I'm prepared to fully embrace (and defend) both my science nerd tendencies and my magical mystical tendencies! And, yes - so lucky to catch each and every one of those moments. Thanks, Teresa.
I was thinking about a poem I studied as an undergraduate, and pulled the book off the shelf for the first time in years. The poem had grown on me since then. I later learned that the professor who taught me the poem had died of a heart attack in his garden on the same day I reached for the poem. Maybe, who knows, at the same moment.
Wow, Rona, that is something. Talk about mystical!
Also, I can't think of any better way to see someone off. If you feel like sharing it, I'd love to know which poem it was. Thank you for bringing your story here today.
George Herbert: “Love bade me welcome, but my soul drew back,” from the 17th century. English majors study it but don’t have the life experience to appreciate this poem.
Beautiful ("What seems improbable is just what happens when you stack enough randomness on top of itself.") Very funny ("...or maybe they just like beans.")
But now I want to know the punchline you snuck in with Mike.
More than once I have noticed a connection between what you post on Wednesday and what I am working on to post tomorrow. In this case, Jung's Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, in which I found a quote I was going to use. What are the chances? Apparently, pretty good.
Thanks, Stew. Honestly, I don't think I got the final word with Mike - unless this post counts.
The science can say what it will, but I don't see myself ever giving up on the magic of it all, and that includes whatever connection we are experiencing. Love it!
Weirdest coincidence? As a cheesemonger, I told my assistant on Saturday that my cooler is nine years old and I’m not sure how long it will last. And, yes, it went out the next day.😲 And our monthly sauna night has just ended because we no longer have access to a sauna. And all this is happening during full moon …Waiting for number three to fall! 🤣🤔
🌕 !! That moon is a mover and a shaker, isn't she?
I'm sorry about the cooler. That's a drag. And to lose your sauna access at the same time adds insult to injury. Here's hoping #3 gets lost in translation somehow!
p.s. Underway for the 8 hours to my parents' house some years ago, my hubby and I high fived when our old Volvo station wagon turned over 200,000 miles. A half mile later, it was dead on the side of the road. LOL!
Oh -- no. For me, moon is all about feminine energy, evidenced not least in the parallels and influences on female menstrual cycles. Would love to learn more about your masculine associations. :)
Two things. The Man in the Moon as per child stories and then the moon in literature referred to as the Master of Light. And watching the king tides this week with a full moon, I think the sheer physical strength of that pull is far more masculine than feminine. Depends on your view of the physical strength of men vs women, I guess. And there lies a rabbit hole...
That said, my mother told me a beautiful poem called the 'Lady Moon’ and I actually wrote about the Moonlady (a formidable and far-seeing character) in one of my books. But colloquially, we always call the Moon ‘he’. No offence.
A funny moment, for sure. I'm surprised about the call in general, and then for that to happen! So well written, really, and I love the weaving in of math. With a mathematician in my family, I have run up against the math of it all, for sure. I was worried you were going to denounce your allowance for synchronicity, and I'm glad you didn't.
(Some scientists believe in religion, too. The rational explanations offered by science don't always mean that people give up on either an acceptance of mystery or faith.)
What's that expression? You can take the girl away from the magic, but you can't take the magic away from the girl? Or something like that... 😅
You're right, of course, that for some folks there's room for both to be true. (Hey, didn't I just write about that a week ago?) I'm glad to know we align in that way, Amy. I thought of you with the crows!
Science nerd plus magical synchronicity equals Fibonacci numbers!! And all the females in my far flung family have or did have that ability to know who would be calling right after thinking about them. May the magic continue to surprise and delight!
Fibonacci numbers, and their resulting designs in the natural world, are among the most amazing of examples for what the human brain can't comprehend. I'm here for the wonder of it all! Thanks so much for your comment.
I love your self-description - “curious enough to ask questions, confused enough to forget the answers, and stubborn enough to chase stories anyway.” I wonder if those traits also describe your readers. 🤔🙄
Oh!! Tara, I think you are spot on with that idea, which is why we have so much fun together here! Speaking of wonderful! Thanks for adding that to the conversation. Keeping.
I love the idea of synchronicity. It’s heartening, induces hope. Like serendipity. Gorgeous word. Or it could be plain coincidence.
