Synchronicity

1. Inner Transformation Begins with Crisis and Self-Reflection

The end to this illusion would come to me, as it has for so many, by means of a personal crisis.

Crisis as Catalyst. Joseph Jaworski's "picture-book life" as a successful lawyer was shattered by his divorce, plunging him into a period of profound personal crisis. This unexpected trauma forced him into solitude and intense self-reflection, a stark contrast to his previously unreflective, fragmented existence. He began journaling, reading philosophical texts, and questioning his life's direction and purpose, realizing the inauthenticity of his prior path.

Beyond Material Success. This period of pain and confusion became a crucible for growth, revealing that many successful individuals shared his feeling of material abundance but spiritual emptiness. They were often immobilized by fear and a focus on "having" rather than "being," leading to a collective despair about influencing the larger world. Jaworski's journey became a quest to break free from this inertia and discover a deeper, more meaningful existence.

Embracing Vulnerability. Confronting his pain and allowing himself to truly feel brought a new appreciation for each day and intense "peak experiences" in simple moments. This marked the beginning of a new path, where he learned to allow life to flow through him rather than trying to control it, embracing vulnerability and a deeper understanding of his true self. This inner shift was the essential "call to adventure," initiating his transformative journey.

2. True Freedom Aligns with Life's Higher Purpose

I knew I had to have the freedom to be myself, my highest self, and that nothing could stand in my way if I really wanted it.

Freedom From vs. Freedom To. Jaworski's post-divorce travels in Europe, particularly his experience at Chartres Cathedral, sparked a profound realization about the nature of freedom. He distinguished between "freedom from" oppressive circumstances and a deeper "freedom to" follow his life's purpose, a concept reinforced by reading Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This was about transcending self-imposed limits and fears, especially the fear of stepping out of his conventional "tribe" and making a significant difference.

Breaking Chains of Thought. The book Jonathan Livingston Seagull resonated deeply, emphasizing the truth that "Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too." This insight fueled his desire to overcome conformity, boredom, fear, and anger, and to discover his "higher purpose." He recognized that a fixed mindset led to a sense of powerlessness, creating a "self-fulfilling prophecy" of despair in the larger world.

Shifting Consciousness. True freedom, he realized, was not merely the absence of constraint, but the capacity to align with one's authentic self and contribute to a larger purpose. This required a fundamental shift in consciousness, moving from a fixed view of the world to one of continual possibility. This realization allowed him to feel more alive and to believe in his capacity to shape the future, rather than simply reacting to it.

3. The Universe is Fundamentally Interconnected: Embrace Oneness

The oneness implicit in Bell’s theorem envelops human beings and atoms alike.

Beyond Separation. A pivotal encounter with an ermine in the Grand Teton Mountains, where he felt "at one with that ermine," profoundly shifted Jaworski's perception. This experience was later illuminated by his meeting with physicist David Bohm, who introduced him to modern physics concepts like Bell's theorem. This theorem experimentally proves the fundamental inseparability of the world, demonstrating that "separation without separateness" is the way our universe is constructed.

Experiences of Unity. This scientific validation resonated with Jaworski's personal experiences of "oneness" in various contexts:

• Feeling unity with other workers during the devastation of the Waco tornado.
• A deep, wordless connection with his friend Mike after a life-threatening Jeep accident.
• Moments of profound accord with a jury during emotionally charged trials.
• The spiritual connection and transcendence of boundaries experienced with Bernadette in Cannes.
• The transcendent feeling at Chartres Cathedral and in the wilderness, where he felt "linked to the universe."

Dissolving Illusions. Bohm explained that the world is not made of separate "things" but is an "unbroken totality of movement," an "implicate order" where everything is enfolded in everything. This understanding dissolved the illusion of boundaries, revealing that our fragmented perspective is a product of our thought patterns and language. Embracing this interconnectedness, or "unity consciousness," became crucial for his evolving leadership philosophy, preparing him to recognize the impermanence of all boundaries.

4. Servant Leadership: A Call to Serve Life and Unlock Potential

The essence of leadership, says Greenleaf, is the desire to serve one another and to serve something beyond ourselves, a higher purpose.

A Stunned Realization. Robert Greenleaf's essay "The Servant as Leader" provided the conceptual framework for Jaworski's emerging vision, striking him with "enormous impact." Greenleaf, inspired by Herman Hesse's Journey to the East, posited that true leadership stems from a fundamental choice to serve, not from a position of authority. This idea was "absolutely stunning" and reawakened a "memory of long ago," cleansing his "lens of perception."

Beyond "Doing" to "Being." Jaworski realized that the traditional focus on "doing" in leadership (style, function) missed the crucial "being" aspect. Servant leadership, grounded in the universe's organizing principle of "relatedness," made perfect sense. It was about allowing life to unfold through oneself, serving a higher purpose, and fostering the growth of others, recognizing that "the only true authority for this new era is that which enriches participants, and empowers rather than diminishes them."

Founding the American Leadership Forum (ALF). This philosophy became the bedrock for the American Leadership Forum (ALF), envisioned as an institute to develop leaders committed to service, compassion, and "transformational leadership." The goal was to help a new generation of leaders discover their "larger purposes" and "special destinies," believing that a community of such enlightened individuals could "literally change their communities and the world." This was his personal mission: to share the truth that was unfolding before him.

5. Commitment Shifts from Control to Allowing Life's Unfolding

He must sacrifice his puny, unfree will, that is controlled by things and instincts, to his grand will, which quits defined for destined being.

