Meaningful Coincidences How and Why Synchronicity and

Serendipity Happen

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Dedicated to the seeds of this book: Snapper
and Karl Beitman of blessed memory
 MEANINGFUL
COINCIDENCE
S

“Synchronicity connects you with nonlocal awareness and with

others. Serendipity is opportunity meets preparedness. This book is
an excellent guide.”
DEEPAK CHOPRA, M.D.

“A pioneering work—Beitman synthesizes findings from diverse

disciplines, ranging from theology to biogeochemistry, which are as
convincing as they are awe-inspiring. Dr. Beitman expands our
understanding of uncanny coincidence by applying his
discriminating eye as a former academic researcher and his
receptive heart and spirit as a psychiatrist in private practice who
engages in these lived mysteries with his patients. Upon reading,
expect to experience more meaningful coincidences.”
HELEN MARLO, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL
PSYCHOLOGY AND THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR AT NOTRE
DAME DE NAMUR UNIVERSITY

“Is it a mere coincidence that you’ve noticed this book on

coincidences? After you’ve read it, you may agree with author and
psychiatrist Bernard Beitman that some synchronicities are far more
than dumb luck. They also provide clues about the holistic fabric of
reality that binds everything and everyone together. A thoroughly
engaging and well-written examination of a perpetually fascinating
form of human experience.”
 DEAN RADIN, PH.D., CHIEF SCIENTIST AT THE INSTITUTE
OF NOETIC SCIENCES

“Bernard Beitman has given us something fundamentally new and

helpful here: a careful and rigorous modeling of coincidences that
are not just coincidences and then a way of practically integrating
them into our lives, thought, and public culture. Many writers have
commented on the subject. None have been this careful, this
thorough, and, frankly, this eloquent. If I may, Dr. Beitman makes
the impossible possible. Welcome to the psychosphere.”
JEFFREY J. KRIPAL, PH.D., AUTHOR OF THE
SUPERHUMANITIES

“In Meaningful Coincidences, Dr. Beitman argues that meaningful

coincidences are both common and normal in everyday life.
Brimming with astounding examples, this important book
introduces a typology of coincidences that brings much-needed
conceptual rigor to their study and understanding. Beitman shows
how, regardless of their cause or mechanism, we can use meaningful
coincidences to enrich our lives and help heal our fractured society.
This book will challenge what you thought you knew about your life
and role in the world.”
BRUCE GREYSON, M.D., CHESTER F. CARLSON
PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF PSYCHIATRY AND
NEUROBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF
VIRGINIA

“In this fascinating analysis of the anatomy of coincidences, the

author dives into what makes coincidences meaningful and what we
can learn from them. If you’d like to explore this exciting topic—
and learn how to open yourself up to meaningful coincidences—this
book is for you.”
CHRISTIAN BUSCH, PH.D., CLINICAL ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR AT NYU AND AUTHOR OF THE SERENDIPITY
MINDSET
“A wonderful, highly readable account of meaningful coincidences.
The author—a psychiatrist, researcher, podcast host, and more—has
devoted considerable talent, time, and resources to legitimizing the
study of coincidences. His systemic categorizations of these types of
events along with the articulation of coincidence sensitivity and
discussions of meta-coincidence make this a uniquely valuable
contribution to anyone seriously interested in the field.”
JOSEPH CAMBRAY, PH.D., PRESIDENT-CEO OF
PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE

“This book is a transdisciplinary look into the nature of connection

itself. In tracing the mechanisms and mysteries of coincidence and
charting the paradoxical nature of its exploration (for to discover the
reason behind a coincidence is to render it no longer one), Beitman
delightfully reveals that there is room for data in awe—but also
room for awe in data.”
A. NATASHA JOUKOVSKY, AUTHOR OF THE PORTRAIT OF
A MIRROR

“I have known Dr. Beitman as an earnest and dogged investigator of

what lies beneath the wonder of synchronicity experienced by so
many. He goes further than pursuing knowledge about these
phenomena for its own sake, however. He has founded a community
of fellows who share his drive, drawing from shared wisdom, and
thus Beitman’s work represents a growing body of data on personal
experiences in and around phenomena such as synchronicity and
serendipity.”
SAMANTHA COPELAND, PH.D., PHILOSOPHER AND
COFOUNDER AND COCHAIR OF THE SERENDIPITY
SOCIETY
 Acknowledgments

Patrick Huyghe edited a partially organized jumble of ideas into a

streamlined manuscript. Always supportive and kind and always a very
good friend.

