Coincidences

[Mentalcase]

So last night I'm out with friends at a local pub. I met 4 different guys whom I could have sworn I met at some other point in my life. The strange thing is, is that they thought they knew me as well (all 4 of them). As we got talking, we realized there was no way we knew each other and brushed it off as random coincidence. I feel like there is something to this. Why does it happen? And this is only one example out of thousands of others that happen to me regularly. I usually keep a mental note of the more freakish coincidences.

An other example, the other night I ran into a DJ acquaintance of mine (not really a friend). He had asked me if I knew a guy named Richie Reeves. I knew Richie well and asked him why he asked me that. He couldn't come up with a good answer. He just said he had a gut feeling that I would know him (which is strange because, this DJ does not know anything about me, other then hear say from other patrons). Turns out, I knew him much better then he expected. I realize the chance of him perhaps seeing us together. But, the only problem with that is, this guy Richie used to live with my sister (as a roommate). So, the only time I had ever been around Richie, was at her house, with no other company around. The DJ didn't even know me by name, nor my sister. So it couldn't be that. Another strange aspect was, when I explained where my sister lives, he wanted to argue with me and say Richie never lived in that area. Richie supposedly lives about 60 miles from here, his whole life, or so the DJ says. I just thought it was rather strange and being a UM fan, I figured it would make a great topic.

I want to discuss potential reasons for coincidences. Like, do coincidences happen because, we are supposed to learn something or take away something from the experience or is it just random nothingness?

I also would love to hear some more examples from other members. The stranger the better!! Like, did this coincidence help you in any way, for better or for worse? I'm very curious in the workings of consciousness and the potential for knowing more and digging deeper into our psyche.

Let's try and go about this scientifically and philosophically. I do not want this to turn into some fringe topic. Thanks..

Do tell...

[Mentalcase]

Oh and another interesting notion about the DJ experience..

The DJ assured me that he couldn't find Richie's facebook page after I had asked him if he may have been a mutual friend on there. Weirdness!!!!!!

[Kismit]

MC.

I have had many coincidental experiences over time. Here is one similar to the yours. I once met a lady who I quickly became friends with in the first couple of days after meeting for the first time, I confessed that I felt as though I really knew who she was, and I was so confident with knowing her as a person that I said I would even guess that her Birthday was March the 5th, I was wrong, her Birthday was in fact March the 8th.

I once met a man who moved into an obscure little town for work at the same time I moved into an obscure little town for work, we both have 2 kids the same age. He claimed that I would not know anyone with the same name as his daughter, very unusual name, with an unusual spelling. But in fact I did know a close family friend (virtual family) who has a daughter with the same name and the exact same spelling. And this gentleman and my family friend in fact shared an almost identical name and had both called there sons the same name's also.

There have been too many coincidences and serendipitous moments in my life with this particular person, (not all of them good) to even begin to start discussing it here. Not least of them being,that even though we have both moved homes and towns since meeting 10 years ago, we are now neighbours.

However, it has been this particular relationship which has led me to believe that although coincidences are interesting they are nothing more than just coincidences.

[Mentalcase]

Perhaps.

I'm weirded out by them and have a few theories of my own. More philosophical of course. So nothing concrete. Too bad science hasn't figured this out yet. I've read many books on the subject and still, it seems unanswered, by far!

[Bendy Demon]

Coincidences, in my view, are just that..random events that happen in a certain time frame in relation to a thought or previous incident. It's just that we tend to think there is some sort of relevance which kind of, in my mind, seems a bit egocentric.

In other words assuming that just because something happens to us personally and we connect it to a previous event and therefore assume it has some sort of esoteric meaning just seems.....silly.

I mean, coincidences can be fun but I think that all they are is random events.

[Kazahel]

Well I'm not sure if my latest coincidence is what you're after but I think its interesting anyway. I dreamt a dream on sunday night, I went to bed about 1am though so it was actually very early on monday the 10th, so I wouldve dreamt the dream about 4am to 9am ruffly, on monday morning, somewhere between there because I got up about 9:30ish.

The dream was quite simple, to tell it quickly I went into the ocean to get an apple that was floating and I knew I had to get out of the water quickly because the ripples I made would attract a shark. So I got out and within a few seconds a very large shark swam up and was in the water near me. I told the others around me not to go into the water because the shark will attack them. An aborignal boy ignored me though and he rode a bike into the water which made a big splash and then the shark attacked him and killed him. I posted it here today.

