Synchronicity

With one breath,
with one flow,
you will know Synchronicity

A sleep trance,
a dream dance,
a shaped romance,
Synchronicity

A connecting principle, 

linked to the invisible, 

almost imperceptible, 

something inexpressible

Science insusceptible, 

logic so inflexible,

causally connectable,

Yet nothing is invincible

If we share this nightmare,
Then we can dream, Spiritus mundi

If you act as you think,
The missing link,
Synchronicity

We know you,
they know me,
extrasensory, Synchronicity

A star fall,
a phone call,
it joins all, Synchronicity

It's so deep,
it's so wide,
you're inside, Synchronicity

Effect without cause,
sub-atomic laws,
scientific pause,
Synchronicity

~ The Police, 1983

Synchronicity takes the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning something more than mere chance, namely, a peculiar interdependence of objective events among themselves as well as with the subjective (psychic) states of the observer or observers.

~ C. G. Jung, I Ching or The Book of Changes (Richard Wilhelm, translator)

One Thursday afternoon during 2004, our company’s management team, on deciding who to invite as the guest artist at our Company’s Tenth Anniversary, wrote down the names of three artists on a flipchart. It was our plan to contact these three artists for quotes. The following day, the Friday, I am at the airport, signing my credit card transaction for a flight to Richardsbay the weekend. I look up …and the first person whose name we had on the flipchart, PJ Powers, stood right next to me. I thought:"Wow, what a coincidence!" I signed for my ticket, looked up, and she was gone, Mmm, I thought: "Coincidence",  I flew to Richardsbay and had a very enjoyable weekend.

On the Tuesday, back in Johannesburg, I met with a dear friend, Lynn Pretorius, in Nino’s Rosebank for a light lunch. And... in walked... PJ Powers and sat at a table right next to us. Coincidence? I don’t think so…..

There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.

~ Friedrich Schiller 1759-1805

The same evening I flew with Kulula.com to Cape Town. For some funny reason our bags didn’t arrive and we had to wait for the next flight to bring them. At about half past eleven the bags arrived and I could start looking for a place to stay… which turned out to be a mission because it was the Argus and all hotels were fully occupied. I ended up at Ratanga Junction and the lady at the front desk phoned a friend of hers in Tygervalley to find out about a room. Half past two that night I arrived at the guest house…relieved to have found a place to sleep. I woke up at seven and went to the breakfast room….and in walked the second person whose name we had on the flip chart, Steve Hofmeyr. He sat down right in front of me…

Synchronicity is choreographed by a great, pervasive intelligence that lies at the heart of nature, and is manifest in each of us through what we call the soul.

~ Deepak Chopra, Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire

The Thursday, back in Pretoria, I phoned Yvonne Chaka Chaka, the third person on our list. That evening I dream that Yvonne sings a song about our company… which came true on the first of September when she changed the lyrics of one of her songs to sing “ITO” . Incredible!

Jung was transfixed by the idea that life was not a series of random events but rather an expression of a deeper order. This deeper order led to the insights that a person was both embedded in an orderly framework and was the focus of that orderly framework and that the realisation of this was more than just an intellectual exercise but also having elements of a spiritual awakening. From the religious perspective synchronicity shares similar characteristics of an "intervention of grace". Jung also believed that synchronicity served a similar role in a person's life to dreams with the purpose of shifting a person's egocentric conscious thinking to greater wholeness.

Of course I didn’t understand what all of this meant…. I just realized then that I needed to do something with music… it took a while to understand exactly what this would be.

In 2008 I googled “Amsterdam” and “Ne me quitte pas” , two of my favourite songs…. And I met Philippe Elan, a chansonneur, specializing in French chansons, specifically the music of Jaques Brel and Edith Piaf. During the same time, and after much deliberation I decided to approach an old acquaintance. Someone I met during our university days. Someone who also had a big hit with “If you go away” Someone I have admired since the early eighties. I had no clue where this woman was… and I didn’t know where to find her. All I knew was that she was the only artist I knew who could speak to your soul. An artist with the ability to touch the strings in people’s hearts in a very unique way. I went onto her website and sent a mail….

