Synchronicity: A Psychological Exploration of Meaningful Coincidences

“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” — Friedrich Nietzsche.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes things line up so perfectly, as if by some invisible design? We call them coincidences, yet some are too uncanny, too precisely timed, to be dismissed as random happenings. They feel more like synchronicities.

But what exactly are synchronicities? Are they metaphysical, or do they have a scientific basis? Let us look at the theories and the neuroscience behind them.

There have been too many synchronicities in my own life to write them off as chance. And yet, I often hesitate to talk about them, afraid it might sound unscientific or irrational. Still, the more I experience them, the harder they are to ignore.

What is Synchronicity?

The term synchronicity was introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology. In simple terms, Jung described synchronicity as meaningful coincidences, events that are not connected by cause and effect but by meaning. He defined it as an “acausal connecting principle,” a theory proposing that the inner psychological world and the external physical world can occasionally move in sync, connected by meaning rather than logic.

In short, synchronicity is when an internal experience, a thought, feeling, or dream, aligns with an external event in a way that feels personally significant.

For example, you might think of an old friend after years of no contact, and they call you that same day. I know it has happened to me, and I am sure it has happened to many of you as well. There is no logical reason for that coincidence, yet it feels charged with meaning, as if something unseen connected the two moments.

According to Jung, a coincidence becomes a synchronicity when it carries personal meaning for the person experiencing it. Coincidences happen without emotional weight. Synchronicities, on the other hand, feel significant. It is not about predicting the future or believing in magic; it is about noticing how our thoughts and the world around us sometimes seem to move in rhythm, reflecting each other in unexpected ways.

I have had moments like that myself. Once, during a casual conversation with someone I had just met, I discovered that their favorite song was from the same movie that held my all-time favorite. It wasn’t the same song, but it made me pause, a small overlap that felt almost too precise to ignore.

Later, I noticed that we even had nearly identical numbers on our license plates, with just one number moved to a different position. Of course, I didn’t say this to them, because I know how that would sound. But it was another coincidence that made me stop and think. These small patterns, the familiar rhythm in a song, the repetition of numbers, felt like threads quietly weaving our worlds together, reminding me how some connections seem to echo in ways we can’t easily explain.

Is synchronicity just a metaphysical concept, or is there a scientific basis to what Jung hypothesized?

The Neuroscience of Synchronicity

Modern neuroscience offers an interesting explanation. In her book The Signs, neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart explores synchronicity through the way our brains process information. She explains that our minds act like filters, deciding what we notice and what fades into the background. A part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System works like a spotlight, bringing into focus whatever connects with our current thoughts, needs, or emotions.

When we focus on something, such as a question, a person, or even a specific car model, we start noticing things related to it everywhere. It is not that those things suddenly appeared; it is that our attention made us more aware of them.

Swart believes this is how signs and synchronicities work. The meaning does not come from the event itself but from how we interpret it. When something stands out and feels significant, it is often our intuition guiding us, a signal from the brain telling us to pay attention.

Swart’s explanation made sense to me because I have always noticed certain numbers repeating in my life, particularly 1 and 3. They seem to appear everywhere, in phone numbers, birthdays, dates of important events, apartment numbers, addresses, IDs, and even receipts, especially when they involve someone close or significant. For instance, variations of these numbers often show up as 13 (birthdays), 13 or 31 (the start of phone numbers), 1430 and 103 (addresses), 1013 (October 13), and 1130 (November 30). Another pattern I often see is my own birthday month and day appearing repeatedly in addresses and even on the clock.

At first, I thought these repetitions were just coincidences. But over time, they began to feel more intentional, moments of synchronicity that seemed to echo my thoughts or emotions at the time. They tend to occur more often when someone holds particular meaning in my life. Maybe the numbers are not sending messages, but they remind me that meaning often reveals itself when I am paying attention, and that the meaning itself is shaped by how I interpret it.

When Life Feels Connected

Psychologist and researcher Dr. Lisa Miller, author of The Awakened Brain, believes that synchronicities are more than random coincidences. She sees them as meaningful events that reflect a deeper connection between us and the world around us. When we experience these moments, it can feel as if life itself is guiding us, a reminder that we are not alone but part of something larger and supportive.

A few summers ago, I found myself in the backyard of an office building. The only reason I was there was to do a favor for a friend who needed a ride, a place I would never have gone otherwise. My child and I sat on a picnic bench, sharing McDonald’s while waiting to drive back. I even took photos of that afternoon with the building in the background, never thinking it mattered.

Three years later, almost to the exact month, I met someone who, I later realized, had been working inside that building at the time I was there in June 2021. Moments like this remind me of what Miller describes as an awakened state of awareness, when life reveals our unseen connections. Realizing we were that close, yet would not meet for another three years, felt like synchronicity revealing itself after the fact. It meant nothing then, but looking back, it felt like one of those subtle reminders of how connected our paths can be without us realizing it.

Miller’s research suggests that when we pay attention to synchronicities, we begin to trust life instead of feeling like we have to control it. She has also found that people who are more open to these experiences often show greater spiritual awareness and better mental health, including lower rates of depression and addiction. Through mindfulness and spiritual practice, we can develop what she calls an awakened brain, a state of open presence that allows us to notice meaning where we might have otherwise seen coincidence.

A Shared Understanding of Connection

Although they come from different disciplines, Jung, Swart, and Miller all describe the same underlying idea that we are not isolated beings but deeply connected to the world around us. Jung spoke of the collective unconscious, a shared set of experiences and symbols that link all human minds. Swart explained this connection through neuroscience, showing how our focus and emotions shape what we notice in our environment. Miller expanded it further, demonstrating how this sense of connection to people, purpose, or something greater activates parts of the brain that foster meaning, hope, and well-being.

Together, their work suggests that synchronicities are not accidents or fantasies, but reflections of this ongoing conversation between our inner and outer worlds.

What Synchronicity Means personally

The more I notice these invisible threads, the more I understand they are not about fate or prediction. They are gentle reminders that life has a way of weaving moments together, even when we do not see the pattern at first. Each one feels like a soft tap on the shoulder, asking me to pause, to notice, to trust that meaning often reveals itself in time.

When I notice these synchronicities, I pay attention to who they involve and why they matter to me. I have come to realize that I notice them because I attach emotional meaning to them. Whether I interpret them as signs from the universe or as my Reticular Activating System highlighting what feels important, the truth remains the same: they are meaningful to me and therefore significant, and that, in itself, makes them worth paying attention to.

Whether I call them signs, synchronicities, or patterns of awareness, they remind me that I am part of something larger: a world that listens and responds in its own mysterious way. And in those moments, life feels a little more connected and a little more alive.

“I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.”— Dalai Lama