Synchrodestiny

 

September 2, 2005

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/sept2.html

 

Dear Eric,

 

Do you believe astrology fits in neatly with synchrodestiny (concept of Deepak Chopra)? If so how?

 

-- O.A.

 

 

Dear O.A,

 

I've looked up the word "synchrodestiny" in Google -- I don't think the Oxford English Dictionary has caught up with it quite yet. It turns out to be a word that Deepak has made up ("coined"). Here is what his publicist says it means, related to a book by the same title:

 

"In Synchrodestiny, Deepak Chopra teaches us to see coincidences as 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. He writes about `the seven principles of synchrodestiny' and gives you practical techniques for applying those principles in your everyday life. As you learn to recognise the meaning and pattern behind the things that happen to you, apparently by chance, you will become aware of yourself as a part of the divine flow of existence. In this state of expanded self-awareness, you will experience your environment as always positive, always helping you in a synchronistic way to unfold your highest good. In fact you will know, then, that you inhabit a world in which miracles are a daily occurrence. If many people were able to move into this new state of consciousness, says Deepak Chopra, this would result in the simultaneous co-arising of events that would lead to a completely new world.... a miraculous prospect indeed."

 

Astrology fits this process because it relies on the concept of synchronicity -- that is, meaningful coincidences. However, astrologers know that people don't always follow these little clues, and part of an astrologer's job is to see them, to point them out, and to talk to you about heeding them. Deepak is proposing a philosophy of life that is based on doing just that, which we have also read about in The Celestine Prophecy.

 

Stated another way, he is talking about following your intuition. Most people follow a pre-packaged plan that they don't know they're onto (though some do, of course), which suggests that we must take the same train to work every day even if our intuition says walk, get a ride or take a taxi.

 

I would personally vote against the use of the word "destiny" as part of this idea. It seems to imply one destination; we live in a multiverse of many possibilities. Destiny is an alluring concept for people who want to give up the responsibility they have to steer their lives coherently, that is, the deep responsibility we have to choose what we want. This is where astrology would weigh in with a somewhat less automatic view of existence.