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Nulla succede per caso: Le coincidenze che cambiano la nostra vita
A tutti prima o poi capita di vivere una coincidenza incredibile capace di modificare almeno in parte il corso dell’esistenza: sono quelli che Jung definiva “eventi sincronistici”, fenomeni in grado di cambiare l’immagine che abbiamo di noi stessi, il nostro modo di vedere il mondo, di aprirci nuove prospettive. In questo libro Robert H. Hopcke esplora l’universo di ciò che erroneamente consideriamo “puro caso”, e ne individua il ruolo in campo affettivo e professionale, nella realtà e nel mondo dei sogni, negli aspetti quotidiani e in quelli spirituali dell’esistenza. Attraverso i racconti di esperienze realmente accadute, l’autore dimostra come un evento sincronistico, riflettendo uno stato d’animo interiore, spesso riesca a indicarci la direzione per noi più giusta. Imparando a considerare la nostra vita un racconto dotato di coerenza interna, dove niente succede senza ragione, potremo imparare a sfruttare le coincidenze per comprendere meglio noi stessi e per dare alla nostra esistenza maggiore pienezza.
282 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
August 2, 2011
"Chances are, if this book has found its way into your hands, you are supposed to read it", said the book jacket. So how could I resist? Now that I have read it, I don't know what to make of it. The main premise of it is the author's belief in the Jungian concept of "synchronicity", although he takes synchronicity a step further and adds that for events to be synchronous they also have to be transformative in nature. Essentially then, that there are no accidents; that chance events are meaningful in the way they can transform our lives. Assuming this is true, how does the knowledge of that help you as the events are unfolding -- or even immediately after? If the effect is what makes what would have been just any event, or any group of events, synchronistic, then shouldn't the proof be in the pudding? But you don't really see that until you look back and recognize that moment for what it was. So while it is comforting to know that synchronistic events will take place in our lives to help us along, I think it would be dangerous to try to identify them as they happen, and look to them for signs that things are "meant to be". If this was the case then what if -- just what if -- we read it wrong? What if we attach meaning to something that was not symbolic of anything, and in doing so place importance on something that should have been uneventful? For example, if I am set on a path in which I have encountered many obstacles, should I "read the signs", stop and turn around? Or should I keep going? Who's to say that the obstacles in my way were signs? I don't know. But then if I stopped, I might be missing out on accomplishing something against all odds. Or how about this: What if I, believing an event to be eventful, totally bone the interpretation? So there lies the rub. On the one hand I acknowledge that there are, as the author says, wonderful events made even more wondrous because they happened at all, and at the right time. And yet, I can also comfortably say that I won't be looking for synchronistic events in my life other than through a retrospective prism.
January 17, 2015
My takeaway from There Are No Accidents is the definition of synchronicity and where it originated in the first place. Jung was trying to describe "meaningful coincidences" intellectually without dismissing the emotional content as meaningless or relying solely on metaphysical explanations (i.e. God, religion). The author's definition of synchronicity (combined with Jung's)(from pg 23)
1. acausal (so no definite cause)
2. deeply emotional (for the person involved)
3. content of the synchronicity is symbolic (points to a higher truth)
4. occurs at points of transition in the person's life (times of stress or uncertainty)
Within these parameters, the author relates all sorts of wacky and wild true stories that illustrate the phenomena of synchronicity. I liked that he gave examples from people's love lives, work life, birth/death, and spiritual so that it didn't feel one dimensional.
The explanations of the different events were sometimes quite complex, but I learned a great deal about Jungian psychology from these pages. Readers who liked There Are No Accidents may enjoy Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Every Woman by Jean Shinoda Bolen which is an examination of the Artemis archetype from a Jungian psychologist's perspective. Or, if this was a bit too cerebral for your taste, you may enjoy The Power of the Heart by Baptist de Pape which is a book about opening the heart, trusting your intuition, and developing it in your daily life.
1. acausal (so no definite cause)
2. deeply emotional (for the person involved)
3. content of the synchronicity is symbolic (points to a higher truth)
4. occurs at points of transition in the person's life (times of stress or uncertainty)
Within these parameters, the author relates all sorts of wacky and wild true stories that illustrate the phenomena of synchronicity. I liked that he gave examples from people's love lives, work life, birth/death, and spiritual so that it didn't feel one dimensional.
The explanations of the different events were sometimes quite complex, but I learned a great deal about Jungian psychology from these pages. Readers who liked There Are No Accidents may enjoy Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Every Woman by Jean Shinoda Bolen which is an examination of the Artemis archetype from a Jungian psychologist's perspective. Or, if this was a bit too cerebral for your taste, you may enjoy The Power of the Heart by Baptist de Pape which is a book about opening the heart, trusting your intuition, and developing it in your daily life.
April 28, 2015
I have been having so many moments of synchronicity in my life in the past few years, and it is just increasing. Nice to know I'm not going crazy. ;)
July 7, 2020
خب این کتاب هم تموم شد..
موضوع کتاب جالبه، راجع به بی دلیل نبودن اتفاقای زندگی صحبت میکنه و هراتفاق رو تو زندگی یه نشونه می دونه حتی رویا دیدن رو.. عقاید یونگ رو هم بیان میکنه چون به نوعی کتاب یونگ شناسی و آشنایی با عقایدشه ولی مثال های خیلی زیادی واسه هر مبحث زده و داستان های زیادی گفته که کمی حوصله سر برش کرده و یه جاهایی از کتاب اینقدر مثال و کیس میاره که مطلب اصلی یادت میره😐در مجموع کتاب خوبيه ولی تو این زمینه کتابای خیلی بهتری هم هست.
