Directional Synchronicity: Convene

I was preparing for the Association for Death Education & Counseling's annual conference.  I had volunteered to convene a session.  This basically is the person who introduces the speakers, helps them with timing and also distributes handouts.  I had convened sessions in the past and previously I was able to convene sessions I was planning on attending anyways.  Unfortunately, when I got notice of the sessions that I was assigned, I was not happy.  I was assigned sessions that could be interesting, but were not the ones that I had intended to attend at those designated times.  I wrote the convener back and said that I could not convene those sessions.  I did volunteer that I knew for sure that I wanted to go see Dr. Jenny Streit-Horne's and Dr. Jan Holden's presentation on "Afterdeath Communication:  Unlocking its Healing Potential" and if they needed a convener for that session, I would happily oblige.  The organizer told me that she would see what she could do, but then I never heard back.

When I checked in to the conference, they noted that I was a convener, but that I was not assigned to any sessions.  They said, we do have one extra session that the other convener cancelled on.  Is there any chance you could do it?  I said that it depended on what session it was, because I already had planned what sessions I was going to attend.  Sure enough, they grabbed the folder, and the session they needed someone to convene was the one that I had wished for in the first place - Dr. Holden's session!  I said that I would be happy to convene her session!

Directional Synchronicity: You're Lizzy!

I was at the ADEC conference in Atlanta and it was between sessions. I was undecided on my direction and ended up walking one way and then turning around and walking the other way. As I walked past the elevator, the door opened and a woman came out and said emphatically, "You're Lizzy!"

I was a bit surprised, but she told me that a man named Robbie had told her to come find me. She said, "You know Robbie, don't you?" I said that unfortunately I didn't. At these conferences, I meet a lot of people and speak to groups and more people know who I am than I know.

I asked her, "What exactly did he say?" Then it became clear. He is connected to me on Twitter and told her, "Lizzy is a friend of palliative care." He had seen on my Twitter posts that I was going to be attending the conference, and he had told her to track me down.

The funny thing is, he had told her via Facebook to track me down, just a minute before she got on the elevator. That is why her voice was so emphatic because she could not believe that I had materialized right there.

As it turned out, Val and I made a wonderful connection. She is a palliative care nurse educator, and we had a lot in common. I am really grateful that she had been directed my way by an acquaintance on Twitter.

Throughout the conference, Val and I kept meeting by chance. It turned out the be quite humorous all the places we were running into each other.

*** UPDATE***

I sent a twitter post to Robbie, the man who introduced Val and I. He just tweeted me back to say that Val walked into the room while he was reading this post!!!

Mirror Synchronicity: Live Tweet

I was live-tweeting the opening session at my ADEC conference...

Before you judge, I have to tell you I am the Social Media and Networking Chair for ADEC the Association for Death Education and Counseling. It is my job to tweet during the sessions. I am subtle.

William Worden received recognition for his work in grief counseling and I had just tweeted a comment he made that I liked,

@_Lizzy_ Early ADEC..."It was pretty grass roots. Why? Because we were sitting on the grass in Maryland" -W. Worden #ADEC12

I then heard a woman behind me lean over to the person next to her and say, "Wow - someone is tweeting the speakers as they speak." I turned around and said sheepishly, "that was me." We both smiled and introduced ourselves. Out of 500 people in the room, the person she was talking about was sitting in front of her.

Michelle then tweeted,

@1HeartHealerLA @_lizzy_ great to see someone else tweeting about Worden and #ADEC12

Directional Synchronicity: The Bow Maker

I hate being bored on airplanes. I usually take a big stack of magazines with me to pass the time. While I enjoy conversations with seatmates, you can't count on the idea that the person next to you will want to talk the whole time. I had just boarded the flight from Columbus to Atlanta and I realized that I had left my stack of magazines at home. I cursed myself.

Then a man came and sat next to me. I don't know who started the conversation, but I don't think it was me. While I am very open to strangers, I am not usually one to initiate. We talked for about 15 minutes and then exchanged names.

Rodney Mohr is one of the most fascinating people I have ever met. He is a second generation carpenter and a world-renowned bow maker for violins. (Yes, quite random, I know). He is the only bow maker in Ohio. It takes him a week to make just one of these classic bows.

Now I should say, I know nothing about violins or bows. That didn't matter. What oozed out of him was his passion for the craft. He has been making bows for 25 years. We should all have something that we are that passionate about.

We ended up talking for the whole hour and a half flight. Not just about bows, but about everything. We both like research. We talked about caring for aging parents. We talked about music.

Now here is the other funny synchronicity: right as we were about to land, Rodney realized he was sitting in the wrong seat.

If you are in the market for bows or bow restoration, Rodney is your man. Check out his website.

The open heart and ADEC

Eight years ago, I started this blog as a way to explore evidence of the afterlife via synchroncities. My most recent losses at that time were my mother and great aunt who had just died within four months of each other. My heart had been ripped open. I hoped and prayed for some kind of "proof" that there was life beyond death. There was desperation in my search. I wanted to believe that they were just right there on the other side of the invisible curtain, and if I just listened hard enough, I would "hear" from them. Each synchroncity provided a wee bit of comfort, and the comfort expanded as more and more synchronicities happened.

I never expected to still be writing about synchroncities eight years later, but when I now look at the body of "evidence" of my own experiences, I am in awe. I am no longer searching for the "proof" of a connected universe, because I feel the connectedness every day.

I am now in my third year of membership in ADEC, the Association for Death Education and Counseling. My very first conference experience was overwhelmingly positive and I have been hooked ever since. Members of ADEC are all drawn to the field of death and dying from a profound personal death experience. Let's be honest here, kids generally don't aspire to be thanatologists when they grow up. We didn't choose the profession, it chose us.

One might think that gathering together with a massive room full of people who have profound loss experiences would be draining, like one big depressing funeral. After all, being around one grieving person is hard enough, why would you want to be around 600 people with sad stories? Wouldn't it be more fun to work on taxes? Or get a root canal! (poor dentists, this is always the comparison... but i have had a root canal and it is indeed quite awful ).

The truth is, being with ADEC people is unlike any other crowd experience I have ever had. Our losses have ripped our hearts wide open and left us exposed. Collectively, what this translates to is an invisible thread of connectedness that binds us to strangers. There is a sense of belonging, of knowing. You are still here and despite the pain you have endured; you survived. Me too. We were once alone, and now we know we are not ever alone.

Every time I come to an ADEC conference, the synchroncities go off like fireworks. I have over ten so far that have happened to me personally, and have heard countless others. First timers and veterans alike marvel at them. Almost all of the synchros are people related, and it is as if our guides and loved ones on the other side are arranging and rearranging us for serendipitious encounters.

The topic of after death communication comes up frequently at this conference. (that alone was proof for me that I was with the right crowd). The other night I had a delightful dinner with five other women and we shared our ADC experiences with each other. The question was asked as to why the "communication" takes so many forms. Why do "they" (our loved ones on the other side) have to send us a totem, a sign, a synchro? Why don't they just say hello? The answer to "why" is not ours to know. At least not now. But we do know with certainty that the messages are being sent. Those that have their radio on can receive. And I think that the receiver is inside the heart...only accessible to the hearts that are open.