Anyway apparently a swimmer went missing about 8am on monday morning(close to a beach I go to)and is believed to of been taken by a shark. So the timing is pretty close to when I wouldve ruffly dreamt it. The news story is here.

Of course I wish now I had posted it yesterday but I dont post all my dreams because I dream a lot. Some I dont bother even writing down but I did tell my son on monday morning of what I dreamt. I told him to watch the news because a shark attack was probably going to happen soon or maybe an earthquake, an earthquake because of an aboriginal saying I found once that goes something like "sharks be biting thus causing the earth to quake", so because I dreamt of an aboriginal boy who was taken by the shark I thought maybe it could mean a quake.

Anyway it wasnt an aboriginal kid taken by a shark but someone was(is believed to of been)taken by a shark right around the same time of me dreaming of a shark attack that was attracted by my/our ripples in the water.

Personally dont think its just a coincidence for the timing like that. I think the dreaming world can link in with realtime, I've had other experiences over time which have been more detailed which is why I believe its not just a coincidence.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Kazahel

[Kismit]

Kazahel,

they found the swimmers speedos didn't they? Saw it on the news last night.

I read this one this morning MC. And thought I would add it to your thread. Pretty flash Birth date (remember we do the date Day/month/year on this side of the planet)

Edited October 11, 2011 by Kismit

[Mentalcase]

Kazahel,

they found the swimmers speedos didn't they? Saw it on the news last night.

I read this one this morning MC. And thought I would add it to your thread. Pretty flash Birth date (remember we do the date Day/month/year on this side of the planet)

Pretty neat!! I happened to have a dream were I lost my speedos. Strange huh?

Edited October 11, 2011 by Kismit

[Kismit]

It's scarry enough to dream you were once wearing one MC

[Damrod]

It's pretty fascinating...I think everyone experiences coincidence that just feels like more than that. It's probably the mind wanting to make it seem more than that but I would recommend reading psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung's writings about synchronicity and the collective unconscious mind. Really interesting ideas.

[psychoticmike]

well you already know I have strange coincidences all the time. Its something that really fascinates me. In my opinion, they happen way way to often for it to be nothing. Just yesterday i was on here on one of the threads and it was about messages backmasked in music so you can here it when playing it backwards. Someone posted a video of "another one bites the dust" my mom went shopping today and got a singing skeleton for holloween guess what song it sings?

then there was the time in the liabrary where she found an elvis book, then when we were looking in the dvds i pulled a few out at random and one was an elvis dvd. Then later that day i overheard someone talking about elvis on the tv. Then theres billboards and commercials, i will think of a word, then a few minutes down the road i'll see a bilboard that says that word, and these are not common words you here everyday. Same thing with the commercials i will be talking and say a word and then two seconds later a commercial will come on and i will here that word, or idea etc. I used to think that maybe it was some sort of psychic connection. Like maybe our subconcious minds are connected somehow and so we pick up on what others are thinking to a degree. But that would not explain the other things i mentioned. My mom had no clue i heard that song the day before and i had no way of knowing i was gonna pick up an elvis dvd. Just like i had no way of knowing that i would here a commercial or see a bilboard saying the say words right after i thought them. Too weird!!

[Alienated Being]

Eh, as logical and scientific as I like to be, I still believe that some things are just too coincidental to be a mere coincidence.

[Kazahel]

Kazahel,

they found the swimmers speedos didn't they? Saw it on the news last night.

Yeah they found them.

"Fisheries experts have viewed the bathers and were of the opinion the damage is consistent with that a white pointer shark could cause,'' he said last night."

[Timothy]

No one cares about coincidences when they don't happen

And they don't happen more often than not, I wonder if probability or human nature have anything to do with that?

Just sayin... Hard life they lead...

[Kismit]

Thank you Timonthy, I will now pay more attention to coincidences when they don't happen. Poor little overlooked non-coincidences.

[libstaK]

Well, I'm not gonna play specifics cos they are quite personal but I practice meditation with a group. Each week the instructor will discuss aspects of ego or behaviour and site examples eg: anger, self love, familial love etc, the whole gamut. The thing is I have lost track of the number of times his examples have been a mirror of my own day THAT day. Often when it comes to personality battles - my sister and I while driving over there would fight about something silly in the car, each one absolutely sure she is right - then we would go home and ask - did that just really happen? The things we were arguing about were the topic of discussion that night (and no, we did not mention these to other members in the class when we got there at all). I know (hope) it's coincidence but sometimes it floors me .

[Mentalcase]

Thank you Timon thy, I will now pay more attention to coincidences when they don't happen. Poor little overlooked non-coincidences.

lol kismit!!