All that aside, I want to know why after talking to my husband about Mini Countrymen cars, that they began to show up on my Facebook feed. A spooky coincidence? Or should I be paranoid and believe that somehow, amongst all the technology, Big Brother’s watching.
Serendipity! How could I have overlooked the opportunity to weave that GORGEOUS word in here? Might have to edit it in at least once.
Why your Facebook feed gives you ads based on a recent conversation, though? That's not serendipity. That is absolutely a Big Brother kind of data use. Every social media platform is a marketing company, and we are the product. While not actively listening to your conversations, we're told that our devices do passively "listen" in the sense that they make inferences based on other data such as location data, browsing history, app usage, who you interact with, things your friends or household members search for, email receipts (like flight bookings or purchases), bluetooth and Wi-Fi proximity (e.g., you and your friend talk about a product, they search it, and then you both get ads for it). There are ways to limit tracking, but it's darn near impossible to eliminate it completely. Have you watched Social Dilemma? Sobering.
A delightful, thoughtful, fun change of pace and brilliant of you to ask for such a conversation because, yes, what's the worst that could happen? We'll never know until we try.
Always set your stories aside until I have time to soak, absorb, learn and enjoy. Thanks! ~J
That last bit, Janice -- well, my heart went pitty-pat. Not because I'm sure my stories deserve any special treatment, but having time to "soak, absorb, learn, enjoy:" Those are the activities I am ALWAYS looking for more of!! Thanks for matching that energy with me, and for commenting here.
(Even though it's also a savage but entirely justified condemnation of the quality of my headphones, for which I should be roundly chastised in public.)
I feel the same way about coincidence as a topic - endless fascinating, and a rare insight into just how unreliable our senses can be. As you say - they happen a lot, simply because there is a lot of stuff happening in the world! And it's fascinating how we attach meaning to them, and how unrealistic our idea of "randomness" is....
There is a fascinating test for this: get two groups of people together, give one group a bunch of coins to flip, and make the other group imagine a bunch of coin-flips:
"If you flip a coin a hundred times in a row, you’re going to have a lot of “unlikely” streaks - say, tails coming up 7 times in a row. But the group that imagined the coin-flips were far less likely to include such streaks, because that kind of pattern flies in the face of what we think of as randomness. It just doesn’t look random!" (https://everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/why-youre-not-as-random-as-you-think)
So what's really going on here is that at its most basic level, reality is weirder than we can imagine. But this is not news to scientists! That's part of the appeal of science - when you start looking at it, including all the everyday mainstream stuff, you discover that it's riddled with mysteries and uncertainties and things that run counter to what we think of as "common sense". It's just that somewhere along the way, a lot of folk who don't work in science started believing that scientists were claiming everything is explained and there's no room left for wonder and awe and the thrill of the unexplainable and the unknown. In fact, those things are baked in - and I wish everyone knew this!
So fun to chat, Elizabeth, and thank you for writing this piece. :)
Thanks for the recommendation. I just went off to see about that book and agree: It looks like a delightful memoir. Thanks for the recommendation, and for subscribing! 💚
This is so good! As I've aged and done work on recovery, I've become a true believer in synchronicity. I choose to believe that what seem like rando coincidences actually hold more meaning and messages. I love the idea of signposts pointing me in the direction I need to head in. Thanks, Elizabeth! xo
There are certain things that belong to science, but I love the woo-woo of the mysteries a lot these days. It took me a long time to open myself to it. Good to be here! xo
Oh, I agree. As much as we all appreciate math, I still love the magic quality of synchronicity. And aren’t we lucky to witness it.
I'm prepared to fully embrace (and defend) both my science nerd tendencies and my magical mystical tendencies! And, yes - so lucky to catch each and every one of those moments. Thanks, Teresa.
Let them coexist, right?
I love any opportunity to smile. Thanks for reminding us:)
Aw, I'm glad I did...this did...we did! Let's just call it a group smile, shall we?
I was thinking about a poem I studied as an undergraduate, and pulled the book off the shelf for the first time in years. The poem had grown on me since then. I later learned that the professor who taught me the poem had died of a heart attack in his garden on the same day I reached for the poem. Maybe, who knows, at the same moment.
Wow, Rona, that is something. Talk about mystical!
