Life-Changing Synchronicities: A Doctor’s Journey of Coincidence and Serendipity
Bernard Beitman, MD
Rochester, Vt.: Park Street Press, 2025. 226 pp., paper, $18.99.
In Life-Changing Synchronicities, Bernard Beitman blends autobiography and intellectual exploration into an engaging narrative documenting his encounters with extraordinary coincidences and synchronicities throughout his life. Beitman invites readers to examine how these seemingly random events can shape a life, providing a compelling “soundtrack to a life well lived.”
The book details Beitman’s journey, from his early sporting achievements and lucky breaks in medical school to his time in the sixties counterculture before embarking on a successful academic career. He vividly describes himself as “swinging from vine to vine in the coincidence jungle,” illustrating his lifelong fascination with these phenomena.
Beitman writes that even as a child, he possessed the ability to observe his own thoughts, which set him on a path of greater awareness. This awareness, he argues, is crucial for critically examining the events in our lives.
Beyond personal anecdotes, Beitman subtly emphasizes the importance of embodiment—the idea that a well-lived life involves active participation rather than passive observation. Having moved beyond the confines of academia, he has become increasingly engaged with nature, dance, and people, always navigating by coincidences. Like other collectors of coincidences, he has observed that these occurrences seem to proliferate with study, leading to the profound question of what kind of universe and mind allows for such meaningful events. He rejects the simplistic notion that these are “just one of those things,” suggesting instead that their existence offers a glimpse into a deeper, yet-to-be-understood reality.
Beitman approaches the study of coincidences with a scientific mindset, systematically collecting observations to determine if they constitute data beyond mere anecdotes and if patterns emerge. He introduces his model of a psychosphere: a realm that deals with information received by the brain both through the five senses and through psi. It surrounds all of us and includes the collective unconscious and is the source of meaningful coincidences like simultaneous discovery. A particularly valuable aspect of the book lies in the practical insights it provides for becoming more aware of, and even increasing, meaningful coincidences in one’s own life.
Life-Changing Synchronicities is not merely about strange coincidences: it delves into the deeper themes of meaning, awareness, and the realization of our interconnectedness. Beitman does not offer definitive answers but rather shares stories, research, and reflections that encourage readers to explore for themselves. The result is a guide for recognizing, understanding, and harnessing these significant moments to foster deeper meaning and purpose. Whether one approaches synchronicity from the perspective of science, spirituality, or simple curiosity, this book offers a fresh perspective and encourages readers to view the world, and their place within it, in a new light.
Peter Orvetti
Peter Orvetti is a writer and former divinity student residing in Washington, D.C.