Synchronicities: What Are They & Why Do They Happen?

What about when you’re not sure if something is a synchronicity or a mere coincidence? Consider the example of pulling up to a packed grocery-store parking lot just as someone in the front row is leaving, helping you score a prime spot. You might park, high-five your passenger, and tell them, “I’ve always been lucky!” It’s a fun moment that lifts your mood.

This is very different from if you set out for the grocery store feeling low and wanting reassurance that your guides are watching over you as you navigate life challenges. You pull up to a packed parking lot and have a car leave the front row. And you notice that not only is this an amazing spot, but the car leaving is a red VW bug—the same car your mom always drove. You consider it a sign that your mom is winking at you from above. The moment is followed by chills or goose bumps, a message from your own intuition that the event is indeed a true synchronicity.

It’s often through your intuition that you recognize the difference between a meaningful coincidence or sign from the universe and a random event. Your internal intuition can speak to you in many ways, primarily through the four psychic pathways: hearing guidance (clairaudience); seeing mental images (clairvoyance); knowing guidance as epiphanies, breakthrough thoughts, and mental downloads (claircognizance); and feeling guidance as emotions, energy, gut instincts, and even physical sensations like chills (clairsentience).

Clairsentience, or feeling guidance, is one of the most common psychic pathways and a great tool for sniffing out true synchronicities. As Choquette says, intuition involves “listening with your entire body.”

Use these bench marks to discern synchronicities from coincidences in the moment: