my direction.
I don't quite fit, I never have. I've gotten quite good at the mask game though. A few years back my disassociation and lack of fellow-feeling made manipulation very easy. It's why I was successful as a Corporate Clone. Eventually I had empathy forced on me, but I did learn to connect. I decided I didn't like that person I was and it was up to me if I wanted to become someone I liked.
I've talked about the “multiple mes” before. As a rational armchair researcher, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the chances are that everything I have told you here is merely self-delusion compensating for my inability to cope with my environment and circumstances. As a student of odd philosophy, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the reality that we perceive is shaped by the expectations that we bring. As the seminary dropout raised at the edges of evangelism, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that this guy has succumbed to a non-Christian spiritual influence. As a romantic, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the universe is not bounded by human perception and understanding. As a practical guy, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that I have the next couple of days off, and as soon as I get caught up on sleep I am going to finish the global warming FAQ I have been promising and maybe finish reading a book I promised I would review. And as a sometimes wildman, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that sex feels good and that people need to loosen up.
All of these are exactly right. No one possibility precludes the others. It's a matter of perspective and that shapes the reality. Considering the recent death of Robert Anton Wilson, it's only right that I mention the Law of Fives and the Twenty-three Enigma. It's a significant pattern if you choose to believe it is. Just by looking for a pattern, you've conditioned your mind to find one. If you want to include magick and quantum theory, you've also conditioned the universe to produce a pattern.
Aspies look for patterns where other people do not. And if we can't find patterns, we're just about compelled to make them.
Early two weeks ago I was looking for information on animal intelligence, and I ran across an essay by Temple Grandin called My Mind is A Web Browser: How People With Autism Think. It's a great piece, and I am thankful to have another website to point to when I try to explain AS to my friends. I also ordered one of her books.
Then I ran across those articles I mentioned in this entry. So I had been thinking about thought and how we communicate. In cybernetic theory, increasing the bandwidth can increase the total information transmitted, but it doesn't mean that more useful information comes through with the data. The ratio of signal to noise will remain the same. So a text paragraph and a web page can tell you the exact same thing, but there are other things on the webpage competing for your attention. It's that noise on the webpage that dilutes the informational content. Rather than taking full advantage of the bandwidth channel, the useful information has only a shallow portion. What's more, any links aren't necessarily the ones you need. Without some sort of distillation and concentration, the amount of information goes up but the significance of the information goes down. You're at the mercy of the web page creator. For example, in this paragraph, I have made two words bold emphatic. Even without reading the whole paragraph, your attention is drawn to those two words and the words immediately surrounding them.
Hang on, we're not done yet.
The patterns we see in the universe may be nothing more than longing and human conceit. But if using those patterns gives us a desired result, then the patterns are a useful fiction. The "ultimate reality" doesn't necessarily matter or even our belief doesn't matter, if we behave as if we believe and successfully reach our goals.
Folks, that is what makes magick work. That is what makes science work. That is what makes art work. That is what makes engineering work.
The "ultimate truth" is never going to be objective because each person brings their own perceptions and expectations. Shared human experience rests in the overlap of reality maps and convenient fictions.
And that is where coincidence and synchronicity kick in. Because in all this thinking about thought, perception, and reality, I got to rethinking the terms I used in this post. Chas. S. Clifton disagreed with my revision, and that led to some discussion in the comments on just what a Pagan is.
Then I ran across this entry by Sunfell at her LiveJournal. I commented, and later she made this entry. Now there is a part of me that proclaims this is probably coincidence. After all, I read Sunfell and she reads me, so a certain amount of similar thinking and cross-fertilization is only natural. But there is another part of me that believes that unexpected coincidences should be examined closely for patterns and links. And there is another part still that accepts that my Patrons know more than I do and expect me to develop my own wisdom by experience and thinking through things.
Synchronicity can either mess you up or free you, sometimes both at the same time.
It's your perspective, your choices, and your actions that determine what can happen next.
So is it a delusion? An illusion? Or reality?
Those are the wrong questions.
Do I really believe that there are some sort of Divine beings out there trying to get me to use my brain?
Totally unimportant to anyone except me, and then not all the time.
Do I really believe I can change reality by thinking about it? Yes, I do it all the time. Right now I am sipping lemon tea with honey. It only exists because I thought about it first. Still not the right question though.
Does it work?
There you go. Not exactly the right question, but at least it's in the right direction.
Today anyway.
Posted: Sun - January 28, 2007 at 04:41 AM
