From: Valence (valence10@hotmail.com)
Date: Mon Dec 09 2002 - 05:40:19 GMT
Hey Erin,
Thought I'd take a crack at your hypotheticals... just for fun of course.
ERIN
> So this is a coincidence?
> #1
> One of the synchronicity episodes that really intrigued Carl Jung occurred
> with a patient recounting her dream of a golden scarab beetle. A young
woman
> that Jung had been treating told him of a dream in which she had been
given a
> golden scarab. He was sitting with his back to a closed window while she
told
> him the dream.
>
> Suddenly he heard a gentle tapping and turned to see a flying insect
knocking
> against the window-pane from outside. Jung opened the window and caught
the
> creature in the air as it flew in. The insect closely resembled a golden
> scarab. In actuality it was a scarabaeid beetle, the common rose-chafer
> (Cetonia aurata).
>
> Normally, such insects would not come into a dark room, but at the same
moment
> the patient mentioned the beetle she had been given in her dream, this
beetle
> appeared at Jung's window.
RICK
So is it a coincidence? I have two answers....
(1) Yes, sort of. It is a coincidence, though not much of one. We are
told the woman is describing a dream which includes a 'golden scarab' beetle
when suddenly, a *common* scarabaeid beetle happens to appear by the window.
This 'coincidence' is supposedly bolstered by the fact that "such insects
would not come into a dark room, but at the same moment the patient
mentioned the beetle she had been given in her dream, this beetle appeared
at Jung's window".
First, we should note right up front that the beetle that appeared at
the window is not the same kind of beetle she was dreaming about. Second,
we should note that the beetle did not come into the room, it merely
appeared (or tapped) at the window.
This anecdotal evidence raises the question how tenuous the relationship
between the two 'events' can be and still be considered sychronistic. True,
they were both species of beetle. But for that matter, Jung might have
noted the same sort of 'coincidence' if a Volkswagon Beetle drove by the
office window... Or if someone walked by the window wearing a "Beatles"
t-shirt...etc. Moreover, had a moth tapped against the office window, he
might have said that she was describing a dream which contained a 'flying
insect' when suddenly, another 'flying insect' tapped at the window. If a
spider dropped by the window he might have noted the coincidence in the
appearance of a 'bug' while she was also describing a 'bug'. She was
decribing a 'golden' scarab... the appearance of anything of the color gold
would have created just as much of a coincidence.... You can see how far
this description game can be stretched. It's akin to the methods used by
psychics and astrologers... creating the appearance of a relationship,
connection, coincidence or prediction via the clever use of description.
(2) No, it's not a coincidence. We are told that Jung had his back to the
window. Perhaps the patient saw the beetle in the window before Jung did
and decided to have some fun with him (she also could have misidentified it
as a golden scarab if they really look so similar).
ERIN
> #2
> Another fascinating synchronicity story related by Carl Jung described a
dream
> of a student friend that came true. His friend's father had promised him a
> trip to Spain if he passed his final examination. His friend was so
excited
> about his upcoming trip that he began to dream about being in Spain. He
saw
> himself walking through a Spanish city in a street that led to a square
with a
> Gothic cathedral. He then turned a corner, into another street where he
saw an
> elegant carriage drawn by two cream-coloured horses. When Jung's friend
woke
> up, he told a group of companions at dinner about the dream. Shortly
> afterwards, he successfully passed his examinations, and went to Spain.
While
> he stood on one of the streets, he recognized the city of his dream. He
was
> astonished to find the square, the cathedral, and the carriage with the
two
> cream-coloured horses. Everything he saw in real life exactly corresponded
to
> the dream images. Jung, pg. 106.
RICK
Huh? This sounds more like anecdotal evidence for 'deja vu' than for
synchronicity... what's the sychronistic coincidence in this one?
rick
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