We have all experienced coincidences that seemed extraordinary. Perhaps you were out on your bike and collided with another rider in front of a small cafe you'd never noticed before. Later in the week, you decide to eat lunch there and end up meeting your future wife at the next table. Or maybe you pick up the Sunday classified ads for no apparent reason and notice a job opening that interests you. A couple of weeks later you find out that your corporation is laying off everyone in your division. You suddenly remember the ad you saw and decide to apply. You go for the interview and the new company offers you an even better position that they hadn't advertised yet.

Whenever such coincidences happen to us, we can dismiss them as random or choose to recognize their amazing potential. We can pay attention and try to hear their messages more clearly. Life's coincidences aren't meaningless occurrences in a chaotic universe: They are clues to discovering our path to fulfillment.

Each of us is connected to the field of infinite intelligence that endlessly creates all of the physical forms in the world. When we awaken to the true nature of creation, we become aware of the eternal patterns and rhythms that govern life. We also realize that the universe is constantly sending us messages in the form of serendipitous events. In fact, we're completely immersed in a web of coincidences that guide us to fulfill our dharma or purpose in life.

At this very instant, your destiny has led you to read these words. The fact that you are reading this article is a coincidence offering potentially life-transforming opportunities. What circumstances led to this moment? Why are you perusing this article instead of one of countless others out there? What are you beginning to dream about creating in your life?

Awakening to the Field of Pure Potentiality

Realizing that you're connected to a network of coincidences is only the first stage in learning to access the field of pure potentiality. In the second stage, you begin to recognize coincidences while they're happening rather than just in hindsight. From this state of higher consciousness, you're better positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.

The more you notice and appreciate coincidences, the more likely they are to appear. And as your awareness expands, you start to understand the way life works... how the quantum domain orchestrates the flow of energy, information, and intelligence to manifest your intentions. You'll also discover that you can consciously participate in the creation of your life and achieve the spontaneous fulfillment of all your dreams. This is the miracle of SynchroDestiny. However, it's a miracle we all can experience by focusing both our attention and intention.

To nurture coincidence and become aware of valuable opportunities, you can begin by using a few simple techniques:

* When a coincidence happens, don't ignore it. Instead, ask yourself, "What is the message here? What is the significance of this event?" Don't strain for answers: Just ask the question and the answers will come easily. They may arrive as a sudden insight, a chance encounter, a relationship, or in another way. Whatever form the response takes, you'll immediately know that you're receiving an important clue.

* Focus on one of your five senses - sight, taste, hearing, touch, smell - for a minute or two each day. Notice as many different aspects of this sense as you can. When a powerful or unusual stimuli draws your attention, focus on it, for this is what you need to look at most closely. As you become more sensitive to your environment, you'll become more of the messages coming your way.

* Keep a journal of your coincidences. Writing down the coincidences you experience, whether tiny or huge, encourages more of them to unfold. More coincidences provide more clues to guide your actions and more possibilities for fulfillment.

If you'd like to access an even higher level of coincidences, I recommend using the process of recapitulation, which I discuss in the book Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire and teach at the Chopra Center's SynchroDestiny workshop. Every night before you go to sleep, sit up for a few minutes and imagine everything that happened to you that day unfolding on the screen of your consciousness. See yourself waking up, eating breakfast, getting ready to drive to work or care for your children, going about your various activities, coming home, eating dinner—and everything else you do right up until bedtime. Watch each event take place as though you were viewing a movie.

As you recapitulate your day, there's no need to analyze, judge, or evaluate; simply watch yourself objectively. Sometimes you'll observe yourself doing something you're especially proud of, while at other times you'll see something that embarrasses you. Just keep in mind that the goal isn't to judge but to get little insights into the main character in your movie: yourself. Your review can be as short as five minutes or as long as half an hour.

When you finish the recapitulation, say to yourself, "Everything I just witnessed is now complete and safely stored away. I can bring these images to mind when I desire, but as soon as I let them go, they disappear." The next step is to tell yourself as you go to sleep, "I've recapitulated the day and now I'm instructing my soul (or subconscious or spirit) to witness my dreams."

You might not notice any changes at first, but if you do this practice every night, you'll have a clear sense of being the observer watching the scenery of your dreams. When you wake up, you'll start to recapitulate the night in the same way that you recapitulated the day before you fell asleep. Once you can remember your dreams, write about them in your journal and make a special note of coincidences. You'll gradually begin to see correlations or recurring images and patterns that appear in both your dreams and your daily life. These coincidences are messages from the universe and invitations to more creativity, success, and fulfillment. As you master SynchroDestiny, the amazing potential in every moment will reveal itself to you.

Deepak Chopra, MD, is the author of more than 50 books and the founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing located in Carlsbad, California. The SynchroDestiny workshop has helped thousands manifest their deepest desires. For more information, visit chopra.com or call 888.494.1639.