موضوع کتاب جالبه، راجع به بی دلیل نبودن اتفاقای زندگی صحبت میکنه و هراتفاق رو تو زندگی یه نشونه می دونه حتی رویا دیدن رو.. عقاید یونگ رو هم بیان میکنه چون به نوعی کتاب یونگ شناسی و آشنایی با عقایدشه ولی مثال های خیلی زیادی واسه هر مبحث زده و داستان های زیادی گفته که کمی حوصله سر برش کرده و یه جاهایی از کتاب اینقدر مثال و کیس میاره که مطلب اصلی یادت میره😐در مجموع کتاب خوبيه ولی تو این زمینه کتابای خیلی بهتری هم هست.
June 22, 2012
La lettura di un libro di questo genere necessita di un atteggiamento particolare; ciò che va assolutamente evitato è il tipo di approccio di chi vuole sapere come stanno le cose nella realtà.
Non è questo lo scopo del libro, né il tipo di risposta che esso può dare al lettore.
Nel senso che l’autore dice e spiega quello che secondo lui è il motivo per cui tutte queste coincidenze vengono da noi notate, a differenza di tante altre che invece ci lasciano indifferenti.
Per spiegarmi meglio voglio dire: se avete già una vostra convinzione forte riguardo a questi “fenomeni”, beh allora non leggete questo libro perchè perdereste tempo.
Se trovaste qualcosa che vi soddisfa ne trarreste conclusioni affrettate; viceversa se trovaste un pensiero contrario al vostro, allora cerchereste di confutarlo senza pensarci un attimo.
Il libro va letto con semplice curiosità.
Solo con questa premessa diventa interessante, altrimenti sarebbe come leggere chiedere un consiglio ad un amico quando in realtà ci si vuole sentir dire una cosa precisa, oppure leggere un oroscopo credendoci per davvero.
La curiosità senza posizioni predeterminate e senza nemmeno la pretesa di averne una ben chiara a fine lettura.
Questo è l’unico modo di porsi di fronte ad una lettura del genere.
In fondo ciò che costituisce il filo conduttore del libro non è altro che il concetto junghiano di inconscio collettivo, secondo cui ogni essere umano condivide a livello psicologico e spirituale un legame con tutti gli altri esseri umani.
Sostanzialmente è di questo aspetto psicologico che si parla.
Poi succede che l’autore, partito con buone intenzioni, finisca per plagiare un po’ troppo se stesso e allora ecco apparire forzature, collegamenti non del tutto lineari ed altre sottigliezze messe lì a buon gioco della teoria iniziale.
Ecco quindi che più si prosegue nella lettura e più il carisma del professore scema.
Non avrebbe guastato un numero di pagine decisamente inferiore.
Alla fine dei conti la conclusione potrebbe essere questa: un libro che tratta un argomento del genere difficilmente riesce a soddisfare il lettore mettendolo in condizioni tali da avere un quadro chiaro delle teorie esposte.
Di conseguenza, nell’impossibilità di approfondire il tutto, questo testo sarebbe anche potuto essere un po’ più sintetico, ad esempio citando meno casi e trattandoli con più profondità.
Invece le moltissime storie qui riportate vengono poi spiegate in un modo che ricorda troppo alcuni cosiddetti esperti che senza contraddittorio illustrano teorie rivoluzionarie.
In altre parole la lettura di queste storie, molte delle quali in fondo non poi così particolari, appare a mio avviso un po’ forzata nel senso che spesso ho avuto la sensazione che si volesse trovare a tutti i costi qualcosa di straordinario anche dove non erano presenti elementi così fuori dal comune.
Interessante il tema, meno come viene affrontato in diverse sezioni del libro.
Appaiono letture diverse a seconda dei casi e delle storie raccontate: a volte si dà per acquisita un’esperienza come mistica ( il caso dell’odore di rose in chiesa ), altre volte ci si concentra sul puro caso ( l’elezione di un abate con estrazione a sorte tra centinaia di nomi ), per finire poi con il leggere ed interpretare le carte dei tarocchi secondo una chiave di lettura che ricorda più il Giacobbo di Voyager che la psicologia di Jung.
Un libro perciò da leggere con curiosità, ma senza troppe aspettative; più un saggio che finisce con il giustificare qualsiasi tipo di interpretazione piuttosto che fornirne una propria.
Certo che se poi Robert H.Hopcke in questo suo Nulla succede per caso considera una incredibile coincidenza il fatto che negli Stati Uniti un nipote, a differenza del padre che in questo era negato, si ritrovi ad avere una passione esagerata per il baseball ed il football proprio come suo nonno, allora non so più che dire.
Tempo di lettura: 7h 39m
Non è questo lo scopo del libro, né il tipo di risposta che esso può dare al lettore.
Nel senso che l’autore dice e spiega quello che secondo lui è il motivo per cui tutte queste coincidenze vengono da noi notate, a differenza di tante altre che invece ci lasciano indifferenti.
Per spiegarmi meglio voglio dire: se avete già una vostra convinzione forte riguardo a questi “fenomeni”, beh allora non leggete questo libro perchè perdereste tempo.
Se trovaste qualcosa che vi soddisfa ne trarreste conclusioni affrettate; viceversa se trovaste un pensiero contrario al vostro, allora cerchereste di confutarlo senza pensarci un attimo.
Il libro va letto con semplice curiosità.
Solo con questa premessa diventa interessante, altrimenti sarebbe come leggere chiedere un consiglio ad un amico quando in realtà ci si vuole sentir dire una cosa precisa, oppure leggere un oroscopo credendoci per davvero.
La curiosità senza posizioni predeterminate e senza nemmeno la pretesa di averne una ben chiara a fine lettura.
