mbg Founder & Co-CEO
mbg Founder & Co-CEO
Jason Wachob is the Founder and Co-CEO of mindbodygreen and the author of Wellth.
Graphic by mbg creative / Bernard Beitman
October 27, 2022
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Have you ever experienced an uncanny coincidence? Maybe you were randomly thinking about someone you haven’t spoken to in years—then the next time you head to the grocery store, you see them walking up and down the aisles. Or maybe a butterfly lands on your wrist, and for some unexplained reason, it reminds you of your grandmother. Those twists of fate can feel strange and sometimes eerie, but they happen more than you think.
“We are having similar, weird experiences but just don’t know it,” says psychiatrist Bernard Beitman, M.D., author of Meaningful Coincidences: How and Why Synchronicity and Serendipity Happen, on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. Beitman, who is also the founder of the Coincidence Project, has made it his mission to study the science of coincidences and how we can make sense of these “random” occurrences. See, all of us experience coincidences, but not everyone knows how to extract their meaning.
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Below, find Beitman’s tips to make sense of the coincidences in your life.
The first step? Becoming more open to seeing coincidences. It’s not exactly about manifesting their existence; it’s about opening up your perspective and becoming sensitive to those experiences. “You have to believe that they’re useful,” says Beitman. “Believing is seeing a lot of the time…If you believe they’re useful, that’s the first step.”
In fact, that’s why people who defined themselves as spiritual reported seeing more coincidences, as Beitman’s survey demonstrates. When people have a more spiritual mindset, they are inherently more comfortable with the fact that we encounter unexplainable circumstances beyond our control—like random coincidences—which then primes them to recognize even more of them. “If you’re open to them, you see them,” Beitman adds.
2.
Connect with the planet.
Connect with the natural world around you, says Beitman, including animals, bugs, plants, etc. “This planet is not just us. It’s the other beings on this planet, and we have connections with them,” he says. “Plants can communicate with us if we’re open to it. Animals can communicate with us if we’re open.”
For example, many people (Beitman included) believe dogs have the ability to read your emotions, which is why your pet may instinctively know if you’re sick or sad. You may also hear of incredible stories where someone faces a sudden emergency, and their dog—miles away from the scene—starts wildly barking for seemingly no rhyme or reason. “There’s a consciousness in dogs,” Beitman says. There’s a consciousness in every living thing, if you take the time to connect with them—even plants. “Trees have given me good advice,” adds Beitman. “The forest communicates with me.”
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Coincidences are there for you to learn from, but you ultimately have to act upon them. “There are so many coincidences that probably could happen, but if you don’t [take action], they’re not going to happen,” says Beitman. “That’s fundamental to helping them become real.’
So after you come across a coincidence, first decide whether it’s worth paying attention to (see, you may experience numerous random coincidences in your life, but not all of them require your full focus). Then you can make the decision to follow it through—or not. Dealer’s choice! “What are you going to make out of this?” Beitman poses. “It’s a sign post, but you don’t have to take it. You don’t have to follow it. It’s not a command.”
The takeaway.
Coincidences happen more often than you think, and they can provide tons of possibilities when you’re open to them. “Coincidences are pretty common, and they become portals to new realities,” Beitman adds. It’s just up to you to actually follow them through.
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