A tick from the Universe

Spooky stuff happens to me quite frequently.

It used to destabilise and confuse me, but over time I have come to accept and integrate the funny coincidences that make me go “hmm” and learn to enjoy them as fun (and frequently funny) signs that I am on a good path.

This approach is one that I chose to adopt in 2021 after reading The Positive Psychology of Synchronicity by Dr Chris Mackey, an Australian psychologist of 40 years experience who spent a lot of his life exploring, integrating and experimenting with synchronicity.

Dr Mackey believed that experiencing a meaningful, unlikely coincidence served as a “tick” ✅ or wink 😉 from the universe - a small, sometimes amusing message that things are unfolding as they are meant to, and you should just keep on doing what you’re doing.

I was lucky enough to have a conversation with Dr Mackey back in 2021 when I reached out to him after reading his book, and experiencing profound relief that someone (with the required medical training and validatory letters after their name) could offer me an alternative, not horrific explanation for episodes of “mania” I started experiencing in 2018.

Dr Mackey and I spent a fascinating our or so, sharing our respective experiences of Synchronicity, and he very kindly reassured me that my condition (I had recently been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder) didn’t have to be life-limiting, and in fact could be wonderfully life-enhancing with the correct support and understanding in place.

Nothing I have experienced since we had that conversation 5 years ago has done anything to persuade me that his advice was in any way faulty.

I went back to Dr Mackey’s book in July this year, having experienced a resurgence of frequent Synchronicity at the beginning of a holiday, and aiming to refresh my memory on how to manage and control my response to spooky stuff. It occurred to me that I should email him and let him know how valuable his advice and support had been, only to find out that he had died suddenly in 2024.

The grief was surprisingly strong - I only spoke to him the once, and only for an hour, but I cannot overstate the impact of his empathy for and understanding of my experiences. I was profoundly sad that I would never be able to tell him how much I had benefitted from his expertise and knowledge.

Or so I thought….

A month or so later, I found myself ruminating on the situation and feeling drawn to expressing how I felt. I posted on LinkedIn to express my gratitude and make a light-hearted request for a “sign” so I could choose to believe that his spirit had heard me.

Half an hour after writing that post, a seagull crashed into my living room window.

It made a hell of a bang but flew away immediately, unharmed, leaving me slightly shocked and musing in wonder on the sea birds on the front cover of Dr Mackey’s book.

I cried quite a lot.

A week later, my copy of Dr Mackey’s book was lying open and face down on my sofa. I was chatting to my partner and noticed out of my peripheral vision, a wee beastie crawling over the cover. I picked up the book to investigate and instinctively recoiled to find that the beastie was a tick.

I’m not keen on ticks - I have a horror of their unpleasant habit of burrowing into skin and sucking blood, and their propensity to transmit Lyme’s disease. They seem like nasty wee creatures to me, and I took the book outside immediately to ping the tick off into the garden where it wouldn’t be able to bite us.

It took me several hours to realise what had happened; I was driving home from dropping my son at football later that evening, when suddenly it hit me and I burst out laughing.

Some random circumstance, influence or spiritual japester had sent a literal tick, to crawl over the cover of a book all about figurative “ticks” from the Universe.

Nice one, Universe.

I laughed quite a lot. 😂

Follow this blog to find out what on earth Synchronicity has to do with coaching - Personal or Corporate.

What’s your experience of Synchronicity? Is it something you see a lot of? From time to time? Or is it just mumbo-jumbo to you?

All opinions and experiences are curiously welcomed.