Photo Credit: Samantha Walker 2009
“With synchronicity, all the resources we need are made available for us at the precise moment that is appropriate. The people who come into our lives are the ones we need at that moment in time. Everything is perfect. We only need to recognize this to tune into the flow. Everything happens for a reason and every experience is a learning experience.” — Alex Chua
Sometimes synchronicity comes through back channels, with a seemingly negative event having a positive outcome (if we are awake enough to see it). Other times, we’re lucky enough to have unexpected jewels dropped right at our feet.
I’m still new to the party, and am just learning the lingo. When I told a Buddhist friend that I felt like the universe was taking care of me at every turn these days, she said, “That’s what happens when you’re ‘in the flow’.”
As my friend explained it, you’re “in the flow” if you’re living in alignment with the universe’s intentions for you. It means you’re keeping an open channel of communication with that quiet voice deep inside your heart and taking action on what you hear there, rather than letting ego and crazy-making thoughts drive the cart.
It took me a minute to superimpose this definition of “flow” over my son’s use of the word. “Flow” in his vernacular is long hair hanging out of the back of a lacrosse helmet.
OK, so I’m “in the flow” now. If you’re not convinced, let me tell you about my past couple of weeks. I’ll keep this brief, since I’ll be writing in more depth about each of these events in upcoming posts.
Several weeks ago, my brother-in-law surprised me with a ticket to see the Dalai Lama speak. The tickets had sold out immediately, but he wanted to give me his because of the mindfulness work I was doing on the blog. I was deeply touched. I had read a little of His Holiness’s work, but not enough to know what I know now — it’s “Lama”, not “Llama”. The talk was scheduled for October 11th in Charolottesville, VA, two hours from where I live. Easy road trip.
Just a few days after I was handed that ticket, I opened my email and found an announcement that Eckhart Tolle would be speaking in Washington, D.C., on October 4, at a theater just 25 minutes from my house. I have been following Tolle’s work ever since I accidentally downloaded A New Earth onto my iPod two years ago, which sparked–quite unexpectedly–my spiritual awakening process.
I have now read just about every book that Tolle has written, listened to half a dozen recordings of retreats, and watched a year’s worth of his monthly talks on EckhartTolleTV.com. It hadn’t occurred to me to buy a plane ticket to see him in person. But now he was coming to me, and it was a no-brainer that I was supposed to be there.
In short, over the past week and a half, I have seen and heard, in person, the two men at the top of the Watkins’ Spiritual 100 List, which ranks the most influential spiritual teachers alive today. (Tolle held the top spot in 2011, with the Dalai Lama ranked #2. In 2012, those rankings are reversed.)
As if that weren’t enough, a trip to the library this week laid another jewel at my feet, a brand new book written by another (much younger) Tibetan Lama about the interplay of meditation and running. This topic came up in a couple of different comments on my post Awakening To My Runner Self (click here to read it). The book is the perfect channel to continue that conversation, and I look forward to sharing its wisdom with you.
So that’s the introduction to my next few posts, as well as an extension to the synchronicity discussion we’ve had here earlier. Stay tuned!