With Synchronicity, all the resources we need are made available to us at the precise moment that is appropriate. The people who come into our lives are the ones we need at that moment in time. Everything is perfect. We only need to recognise this to tune into the flow. Everything happens for a Reason and Every Experience is a Learning Experience.

~ Alex Chua

                                       
  Karin and Jaconell at the Leidseplein, Amsterdam - 2009

A few months later, in 2009, I could introduce Karin Hougaard to Philippe Elan… the start of a little dream to get these two great performers together. In October 2010 this dream came true when they both recorded the song “Quiet Love” for the iSTART2 project. I know I am very subjective, but it is undoubtedly one of the most amazing music recordings I have ever heard in my life! Synchronicity is a language of signs..... Quiet love is a language of signs... Synchronicity is Quiet Love.....

Synchronistic events offer us perceptions that may be useful in our psychological and spiritual growth and may reveal to us, through intuitive knowledge, that our lives have meaning.

~ Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, The Tao of Psychology

Inspired by one of Karin Hougaards poems ( this woman can paint, sing, act and she is even an accomplished poet…. And most of all, a beautiful human being), I wrote lyrics for my first song… Brave, man!!

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook sonder vrees saam kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

As ek loop hier ver hier in Johannesburg

En dink aan jou wat soms so onverbiddelik

Wil he dat ek vir jou moet wag…ja …vir jou moet wag

Maar ek wil leef in jou……kleef aan jou……net aan jou

Ek wil vry met jou…vry met jou….vry met jou

Waarom…..waarom is dit net n droom?

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook sonder skuld saam kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

Langs die rivier in Istanbul sit ek alleen

En wag vir jou wat steeds my siel omkrap

My koppie koffie staan lank reeds koud

Maar jy bly in my hart….diep in my hart…..hier binne my

Ek wou speel met jou….speel met jou….speel met jou

Waarom ….waarom kan dit nie so wees?

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook sonder pyn saam kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

In Amsterdam is dit wit gesneeu vandag

Die swart en grys en grou verswelg my siel

Ek weet dat ek vir jou moet wag…vir jou moet wag….ek moet wag

Maar ek wil leef in jou…leef in jou…leef in jou

Ek droom…en hoop dit kan dalk tog so wees

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook vir mekaar lief kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

Ek droom soms

Ek droom soms, ek droom…soms...

soms ek droom sonder vrees,

sonder skuld en pyn, sonder grens

ek droom soms.. ek droom soms

….myself ….vry

31 December 2009 (Met apologie aan Karin ... laaste vers haar woorde!)

As you can see, the song was written partly in Istanbul, Johannesburg and Amsterdam. 

During September 2010 I met with Mervyn King, author of the book “Transient Caretakers.” I bought the book in Cape Town after having had quite a struggle to get hold of it ( and he even signed it for me two weeks later) I opened the book and in the foreword Mervyn King wrote : “It was only possible for us to complete this book by meeting in several cities over a period of some fourteen months. We met first in Istanbul, then Johannesburg, Amsterdam…. And finally back in Istanbul again” The same three cities I was in when writing my "song".

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it Intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.

~ Albert Einstein

Back in 2007, a very good friend, Derek Jooste, recommended a book to read. I looked all over for this book, Europe, South Africa, USA, UAE, UK and finally got a copy of the book, ‘ A Whole new Mind” by Daniel Pink.

I must have been to about twenty bookshops before I finally found it. Never give up hey :-) When leaving for my visit to the US in April this year I looked at my bookshelf and thought it would be a good idea to give Karin a little gift… and “ A Whole New Mind” found a place in my computer bag.

Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things.

~ Bruce Barton

It was during the time of the volcano problems in Iceland (April 2010). I was one of the fortunate (?) people to fly out first from Amsterdam to the USA. A scary thought…. Isn’t it easier to be on the ground shouting that you want to fly, rather than to be in the air shouting that you wanna get down… mmm…. mmm. Anyway … I landed in Houston when the BP oil spill happened …. and drove to New Orleans, not realizing the dramatic effect this event would have on the Gulf of Mexiko. We all remember the ad…..

