When I was 24, I had already failed at two businesses and was desperately trying to figure out what to do with my life.
Around this time, I had a dream.
From the start, there was something strange about it, like it was in high definition.
I was walking down the city centre of Glasgow alone on a bright, clear morning.
This is where I studied for my undergraduate degree, so I knew the layout of the city well.
Not long into it, I came across two child-like figures.
I very quickly got a sense there was something mystical and otherworldly about them, like they were wise.
Given the quarter life crisis I was in the midst of, I sensed they might have answers to my dilemma, so I asked them:
“What should I do with my life?”
One of them responded with crystal clear clarity:
“Jungian Psychology”
Not long after, I woke up, shook myself off, and thought — “Well, that was a weird dream.”
And didn’t think too much else about it for the rest of the day.
—-
The following evening I was driving to Derry city with my sister Sinead on our way to Guapo — our favourite Mexican takeaway.
(If you’re ever in Derry, I highly recommend a visit!)
We’re from a small town in the county called Limavady, so it’s usually about a 30 minute drive.
About halfway there, Sinead turned around me to and said:
“Did you hear about that Jungian psychology event happening in Belfast this weekend?”
I almost slammed on the breaks!
Jungian psychology events aren’t the sort of thing that typically happens in Belfast at the weekend — at least not back then.
So, when we got home, I bought myself a ticket and made the one hour journey for the event that Saturday.
The content was fascinating, I met some interesting people, and got on well with the course leader.
Although I enjoyed it, nothing particularly life changing happened, and after a few days, I pretty much forgot about it as well as the dream that had brought me there.
—-
Fast forward six months.
I was putting the finishing touches to a business plan for a new startup I was envisioning. It was called The Weekend University and the aim was to make the most important ideas in psychology more accessible.
To do this, the plan was to organise events in London where people could learn directly from the country’s leading psychologists and professors.
Once my plan was in place, the only thing left to do was to create the first event and find a speaker.
When trying to figure out who this would be, I remembered the Jungian psychology workshop I had attended in Belfast six months previously, and decided to invite the course leader to lead the first Weekend University workshop.
He said yes.
We titled the event: “A Crash Course on Jung”, and set it up so that it would give people an overview and introduction to Jung’s life and key ideas.
It sold well.
I’ll never forget the mixture of relief and elation I felt when I saw that first ticket sale come through as an email on my phone.
Feedback from attendees was positive and the experience was enough to give me confidence that I was on the right track.
This was the start of a nine year journey that not only impacted my own life, but many others too.
—
When I look back, I realise I could have interpreted the weird connection between my dream and the event in two ways.
I could have just seen it as a random coincidence and not gave it any more thought.
But by choosing to see it as potentially meaningful and connected, and by following the lead life seemed to be giving me, a series of events unfolded that I could never have predicted or planned for in advance.
As Steve Jobs said:
“You can only connect the dots looking backward.”
The more time I spend on this planet, the more I’m convinced that our world is a lot weirder and mysterious than we typically believe.
And that there’s a kind of creative intelligence at the root of it all.
One that will occasionally guide us if we’re attentive enough and have the courage to follow its lead.
Anyway, all of this is to say that, the next time a weird synchronicity shows up in your life, at least get curious about it.
Maybe even consider taking action based upon it — because you never know where life might be leading you.