Questo è l’unico modo di porsi di fronte ad una lettura del genere.
In fondo ciò che costituisce il filo conduttore del libro non è altro che il concetto junghiano di inconscio collettivo, secondo cui ogni essere umano condivide a livello psicologico e spirituale un legame con tutti gli altri esseri umani.
Sostanzialmente è di questo aspetto psicologico che si parla.
Poi succede che l’autore, partito con buone intenzioni, finisca per plagiare un po’ troppo se stesso e allora ecco apparire forzature, collegamenti non del tutto lineari ed altre sottigliezze messe lì a buon gioco della teoria iniziale.
Ecco quindi che più si prosegue nella lettura e più il carisma del professore scema.
Non avrebbe guastato un numero di pagine decisamente inferiore.
Alla fine dei conti la conclusione potrebbe essere questa: un libro che tratta un argomento del genere difficilmente riesce a soddisfare il lettore mettendolo in condizioni tali da avere un quadro chiaro delle teorie esposte.
Di conseguenza, nell’impossibilità di approfondire il tutto, questo testo sarebbe anche potuto essere un po’ più sintetico, ad esempio citando meno casi e trattandoli con più profondità.
Invece le moltissime storie qui riportate vengono poi spiegate in un modo che ricorda troppo alcuni cosiddetti esperti che senza contraddittorio illustrano teorie rivoluzionarie.
In altre parole la lettura di queste storie, molte delle quali in fondo non poi così particolari, appare a mio avviso un po’ forzata nel senso che spesso ho avuto la sensazione che si volesse trovare a tutti i costi qualcosa di straordinario anche dove non erano presenti elementi così fuori dal comune.
Interessante il tema, meno come viene affrontato in diverse sezioni del libro.
Appaiono letture diverse a seconda dei casi e delle storie raccontate: a volte si dà per acquisita un’esperienza come mistica ( il caso dell’odore di rose in chiesa ), altre volte ci si concentra sul puro caso ( l’elezione di un abate con estrazione a sorte tra centinaia di nomi ), per finire poi con il leggere ed interpretare le carte dei tarocchi secondo una chiave di lettura che ricorda più il Giacobbo di Voyager che la psicologia di Jung.
Un libro perciò da leggere con curiosità, ma senza troppe aspettative; più un saggio che finisce con il giustificare qualsiasi tipo di interpretazione piuttosto che fornirne una propria.
Certo che se poi Robert H.Hopcke in questo suo Nulla succede per caso considera una incredibile coincidenza il fatto che negli Stati Uniti un nipote, a differenza del padre che in questo era negato, si ritrovi ad avere una passione esagerata per il baseball ed il football proprio come suo nonno, allora non so più che dire.
Tempo di lettura: 7h 39m
May 6, 2025
Enfatizzato quanto banale elenco di casi di sincronicità.
November 14, 2021
I picked up this book because I have always believed that there are no accidents. There is a reason we meet and love the people we do. Our family and friends are all there because we need them for our spiritual growth. Situations we find ourselves in and things which happen to us are all meant to happen for a reason - to teach us life’s lessons and what we need to know. This book, concerning the Jungian psychological theory of synchronicity - accidental, but related sequences of unusual occurrences, which happen to be meaningful for us. We all experience synchronistic events in our lives. I have always believed there is a reason why things happen to us, so I was engrossed by this book. Hopcke asks his readers to realize that no matter how individual or ‘’in control’’ of our own lives we all think we are, we are still vulnerable and have feelings which connect us to the rest of mankind. Hopcke explains that when we have these kinds of related events happening in our lives, if we recognize them for what they are, we can grow from them spiritually, no matter if we are of a religious or scientific mind. The book relates the stories of how certain random events changed peoples’ lives. He explores how people make sense of these occurrences by trying to interpret what they mean and how they are woven into our life’s stories to give our lives coherence. I was fascinated by this book. Reading this book was a real joy for me.
July 14, 2009
The final chapter (Every story has a Beginning and an Ending) I found to be the most interesting. His statements about how hard it is to let go of cause-and-effect ways of thinking when it comes to such things that flatter our ego gave me a lot to think about. I learned quite a bit form Hopcke’s explanation of why he chooses to refer to dreams and other phenomenon that are usually described as predictive, extrasensory or prophetic as synchronistic. Another important thing that I learned from this book is the fact that synchronicity is not, as I -when I was younger – presumed, supernatural, but psychological, symbolic and emotional/subjective. Hopcke describes the archetypal self as being the author of our stories. His statement that divinatory practices “allow the archetype of the Self the ability to manifest itself, not externally or causally but subjectively and symbolically” gave me a lot to think about. “Synchronistic events activate our archetypal capacity to perceive wholeness […] the perception of wholeness in synchronistic experiences unite all of who we are, parts of our experience we were unaware of […]” (188). I am very glad that I read this book; I learned a lot. His constant use of examples made it more accessible to those new to the synchronicity theory, but I personally found a lot of them to be boring.
September 17, 2021
Saggio di psicologia che si occupa di approfondire uno dei fondamenti del pensiero Junghiano: la “sincronicità”. Esso è un fenomeno verificantesi in particolari coincidenze, definite infatti “sincronistiche”, che, oltre ad avere un significato emotivo per il soggetto che le vive, corrispondono sempre a periodi di transizione e provocano importanti cambiamenti nella vita dello stesso.
A questo si aggiunge la personale riflessione di Hopcke, secondo cui, per l’appunto, “nulla succede per caso” e la nostra vita è paragonabile all’intreccio di un romanzo in cui tutto assume una coerenza e un significato di cui ci rendiamo conto solo a posteriori.
