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Embracing Coincidence: Transforming Your Life through Synchronicity
At some point in our lives, we have all experienced synchronicities, those amazing coincidences that offer short glimpses into the backstage of lie, the hidden order of things. Carol Lynn Pearson has for years kept track of the coincidences in her days, looking at them with a poet's eye for metaphor and meaning: a pan of "mama's cinnamon rolls" appears in the first shot of a movie just minutes after she and her sister reminisce on that favorite childhood food; a smiley face pops up on the computer screen during the writing of her daughter's funeral service; eight butterflies appear with an hour, not on the wing but in the word bringing a message of transformation and hope. Learning the language of synchronicity can help each of us to more frequently access and recognize the wisdom of the divine. After reading Consider the Butterfly, you will never again see the events in your daily life as just events. You will start to see your name on messages sent special delivery, giving helpful clues on your own personal journey.
- GenresNonfiction
162 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2008
About the author
Carol Lynn Pearson
98 books125 followersFrom http://www.clpearson.com/about_me.htm
In fourth grade, in Gusher, Utah, I won four dollars in a school district essay contest on “Why We Should Eat a Better Breakfast.” And yes, this morning I had a bowl of my own excellent granola, followed by a hike in the hills near my home in Walnut Creek, California.
In high school I began writing in earnest. I have now in my files a folder marked “Poetry, Very Bad,” and another, “Poetry, Not Quite So Bad.” Writing served a good purpose for that very dramatic, insecure adolescent. Also at that time I began to keep a diary, which I still maintain and which has been indescribably useful to me both as a writer and as a pilgrim on the earth.
After graduating from Brigham Young University with an MA in theatre, teaching for a year in Utah at Snow College, and traveling for a year, I taught part-time at BYU in the English department and was then hired by the motion picture studio on campus to write educational and religious screenplays.
While performing at the university as Mrs. Antrobus in Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth,” I met and fell in love with Gerald Pearson, a shining, blond, enthusiastic young man, who fell in love with me and my poems.
“We’ve got to get them published,” he said on our honeymoon, and soon dragged me up to the big city, Salt Lake City, to see who would be first in line to publish them. “Poetry doesn’t sell,” insisted everyone we spoke to, and I, somewhat relieved, put publishing on the list of things to do posthumously.
But not Gerald. “Then I’ll publish them,” he said. Borrowing two thousand dollars, he created a company called “Trilogy Arts” and published two thousand copies of a book called Beginnings, a slim, hard-back volume with a white cover that featured a stunning illustration, “God in Embryo,” by our good friend Trevor Southey, now an internationally known artist. On the day in autumn of 1967 that Gerald delivered the books by truck to our little apartment in Provo, I was terrified. I really had wanted to do this posthumously.
Beginnings
Today
You came running
With a small specked egg
Warm in your hand.
You could barely understand,
I know,
As I told you of Beginnings–
Of egg and bird.
Told, too,
That years ago you began,
Smaller than sight.
And then,
As egg yearns for sky
And seed stretches to tree,
You became–
Like me.
Oh,
But there’s so much more.
You and I, child,
Have just begun.
Think:
Worlds from now
What might we be?–
We, who are seed
Of Deity.
We toted a package of books up to the BYU bookstore, and asked to see the book buyer. “Well,” she said, “nobody ever buys poetry, but since you’re a local person, let me take four on consignment.” As they came in packages of twenty, we persuaded her to take twenty--on consignment. Next day she called and asked, “Those books you brought up here. Do you have any more of them?”
I had anticipated that the two thousand books, now stacked in our little closet and under our bed and in my Daddy’s garage, would last us years and years as wedding presents. But immediately we ordered a second printing. Beginnings sold over 150,000 copies before we gave it to Doubleday and then to Bookcraft.