This image has been making the rounds, purporting to be an ironic BP ad from 1999. It turns out it's fake. The folks at Despair.com originally created it as a T-shirt, but it's still "funny".

In New Orleans, I realized that it would take me ages to get to Oak Ridge, and I booked a flight ticket to get to Greensboro near Oak Ridge. The cheapest and only available flight was via Memphis. So I booked it.

It was an early morning flight and after having overslept I still made it to get on the flight due to a delay. I took the book out of my computer bag and started paging through it… At the same time the guy in the row in front of me also took out a book to read… and voila… he was reading the same book… this rare book. I tapped him on the shoulder and smiled and showed him that we are reading the same book. He then asked me where I was from…. And it turned out that he was from Randburg, South Africa… and also on his way to Greensboro where they lived for the past four years.

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. This is the way our universe is structured. We aren't going to have peace on Earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of reality.

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

During July 2010, whilst on a quick visit to South Africa. I hooked up with Jacqui Nel. We lived next to each other in Boksburg as neighbours for many years. Jaqui is one of the most passionate go-getter entrepreneurs I know. I was telling her that I started negotiating with Huisgenoot, You and Drum Magazines to support me on the iSTART2 project, In fact I had to fly to Cape town to meet with the Tea Tannie the following day.

I then got a call that they will not be prepared to take hands with me on the project. It sounded strange and obviously I was a bit p***ed off for having bought a plane ticket, but I still decided to go and visit the Sustainability Institute (on the Spier landgoed) and people at the University of Stellenbosch.

It is also interesting to know that the COPART movement, linking art to the climate summit that will be held in South Africa (Durban) next year, had its inception in May at the Sustainability Conference that was held at the Spier Winery. 

Rather bemused I told Jacqui that I now need to find another Media company to back me, she then told me that her brothers' wife was the Managing Director of one of the biggest media companies in South Africa… a woman I knew from when I was a teenager. Needless to say, we are now looking at how we can collaborate on the iSTART2 project.

In the Netherlands a similar incident happened with one of the biggest media companies in the Netherlands. On the 1st November I met with a friend, Ron Salden, in Haarlem for breakfast. We chatted for about an hour… he then said : "Art is a very important issue to promote in the project". His phone rang and he asked to be excused to take the call. Being a smoker (sic) I thought it a good time to quickly go outside for a quick puff. Those damn nicotine levels hey. The moment I got outside a delivery truck drove in, stopped for approximately five seconds, reversed…and drove off. Just enough time to take a photo….

Ron and I both laughed about the coincidence. I then told him that I needed a good media partner in the Netherlands. And the same thing happened. He told me that his brother is the CEO of one of the biggest publishing companies in the Netherlands… incidentally, the same company one of our Dutch team members, Saskia van Beveren, is connected to. Saskia is the owner of a company, Who let the frog out…. I am sure those of you that follow my blog must have seen the pic of the frog with the question: " Wie het die parratjie uitgelaat ?"... A question I always wanted answered…. Yes, we have contacted this Publishing Company and I will meet with the CEO as soon as I am back in the Netherlands.

Normally I cannot remember my dreams, but one morning in August (in Amsterdam) I had a very striking dream. I woke up remembering exactly what I dreamt… a rather unusual thing for me. I dreamt that I was in Centurion and I saw my house crumble and fall. The next moment I was in Amsterdam and all the buildings were falling down. In my dream I realized that the world was coming to an end. Then a huge angel came, picked me up in his hand, looked me in the eye and said: “ Ek hou jou vas” ( I hold you) I then woke up feeling distressed, but also a feeling of relieve… the angel had a very comforting effect.

Later that day I walked in the Vondelpark with a friend. It was the first time I actually saw the statue of Vondel, one of the most famous poets of the Netherlands. Below his statue was another statue… the statue of an angel holding the head of a man in his hand….

