co·in·ci·dence

kōˈinsədəns/

noun

noun: coincidence; plural noun: coincidences; noun: co-incidence; plural noun: co-incidences

• 1. 
a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.

My husband dislikes when I say this because as a statistician, he says “What that says is that coincidences never happen. That is a statistical improbability!” He continues, “So what you are saying is that EVERY remarkable occurrence is predestined.” I say unequivocally, “Yes.” I completely acknowledge what I am saying might be a little extreme for someone like my academic soul mate to accept, but I firmly believe extraordinary sets of circumstances have fate written all over them. And my story is one of those series of events I cannot chalk up to “coincidence.” My husband happens to agree with that point, but hoping to caution me on taking such an extreme position with every rare occurrence, he pointed out an article published last week in EPOCH TIMES that discussed the fact that meaningful coincidences happen more frequently to people who have had a near death experience (NDE).

Dr Bruce Greyson, psychiatrist and neurobehavioral professor at the University of Virginia analyzed the WCS (Weird Coincidence Scale) referenced in the article, saying “The data suggest that prior tendency to recognize coincidences and to analyze or interpret them do not lead to spiritual experiences such as NDEs. Rather, spiritual experiences such as NDEs, and the increased spirituality that typically follows, lead to increased experiences of meaningful coincidence and increased analysis and interpretation of these coincidences.”

Jonathan said “Maybe there is something to this after all. You have to admit that you are trying to find more meaning into why things happen since your NDE.” Yes, he is correct, but after connecting all the dots to our story before my NDE, I realized this was “too close to be mere coincidence” and this article doesn’t take into account stories like mine and maybe yours. Again, my husband agrees with that statement, but he is not convinced that every remarkable act is predestined. I respectfully disagree, but am open to discuss. And seeing that the only way I can prove to him what I believe to be true is to find that fateful link in every act, we are going to just agree to disagree. Until there is more conclusive evidence on both of our perspectives.

As you will read in 37 Seconds, my “meaningful coincidences” happened before I had my NDE. I had six premonitions during the last trimester of my pregnancy.  Six.  All very detailed, all the tests were negative, yet every single one of them came true. Even more so, I talk about the doctors and their “coincidences” before and after my brush with death. I even discuss the probabilities of them doing the things they did prior to my Amniotic Fluid Embolism and the actions they took to prepare themselves, that serendipitously worked to save my life. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

I am not going to claim that all who die versus the ones who survive have “coincidence” written all over them. That would be incredibly disrespectful to those struggling with their losses and the ones who have passed. Tragedy is tragic now matter how it ends up in your lap.  I can only imagine your faith in something spiritual will help you get through the darkest of times. Finding out “why” is one’s own personal journey and one opinion to which I will never claim to have any answer.  The only thing I can say is what I explain in the book regarding the afterlife and what I saw.  I have immeasurable empathy for those stricken with illness and who have lost loved ones. So please do not think I am throwing this opinion around lightly. It does not encompass this particular subject. Loss is loss. My family came close to it and I will say in the end we were “lucky” it didn’t come to pass.  I am thinking this is an example, where my husband points out, I should not be so extreme in my opinion. Point taken.

I can accept it may be hard to disregard coincidences altogether. Some people might spend their entire lives focusing on the reasons something happens to them, never finding the answer and driving themselves crazy searching for it. It is easier to chalk it up to chance. You might never know the reason why something extraordinary happened to you. In my humble opinion, I don’t believe (in most circumstances) it was by happenstance.

My statements are still driving my husband crazy! I have loved him from the first moment I laid eyes on him and I like to remind him how our “chance” meeting was not a fluke. He smiles, understanding the analogy. He is a work in progress. And so am I.