Beginnings was followed by other volumes of poetry: The Search, The Growing Season, A Widening View, I Can’t Stop Smiling, and Women I Have Known and Been. Most of the poems from the earlier books now appear in a compilation, Beginnings and Beyond. The poems have been widely reprinted in such places as Ann Landers’ column, the second volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and college textbooks such as Houghton Mifflin’s Structure and Meaning: an Introduction to Literature. That first little volume of verse, and my husband’s determination, laid the foundation for my entire career.
Another characteristic of my husband was to have a profound effect on both
In fourth grade, in Gusher, Utah, I won four dollars in a school district essay contest on “Why We Should Eat a Better Breakfast.” And yes, this morning I had a bowl of my own excellent granola, followed by a hike in the hills near my home in Walnut Creek, California.
In high school I began writing in earnest. I have now in my files a folder marked “Poetry, Very Bad,” and another, “Poetry, Not Quite So Bad.” Writing served a good purpose for that very dramatic, insecure adolescent. Also at that time I began to keep a diary, which I still maintain and which has been indescribably useful to me both as a writer and as a pilgrim on the earth.
After graduating from Brigham Young University with an MA in theatre, teaching for a year in Utah at Snow College, and traveling for a year, I taught part-time at BYU in the English department and was then hired by the motion picture studio on campus to write educational and religious screenplays.
While performing at the university as Mrs. Antrobus in Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth,” I met and fell in love with Gerald Pearson, a shining, blond, enthusiastic young man, who fell in love with me and my poems.
“We’ve got to get them published,” he said on our honeymoon, and soon dragged me up to the big city, Salt Lake City, to see who would be first in line to publish them. “Poetry doesn’t sell,” insisted everyone we spoke to, and I, somewhat relieved, put publishing on the list of things to do posthumously.
But not Gerald. “Then I’ll publish them,” he said. Borrowing two thousand dollars, he created a company called “Trilogy Arts” and published two thousand copies of a book called Beginnings, a slim, hard-back volume with a white cover that featured a stunning illustration, “God in Embryo,” by our good friend Trevor Southey, now an internationally known artist. On the day in autumn of 1967 that Gerald delivered the books by truck to our little apartment in Provo, I was terrified. I really had wanted to do this posthumously.
Beginnings
Today
You came running
With a small specked egg
Warm in your hand.
You could barely understand,
I know,
As I told you of Beginnings–
Of egg and bird.
Told, too,
That years ago you began,
Smaller than sight.
And then,
As egg yearns for sky
And seed stretches to tree,
You became–
Like me.
Oh,
But there’s so much more.
You and I, child,
Have just begun.
Think:
Worlds from now
What might we be?–
We, who are seed
Of Deity.
We toted a package of books up to the BYU bookstore, and asked to see the book buyer. “Well,” she said, “nobody ever buys poetry, but since you’re a local person, let me take four on consignment.” As they came in packages of twenty, we persuaded her to take twenty--on consignment. Next day she called and asked, “Those books you brought up here. Do you have any more of them?”
I had anticipated that the two thousand books, now stacked in our little closet and under our bed and in my Daddy’s garage, would last us years and years as wedding presents. But immediately we ordered a second printing. Beginnings sold over 150,000 copies before we gave it to Doubleday and then to Bookcraft.
Beginnings was followed by other volumes of poetry: The Search, The Growing Season, A Widening View, I Can’t Stop Smiling, and Women I Have Known and Been. Most of the poems from the earlier books now appear in a compilation, Beginnings and Beyond. The poems have been widely reprinted in such places as Ann Landers’ column, the second volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and college textbooks such as Houghton Mifflin’s Structure and Meaning: an Introduction to Literature. That first little volume of verse, and my husband’s determination, laid the foundation for my entire career.
Another characteristic of my husband was to have a profound effect on both
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 8, 2024
I bought this book so that I could learn to see the synchronicities within my own life. Some of Carol Lynn's are inspiring. Some seem a little further stretched. However, they all invite us to see a piece of the divine, and for that, I'm grateful. I'm beginning to see some within my own journey, which reminds me to stop and smell the roses on this walk of life. They're a gentle nudge to pay attention.