Il saggio è organizzato in diversi capitoli: dopo un’introduzione generale in cui l’autore definisce cosa si intende per “coincidenze sincronistiche”, egli procede riportando episodi reali che mostrano come eventi di questo tipo si verifichino in ambiti diversi della vita delle persone (relazioni amorose e amicali, lavoro, sogni, vita spirituale, nascita e morte) intervallandoli con varie riflessioni.
L’introduzione iniziale è davvero interessante e scorre benissimo a differenza degli altri capitoli che funzionano decisamente meno. A parte quello sulla vita spirituale, ancora godibile grazie alle riflessioni che contiene, gli altri sono costituiti da una sovrabbondanza di racconti che risultano spesso ripetitivi e non sempre significativi, rendendo l’andamento del romanzo talvolta noioso.
Nel complesso il libro resta comunque una lettura che ho apprezzato, soprattutto grazie alle suggestioni che se ne possono trarre. L’opera spinge ad avere un approccio più aperto e nuovo, assolutamente non religioso, agli eventi irrazionali e apparentemente casuali che costellano ogni vita umana.
“Se siamo personaggi di una storia, il fine non sarà forse lieto ma l’esistenza che viviamo sarà, per lo meno, caratterizzata da integrità e coerenza. La sincronicità ha proprio la funzione di aiutarci a vedere la totalità, se non il bene, dietro gli alti e bassi che caratterizzano ogni capitolo della nostra vita.”
A questo si aggiunge la personale riflessione di Hopcke, secondo cui, per l’appunto, “nulla succede per caso” e la nostra vita è paragonabile all’intreccio di un romanzo in cui tutto assume una coerenza e un significato di cui ci rendiamo conto solo a posteriori.
Il saggio è organizzato in diversi capitoli: dopo un’introduzione generale in cui l’autore definisce cosa si intende per “coincidenze sincronistiche”, egli procede riportando episodi reali che mostrano come eventi di questo tipo si verifichino in ambiti diversi della vita delle persone (relazioni amorose e amicali, lavoro, sogni, vita spirituale, nascita e morte) intervallandoli con varie riflessioni.
L’introduzione iniziale è davvero interessante e scorre benissimo a differenza degli altri capitoli che funzionano decisamente meno. A parte quello sulla vita spirituale, ancora godibile grazie alle riflessioni che contiene, gli altri sono costituiti da una sovrabbondanza di racconti che risultano spesso ripetitivi e non sempre significativi, rendendo l’andamento del romanzo talvolta noioso.
Nel complesso il libro resta comunque una lettura che ho apprezzato, soprattutto grazie alle suggestioni che se ne possono trarre. L’opera spinge ad avere un approccio più aperto e nuovo, assolutamente non religioso, agli eventi irrazionali e apparentemente casuali che costellano ogni vita umana.
“Se siamo personaggi di una storia, il fine non sarà forse lieto ma l’esistenza che viviamo sarà, per lo meno, caratterizzata da integrità e coerenza. La sincronicità ha proprio la funzione di aiutarci a vedere la totalità, se non il bene, dietro gli alti e bassi che caratterizzano ogni capitolo della nostra vita.”
May 30, 2019
این کتاب بر پایه مکتب یونگ دیدگاه روانشناختی او است. بر این اساس رابرت هوپک رخداد هایی را در زندگی مورد تاکید قرار می دهد که می تواند نقشی برجسته بر حیات، تفکر و نیز جایگاه فردی و اجتماعی فرد داشته باشد. او این رویداد ها را همزمان می انگارد ولی بر این نکته نیز تکیه دارد که نمی توان این رویداد ها را نادیده گرفت و تصادفی انگاشت. بر پایه دیدگاه نویسنده رخداد هایی که با تجربه عاطفی عمیق همراه هست و علاوه بر این از خاصیت غیر علی و معلولی بودن نیز برخورد باشند و نیز در
زمان های مهم زندگی رخ داده باشند را می توان جزو موارد همزمانی برشمرد. نوسینده بر این نکته تاکید دارد که لزومی ندارد که همه رخداد های را بر پایه جهان مادی توجیه و تفسیر کنیم بلکه دنیای باطنی ما ممکن است قوانین فیزیکی مادی را نقض کنند و مثلا ما از حادث شدن رویدادی پیش از وقوع آن آگاهی یابیم. تاکید نویسنده بیشتر بر نشانه ها است. ممکن است پدیده ای حاکی از یک چرخه پیچیده از فضای درونی ما و فضای بیرونی داشته باشد و ارتباط تنگاتنگ این دو مقوله ممکن است بر پایه قوانین فیزیکی قابل بیان نباشد. لذا باید بر تجربیات، احساسات و عواطف خود در قبال برخی از چیزها مهم در زندگی دقت بیشتری داشت چرا که ممکن است آنها نشانه ای نهفته در درون خود داشته باشند.
زمان های مهم زندگی رخ داده باشند را می توان جزو موارد همزمانی برشمرد. نوسینده بر این نکته تاکید دارد که لزومی ندارد که همه رخداد های را بر پایه جهان مادی توجیه و تفسیر کنیم بلکه دنیای باطنی ما ممکن است قوانین فیزیکی مادی را نقض کنند و مثلا ما از حادث شدن رویدادی پیش از وقوع آن آگاهی یابیم. تاکید نویسنده بیشتر بر نشانه ها است. ممکن است پدیده ای حاکی از یک چرخه پیچیده از فضای درونی ما و فضای بیرونی داشته باشد و ارتباط تنگاتنگ این دو مقوله ممکن است بر پایه قوانین فیزیکی قابل بیان نباشد. لذا باید بر تجربیات، احساسات و عواطف خود در قبال برخی از چیزها مهم در زندگی دقت بیشتری داشت چرا که ممکن است آنها نشانه ای نهفته در درون خود داشته باشند.
