Every synchronistic encounter never ceases to amaze me. Recently, the following took place and resulted in what I would describe as a meaningful coincidence — classifying it as a bona fide Synchronicity event. Read and enjoy what happens when we stay open to receive the blessings of connections.
As part of our daily Florida routine, my wife Judy and I often like to take a brisk morning walk along the shoreline of a nearby beach. If you have read my book, you already know that many of the synchronicity stories took place while walking on a beach somewhere. It seems people are more open to greeting one another while walking along the shore and we usually encounter lots of smiles and good morning or good afternoon greetings from complete strangers.
On this particular day, as we walked side by side along the shore, I noticed a group of 6 people sitting on beach chairs all facing the water. Suddenly one of them, a young woman, stood up abruptly and bent over carrying her chair closer to the shoreline as we were simultaneously walking by them. I remarked to her that she reminded me of a turtle who carries its home or shell wherever it goes, only she was carrying her chair to wherever she decided to sit. She gave us a big smile and nodded her head in an affirmative – YES!
A few steps further along I remarked to Judy that on our walk back, I intended to engage this group in conversation and said funny I had exactly six business cards with me hoping to give them out to anyone I had the pleasure of meeting as often happens on our daily beach walks.
We proceeded with our walk and about a half hour later, Judy asked me to hold her fanny pack so she could get in the water to cool off. I decided to take a photo of her to send to both my daughter and son to show them their mom, smiling big and wide in her happy place swimming in the Gulf. Just as I took the first photo, a man and a young woman approached and asked if I would like for them to take my photo with Judy and if I wanted to get into the water alongside her. My immediate response was no thanks – we have been married for over 54 years and sometimes we need a little space apart since we do just about everything together.
I then proceeded to engage them in casual conversation by asking them where they were from hoping to find some possible commonality between us to lead me into a discussion of Synchronicity – my favorite subject, of course. They replied that they were from Lancaster PA and I told them that I was from the neighboring state of New Jersey. I then shared that when my children were very young we took them on one of our first vacations to the Amish country. They enjoyed visiting the restored village and on the tour my son Ryan raised his hand and asked who the children go with when there is a family divorce. The docent answered that divorce was not common among the Amish people and rarely if ever happens because it is against their religious beliefs.
The couple then remarked that they were not Amish but they were Mennonites and divorce was also not permitted. I then said that I would have never identified them as Mennonites because I was under the misperception that Mennonites dressed in a particular fashion. This couple looked normal to me in every way other than the man looked much older than the younger woman but I soon realized that they were a father and daughter.
I told them that I was not that familiar with the Mennonite religion but that I was quite familiar with Quakers due to my longtime connection to and visits to the Mohonk Mountain House in NY whose founding family members were Quakers. When I informed them that I was a holistic chiropractor, they said that like the Quakers they preferred when possible to treat illnesses in a non-drug holistic manner as well.
I continued the conversation by asking how the Mennonite religion came to be. They said it was started by a Catholic priest who objected to some of the dogma being promulgated by Rome and the papacy. They said there were over two million Mennonites worldwide with over 500,000 right here in the US. Most however wore normal clothes like them and could not be identified by how they dressed but more by what they professed to believe. They were followers of Jesus Christ as taught in the bible and like many other Christian denominations accepted Jesus as their personal savior and saw his teachings as a ticket to heaven.
They inquired what church I attended and did I believe in Jesus. I replied I do not attend any one church on any regular basis and looked to nature as my church. I said walking on the beach felt like I was in church or walking in the forest or hiking in the mountains was my church. I then shared with them that I perceived that Jesus was the lord of lords or more specifically the lord of love for this planet. I do not however perceive or recognize that he was the ONLY begotten son of GOD and that we all share the same spark of Divinity from what we humans refer to as GOD or Source. The conversation then moved in a different direction when it was clear that we held somewhat different viewpoints on religious grounds.
I then asked them what brought them to Naples – if it was the weather or did they own a place and were snowbirds, etc. They said they were visiting as a family for one week and then the young woman shared that they had just buried her 45-year-old sister after a three-year battle with cancer. The father interjected that he was at peace knowing that his daughter was in heaven alongside Jesus and her suffering and theirs was over. I asked the woman how her mother was doing with her daughter’s early death. Not all that great was her response and said she was still in grief. I asked her if her sister had come to them in a vivid dream state yet — letting them know she was home with GOD. They both replied no but the father said he was sure his daughter was now with God and at peace and he did not need proof of that.
I then shared with them my own experience of having a vivid after-death dream sequence where I met my dad and not only saw him and heard him but actually hugged him. After we embraced my dad’s heart and mine merged as one heartbeat. Soon afterward his message to me was — please Ken get on with your life, I am fine. Because of the guilt I had of having to put him in a nursing home, something I had promised never to do, I had fallen into an existential depression for 8 months following his death. I awoke from my vivid dream connection crying and the depression immediately lifted, and I was able to move on with my life. I said I hoped that the daughter would come to her mother in a similar dream and help lift her grief.
We then proceeded to walk back up the beach and 20 minutes later came by the spot where the 6 people had been sitting. The man and his daughter said they wanted me to meet the rest of their family and called over the remaining four people — the wife, two brothers, and the widowed husband. I was quite startled when I realized these were the same 6 people I had intended to meet when Judy and I had begun our beach walk!
I was introduced to each one and when the mother and I looked at one another I could see and feel her deep ongoing grief. I told the four that their father and sister had shared a lot with me regarding the death of their family member. In the next moment when the mother and I gazed into each other eyes I asked if it would be alright for me to give her a hug. She immediately replied that she was badly in need of a hug and walked closer to me and we embraced being witnessed by the remaining family members in a circle of pure love. No words were spoken as we held one another in a full body embrace heart to heart and soul to soul. I could feel her sense of loss and grief and took it into my energy field to help lift it out of her field and offer it up to release. Not sure how long the embrace lasted but it was over several moments in time and beyond a simple casual social hug.
I was quite taken aback and surprised myself that I asked this complete stranger for a hug before her husband and children. It was a spontaneous gesture on my part and what transpired was magical. I left this encounter – a true synchronicity – with a sense that what had just happened was a divine appointment between this family and myself. Remember that upon first seeing this family sitting together spirit told me through intuition that I needed to speak with them on my return walk on the beach. As fate would have it, they connected with me first. For some reason, the father and the daughter decided to take a walk on the beach by themselves making it possible for us to meet by offering to take my photo.
Life has a way of connecting people at the right time and place for reasons unknown to both parties consciously speaking. Remember to ask questions of so-called strangers who in my experience are really often your friends except you never met them before the ever PRESENT now moment. Stay aware, awake, and alert — the signs and symbols are everywhere once you learn to connect the dots. Life is truly magical and mystical.