Many years ago, my struggling ad agency made a major bid against several other companies for part of the account of the then biggest multinational advertiser in the country. After our afternoon-long presentation, the client company’s expat president excused himself, saying he had to attend a cocktail reception.

After he left, I told my people we had done our best, and our company’s continued operation would now depend on whether we won the account or not. I then proceeded to a cocktail event of my own, and guess who was the first person to greet me as I entered the reception venue.

“Gil, I’m glad to see you here,” animatedly said the company president to whom we had just presented earlier. “I liked your presentation but I have some reservations and questions about your company. I hope you don’t mind us talking about them right now.” And we did, in a more private corner of the room.

I have no doubt it was that totally unexpected opportunity for me to address his concerns that made him decide to give us the account shortly after. His company became our biggest client, eventually giving us over half a billion pesos in annual billings by the time I retired.

Coincidence

The win not only enabled our beleaguered company to survive, but propelled it to become one of the top ad agencies in the country up to this day. All this because of a fortunate “coincidence.”

Fast forward to a number of years later, another make-or-break crisis loomed for us. By this time, our company had become prosperous, growing rapidly with a healthy roster of blue-chip clients.

But in the immediate aftermath of the controversial 1985 presidential snap elections (in which Ferdinand Marcos had himself fraudulently declared the winner), Cory Aquino called for a nationwide boycott of all the companies owned by or associated with his cronies. I was surprised to see some of my own clients, who were not even local but multinational, on the boycott list.

Being part of the group planning the boycott, my position was untenable, and I could see my company heading for an insurmountable obstacle this time.

Seemingly hopeless

The country’s political crisis had become very personal for me, and so my prayers for deliverance from the seemingly hopeless situation had become very personal, too.

Miraculously, with only two days left before the scheduled start of the boycott, the historical Edsa people’s uprising happened, toppling the dictatorship and saving my company from almost certain ruin.

And to punctuate this unexpected turn of events, the phenomenon culminated on Feb. 25, nationally celebrated today as Edsa Day, which also happens to be my own birthday. Another “coincidence.”

There was also a time I was nursing a troublesome molar and the dentist treating me was at a loss because I had developed allergies to antibiotics and anesthesia.

To relieve my anxiety while thinking of what to do next, I decided to go to the golf driving range and hit a few balls. There I chanced upon an old friend of mine, a dentist whom I hadn’t seen for a long time, who was also hitting balls.

When I told him my predicament, he said, “Come and see me tomorrow and let’s see what we can do.” Needless to say, he found a solution to my nagging dental problem. Yet another “coincidence.”

Situation-saving

After other such situation-saving “coincidences” kept happening to me, I decided to do some research to find out if there was any literature on this recurring experience.

I soon discovered that it was called “synchronicity,” a term coined by the famous analytical psychologist Carl Jung, who defined it as “meaningful coincidences,” which occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related, and allegedly cannot be explained by means of chance (wikipedia.org).

Another way of looking at synchronicity is the adage that “there are no coincidences and there is a purpose for everything that happens.” This is consistent with the view that “synchronicities” are events, places or people that your soul attracts into your life to help you evolve to higher consciousness or take emphasis to something that is going on in your life (tokenrock.com).

There are many kinds of synchronistic events, some quite amazing but seemingly with little impact on our lives. An example would be dreaming or thinking of an absent loved one or a friend, only to have that person call or visit us immediately after.

Life-changing

But other synchronicities have great impact on people’s lives and can even be life-changing.

An example would be meeting your future lifetime partner at a time and place where neither of you were supposed to be, but were only there by “accident” or because of unusual circumstances.

If you want to be more conscious of, and open to benefiting more from synchronistic events in your life, here are some helpful suggestions I have culled from different overlapping sources (mainly lifeplandesign.com, “How to super-accelerate synchronicity”; #Christina Lopes, “3 ways to master synchronicity”):

The first thing to remember is that there are no cut-and-dried, standard manifestations of synchronicity. Each of us has a different awareness, and we interpret events according to our own unique perception.

Quiet your mind and live in the present moment. This makes you more receptive to the messages God/the universe are sending you. Regular meditation is helpful.

Set your goals and intentions, pray for them and then let go of your attachment to the outcomes you want.

Trust and follow your intuition and inner guidance. If you get an urge to do something proactive and positive, act on it.

Ask God/the universe for clarity (i.e. more signs) if you are not sure what the signs you have so far received are telling you. If you are attentive, signs can come from any source, such as a dream, a book passage, a poem or lyrics of a song, an article or essay, a chance conversation and much more.

In my own experience, after I had become more aware and expectant of synchronistic events in my life, their frequency and significance also seemed to have increased.

Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.—Carl Jung

Synchronicity is God sending us messages anonymously. —Deepak Chopra