May 16, 2019
This book would be better titled "Embracing Coincidence: Carol Lynn Pearson Transformed Her Life Through Synchronicity".
The first couple chapters are an excellent introduction to the topic for someone who is apprehensive of reading a tome like Jung. The rest is memoir, which is fine, but not what I thought I was getting into. Sweet book, though.
The first couple chapters are an excellent introduction to the topic for someone who is apprehensive of reading a tome like Jung. The rest is memoir, which is fine, but not what I thought I was getting into. Sweet book, though.
June 29, 2019
Loved it!
April 23, 2013
I don't believe I have ever given 5 stars to any book I have read. I found this one on the bargain book shelves at Barnes & Noble last week. What a treasure. I have been embracing synchronicity my whole life but especially since my daughter was killed in a car accident in December of 1999. I have many, many, things in common with this writer and recognized them when reading the pages of this lovely book. I will be searching out her other books and savoring every one of them I am sure. Sometimes when you start reading a book you just know that you will be posting comments when done. This was true for me with this book. Synchronicity has been such a part of my life and I have had positive responses from people and also very negative ones as well. As a matter of fact the subject of synchronicity lost me my last job. At the time I was devastated but have since found that it was to be the only outcome of that job. I am embracing coincidence (I don't believe in coincidence anymore) but rather believe in synchronicity. If we just pay attention to the things that go on in our daily lives we experience it so often is the mundane or exciting parts of our lives. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to get in touch with their spiritual lives and experience those small things in our lives that provide links to our future. A++++++
December 13, 2013
I picked up this book from the bargain section for about $5. I had never heard of the author but since I frequently experience episodes of synchronicity, I thought what the heck. I wouldn't call myself a spiritual person and I don't always look for the deeper meaning in my daily experiences, but this book opened my eyes a bit. I believe that synchronicity is all around us, every day. Sometimes we are struck by the lightening bolt and sometimes it's much more subtle, not hitting us until a few days later when it happens. This woman was a writer, she kept journals of her daily life and while the stories are so intertwined with her Mormon faith, I was still able to relate to the surprises of synchronicity that make us all warm and fuzzy inside. Will they transform my life? I can't really say for sure, but it certainly enhances it.
June 6, 2012
Great book! I thought I had read it before...or at least most of it.
It's funny that it was all about Synchronicity and within the week before and the few days since I read it again, lots of comments in the book connected to what had happened to me or even stories correlated...strange, but made it's point.
Great book to read in one sitting...good proof about connection & synchronicity...as long as you are open to it & are aware and see the connections.
It's funny that it was all about Synchronicity and within the week before and the few days since I read it again, lots of comments in the book connected to what had happened to me or even stories correlated...strange, but made it's point.
Great book to read in one sitting...good proof about connection & synchronicity...as long as you are open to it & are aware and see the connections.
September 15, 2013
I also picked this book up on the bargain table at B & N and have since bought several more for gifts and requests from friends. I think if you are spiritually open to what the author shares, it can be life-changing of your perspective of your everyday world. I take note and notice events that may have passed me by before reading this book of essays. One commenter mentioned reading it in one sitting, whereas I savor end one essay a day and looked for its relevance in my life.
April 23, 2015
Synchros sneak up on us
I enjoy reading the experiences others have with synchronicity the messages from God. I truly believe our thoughts create our experiences. Carol shares some examples that will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly think upon your own experiences with synchronicity.
I enjoy reading the experiences others have with synchronicity the messages from God. I truly believe our thoughts create our experiences. Carol shares some examples that will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly think upon your own experiences with synchronicity.
April 26, 2009
Interesting tales of synchronicity in one woman's life. Quite open-minded though the author was clearly Mormon/approached synchronicity from her spiritual beliefs.
October 23, 2013
What an interesting and moving book. It has made me grateful to have all these "signs" that there is another side to life.
Read
May 4, 2014I loved this short, but insightful little book. I need to take note more often when "coincidences" happen to me.
Want to Read
April 2, 2017Took from Dad's April '17
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews