In every one of us there is a mystic. There is a part of us who recognizes signs. Some of us are sign junkies, some are denying them so intensely that it touches the ridiculous. Nonetheless, there are people who think of themselves as being able to recognize and read them properly. Of course, you, my dear reader, and me are one of those (sic!).
Let’s cut down to the point here. At times, we are all looking for signs. Why are we looking for signs? Do we need them? Do they exist at all or we are making them up?
To try and give my answers to these questions, I need some premises. I will suppose that we all like signs in our lives. Now it is much easier to try a solution for why we are after them. When it comes to this, I can think of the following possible answers:
1. Safety
Safety as the most basic human need can be a natural answer. Just by considering the existence of signs we are comforted by thinking that there is something bigger than us in life.
2. Direction
Another possible major answer. Getting signs are vital to presume a way out of a crisis situation. If we just consider Erikson’s model of human lifeline, there are crisis that are the key factors to define our lives. The pattern of crisis are giving us all the frame which turns out to have similitudes for our lives. Believing that we recognize signs in times of crisis is crucial to being able to take decisions.
3. Meaning
Looking for signs, recognizing signs and processing them for a message is how it usually goes. By processing them, we are at the phase of getting to the meaning of them. The need for meaning in life can be fulfilled at certain moments by deciphering signs we say we recognized.
It might not be a life-sign at all…
The premise here was that we all like signs. I deliberately not said that we all recognize signs. Although anyone can say that he recognized this or that as a sign, it is not easy to agree on that. Especially not if you have a critical mental attitude - as a good old-fashioned thinker should have. Can you admit at all, that someone, other than you, recognized a sign? Rationally you can not. And yes, this can get quite solipsist.
The type of signs I am talking about here, that are flirting with the mystic in us, have to be approached differently. The rationalist way will not help too much in my opinion. It can help not to fell over the horse, but an analytical way, an intuitive approach is more to be considered.
Synchronicity as confirmation
How you can be sure that you have recognized a sign? Is there a way to have some certainty that you did not fool yourself? I think it is. I believe it is the phenomenon that Jung defined - or rediscovered - as synchronicity. My take on deciphering life-signs is in accordance with his theory. This phenomenon is defined as acausal, which is essential here. It means that in terms of the rationalist cause and effect way of thinking we can not grasp it properly. It is a parallelism of events that are not based upon causality. Concurrently seeing both inner and outer is possible on the basis of synchronicity, but not causality. Of course, it is completely non-scientific, as you can not reproduce this phenomenon. Unique moments with unique significance. But undoubtedly they show up at times.
Conclusions:
- We are looking for signs in life, even if we don’t like to admit it.
- It seems that signs are a need in our lives.
- I propose synchronicity as the confirmative accompanying phenomenon for signs.
The questions I am asking here are also open for you to give your take on them:
- Why are we looking for signs?
- Do we need them?
- Do they exist at all or we are making them up?
- How you can be sure that you have recognized a sign?
- Is there a way to have some certainty that you did not fool yourself?
A short post scriptum. While I was thinking about a picture to attach to this post, I had several options in my mind. Finally I decided to go with one arcane from the tarot, called ‘The Star’. When I made my decision, in the exact next moment, I heard the following line in the song that was just playing in my room: “There is a star in the sky, Guiding my way with its light…” (Depeche Mode, Album: Violator, Song title: Waiting for the night). How about this? Is it time to find myself a shrink?!
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