The best books on synchronicity and the power of the unconscious

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a teacher and writer, drawn to the topic of synchronicity because I have experienced so many remarkable coincidences during my life that it seems I have no choice but to study them. As a young man, I spent much time working with dreams, coming to understand them especially through Carl Jung’s explorations of archetypes, myths, and the deep unconscious. This led naturally to the study of synchronicity. I am also interested in the related topic of consciousness and have written several books about it. Out of all this I have come to see the cosmos as a strangely mysterious and wonderfully orchestrated community of beings and events.


I wrote...

Synchronicity: Through the Eyes of Science, Myth, and the Trickster

By Allan Combs, Mark Holland,

Book cover of Synchronicity: Through the Eyes of Science, Myth, and the Trickster

What is my book about?

Suppose you wake up in the morning with an old friend on your mind. You check the email on your cellphone and are surprised to find a letter just arrived from her. Her name is Jane. Later that morning while driving to work you stop for a traffic light and notice the license plate of the car in front of you reads, “JANE2YOU”! What are you to make of this strange coincidence? And what are you to make of a hundred other such coincides that enter your life, whispering unexpected messages from the universe?

This book explores the whole range of remarkable but meaningful coincidences, from the most insignificant and curious to rare life-transforming events that resound with mythic meaning. It tells stories of actual synchronistic coincidences, many from the lives of the authors themselves. Synchronicity touches on modern and even postmodern notions of science, while at the same time drawing us into mythological realities that speak of the subtle and surprisingly personal nature of the universe.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Synchronicity: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind

Allan Combs Why did I love this book?

This is a brilliant book by a physicist and highly creative thinker. David Peat worked personally with David Bohm in coming to understand the universe as a deep holographic process, one in which the meaning of real events is hidden and enfolded in the “implicate order” beyond time and space. Peat’s literary touch makes this book a must for those who love the study of synchronicity.

By David Peat,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Synchronicity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With fascinating historical anecdotes and incisive scientific analysis, this important work combines ancient thought with modern theory to reveal a new way of viewing our universe that can expand our awareness, our lives, and may well point the way to a new science for the twenty-first century.


Book cover of Synchrodestiny : Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles

Allan Combs Why did I love this book?

Deepak Chopra gives us a lovingly personal and spiritual perspective of synchronicity. On the practical side, it offers a variety of exercises to help the reader discover the power of synchronicity in his or her own life. In essence, however, it is simply about noticing the organizing intelligence seen through synchronistic events and inviting it into your life. In Chopra’s own words, “You don’t have to assign a specific meaning or interpretation to the coincidences, just … gently appreciate the cosmic coordination of your life with everything else.” This is a book that has changed the lives of its readers.

By Deepak Chopra,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Synchrodestiny as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr Deepak Chopra, the bestselling pioneer in mind/body medicine, shows how coincidences are messages about the miraculous potential of each moment. He reveals how, through understanding the forces that shape coincidences, you can learn to live at a deeper level and access the flow of synchronicity that lies at the heart of existence. You can start to transform your life through full-contact living, in which all things will be within your reach.

Discover:
- That there's no such thing as a meaningless coincidence
- The seven principles of synchrodestiny
- Practical techniques for applying those principles

The seeds of a…


Book cover of Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle

Allan Combs Why did I love this book?

Carl Jung is the person who actually coined the term “synchronicity” and was the first to recognize it as an important connecting principle between the unconscious and the outer world. He observed that such events occur when the archetypal processes of the collective and personal unconscious correspond to objective events in the real world. Here, for example, he reports the now-famous case of the patient who dreamed of a scarab beetle, a creature that represented transformation to the ancient Egyptians, only to find a similar beetle tapping on Jung’s consultation room window the next day, as the patient described the dream to him.

For Jung, virtually all authentic instances of synchronicity involve the archetypal unconscious and reflect mythic themes. This book includes a number of the first and best examples in synchronicity literature.

By C.G. Jung, R.F.C. Hull (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Synchronicity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jung was intrigued from early in his career with coincidences, especially those surprising juxtapositions that scientific rationality could not adequately explain. He discussed these ideas with Albert Einstein before World War I, but first used the term 'synchronicity' in a 1930 lecture, in reference to the unusual psychological insights generated from consulting the I Ching. A long correspondence and friendship with the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Wolfgang Pauli stimulated a final, mature statement of Jung's thinking on synchronicity, originally published in 1952 and reproduced here. Together with a wealth of historical and contemporary material, this essay describes an astrological experiment Jung…


Book cover of Synchronicity: The Art of Coincidence, Choice, and Unlocking Your Mind

Allan Combs Why did I love this book?

