Mere Coincidence or Synchronicity? New Book Looks at Finding Deeper Meaning in Everyday Events

A recent story on the cover of the New York Times Magazine raises an important, if confusing, question: is coincidence always just pure happenstance?" How many times a day do amazing events occur to millions of people, totally by chance? Is it truly chance? Celebrated author Carol Lynn Pearson also tackles these questions in her new book, Consider the Butterfly: Transforming Your Life Through Meaningful Coincidence. Pearson, however, takes the question of coincidence a step further-is there something hidden" in those everyday events that we should be examining for deeper meaning? Should we be studying these seemingly random occurrences for life lessons, spiritual clues"-even divine messages?

A recent story on the cover of the New York Times Magazine raises an important, if confusing, question: is coincidence always just pure happenstance?" How many times a day do amazing events occur to millions of people, totally by chance? Is it truly chance? Celebrated author Carol Lynn Pearson also tackles these questions in her new book, Consider the Butterfly: Transforming Your Life Through Meaningful Coincidence (Gibbs Smith, Publisher; 160 pp; $12.95 hardcover; 1-58685-174-6; September 2002). Pearson, however, takes the question of coincidence a step further-is there something hidden" in those everyday events that we should be examining for deeper meaning? Should we be studying these seemingly random occurrences for life lessons, spiritual clues"-even divine messages?

Everyone has at some point experienced the phenomenon of synchronicity, defined by Carl Jung this way: Where it is plain that no causal connection can be demonstrated between two events, but where a meaningful relationship nevertheless exists between them, a wholly different type of principal is likely to be operating-this is synchronicity." Jungian theory aside, synchronicities can be fascinating, entertaining, thought-provoking, or just plain weird. They can shock and amaze, or just baffle. Carol Lynn Pearson has been tracking her synchronistic experiences for years, cataloging and analyzing them for deeper meaning. Her findings form the basis of this intriguing and moving new book, in which she asserts through her own compelling stories, that learning the language of synchronicity can help anyone to see the events of daily life as not simply random happenings, but rather special messages that offer helpful clues on lifes journey.

Some believe that synchronicity and intuition go hand in hand, and neither should be dismissed easily. Pure pragmatists might argue that this is all a desperate attempt to find meaning where none exists. With Consider the Butterfly, Pearson challenges those who believe and those who doubt to take a closer look at their own experiences and contemplate what, if any, meaning can be culled from them, and what they might be trying to tell us. Pearsons stories offer both the idealist and the pragmatist a fascinating look at one womans journey to discover and embrace the experience of synchronicity.

Carol Lynn Pearson is the best-selling author of more than thirty books and plays. Her works-including the classic Goodbye, I Love You, an award-winning, one-woman play Mother Wove the Morning, and several books of poetry-have continually probed spiritual themes in unique and surprising ways. Pearsons prolific career as a writer, poet and performer has taken her all over the world as a lecturer and speaker to a variety of organizations. Pearson holds an M.A. in Theater, and is the mother of four grown children. To learn more about Carol Lynn and her books, please visit www.carollynnpearson.net.

Founded in 1969, Gibbs Smith, Publisher specializes in books on design and architecture, and also features titles from categories including childrens (featuring the celebrated Sierra Club Books for Children series), inspirational, nature, gardening, western, holiday and cookbooks. In addition, Gibbs Smith, Publisher offers an impressive array of other inspirational titles from Carol Lynn Pearson, such as the celebrated A Fable For Our Times" series, which includes The Lesson, Will You Still Be My Daughter, A Sister, Girlfriend You Are the Best, The Gift, What Love Is, and A Strong Man.

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