Juliet Trail has long been a steadfast friend, supporter, and teacher, helping
to strengthen both the foundation of this book and the foundation of The
Coincidence Project

Leaders and members of the division of perceptual studies at the University

of Virginia provided an exquisite sounding board for my updates on this
project. I met Patrick through those meetings as well as Frank Pasciuti and
Michael Grosso with whom stimulating conversations helped develop this
book.

Dancers of the Charlottesville Dance cooperative and leaders of the

5Rhythm dance classes inspired me through the profoundly beautiful
experiences they had created and maintained. The dancers themselves were
seekers like me with whom I could learn and expand mutually intriguing
ideas. Ken Laster and Ann Kite were particularly instructive.

Barbara Groves, my therapist colleague and dear friend, energized me with

her deeply supportive emotions and our lively discussions about
psychological and spiritual matters.

Russ Federman connected me to Psychology Today where I was able to

blog coincidence ideas to a large and receptive audience. Ideas from some
of those blog posts were incorporated into this book.
High school friend and author Dave Morris contributed intermittent wry
commentary. He is always insightful and challenging.

Thanks also to Martin Plimmer and Brian King and to a few other collectors
of coincidence stories: my son Karlen Beitman with your reluctant reports
of coincidences, Walter Beitman and Dennis Beitman, Madeleine Laurent,
Gina Jamrozy, Julia Spencer, Gail O’Connell, and Larry Dossey.

I am deeply grateful to Carl Jung and to Horace Walpole. Jung’s pioneering

and courageous introduction of synchronicity to the Western mind planted
the seed from which this book has grown. Walpole, preceding and
unrecognized by Jung, planted the seed of meaningful coincidence with his
concept of serendipity.

And to my grandchildren, Zoe, Max, and Rose—I hope one day you get a
sense for what your Zayde was doing. Aaron, my son, and Liza, my
daughter-in-law, thank-you for the love you have brought into my life. And
Boomer, for your healthy and supportive skepticism

Thank you Richard Grossinger of Sacred Planet for seeing the promise is
this manuscript. Project editor Kayla Toher of Inner Traditions and copy
editor Sarah Galbraith lovingly embraced my ideas. . . . Thank you for
making them more real!