November 27, 2018
I purchased There are No Accidents two decades ago, but set it aside because I suspected it to be overly deterministic and shallow. I was wrong. I had to wait until I was receptive to a spiritual, poetic exploration of the meaning of life before I could appreciate it. I'm glad I waited, because I found Hopcke's discussion of synchronistic events to be fascinating. By synchronism, he means events and occurrences that cannot be explained but that can provide meaning to an individual looking for guidance.
This is the crux of what he says. It's not that any casual coincidence you encounter has a spiritual dimension, it's that within your life such a coincidence may offer a key to understanding. What's helpful to you may be meaningless to another person. It's not that such events are foreordained, it's that such an event may have symbolic significance.
Such synchronicity is most meaningful during the transitions in life--finding love, a home, work, experiencing loss and tragedy. In order to benefit, some inner work is needed, such as the kind that Hopcke engages in with his clients. Or the work that an artist, composer, writer does to wrest meaning out of the world they confront. Or how spiritual seekers find their path to God.
For anyone interested in these pathways, I recommend this book.
This is the crux of what he says. It's not that any casual coincidence you encounter has a spiritual dimension, it's that within your life such a coincidence may offer a key to understanding. What's helpful to you may be meaningless to another person. It's not that such events are foreordained, it's that such an event may have symbolic significance.
Such synchronicity is most meaningful during the transitions in life--finding love, a home, work, experiencing loss and tragedy. In order to benefit, some inner work is needed, such as the kind that Hopcke engages in with his clients. Or the work that an artist, composer, writer does to wrest meaning out of the world they confront. Or how spiritual seekers find their path to God.
For anyone interested in these pathways, I recommend this book.
July 7, 2019
این کتاب، یکی از بهترین کتابهاییه که میتونه بهت کمک کنه معنایی که فراتر از اتفاقات ناگوار زندگی وجود داره رو بهتر ببینی و درک کنی، و این رو یاد میگیری که در پسِ هر اتفاقی که به نظرت تلخ و ناگوار میاد دلیلی وجود داره که اون رو متوجه میشی، اینطوری راحتتر میتونی تجربههای زندگیت رو بپذیری. و خودت رو به دست اتفاقات بسپاری. امیدوارم اگر تو هم مطالعهش کردی به اندازهی من ازش لذت ببری.
June 21, 2011
'Synchronicity and The Stories of Our Lives' The author uses real life stories to reinforce the theory. He seems to be a long time student of the teachings of Carl Jung. His writing is delightful as he works hard to support the theory.
June 25, 2018
Hopcke, Jungian psychotherapist, explores all the moments of synchronicity surrounding our lives if we'd only look around. It's organized well with some good food for thought. unfortunately, it's drier than stale bread.
March 12, 2011
I found the concept of synchronicity very interesting and I enjoyed the stories, but I got lost in the Jungian terminology sometimes.
April 15, 2025
The subtitle of this non-fiction book is 'Synchronicity and the Stories of our Lives.' I don't review every non-fiction book I ever read, but make an exception for those with material I'd really love to remember. I discovered this book at a secondhand shop, which itself might be a stroke of fortune.
The word 'synchronicity' itself was coined by the Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, and the simplest definition is, 'a meaningful coincidence.' In this book, Hopcke first puts forward five hallmarks that are generally ticked off in any typical synchronistic event.
1) They are acausally connected, instead of having any sequence that can be attributed to cause and effect.
2) They often occur with the accompaniment of deep emotional resonance. Often this occurs at the time of the event itself, but not always. (I've experienced a combination of on-the-spot and delayed revelations.)
3) The content is symbolic in its nature. (This opens interesting fields such as the collective unconscious, which is something like a psychic storehouse of the human race that contains collections of symbols or 'archetypes' which may take the form of people or situations. My interest in archetypes has been stirred as a result of reading this book.)
4) They often occur at points of important transitions in our lives.
5) They tend to contain a numinous tone. In other words, when they occur, we feel that we are undeniably and irresistibly in the presence of the divine.
Hopcke advises us early on to willingly listen to whatever life presents. And being a writer, I love his suggestion that given the dramatic quality of synchronistic events, it may be that true life sometimes mimics fiction, rather than vice versa.
I also appreciate the idea, reflected in many of these anecdotes, that when things don't go to plan, the results may prove to be fortuitous rather than disastrous. Jung posited that they 'relativize the ego.' That is, they help tame our human desire to be controllers and masters of everything we face. Instead, synchronicities may lead us to see things from a larger perspective, with a far broader wisdom than anything we can comprehend. (Whew, I'd love to think so.)
Over the years I've come across thoughts by Christian authors on similar topics, but these writers have an agenda, so to speak. It's refreshing that Hopcke considers himself to hold an agnostic point of view, yet has still researched deeply enough to see that something deeper than what we can wrap our heads around is at play.
He believes that nocturnal dreams may be assumed meaningful, but not in the sense that dream dictionaries with alphabetical listings may have us believe, for humans are not formed from cookie cutters and nothing is that pat. Similar dream scenarios may hold different significance for different people.
Hopcke suggests that examining synchronistic events is similar to interpreting the meaning of a story, which every English and Creative Writing student is drilled to do. A vast variety of possible applications abound, and we must take into account our subjective experiences (how they made us feel, what they made us think, how they fit into our overall stories).
