Chris Mackey - The Positive Psychology of Synchronicity Enhance Your Mental Health with the Power of Coincidence

A profound introduction to deep concepts of mind, meaning and the challenges of creating a life well lived for everyone. This is the major problem of our time: How do we cope with instant global communication by ever more effective media that assault us daily and hourly with the tragedies of the human condition? Chris Mackey shares intimations of how we can go more deeply within to deal with much that ails us.
Ernest Rossi, PhD, author ofThe Psychobiology of Gene ExpressionandCreating Consciousness

Im a huge fan of this book. Chris Mackey has blended his work on synchronicity with the field of positive psychology in a way that is informative and inspiring. Looking back, Ive had many moments of synchronicity in my lifes journey some after great triumph, others after great pain. This book has helped me to really understand what occurred and has taught me how to move forward in ways that will make better use of the future moments of synchronicity. As Mackey so eloquently says Theres much to be gained from taking an optimistic perspective and this book will help you do just that. Thanks, Chris, for your wisdom!
Professor Lea Waters, PhD, President of the International Positive Psychology Association

Chris Mackey, a traditionally trained psychologist, explores his deeply personal journey, his own heros journey into the dark night of the soul. His exploration is richly sourced and offers a fine balance between providing sufficient explanations to make the profound mysteries of human experience accessible to even the most sceptical reader on the one hand, and on the other descending into the trap of explaining these mysteries away... he invites us to transcend the tired and limited attitude of treating mental illness, offering the possibility of Positive Psychiatry through synchronicity.
Rob McNeilly, Centre of Effective Therapy (CET), Tasmania

A clinical and counselling psychologist and Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, Chris Mackey has 40 years psychotherapy experience in public and private mental health settings. He is the principal psychologist at Chris Mackey and Associates, his private psychology practice in Geelong. He was previously the senior clinical psychologist at the Geelong Hospital and at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, where he helped establish a group programme for veterans of the Vietnam War.

Chris has presented at numerous national and international scientific conferences over the past 25 years on such topics as the assessment and treatment of psychological trauma, the evaluation of effectiveness of psychological therapy for anxiety and depression and drawing on synchronicity in psychological therapy.

Chris is particularly interested in optimistic approaches to mental health. He has regularly promoted positive psychology to the general public since 2004 through free public talks, newspaper articles in The Geelong Advertiser, frequent local radio segments and the national television wellbeing show, Destination Happiness. Throughout his career, and in his everyday life, he has been fascinated by synchronicity and the opportunities for personal development offered by this phenomenon.

For more about Chris, as well as extensive information about a wide range of mental health issues, visit: www.chrismackey.com.au.

For more information including blogs and videos about synchronicity, visit the books website: www.synchronicityunwrapped.com.au and the Chris Mackey Psychology YouTube channel.

This edition published in the UK and USA 2019 by

Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited

Unit 11, Shepperton House,

89 Shepperton Road,

London N1 3DF

Design and typography copyright Watkins Media Limited 2015, 2019

Text copyright Chris Mackey 2015, 2019

This is a fully updated and revised edition of Synchronicity: Empower Your Life with the Gift of Coincidence, published in 2015

Chris Mackey has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the Publishers.

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Designed and typeset by JCS Publishing Services Ltd.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

UK ISBN: 978-1-78678-273-1

www.watkinspublishing.com

To Ross, my dear spiritual friend and mentor.
In appreciation of your exceptional guidance and support
over all these years. You truly are one of a kind.

Acknowledgments

Firstly, I would like to thank Sandra Rigby, my commissioning editor at Watkins Media, for contacting me out of the blue to ask whether Id like to write a book, convincing me to write about synchronicity, and helping guide me through the early stages of writing.

I am indebted to my family, friends and colleagues whose feedback on the manuscript, from parts to full drafts, was invaluable, including Melissa Faulkner, Megan Henderson, Emily Hill, Amber Denehey, Rod Carne, Charlotte Kerr, Sue Mackey, Rowan Mackey, Margie Beasley, Andrew Bigelow, Ken Jarvis, Kerry Gemmell and Denise Cromer, among others. I also especially thank my spiritual friends, Trent Barry and Danny Taylor, whose wise comments helped me negotiate the most challenging sections to write.

Many people helped me tell my personal story more than they might realize, including Laura Capitanio, Mary Dimovski, Clare Heaney, Les Duck, Rod Jones, Craig Mackey, Alison Jones, Liz Barson, Andrew Fuller, Vicki Jones, Greg Hammond, Rod Carne, David Cherry, Gerard Spriet, Maree Herath and Mike Kyrios.

Thank you to Andrew Griffiths for his ever-generous writing guidance and Mick Ragg for his Nirvana advice.

I am especially grateful to the exceptional Watkins editors Fiona Robertson and Bob Saxton for their wonderful support and key role in guiding and improving the manuscript for both editions. Bobs editing was always thoughtful and inspired: I am most grateful to have had an accomplished writer and poet as my editor. I also thank Vicky Hartley, Lucia Garavaglia, John Tintera, Daniel Culver and all other Watkins staff for their valuable contribution at various stages in producing this book and bringing it to others attention.

I thank my clinical and administrative colleagues, past and present, at Chris Mackey and Associates for their active support throughout this project and for helping make work a joy. Thanks to my BBMMC Movie Club mates for their delightful mateship and ongoing encouragement. I am also grateful to Angie Hilton for the opportunity to reach more of the public with positive psychology messages through the television wellbeing show Destination Happiness, and to Roxie Bennett and Daryl Reader for hosting me on our fortnightly Bay FM Geelong radio segment, Talking Synchronicity.

I am indebted to my family Rowan, Joanna, Ellie and especially Sue, my wife, friend, colleague and soul-partner for their love, forbearance and encouragement. I am blessed to have my life path intertwined with theirs. I greatly appreciate the inspiration they have each given me in many ways. I particularly wish to acknowledge Sues uplifting example, related to a core theme in this book, of living the heros journey with courage and optimism while dealing with and recovering from cancer. She not only supported me in my writing throughout, but also brought a boon to others in her own heartening book, Positive Oncology.

Finally, I should like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my clients, who have provided me with a most satisfying career and taught me the vast majority of what I truly understand.