Gibbs Williams connected me with XZBN radio, which enabled me to

conduct 138 interviews with more than 100 people dedicated to studying
coincidences, and then I was able to interview 80 more people (and still
counting) on the Connecting with Coincidence podcast 2.0. Those
interviewees, including psychologists, business consultants, academic
leaders, shamans, teachers, and musicians, deepened and broadened my
understanding of coincidences. My thanks to: Tito Abao, Eben Alexander,
Marcus Anthony, Thomas Baruzzi, Patrick Belisle, Rosalyn Berne, Anna
Heleen Bijl, Lennart Björneborn, Ralph Blumenthal, Gary Bobroff, Carol
Bowman, Alexis Brooks, Laurence Browne, Larry Burk, Christian Busch,
Lisa Bucksbaum, Bethany Butzer, Joseph (Joe) Cambray, Étzel Cardeña,
Jim Carpenter, Cynthia Cavalli, Deepak Chopra, Christine Clawley, Mike
Clelland, Suzanne Clores, Samantha Copeland, Pam Coronado, JD (Julie)
Cross, John D’Earth, Brian Dailey, Jason DeBord, Sherrie Dillard, Doug
Dillon, Larry Dossey, Brendan Engen, Sanda Erdelez, Pippa Erlich, Sally
Rhine Feather, Frankie Fihn, Kiana Fitzgerald, Ken Godevenos, Ray
Grasse, Richard Grossinger, Michael Grosso, Wendy Halley, Charles
Hamner, David Hand, Buddy Helm, David Hench, Rey Hernandez, Eric
Hill, Robert Hopcke, John Ironmonger, Audrey Irvine, Tara MacIsaac, Sky
Nelson-Isaacs, Michael Jawer, Joseph Jaworski, Dahamindra Jeevan,
Linnea Johansson (Star), Frank Joseph, Amelía Aeon Karris, Ritu Kaushal,
Gordon Keirle-Smith, Edward F. Kelly, Michelle Kempton, Pagan Kennedy,
Neil Killion, Jeffrey Kripal, John Kruth, Noah Lampert, Josh Lane, Mary
Kay Landon, Tobias Raayoni Last, Laura Lee, Joshua Lengfelder, Ralph
Lewis, Lumari, Trish Macgregor, Chris Mackey, Roderick Main, Christa
Mariah, Julie Mariel, Terry Marks-Tarlow, Helen Marlo, Joe Mazur, Robert
(Rob) McConnell, Bonnie Mceneaney Mcnamara, Alessandra Melas, Philip
Merry, Greg Meyerhoff, Kathy Meyers, Jeffrey Mishlove, Julia Mossbridge,
Karen Newell, Magda Osman, Jennifer Palmer, Robert (Bob) Pargament,
Frank Pasciuti, Janet Payne, Marieta Pehlivanova, Robert Perry, Jessica
PryceJones, Dean Radin, Sharon Hewitt Rawlette, Peter Richards, Wendy
Ross, Harley Rotbart, Nora Ruebrook, Pninit Russo-Netzer, Martin Sand,
Sabrina Sauer, Kia Scherr, Gary Schwartz, Rupert Sheldrake, Yanik Silver,
Terje Simonsen, David Spiegelhalter, Maureen St. Germain, Sophie Strand,
Morgan Stebbins, David Strabala, Richard Tarnas, Yvonne Smith Tarnas,
Scott Taylor, Denise Thompson, John Townley, Juliet Trail, Jim Tucker,
Diogo Valadas Ponte, James Clement Van Pelt, Saskia Von Diest, Mustafa
Wahid, Ros Watt, Andrew Weil, Barbara Harris Whitfield, Gibbs Williams,
James Williford, Gary Wimmer, Katrin (Kat) Windsor, Peter Woodbury, and
Matthew Zylstra.
 Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword. The Invisible Currents That Connect and Unite Us by
Terry Marks-Tarlow, Ph.D.
Preface. How Coincidence Shaped My Life
Part 1. Defining Coincidence
Chapter 1. Anatomy of a Coincidence
Chapter 2. Types of Coincidence
Chapter 3. Patterns of Coincidence
Chapter 4. Coincidence Sensitivity
Part 2. Explaining Coincidence

Chapter 5. A Statistician’s Approach

Chapter 6. Signs from God
Chapter 7. Personal Agency
Chapter 8. Human GPS
Chapter 9. Problematic Coincidences
Chapter 10. Coincider Types

Part 3. Incorporating Coincidence into Your Life

Chapter 11. “There Are No Coincidences”

Chapter 12. From Unus Mundus to the Psychosphere
Chapter 13. Six Puzzling Cases
 Chapter 14. The Practical Uses of Coincidences
A Personal Postscript
Appendix 1. The Coincidence Project
Appendix 2. How to Write and Tell Coincidence Stories
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
 FOREWORD
The Invisible Currents That
Connect and Unite Us
Terry Marks-Tarlow, Ph.D.