I loved reading the many examples he's collected from several people. Some of the synchronicities seem feather-light, yet still tick the features from the list above. Reading these reinforce to me that I've experienced several in my own life. I won't inflate this review by including them here, but if I ever write about them in detail, I'll link it back to this post.
I gotta love the thought that some invisible hand at work supplies our bulwark and meaning all through life, gently shifting scenes into place when we're clueless. That sort of evidence is abundant here.
I'll finish off with this quote in full, from the father of synchronicity, Carl Jung.
'The problem of synchronicity has puzzled me for a long time, ever since the middle twenties when I was investigating the phenomena of the collective unconscious and kept coming across connections which I simply could not explain as chance groupings or "runs". What I found were coincidences which were connected so meaningfully that their chance occurrence would represent a degree of improbability that would have to be expressed by an astronomical figure.'
Wow!
The word 'synchronicity' itself was coined by the Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, and the simplest definition is, 'a meaningful coincidence.' In this book, Hopcke first puts forward five hallmarks that are generally ticked off in any typical synchronistic event.
1) They are acausally connected, instead of having any sequence that can be attributed to cause and effect.
2) They often occur with the accompaniment of deep emotional resonance. Often this occurs at the time of the event itself, but not always. (I've experienced a combination of on-the-spot and delayed revelations.)
3) The content is symbolic in its nature. (This opens interesting fields such as the collective unconscious, which is something like a psychic storehouse of the human race that contains collections of symbols or 'archetypes' which may take the form of people or situations. My interest in archetypes has been stirred as a result of reading this book.)
4) They often occur at points of important transitions in our lives.
5) They tend to contain a numinous tone. In other words, when they occur, we feel that we are undeniably and irresistibly in the presence of the divine.
Hopcke advises us early on to willingly listen to whatever life presents. And being a writer, I love his suggestion that given the dramatic quality of synchronistic events, it may be that true life sometimes mimics fiction, rather than vice versa.
I also appreciate the idea, reflected in many of these anecdotes, that when things don't go to plan, the results may prove to be fortuitous rather than disastrous. Jung posited that they 'relativize the ego.' That is, they help tame our human desire to be controllers and masters of everything we face. Instead, synchronicities may lead us to see things from a larger perspective, with a far broader wisdom than anything we can comprehend. (Whew, I'd love to think so.)
Over the years I've come across thoughts by Christian authors on similar topics, but these writers have an agenda, so to speak. It's refreshing that Hopcke considers himself to hold an agnostic point of view, yet has still researched deeply enough to see that something deeper than what we can wrap our heads around is at play.
He believes that nocturnal dreams may be assumed meaningful, but not in the sense that dream dictionaries with alphabetical listings may have us believe, for humans are not formed from cookie cutters and nothing is that pat. Similar dream scenarios may hold different significance for different people.
Hopcke suggests that examining synchronistic events is similar to interpreting the meaning of a story, which every English and Creative Writing student is drilled to do. A vast variety of possible applications abound, and we must take into account our subjective experiences (how they made us feel, what they made us think, how they fit into our overall stories).
I loved reading the many examples he's collected from several people. Some of the synchronicities seem feather-light, yet still tick the features from the list above. Reading these reinforce to me that I've experienced several in my own life. I won't inflate this review by including them here, but if I ever write about them in detail, I'll link it back to this post.
I gotta love the thought that some invisible hand at work supplies our bulwark and meaning all through life, gently shifting scenes into place when we're clueless. That sort of evidence is abundant here.
I'll finish off with this quote in full, from the father of synchronicity, Carl Jung.
'The problem of synchronicity has puzzled me for a long time, ever since the middle twenties when I was investigating the phenomena of the collective unconscious and kept coming across connections which I simply could not explain as chance groupings or "runs". What I found were coincidences which were connected so meaningfully that their chance occurrence would represent a degree of improbability that would have to be expressed by an astronomical figure.'
Wow!
March 1, 2025
So many thoughts.
I’ve owned this book since it was first published in 1997, a purchase I made in high school, but I had never read the entire book until now, although it has come with me from place to place over the years. I liked to tell the story of how I started reading it but slammed it shut at the part where the book discussed the number 11. I now see that truly wasn’t very far into it and it was barely a page or two in the entire book!
My thoughts having finally finished it. I really enjoyed the book. The stories are unbelievable and yet I believe them. Even though he is repetitive and too wordy at times, the author, especially for a psychiatrist, writes a pretty easy book to get drawn into. It’s written for the lay man, and anyone can read it and not be overwhelmed. I do also strongly believe that things happen for a reason and that sometimes we are pushed/pulled into certain directions at certain times. I have my own examples. I firmly believe in the purpose and truths of this book. Some chapters are more enlightening than others but they all have a good place in the whole. I know the last chapter that covered birth certainly hit me strongly now, having a daughter.
They say if this book finds its way into your hands you are meant to read it. I didn’t think that meant 25+ years later, but life is funny. It’s almost like maybe I needed it now more than I did then. I currently feel at a time of transition (mid-life crisis?) where I feel at least a few things in my life are hanging and I’m asking myself what now, what next? Maybe I’ll be more inclined and open to signs and synchronistic moments telling me what is next. Goodness knows I feel uncertain enough, maybe there is a reason why now, after all these years, I finally chose to truly embrace and finally finish this book. I am grateful to have done so, and I suppose I shall see.
I’ve owned this book since it was first published in 1997, a purchase I made in high school, but I had never read the entire book until now, although it has come with me from place to place over the years. I liked to tell the story of how I started reading it but slammed it shut at the part where the book discussed the number 11. I now see that truly wasn’t very far into it and it was barely a page or two in the entire book!
