Coincidence: a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance.
I quit believing in coincidence in 2008 and it changed my life.
I was at a huge crossroads, reconsidering most everything I once believed, when it occurred to me that a belief in coincidence was presumptuous. It implied a complete understanding of how the Universe works. To be more specific, to insinuate that “mere chance” was behind an event was to disbelieve that anything else, seen or unseen, could be at work. Worse than a futile attempt to prove a negative, it was also dismissive of the miraculous.
I was uncomfortable with that. I still am.
This is far too esoteric a concept without an example, so let me recount a recent one from my own life. It was so profound that I named it. I call it: The Butt Dial From Heaven.
It had been one of those days that came like an exclamation point at the end of a hard month. Depression caused by life situations that seemed a hopelessly tangled knot teamed up and made havoc in my mind—and spinning minds aren’t conducive to health in relationships, especially relatively new ones like the one I was in. So besides my personal disappointments, my primary relationship was suffering, too. Even my usually effervescent partner was suffering depression to an extent she’d never experienced. Her friends were noticing and were worried. My personal spiritual practice, a buoy to which I generally hold through thick and thin, seemed stale. I was going through the motions and I knew it.
What was left? Where could I go to in order to float to the top of this funk? Something had to be done because the tentacles of depression, my old nemesis, were reaching up from the inky depths to tell me that I was worthless, that the situation was hopeless and that maybe it would be best for everyone if I was simply gone.
I knew … somewhere … that these were unfettered lies. But in the emotional quagmire I was experiencing, such thoughts can get purchase not worthy of their message. Worthy or not, they were significant, making both head and heart unbearably heavy.
What could I do to get out of this? How could I get relief?
Nature and solitude, the dynamic duo of my psyche were among my last lifelines to this world. They appear to be worthy tools in everyone’s psyche, in my experience. So in spite of my funk, I was able to make my body drive my heart, soul, and complaining mind to a spot in the desert where I knew I would find solitude.
The sunset was approaching. I had my sacred objects with me; smudge, rattle, mesa and chanupa (colloquially, “peace pipe.”) My intent was to walk to a spot I knew about a half hour from the trailhead and smoke some prayers with my chanupa in the way I had been taught, that of Lakota spirituality. I would use my mesa from the Andean shamanic ways to clear my field and blow stale and dark energy from my body back into the capable, supportive earth. I would watch the sun set and walk a moonlit mile back to the car. I was hopeful enough to try it.
As I hiked through the desert, being extra careful not to slip on ice and further exacerbate my situation, I suddenly became aware of my spirit helpers surrounding me. One animal, in particular, appeared within my second attention and walked with me, as did an ancient Being I recognized from the teachings I had received in the past year. A measure of peace came with this silent company although I was still very troubled.
Arriving at a tree I knew from past ceremony, I set my “sacreds” down on a nearby stone. I turned and faced the west, the way of power in the Lakota teachings, with my hands in my jeans pockets. I held my arms close to my body against the persistent cold. The majestic Cascade mountains shone clearly in the distance. The sun, which had been obscured by the clouds for the past week, blew through them now against a brilliant backdrop of blue. And then the oddest thing happened.
I heard music.
Looking around, I couldn’t see anyone. Then I realized the music was coming from my coat pocket. I had silenced my phone before I went on my hike. So how was it playing music?
Pulling my singing phone from my pocket, I looked at the screen. Pandora— a streaming service, yet it was playing way out here. It was amazing that I could get cell service at all. I’d had calls dropped closer into town. Ok, that was weird enough, but I hadn’t even listened to Pandora on my phone for a month.
And what was this song?
May the long-time sun shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light
Within you
Guide your way on
Guide your way on…
It turns out the song was Long Time Sun by an artist I had never heard before called “Girish.”
Listening to the lyrics and the music rise and fall in beautiful melody, my vision blurred with gratitude. What were the chances?
Not good enough for a gambler, because the moment the music appeared, the situation was this:
• I was in a desperate situation.
• I was far outside of town where cell service is dicey, let alone streaming service.
• My phone had been carefully silenced out of respect for solitude, stillness, and ceremony.
• An app I had not accessed for a month started “on its own.”
• The last playlist I listened to (Trevor Hall) was of course still cued up within that app, but the next song to play on that playlist was an artist I had never heard…
…with lyrics that applied to me like a prayer from Creator…
…in the very moment that I turned to face the sunset.
This experience, like so many similar ones I’ve had in the past few years, hit my heart as evidence; not only of an All-Knowing and Omniscient Force, but that somehow that Force is built more of Love and Compassion more than any other traits.
The reality of this life is that things happen to us that are hard to bear. The world can be a horrific place. Frankly, that’s always been the case. But I submit that there is a light that shines, a “long-time sun.” that may indeed light our way. Better yet, this Light tells me we are not separate from it. Nor are we separate from one other. On occasion, that high-vibration Light comes through even if we aren’t in a place to readily experience it (because we’re caught up in low-vibration emotional pain, for instance.)
Even though, there are moments where it insists upon our attention. No matter what, when we truly see this Light, if we don’t dismiss it by calling it a mere “coincidence.” it can grow our confidence in a multi-dimensional, spiritual reality, making it easier to feel it’s warmth next time.
I’m certain this is true not only for me, but for each of us.
Am I making assumptions here? Some, certainly. But given the immense odds against something happening like what I experienced, it’s the best paradigm I can name. Especially considering many other “coincidences” I’ve experienced that are similar to this one.
Are you ready to feel the sun?
Here’s my advice: search your life. Be as open as you can to messages from Creator within your own chosen spiritual path while remaining open to expansion both inside and outside of it. Ask in whatever way makes sense to you for wisdom, insight, and understanding from your Helpers, seen and unseen. Ask to hear their voices in a way you can understand. Then be open to things happening that make no sense to the rational mind; the mind that wants control and that seeks concrete answers in a world that devalues the ones that can’t be explained that way.
The Long Time Sun shines for us all, and we stand upon an Earth that is more an oracle than we can comprehend with our minds alone.
To understand the creative interplay between Heaven and Earth is our work and play. We are alive, with tremendous tools at our disposal in the very moment we can make a difference for all humanity, now and for generations to come.
And that’s no coincidence.
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Photo: Getty Images
Thanks for sharing your beautiful story and wisdom.