This book is a rich introduction to the topic of synchronicity, thoughtfully simplifying Carl Jung's original ideas. In the words of Gary Schwartz, PhD., this work “is teeming with delightful and compelling surprises about the nature of meaningful coincidences in contemporary life. The author's prose is playful, provocative, and profound.” From the foreword, which the present writer (Allan Combs) wrote himself, “If you are looking for answers to the profound enigma of the meaning and nature of meaningful coincidences in your own life, answers that bring psychological insight and spiritual understanding, then you have come to the right place.

Professor Surprise has given us the finest book of its kind: a clear and delightfully readable account of the nature of chance in the lives of ordinary people; and he has flavored his offering with a perfect sauce of delicious examples.” Here is an excellent first, and even last book on the mystery of synchronicity.

By Kirby Surprise,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Synchronicity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"If you are looking for answers to the profound enigma of the meaning and nature of meaningful coincidences in your own life, answers that bring psychological insight and spiritual understanding, then you have come to the right place. Professor Surprise has given us the finest book of its kind." —Allan Combs, coauthor Synchronicity : Through the Eyes of Science, Myth and the Trickster

The experience of meaningful coincidences is universal. They are reported by people of every culture, every belief system, and every time period. Synchronicity examines the evidence for the human influence on the meaningfulness of events, and the…


Book cover of Living in Flow: The Science of Synchronicity and How Your Choices Shape Your World

Allan Combs Why did I love this book?

In this rare book, Sky Nelson-Isaacs gives us a remarkably insightful and readable understanding of synchronicity and how to live into it. The author speaks with the triple-mind of a physicist, mystic, musician. It is a beautiful introduction to the topic of synchronicity, and how living with the flow brings many life gifts into our lives. Here is a fine first read on the topic of synchronicity. It is also deeply thoughtful and sophisticated upon further study. Easy but sophisticated reading, and a great place to start. Or finish!

By Sky Nelson-Isaacs,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Living in Flow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Harness the principles of synchronicity and flow to live better, work smarter, and find purpose in your life

When we align with circumstance, circumstance aligns with us. Using a cutting-edge scientific theory of synchronicity, Sky Nelson-Isaacs presents a model for living "in the flow"--a state of optimal functioning, creative thinking, and seemingly effortless productivity.

Nelson-Isaacs explains how our choices create meaning, translating current and original ideas from theoretical physics and quantum mechanics into accessible, actionable steps that we can all take to live lives in better alignment with who we are and who we want to be.

By turns encouraging…


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Rewriting Illness

By Elizabeth Benedict,

Book cover of Rewriting Illness

Elizabeth Benedict

New book alert!

What is my book about?

What happens when a novelist with a “razor-sharp wit” (Newsday), a “singular sensibility” (Huff Post), and a lifetime of fear about getting sick finds a lump where no lump should be? Months of medical mishaps, coded language, and Doctors who don't get it.

With wisdom, self-effacing wit, and the story-telling artistry of an acclaimed novelist, Elizabeth Benedict recollects her cancer diagnosis after discovering multiplying lumps in her armpit. In compact, explosive chapters, interspersed with moments of self-mocking levity, she chronicles her illness from muddled diagnosis to “natural remedies,” to debilitating treatments, as she gathers sustenance from family, an assortment of urbane friends, and a fearless “cancer guru.”

Rewriting Illness is suffused with suspense, secrets, and the unexpected solace of silence.

Rewriting Illness

By Elizabeth Benedict,

What is this book about?

By turns somber and funny but above all provocative, Elizabeth Benedict's Rewriting Illness: A View of My Own is a most unconventional memoir. With wisdom, self-effacing wit, and the story-telling skills of a seasoned novelist, she brings to life her cancer diagnosis and committed hypochondria. As she discovers multiplying lumps in her armpit, she describes her initial terror, interspersed with moments of self-mocking levity as she indulges in "natural remedies," among them chanting Tibetan mantras, drinking shots of wheat grass, and finding medicinal properties in chocolate babka. She tracks the progression of her illness from muddled diagnosis to debilitating treatment…


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