Dear Lipstick Mystic,

Your question about synchronicity raises a lot of great ideas. Let me share some of my thoughts on this.

I do feel that we set up energy patterns in our lives which tend to attract certain groups of soulmates, loved ones, friends, and so forth who share our same "frequency." And within these tribes of people, some amazing connections can turn up....where someone you know knows somebody else you know, and it suddenly seems like this is a very small world indeed! To some extent, we do create our own "worlds" through the people we choose to interact with and the ties that we maintain to others.

And there are definitely moments of divine synchronicity, when soulmates who are supposed to connect find each other or help each other out, and the energy is miraculous and joyful.

But I also find that there can be NEGATIVE synchronicities, also, set up by deceptive entities who wish to throw us off the spiritual path.

So just because a coincidence takes place doesn't mean it's necessarily a GOOD one! Don't automatically assume that every synchronistic event that occurs is something to celebrate. Sometimes you need to be careful and to examine the energy of the situation.

For instance, if someone keeps showing up in different places that you visit, and you start to think maybe the Universe is directing you to interact with this person, you should still measure how this person makes you feel. I wouldn't automatically assume that someone is "good." Was he sent by an angel or thrown in your path as a potentially negative influence? Both things are possible.

I used to have people turn up in my life as strangers who appeared to know WAY too much about me.....and they would be very aggressive about asking me questions, where I lived, what I was doing, and so forth. I found that some of these worked for the government and were sent into my life to try to discourage me from pursuing the spiritual side of life, writing my books, connecting with kindred spirits and so forth. I finally learned how to spot these moments of "street theater" when they happened. (Coincidentally, around the same time, I had rejected a "former" member of the CIA when he tried to recruit me for his remote viewing company. Somebody must have been unhappy about that!)

So - it's important to measure each situation through your heart. How does it make you feel?

When you find someone turning up in your life through synchronicity, examine the energy. If you heart is warmed by interacting with a person and you feel that there is an important lesson to be learned with them or that there is a key experience to be had, then embrace the synchronicity.

But if a synchronistic event makes you feel afraid, causes you worry or distress, fills you with sudden self-doubt or knocks you off your center of personal power...then you are probably dealing with a more negative type of synchronicity.

On a higher level, though, I do believe that "everything happens for a reason." Our challenge is to figure out what's the reason! Is someone showing up in our life to test or challenge us, as a potentially disruptive influence, or are they there to enhance our lives and to bring us closer to the light?

Ultimately, everything we experience is part of our spiritual journey, and even situations which appear "negative" on the surface can serve as opportunities to learn. In the end, all of our life's lessons are about love. Are we moving towards love or away from love? That's all our soul cares about. Our Higher Self doesn't care too much how we get there. It just wants us to keep our feet firmly planted on the path.

So I would say, trust your heart and your instincts in these matters and always be thoughtful and discerning - just to be safe! Perhaps this person who is showing up in your social circle is someone you'd like to chat with again. But if you don't feel happy and light about it, don't let yourself be pressured to make contact. Don't do anything you're not completely comfortable with.

Thanks very much for writing!

--Best,