Bernard Beitman, M.D., has experienced and studied coincidences for

decades. This book emerged from his infectious passion and extensive
scholarship and may be the most comprehensive guidebook ever written on
the subject. He examines coincidences through multiple lenses—Carl
Jung’s “synchronicity” (meaningful coincidences), Horace Walpole’s
“serendipity” (happy accidents), Paul Kammerer’s “seriality” (recurrence of
numbers or events), and his own concept of “simulpathity” (empathic
resonances across space or time). He also systematically categorizes
coincidences into three types, explains the conditions likely to stimulate
them, describes their benefits as well as limitations, and illuminates the
spectrum of possible explanations.
Dr. Beitman describes the range of patterns by which people experience
coincidences. These include: generalists, connectors, super-encounterers,
serialiers, probabilists, and theoreticians. I am a “generalist” insofar as
coincidences of all kinds have always been central to my life. When
younger, I recall special delight in grabbing a handful of nails, only to
discover I had nabbed exactly the number I needed. In my role as a clinical
psychologist, coincidences appear regularly. They show up as clusters in
new patients, like a series of artists or a series of attorneys. They emerge
from patient stories when outer events perfectly mirror inner issues. The
deeper or more charged the subject matter, the more likely synchronicities
are to appear. Both personally and professionally, these occurrences
continually inform me whether I am “in the flow” or facing a block.
Some people draw upon normative statistics that, by themselves, render
coincidences meaningless. By contrast, contemporary math and science
offer alternate possibilities. As Dr. Beitman states, Jung was influenced by
the physicist Wolfgang Pauli, a patient of his who introduced him to the
concept of nonlocality, the ability of quantum particles to become instantly
entangled even across huge expanses of space. I too am steeped in
contemporary science, which informs not only my view of synchronicity
but also my spirituality. I hold a special love for fractal geometry, a passion
shared by Rob Sacco and explained in the pages ahead. I believe that
fractals constitute a meta-level of patterns in the universe—the patterns of
the patterns we see.
Fractal geometry is a new branch of mathematics, dating back to the
1970s. From the field’s inception, discoverer/inventor Benoît Mandelbrot
recognized the relevance of fractals for capturing very complicated natural
shapes. The hallmark of a fractal, self-similarity, means that the pattern of
the whole is reflected in the pattern of the parts. We see this in the
branching fractals of trees, rivers, the arteries of our bodies, and neurons, in
all natural landscapes like coastlines and mountains, and, at a cultural level,
within archetypes found worldwide like the Trickster, Shadow, Good
Mother, and Hero that are repeated throughout human history.
Dr. Beitman intuitively understood the connection between fractals and
meaningful coincidences when he chose a fractal spiral to grace the cover
of this book. The author and I met through an interview on his podcast
Connecting with Coincidence (episode 239) after I had served as lead editor
for the book A Fractal Epistemology for a Scientific Psychology. During our
talk, I claimed that fractal principles provide the best naturalistic model of
how mind and matter so frequently mirror one another.
Self-similar patterns occur across multiple scales, whether in space or
time or across imaginary, symbolic realms. Self-similar spirals recur in the
growth of a nautilus shell and some snails, the pattern of a sunflower’s
seeds, or a galaxy’s curve. As the snail grows, the shell’s curve retains the
same relationship between part and whole. This is the essence of identity
everywhere—though our parts may change, they retain a vital relationship
to the whole: I am still myself, even though all the cells and fluids in my
body or the ideas in my mind continually change.
Fractal patterns also hold surprises, such as the closer you look, the
more self-similar pattern there is to see. Fractals also sport paradoxical
boundaries that are simultaneously open and closed. I may function
autonomously in some ways, yet I have a social brain that continually
penetrates and is penetrated by others. Interpersonal fractals may help to
explain interpersonal resonances.
After our interview Dr. Beitman entered a twilight zone between sleep
and waking that prompted him to invite me to write this foreword. Since
then he’s been seeing fractals everywhere, while I have been besieged by
coincidences. This is an example of relational interpenetration. We may
leave the womb, but our relationship with the whole never falters—we
interpenetrate with others and with our environment. With mind and matter
conceived this way, we can view coincidences naturalistically in terms of
self-similar resonances between inner and outer processes. Like tuning
forks, our brains, minds, and bodies sync up with one another as well as
with nature at large.
Dear reader, you will enjoy the pages ahead. Not only are they filled
with fascinating examples of coincidences they also illustrate a variety of
ways to understand, categorize, and ascribe meaning to such events.
Coincidences cannot help but fill us with wonder at the fundamental
interconnection between inner and outer realms.
Your personal synchronicities are both astounding yet common events.
Dr. Beitman’s book will help you normalize your experience of them and
empower you to feel more confident in telling your relatives and friends
about them. If you are as moved by what you read as I was, I hope you will
join Dr. Beitman in collectively using meaningful coincidences to
illuminate the invisible currents that connect and unite us.

TERRY MARKS-TARLOW, PH.D., is the editor of A Fractal Epistemology for a

Scientific Psychology (2020) as well as the author of Mythic Imagination
Today: The Interpenetration of Mythology and Science (2021).