I love your sense of humor!

I remember reading James Redfield's Celestine Prophesy and Celestine Vision. These books are often considered "new-age" and don't get the respect they deserve. He goes on to talk about coincidences being the major factor in improving your life. Every little instant matters. For instance, if you bump into someone from the past, there is a reason your paths have crossed yet again. They have valuable information for you. (whether or not it is true, you can still pick up information from them and apply it to your life). So that has to be true on some level. The problem is, most people aren't aware of the situation ad the potential for growth!

It's easy to say there is nothing to this, but how can we be so sure. The metaphysical world is highly unexplored and almost impossible to figure out ways to conduct scientific methods to. IMO, one day, we will have the answers we seek.

Thanks for the suggestion to read Carl Yung. I've read tons from em, amazing notions. Same with Freud. As amazing as it is, it's still very speculative. I think they have a great grasp on the subject and most likely, way ahead of their time. I'm off to read some more Yung!

[Damrod]

lol kismit!!

I love your sense of humor!

I remember reading James Redfield's Celestine Prophesy and Celestine Vision. These books are often considered "new-age" and don't get the respect they deserve. He goes on to talk about coincidences being the major factor in improving your life. Every little instant matters. For instance, if you bump into someone from the past, there is a reason your paths have crossed yet again. They have valuable information for you. (whether or not it is true, you can still pick up information from them and apply it to your life). So that has to be true on some level. The problem is, most people aren't aware of the situation ad the potential for growth!

It's easy to say there is nothing to this, but how can we be so sure. The metaphysical world is highly unexplored and almost impossible to figure out ways to conduct scientific methods to. IMO, one day, we will have the answers we seek.

Thanks for the suggestion to read Carl Yung. I've read tons from em, amazing notions. Same with Freud. As amazing as it is, it's still very speculative. I think they have a great grasp on the subject and most likely, way ahead of their time. I'm off to read some more Yung!

You're welcome for the Jung lead! I still have a lot of his work to read, but I have to agree with what you said...despite some of the bad press the MSM slings at them, Jung and Freud were brilliant Doctors and scientist and they were way ahead of their time.

Some others with brilliant credentials and "unconventional ideas"...

Karl Pribram...professor of psychiatry/psychology at Georgetown University.

Stanislov Grof...Professor of psychiatry/psychology at John Hopkins Medical University.

David Bohm...theoretical physicist...(don't know alot of his background but I found his work through a crappy source...but his work is good!)

They have some extremely "unusual" ideas about the nature of reality...mind bending...(hehehe) actually it is...both literally...in their research and what they present...and subjectively in that "IS" the nature OF ideas...the effect of mind on reality and reality on mind....thought provoking to say the least...

Edited October 13, 2011 by Damrod

[Kazahel]

I dont know if this counts as another coincidence or not but I find it interesting anyway.

Anyway I dreamt on the 10th(so night of the 9th, would write it on the 10th) I was near the ocean like being at a place like Rottnest Island and I was with a group of young people. They were all swimming near a jetty and I jumped into the water quickly to get an apple. As soon as got the apple I climbed out of the water because I knew if I made the water ripple at all a shark would come. So I climbed out and about 10 seconds later a huge shark swam up. It started to swim around and I pointed it out to the people and one said it was a bull shark. It didnt look like one though but I told them that they shouldnt swim with it because it will attack you.

They didnt care though because they had been swimming all day and it was like their main place to hang out. So they kept swimming and one aboriginal boy rode his bike into the water and made a big splash. When I saw that I thought that was no good and then the shark swam up to him and ripped his leg off. It bit him in two places and he managed to get onto the beach but he bled to death infront of the others.

Anyway so I told my son about this dream and said that either a shark attack or an earthquake will be in the news soon and I found this story the next day(so todays news, the 11th). So I dreamt it on the night of the 9th and told my son on the morning of the 10th and the guy was last seen 8am on the 10th.

Shark Attack Search

Thats taken from here (Link)

PERTH, Oct 22 AAP Companions of an American scuba diver saw a flurry of bubbles on the water before his body surfaced after a fatal shark attack off Rottnest Island near Perth.

US diver killed by shark off Rottnest (link)

So to some it up. Soon after the early morning dream of being in the ocean(I thought near Rottnest as you can see above)and attracting a shark, someone died from a shark attack a few hours later in real life near a place I swim at. Then about a week and a half later(today the 22nd)another person dies in a shark attack just off Rottnest Island.