My thoughts having finally finished it. I really enjoyed the book. The stories are unbelievable and yet I believe them. Even though he is repetitive and too wordy at times, the author, especially for a psychiatrist, writes a pretty easy book to get drawn into. It’s written for the lay man, and anyone can read it and not be overwhelmed. I do also strongly believe that things happen for a reason and that sometimes we are pushed/pulled into certain directions at certain times. I have my own examples. I firmly believe in the purpose and truths of this book. Some chapters are more enlightening than others but they all have a good place in the whole. I know the last chapter that covered birth certainly hit me strongly now, having a daughter.
They say if this book finds its way into your hands you are meant to read it. I didn’t think that meant 25+ years later, but life is funny. It’s almost like maybe I needed it now more than I did then. I currently feel at a time of transition (mid-life crisis?) where I feel at least a few things in my life are hanging and I’m asking myself what now, what next? Maybe I’ll be more inclined and open to signs and synchronistic moments telling me what is next. Goodness knows I feel uncertain enough, maybe there is a reason why now, after all these years, I finally chose to truly embrace and finally finish this book. I am grateful to have done so, and I suppose I shall see.
April 22, 2021
Although I found that over the Chapters the topic and teaching was repetitive, I must say I very much enjoyed this book and I find the topic to be an important one that not enough authors (therapists, in this case) write about in an "empirical" way, posing real life examples of how synchronicities really do make up the stories of our lives. To be honest, I think that not much people look at life through these lenses and a lot of synchronistic experiences get lost into oblivion. Robert H. Hopcke makes a great case in why and how these events are important and adds on the "superior" teaching these can offer to the person experiencing them. Thank you, Robert, for sharing these insight stories with us readers! Can recommend to people interested in psychology, philosophy and a bit of mysticism <3. Cheers readers <3!!!
February 20, 2024
I was really looking forward to reading this book because I've been really into the idea lately that the Universe puts you on a path you're supposed to be on; that the Universe provides you with what you need, if you're willing to deeply pay attention. So anyway, I was really looking forward to a book on this topic and about synchronistic events, events that are more than mere coincidences, but are deeply meaningful to you. But it turns out that reading about other people's experiences are kind of like listening to other people retell you their dreams: boring. And I felt like the author kept repeating himself over and over again, trying to basically make the same theoretical points over and over again. So in the end I skimmed through a lot of this book. I'm still interested in the ideas. I'm still diving deeper. But ultimately this book fell flat for me. Moving on . . .
June 3, 2024
Molto interessante ma un po' troppo "monotono".
Ho molto apprezzato il modo in cui l'autore tratta del concetto junghiano della sincronicità. Le tante storie raccontate fanno perfettamente capire cosa distinguono le coincidenze dagli eventi sincronistici, oltre a trasmettere bene l'importanza soggettiva che questi ultimi hanno nelle nostre vite. Ho trovato molto bella anche l'idea di suddividere i racconti a seconda della situazione in cui si è verificato l'evento sincronistico, poiché in questo modo ogni argomento è stato approfondito individualmente e in modo più preciso.
L'unica grande pecca, a mio parere, è la lunghezza del libro: penso che se le storie fossero state meno, il concetto sarebbe passato comunque affatto e il tutto non sarebbe risultato così ripetitivo, quindi sarebbe stato anche più piacevole.
Ho molto apprezzato il modo in cui l'autore tratta del concetto junghiano della sincronicità. Le tante storie raccontate fanno perfettamente capire cosa distinguono le coincidenze dagli eventi sincronistici, oltre a trasmettere bene l'importanza soggettiva che questi ultimi hanno nelle nostre vite. Ho trovato molto bella anche l'idea di suddividere i racconti a seconda della situazione in cui si è verificato l'evento sincronistico, poiché in questo modo ogni argomento è stato approfondito individualmente e in modo più preciso.
L'unica grande pecca, a mio parere, è la lunghezza del libro: penso che se le storie fossero state meno, il concetto sarebbe passato comunque affatto e il tutto non sarebbe risultato così ripetitivo, quindi sarebbe stato anche più piacevole.
February 9, 2025
So, I’m not even to page 65 and I’ve read more stories of infidelity, stories about married men and women fantasizing and pining for other people, than I care to know about. I get it, it does happen- but this author romanticizes if not glorifies it more than it should be. It’s possible to tell the same story without having to divulge how “he would often have dreams of her, sometimes explicitly erotic dreams”.
I was hoping for some actual great stories- some seem to be reaching while others I had to read a few times. I still don’t see the significance in the one lady giving a guy the wrong number and how it affected them. Other than a few events here or there, there wasn’t much synchronicity - or what I would consider synchronicity.
I think I’ll just skim the rest and if my mind changes, I’ll change this review
I was hoping for some actual great stories- some seem to be reaching while others I had to read a few times. I still don’t see the significance in the one lady giving a guy the wrong number and how it affected them. Other than a few events here or there, there wasn’t much synchronicity - or what I would consider synchronicity.
I think I’ll just skim the rest and if my mind changes, I’ll change this review
October 8, 2017
La théorie du hasard dirigé de Teilhard de Chardin a suscité chez moi un vif intérêt à la fin de mon adolescence. J'ai dès lors poursuivi ma quête sur le mécanisme de l'instinct, du hasard et de la synchronicité. Mes lectures m'ont projeté dans l'univers de la théorie de la relativité, de la gnose de Princeton, de la physique quantique et des conférences de Nassim Haramein. Au fil de ma vie, j'ai promené mes lectures entre la biographie d'Einstein et la Prophétie des Andes, passant du complexe au léger. Ici, c'est léger, très léger, superficiel même. Un petit guide sur le hasard plutôt mal écrit qui jette ici et là des témoignages concernant la synchronicité et qui confirme ce que la plupart savent déjà. Rien de scientifique. Rien de mal. Rien de génial non plus.