(Angels in dreams are the personification of a divine idea that has occurred to us. Angels appear in our dreams when we are examining our attitudes, and indicate that we need to also examine our motivations. The Angel is a messenger. When we take the time to trust and soul-search, they will lead us to new insights and new directions. Dream appearances of Angels also indicate a strong desire of harmony, guidance, strength, friendship and emotional connection)

Then… eventually it happened. Karin came to Amsterdam in October to record Quiet love with Philippe… a big magical moment. Hard work too… The one day, whilst taking a break, Karin and I went into the Hartens Café to get a quick bite…. We walked in and I asked her where she would like to sit…she pointed to a table at the back and we sat down. Next to the table on the shelf was a bottle of wine…..

During the week many of our discussions centered on a theater production we would like to link to the whole Istart2 project. Karin has been working on her own production “Die Boom” (The Tree) for a long time. In Amsterdam there are several trees next to the canal, some of them fall over....like the one posted on my facebook when I arrived in Amsterdam during July this year. Funny enough it was also during the same week that the Anne Frank tree fell over and caused a lot of damage. I have always been fascinated with the tree symbolism… and our discussions often centered on the possibility of “The Tree” as representative of the sustainability concept.

The Plant World generally symbolizes transformation

• Roots represent the past, and honour heritage and the Ancestors.

• Trunk represents the present and reveals the life force and creative spirit within each of us.

• Branches represent desired future goals.

• Fruit or Flowers represent attainment of goals.

Trees are regarded as the medicine people of the plant kingdom. They best represent the Warrior because trees are rooted and contained beings. They are stable yet flexible which allows them to bend in the wind but not break. Trees symbolize the process of transformation...: Roots are the past and how we honour our heritage and Ancestors; the trunk is the present; the branches are future goals.

I want relations which are not purely personal, based on purely personal qualities; but relations based upon some unanimous accord in truth or belief, and a harmony of purpose, rather than of personality. (And I want to add religion here!) I am weary of personality (and religion) Let us be easy and impersonal, not forever fingering over our own souls, and the souls of our acquaintances, but trying to create a new life, a new common life, a new complete tree of life from the roots that are within us.

~ D.H. Lawrence 1885-1930

After an intense week of rehearsals and recordings we all took the Sunday off to do our own thing. Frank, one of my friends on the Dutch iSTART2 team, and I, looked at the movies that showed at the Tuchinski, one of the most beautiful movie theaters in the world. Yes, you have guessed it… the movie that showed was...”The Tree”. 

You can imagine that I was very interested to see what this movie was about…and indeed it was about a tree. Hehe…what else?

The interesting thing was that there was a scene in the movie where two kids opened a toilet and found a few frogs that tried jumping out. The girl in the movie then asked :” Who will let the frog out?” Her mother then appeared and

said: “ George, George will let the frog out!” The obvious question to ask now: "Who is George?” 

(Symbolism of the Frog: When the frog jumps into your life it may indicate now is a time to find opportunities in transition. We see animal symbolism of transition with the frog in its unique growth cycle. The frog undergoes incredible transformations to reach the destination of full adulthood, and so do we as humans)

Two days later I had to fly back to South Africa for a quick business thing that came up… I had a few meetings and on the Friday I realized that I will need the help of a big Advertising company to help me with my business Plan. I googled the top Ten advertising companies in South Africa and started at the top of the list. Okay it was Friday afternoon, but still. One would expect Top companies to answer their telephones. I phoned the biggest four on the list, but couldn’t get an answer at anyone of their Head Offices. Makes you think hey?? I then gave it up and decided to look at other options… one day this story will be told ... :-)

For the first time in my life I am aware that someone else is making the moves… I have become a mere spectator and an instrument in the hands of a higher power… the universe. Or as Jung put it : “I could not say I believe. I know! I have had the experience of being gripped by something that is stronger than myself, something that people call God.”

I also have to agree, now more than ever, with his statement that “Religion is a defense against the experience of God.’

You Are

In the Right Place,

At the Right Time,

Doing the Right Thing,

With the Right People,

For the Right Reason,

Everything is Perfect.

You Can Have the Right Results!

All you need is a Right Heart and Mind…

an Open Heart and Mind.

remember to keep your Eyes Open too!

Good advice from an unknown stranger. Hehe….