Also, I can't think of any better way to see someone off. If you feel like sharing it, I'd love to know which poem it was. Thank you for bringing your story here today.
George Herbert: “Love bade me welcome, but my soul drew back,” from the 17th century. English majors study it but don’t have the life experience to appreciate this poem.
Beautiful ("What seems improbable is just what happens when you stack enough randomness on top of itself.") Very funny ("...or maybe they just like beans.")
But now I want to know the punchline you snuck in with Mike.
More than once I have noticed a connection between what you post on Wednesday and what I am working on to post tomorrow. In this case, Jung's Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, in which I found a quote I was going to use. What are the chances? Apparently, pretty good.
Thanks, Stew. Honestly, I don't think I got the final word with Mike - unless this post counts.
The science can say what it will, but I don't see myself ever giving up on the magic of it all, and that includes whatever connection we are experiencing. Love it!
I read this this morning in bed and the whole thing was a freakin’ delight.
Wendy, what a treat to know that you started your day with this post. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm here!
Weirdest coincidence? As a cheesemonger, I told my assistant on Saturday that my cooler is nine years old and I’m not sure how long it will last. And, yes, it went out the next day.😲 And our monthly sauna night has just ended because we no longer have access to a sauna. And all this is happening during full moon …Waiting for number three to fall! 🤣🤔
🌕 !! That moon is a mover and a shaker, isn't she?
I'm sorry about the cooler. That's a drag. And to lose your sauna access at the same time adds insult to injury. Here's hoping #3 gets lost in translation somehow!
p.s. Underway for the 8 hours to my parents' house some years ago, my hubby and I high fived when our old Volvo station wagon turned over 200,000 miles. A half mile later, it was dead on the side of the road. LOL!
Interesting that you call the Moon a she. It’s always been a ‘He’ in our family...
Oh -- no. For me, moon is all about feminine energy, evidenced not least in the parallels and influences on female menstrual cycles. Would love to learn more about your masculine associations. :)
Two things. The Man in the Moon as per child stories and then the moon in literature referred to as the Master of Light. And watching the king tides this week with a full moon, I think the sheer physical strength of that pull is far more masculine than feminine. Depends on your view of the physical strength of men vs women, I guess. And there lies a rabbit hole...
That said, my mother told me a beautiful poem called the 'Lady Moon’ and I actually wrote about the Moonlady (a formidable and far-seeing character) in one of my books. But colloquially, we always call the Moon ‘he’. No offence.
Makes sense, and isn't it fun that we can have such different perspectives while maintaining 100% respect? ☺️
A funny moment, for sure. I'm surprised about the call in general, and then for that to happen! So well written, really, and I love the weaving in of math. With a mathematician in my family, I have run up against the math of it all, for sure. I was worried you were going to denounce your allowance for synchronicity, and I'm glad you didn't.
(Some scientists believe in religion, too. The rational explanations offered by science don't always mean that people give up on either an acceptance of mystery or faith.)
What's that expression? You can take the girl away from the magic, but you can't take the magic away from the girl? Or something like that... 😅
You're right, of course, that for some folks there's room for both to be true. (Hey, didn't I just write about that a week ago?) I'm glad to know we align in that way, Amy. I thought of you with the crows!
Science nerd plus magical synchronicity equals Fibonacci numbers!! And all the females in my far flung family have or did have that ability to know who would be calling right after thinking about them. May the magic continue to surprise and delight!
Would we call that their "spidey sense," Susan?
Fibonacci numbers, and their resulting designs in the natural world, are among the most amazing of examples for what the human brain can't comprehend. I'm here for the wonder of it all! Thanks so much for your comment.
I’m sorry I missed that. It’s proof that we shouldn’t pray for miracles, we should include them into our schedule.
"Spoken" in true Switter style. Love that plan!
My impression is that Mike offers these one-to-one Zoom calls not infrequently. If I see him promoting another opportunity, I'll share it w/ you.
I love your self-description - “curious enough to ask questions, confused enough to forget the answers, and stubborn enough to chase stories anyway.” I wonder if those traits also describe your readers. 🤔🙄
Oh!! Tara, I think you are spot on with that idea, which is why we have so much fun together here! Speaking of wonderful! Thanks for adding that to the conversation. Keeping.