April 27, 2020
El libro esta conformado por muchas historias, sus eventos sincronisticos o lo que algunos pueden llamar casualidades. Pero el autor trata de enseñarnos que las casualidades no existen, que todos esos hechos los atraemos cuando buscamos respuestas.
La primera parte me gusto mucho, deja ver que todos los seres humanos somos una historia, un libro. Esto nos hace reflexionar y mirar hacia atrás observando cada capitulo de nuestra vida. Buscando en que momento nos encontramos con algún evento sincronistico y como esto nos ayudo a ver la situación desde otro punto de vista.
Debo reconocer que terminar este libro fue difícil. Las ultimas 100 paginas me parecieron muy repetitivas. Pero en general es interesante
La primera parte me gusto mucho, deja ver que todos los seres humanos somos una historia, un libro. Esto nos hace reflexionar y mirar hacia atrás observando cada capitulo de nuestra vida. Buscando en que momento nos encontramos con algún evento sincronistico y como esto nos ayudo a ver la situación desde otro punto de vista.
Debo reconocer que terminar este libro fue difícil. Las ultimas 100 paginas me parecieron muy repetitivas. Pero en general es interesante
August 12, 2020
اين كتاب پديده همزماني از نظر روانشناسي يونگي بررسي مي كنه و معتقده كه بعضي از اتفاقات كه توي زندگي ما رخ ميدن نشونه هستن و ما بايد اينا رو در يابيم و اين صحبتا. در اول كتاب به شدت علت و معلول رو زير سوال ميبره و ميگه نبايد اينقد علت و معلولي باشيم و بعضي اتفاق ها بدون دليل رخ ميدن.
حقيقتش من لذت نبردم از خوندن كتاب. دقيقا برخلاف تصوري بود كه از كتاب داشتم. قبل از اينكه كتاب رو شروع كنم فكر مي كردم با كتابي منطقي طرفم، ولي فهميدم دقيقا برعكس و اعتقاد داره كه علت و معلول رو بايد گاهي وقتا فراموش كرد.
اين كتاب رو با يكي از دوستان يونگيني خونديم و اون هم اعتقاد داشت كه در زمينه روانشناسي يونگي كتاب سطحي اي هستش
حقيقتش من لذت نبردم از خوندن كتاب. دقيقا برخلاف تصوري بود كه از كتاب داشتم. قبل از اينكه كتاب رو شروع كنم فكر مي كردم با كتابي منطقي طرفم، ولي فهميدم دقيقا برعكس و اعتقاد داره كه علت و معلول رو بايد گاهي وقتا فراموش كرد.
اين كتاب رو با يكي از دوستان يونگيني خونديم و اون هم اعتقاد داشت كه در زمينه روانشناسي يونگي كتاب سطحي اي هستش
July 18, 2020
The trouble with this book from my point of view is that I expected it, reasonably I reckon, for it to be full of amazing stories of synchronicities - events that coincide in such a way as to indicate there is a meaning behind or a reason for them doing so. But what it actually is, is mostly lengthy descriptions of what synchronicities are and why they are meaningful, in a general way. Which I found incredibly boring. So the actual stories were interesting but I had to wade through so much unnecessary explanation that in the end I gave up.
September 29, 2025
I appreciate Hopcke’s ability to take Jung’s concepts, make them clear and relevant, and place them in everyday contexts that show they can still play a role today. He makes Jung feel reasonable rather than excessively mystical.
What I find somewhat lacking in this book is guidance on what one is to do with synchronistic experiences. One quickly understands (fairly early in the book) what they are, but not quite what to make of them. At the same time, perhaps it is enough with the transformation the event brings about in the person.
What I find somewhat lacking in this book is guidance on what one is to do with synchronistic experiences. One quickly understands (fairly early in the book) what they are, but not quite what to make of them. At the same time, perhaps it is enough with the transformation the event brings about in the person.
March 29, 2020
En su libro “El Azar No Existe”, Robert Hopcke plantea la posibilidad de que existe algo más poderoso que nos va guiando durante nuestra vida. Las coincidencias son descartadas y reformuladas por momentos donde las sincronicidades tienen lugar. En este mundo donde los planes, en muchas ocasiones, se ven modificados por fuerzas externas, el autor invita al lector a prestar atención a las señales que estos cambios inesperados tienen para nosotros.
April 16, 2020
Libro molto bello che ti invita a riflettere. Ho capito che la nostra esistenza è una storia e sono gli eventi sincronistici (raccolti sotto la categoria del "caso") a far sì che ce ne rendiamo conto. Molto interessante il pensiero dell'inconscio collettivo e degli archetipi (modello-originale) di Carl Gustav Jung, psichiatra e psicoanalista che non conoscevo prima. Alcuni concetti opinabili a mio parere, ma comunque un bel libro, lo consiglio.
April 27, 2019
Great points on the importance of recognizing the stories we are living, our impulse to seek wholeness in our joys and our suffering through synchronicity. Some of the examples seemed redundant and unnecessary. I loved the ending, the whole last chapter on birth and death. The dream chapter was too long and added a ridiculous element to an otherwise rational book.
October 1, 2022
This book is better suited for an entry level individual just getting into the very basic understanding on the subject. It wasn’t horribly written. I was just bored by it, as I didn’t really learn anything new.
That being said, this is only my personal opinion. I could see how another may find its content of some value.
That being said, this is only my personal opinion. I could see how another may find its content of some value.
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