Synchronicity: The Extraordinary Project
I recently attended a paranormal conference at Gettysburg College and had the priviledge of listening to Suzanne Clores talk about the Extraordinary Project, and view some amazing video of people sharing their experiences. I was so impressed with the unique IDEA of collecting these stories in huge numbers, in order to make a statement to the scientific community that, yes, these things happen and they are real and you cannot deny or ignore 100,000 stories.
My interest in synchronicity stems from my boyfriend, who experiences synchronistic events almost daily. It is so common in his daily life that he has become almost deaf and blind to it. It is just one of those weird things that he does, or that happens to him.
I will share one of the first things that happened to him in relation to me that nearly caused me to crash my car. At the time, I was suffering from severe tendinitus in my right ankle as a result of an injury at school. I had been dating him for a few weeks. I had not told him about my pain. I didn't want him to worry. I was driving home from work when he called me on my cell phone. He said, "This might be an odd question, but are you in pain, specifically in your right ankle?"
I nearly crashed the car. I pulled over to talk to him. "How do you know that?! Yes, I have tendinitus, bad. It's very painful. Why?"
He said, "I just felt it. I had to ask. I just came from my editor. She is also on crutches due to a broken right ankle."
Good God. Two.
How did he know? About both of us? I have no idea. Neither does he. He told me this happens to him all the time. He just knows things. Sometimes they are important. Sometimes they are trivial.
He still does this sort of thing, frequently. He always tries to find some sort of natural explanation. Maybe I told him. Maybe he saw me limping. Ok, but what about his editor?
So when we heard about Suzanne's project we were fascinated. I am still trying to get him to video one of his experiences. He thinks they are no big deal. In my opinion, they are incredible and worth sharing in this project.
Suzanne Clores is a writer, editor, consultant, and teacher. She is the author of Memoirs of a Spiritual Outsider (Conari 2000) among other books, essays and stories. She holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Arizona. Currently she lives and teaches in Chicago.
Suzanne Clores started The Extraordinary Project because she noticed that so many people from all walks of life, all ages, genders, occupations, ethnic groups, faiths, and locations around the globe share experiences of the extraordinary, the synchronicity, the odd, strange, supernatural. It occurred to her that science devotes themselves to the collection of evidence, and the preponderance of evidence, to prove a theory. Surely, with so many human beings, hundreds of thousands, around the world, sharing the same sort of stories, this must have meaning?
So she began collecting stories by ordinary people, about their extraordinary, life changing happenings. Her goal is to collect 100,000 stories. This will have to serve as a meaningful collection of evidence that the extraordinary, the supernatural, the synchonistic, exists and is experienced by people every day.
The Extraordinary Project is an online collection of our most unusual human experiences. She started this project once she realized coincidences, premonitions, and odd types of "knowing" happen to all of us across cultures.
If You Think You Have A Story, Then You Probably Do.
Everyone who remembers a highly unlikely or life-changing circumstance that stretches logical explanation, or that you couldn't have planned if you tried, can contribute to The Extraordinary Project. We accept video as well as written anecdotes. It's your choice (but video is more fun!).Participate by writing your story:
To write your story, simply open an email to sharecoincidence@gmail.com and spill it. Don't worry about length or making it perfect. If we have questions, we'll get back to you about it. It's pretty satisfying to write these experiences out, so enjoy the process of retelling this incident, and know it has joined a real world family of other similar stories.Participate by video recording your 3 minute story:
Step 1: Into an iphone or laptop video, start by saying your name. Then give us a few time-and-place details. Where were you? How long ago? Don't censor yourself or over-think it. Just tell the story. Include important details, and keep it to 3 minutes.Step 2: If you record your video via iPhone, transfer it to your computer. You need a cord to do this probably. Name the file with your last name and the date and save it to your desktop.
Step 3: If you don't have one already, get a Gmail account. The easiest way to send your video story via email is through Google Drive. For this you will need a gmail account, which is free and instantly available after set up.
Step 4: Open your gmail account, and prepare an email to: sharecoincidence@gmail.com.
Step 5: Select the Google Drive symbol. This is a thick triangle shape next to the paperclip attachment symbol.
Step 6: Upload and Send. Wait until the video fully uploads before you press Send. It may take a few minutes.
Thank you for contributing to an unprecedented social art project.
Comments