dmtcer's review
3.0
As an interested reader, but by no means all-knowing on this subject, I did enjoy reading this book. I found it to be a little random at moments, but many books of this nature can be considered random in some form or another. I am glad to have been able to read the books and to ask myself how often I experience seemingly connected moments that seem to string together random moments into a meaningful experience? Some people believe there are no coincidences, that everything is preordained or preplanned, This book touches on all sorts of beliefs and tries to help make order from chaos. Reminiscent of What the Bleep, The Secret, and other New Age self-help books I take what I like from the reading and filter out the rest. It’s all subject to interpretation anyway. I am glad to have added this to my list of interesting books read.
loram's review
3.0
Synchronicity was defined by Carl Jung as, "an uncanny timing of events that seems to go beyond pure chance, in a compelling way that seems mysteriously meaningful, or numinous." An Acausal Connecting Principle
In the early chapters of this book we learn what Carl Jung meant when he coined term, read some conversations with Einstein, and see why the idea got encouragement from Wolfgang Paulo, one of the fathers of quantum theory. We learn how advanced intuitive thought processes can serve as explanation for simultaneous occurrence of two meaningfully but not causally connected events and the term Kairos, which basically means the right or opportune moment.
I had mixed feelings about the book. Some of it is really good, explaining how meaningful coincidence can lead to a sense of wonder and even a spiritual perception of science and quantum physics. It explains how logical reasoning and intuitive insight, plus a little uncertainty, can make it seem as if things just fall in place by themselves when you're on the right path.
Then the book takes a turn towards the personal experiences of the author in a way that I felt was not likely to convince a sceptic and at times seemed perhaps too personal. There were good examples of coincidental events that the author saw as transcendent and spiritual, and several citations from the book, The Aquarian Conspiracy.
When it got into Numerology lessons and dream interpretation, I felt the book had wandered too far away from speaking about a scientific principle. There were good references given and I can see the connection, but the tone had changed by then and was followed by a lot of information about the author's personal battle with clinical depression and dealing with the death of his mother. While I'm sure this was valuable and cathartic for the author, I don't feel it had much relevance to the subject of the book.
There is a lot about Psychology, which is not surprising when the author became a Psychologist, but I didn't feel this content actually related to the subject at hand as much as it could have. Some of it did point out how synchronicity could be partly perception, seeing relevance in things that could relate to something else in a person's life, but if anything I thought this reduced the idea to an imaginary connection and didn't explain external events in the way that the book was intended to.
I learned a lot about Positive Psychology and mystical connections, but basically I didn't feel this added much to Jung's original writings on the subject.
In the early chapters of this book we learn what Carl Jung meant when he coined term, read some conversations with Einstein, and see why the idea got encouragement from Wolfgang Paulo, one of the fathers of quantum theory. We learn how advanced intuitive thought processes can serve as explanation for simultaneous occurrence of two meaningfully but not causally connected events and the term Kairos, which basically means the right or opportune moment.
I had mixed feelings about the book. Some of it is really good, explaining how meaningful coincidence can lead to a sense of wonder and even a spiritual perception of science and quantum physics. It explains how logical reasoning and intuitive insight, plus a little uncertainty, can make it seem as if things just fall in place by themselves when you're on the right path.
Then the book takes a turn towards the personal experiences of the author in a way that I felt was not likely to convince a sceptic and at times seemed perhaps too personal. There were good examples of coincidental events that the author saw as transcendent and spiritual, and several citations from the book, The Aquarian Conspiracy.
When it got into Numerology lessons and dream interpretation, I felt the book had wandered too far away from speaking about a scientific principle. There were good references given and I can see the connection, but the tone had changed by then and was followed by a lot of information about the author's personal battle with clinical depression and dealing with the death of his mother. While I'm sure this was valuable and cathartic for the author, I don't feel it had much relevance to the subject of the book.
There is a lot about Psychology, which is not surprising when the author became a Psychologist, but I didn't feel this content actually related to the subject at hand as much as it could have. Some of it did point out how synchronicity could be partly perception, seeing relevance in things that could relate to something else in a person's life, but if anything I thought this reduced the idea to an imaginary connection and didn't explain external events in the way that the book was intended to.
I learned a lot about Positive Psychology and mystical connections, but basically I didn't feel this added much to Jung's original writings on the subject.
More...