Haha. ❤️
I love the idea of synchronicity. It’s heartening, induces hope. Like serendipity. Gorgeous word. Or it could be plain coincidence.
All that aside, I want to know why after talking to my husband about Mini Countrymen cars, that they began to show up on my Facebook feed. A spooky coincidence? Or should I be paranoid and believe that somehow, amongst all the technology, Big Brother’s watching.
Serendipity! How could I have overlooked the opportunity to weave that GORGEOUS word in here? Might have to edit it in at least once.
Why your Facebook feed gives you ads based on a recent conversation, though? That's not serendipity. That is absolutely a Big Brother kind of data use. Every social media platform is a marketing company, and we are the product. While not actively listening to your conversations, we're told that our devices do passively "listen" in the sense that they make inferences based on other data such as location data, browsing history, app usage, who you interact with, things your friends or household members search for, email receipts (like flight bookings or purchases), bluetooth and Wi-Fi proximity (e.g., you and your friend talk about a product, they search it, and then you both get ads for it). There are ways to limit tracking, but it's darn near impossible to eliminate it completely. Have you watched Social Dilemma? Sobering.
More serendipity! Less data mining!
A delightful, thoughtful, fun change of pace and brilliant of you to ask for such a conversation because, yes, what's the worst that could happen? We'll never know until we try.
Always set your stories aside until I have time to soak, absorb, learn and enjoy. Thanks! ~J
That last bit, Janice -- well, my heart went pitty-pat. Not because I'm sure my stories deserve any special treatment, but having time to "soak, absorb, learn, enjoy:" Those are the activities I am ALWAYS looking for more of!! Thanks for matching that energy with me, and for commenting here.
What fun! And you turned it into such a delightful tale. (I would have for sure thought he was messing with me). 😜
The timing could not have been more perfect. 😅
I LOVE THIS.
(Even though it's also a savage but entirely justified condemnation of the quality of my headphones, for which I should be roundly chastised in public.)
I feel the same way about coincidence as a topic - endless fascinating, and a rare insight into just how unreliable our senses can be. As you say - they happen a lot, simply because there is a lot of stuff happening in the world! And it's fascinating how we attach meaning to them, and how unrealistic our idea of "randomness" is....
There is a fascinating test for this: get two groups of people together, give one group a bunch of coins to flip, and make the other group imagine a bunch of coin-flips:
"If you flip a coin a hundred times in a row, you’re going to have a lot of “unlikely” streaks - say, tails coming up 7 times in a row. But the group that imagined the coin-flips were far less likely to include such streaks, because that kind of pattern flies in the face of what we think of as randomness. It just doesn’t look random!" (https://everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/why-youre-not-as-random-as-you-think)
So what's really going on here is that at its most basic level, reality is weirder than we can imagine. But this is not news to scientists! That's part of the appeal of science - when you start looking at it, including all the everyday mainstream stuff, you discover that it's riddled with mysteries and uncertainties and things that run counter to what we think of as "common sense". It's just that somewhere along the way, a lot of folk who don't work in science started believing that scientists were claiming everything is explained and there's no room left for wonder and awe and the thrill of the unexplainable and the unknown. In fact, those things are baked in - and I wish everyone knew this!
So fun to chat, Elizabeth, and thank you for writing this piece. :)
You’re in my head. How’d you get in there? Will you be staying for dinner?
This is it: “So what's really going on here is that at its most basic level, reality is weirder than we can imagine.”
Thanks, Mike!
If you haven't done so, a fun read is "The God of the Hinge: Sojourns in Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Eleanor West and Elizabeth Pool.
Thanks for the recommendation. I just went off to see about that book and agree: It looks like a delightful memoir. Thanks for the recommendation, and for subscribing! 💚
You're welcome! I really like your writing. Very clever and funny! Have a great day!
This is so good! As I've aged and done work on recovery, I've become a true believer in synchronicity. I choose to believe that what seem like rando coincidences actually hold more meaning and messages. I love the idea of signposts pointing me in the direction I need to head in. Thanks, Elizabeth! xo
Much as I love science, I need to leave room for mysticism in my life. Both are awesome! Thanks for chiming in, Nan. Good to see you here.
There are certain things that belong to science, but I love the woo-woo of the mysteries a lot these days. It took me a long time to open myself to it. Good to be here! xo