Free The Power of Coincidence by David Richo Page A

equivalent of ego death. It is a consecration to and initiation into the sacred, that is, the discovery of one’s spirituality. It is the ultimate answer to the question, Why am I here? I am here to live out my destiny “on earth as it is in heaven.” This sounds trite at first but look more closely:
    “On earth” is the metaphor for our psychological work of building a healthy ego, one that will be an apt instrument for our spiritual work. “In heaven” is the metaphor for the spiritual work of releasing unconditional love, universal wisdom, and healing power into the world. Now look at the three little words that are the bridge between: “As it is.” When I say Yes to the “as it is,” I create the bridge between earth and heaven, between my psychological and spiritual work, between my ego mortality and my immortal destiny.
    E GO /S ELF AT A G LANCE
    The Self is the core of our very being. We use a capital “S” to distinguish this archetypal Self, an ancient collective energy in the psyche, from the self in lowercase, which refers to the ego or persona.
    Our Self is essential, that which is permanent and indestructible in us.
    Ego is existential, changing in accord with the demands, fears, or desires of the moment. It takes the form of action.
    Our destiny is to exhibit existentially what is in us essentially. This is letting the light of the Self through the wounds and openings of the ego into the world. Our work is to display in our ego actions and choices the eternal design of the Self: love, wisdom, healing. This incarnational project is what is meant by “an axis of ego and Self.”
    There is essential synchronicity in this aptitude for axis (individuation) in our psyche. Existential synchronicity appears in the moment that initiates or furthers the axis work. Essential synchronicity is in the eternal harmony of ego/Self and soul/universe. This is the harmony we discover in meditation. Existential synchronicity is in the meaningful coincidences that point our ego to its path. It is something we notice in our conscious attention to our life process.
    M AKING E GO -F REE C HOICES
    Synchronicity’s messages become louder as they are listened to—as more letters are more likely from a person who knows we are reading them and responding to them seriously. Psychic literacy is the ability to read these messages; spirituality is the choice to respond to them. How do the messages come to us? They may come in synchronicity, dreams, intuitions, projection, psychic phenomena and readings, inner guides, events beyond our control, visions, sudden spontaneous powers, déjà vu, religious or mystical realizations, meditation/contemplation, an impetus from art or beauty, or active imagination.
    Spiritual choices are those in which we hearken to and say Yes to these messages. To say Yes is to let the Self take precedence over ego. The F.A.C.E. of ego changes: Fear becomes love. Attachment becomes letting go. Control becomes allowing and honoring others’ freedom. Entitlement becomes standing up for our rights without retaliation if they are not respected. These transformations make us unconditionally loving, wise, and a source of healing, the qualities of the Self.
    Thus, a spiritual choice has two main characteristics. It expresses unconditional/universal love, perennial wisdom, and healing power, and it emanates from an unconditional yes to the conditions of existence. It includes an awareness of and a trust in the friendliness of psyche and matter. Since the transcendent has entered the temporal, consciousness is indivisible. Material events and tangible realities declare the conditions of cosmic consciousness.
    A spiritual choice is one that honors inner rhythms that may not match conventional milestone choices: “There are waves by which a life is marked, a rounding off that has nothing to do with events,” wrote Virginia Woolf in her journal. Awareness of our personal spiritual messages helps us ride the waves