The Grand Will. Jaworski's decision to leave his law firm and dedicate himself to the American Leadership Forum marked a profound shift in his understanding of commitment. Initially, his commitment was the traditional "make it happen" approach—disciplined, hard work, outworking adversaries. However, a deeper, more subtle aspect of commitment began to emerge, which Martin Buber called the "grand will."

Freedom and Destiny Merge. This "grand will" was not about arbitrary self-will but about aligning with destiny and the "course of being in the world." It involved listening to an inner voice, trusting the unfolding process of the universe, and taking action from a place of willingness rather than sheer force. This paradoxical integrity of surrender meant being "more certain of the direction than the goal," improvising each step, and laying the path by walking.

Effortless Flow. The moment he crossed this threshold, things began to fall into place "almost effortlessly"—unforeseen incidents and meetings with remarkable people provided crucial assistance. This was the "implicate order at work," an exhilarating experience of riding the "crest of a wave," where his life became infused with meaning and a sense of destiny. This commitment of being, rather than doing, allowed him to operate with complete spontaneity and freedom, opening doors beyond imagination.

6. Synchronicity: Predictable Miracles Emerge from Aligned Being

At this point, your life becomes a series of predictable miracles.

Meaningful Coincidences. After committing to his dream, Jaworski experienced a series of "predictable miracles," or synchronicities, as defined by C.G. Jung: "a meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than the probability of chance is involved." The most striking example was meeting his future wife, Mavis, at a crowded airport, an encounter he felt was "something talking to me from what was to be."

Unseen Helping Hands. These events were not random but seemed to be guided by an unseen force, a "supernatural assisting force" as Joseph Campbell described. Mavis's precognition of their move to London and Jaworski's subsequent Shell assignment further underscored this phenomenon. This was not magic, but a natural consequence of operating in alignment with the universe's interconnectedness, where "doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be."

Authentic Presence. The key to experiencing these miracles was cultivating an "authentic presence"—a state of being open, vulnerable, and in touch with one's "open nature" or "emptiness." In this state, one exerts an "enormous attractiveness" to others who resonate with this authenticity, leading to vital assistance appearing. This requires acute awareness, flexibility, and patience, moving instantly when the "cubic centimeter of chance" presents itself, without conscious premeditation.

7. Dialogue: The Power of Collective Thinking and Shared Meaning

If there was an opportunity for sustained dialogue over a period of time, we would have coherent movement of thought, not only at the conscious level we all recognize, but even more importantly at the tacit level, the unspoken level which cannot be described.

Beyond Debate. David Bohm's work on "dialogue" (from Greek dia + logos, "meaning flowing through") became a cornerstone of ALF's curriculum. Unlike debate or discussion, which often "break things up," dialogue aims to create a "pool of shared meaning" by dissolving "undiscussables" and challenging deeply held, often unconscious, assumptions or "mental maps." This process allows for a coherent movement of thought, even at the tacit level.

Collective Intelligence. The ALF wilderness experience was designed as a "gateway to dialogue," fostering deep trust and breaking down individual "blocks" and prejudices. In these settings, groups experienced "one mind" or "collective intelligence," leading to coordinated action without necessarily explicit agreement on reasons. This collective thinking, likened by Bohm to "superconductivity," reveals high energy and intelligence, allowing groups to "see things whole" rather than constructing a whole from fragmented parts.

Transformative Impact. The Hartford ALF chapter's success in addressing complex community issues, exemplified by Jim Grigsby's swift action on medical insurance for public housing residents, demonstrated the tangible power of this collective leadership. The fellows consistently reported "deep personal change" and the "mysterious power of the collective" flowing from sustained dialogue, transforming their perceptions and enabling them to act as "open systems."

8. Navigating Traps: Learning from Setbacks on the Hero's Journey

Where you stumble, there your treasure lies.

Inevitable Ordeals. Jaworski's journey, like Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey," included inevitable "supreme ordeals" or "traps" that tested his commitment and offered opportunities for profound learning. He identified three main traps that almost derailed the American Leadership Forum, causing a devastating loss of flow and synchronicity:

• Trap of Responsibility: Feeling indispensable and solely responsible for the enterprise, leading to obsessive worry, fear, and burnout.
• Trap of Dependency: Over-reliance on specific individuals or plans, compromising the dream and losing flexibility, as seen with the delayed funding from Jack Warren.
• Trap of Overactivity: Getting bogged down in details and a frenetic pace, losing reflective space and attracting unaligned individuals, leading to organizational incoherence.

Habits of Thought. These traps were "habits of thought" rooted in old ways of being, particularly his need to "make his own mark" and his fear of failure. They generated immense fear and anxiety, causing him to revert to controlling rather than allowing. Overcoming them required recognizing them as powerful illusions, distinguishing between concern and obsessive worry, and regaining balance through inner, reflective work.

Regaining Balance. The key to navigating these traps was to return to the generative orientation: focusing on the intended result (the vision) rather than rigidly adhering to a process, and cultivating a deep commitment to the dream for its own sake. This allowed him to regain the "effortless" flow and synchronicity. He learned that "there are always alternatives," and that simple acts like deep breathing can help "reestablish our center" and clarity.

9. Leadership as "Being": Cultivating Character and Consciousness

The capacity to discover and participate in our unfolding future has more to do with our being—our total orientation of character and consciousness—than with what we do.

Beyond Positional Power. The book culminates in the understanding that true leadership is fundamentally about "being" rather than "doing." It is about one's "total orientation of character and consciousness," a state of inner activity and authentic relatedness to the world. This contrasts sharply with the conventional view of leadership focused on positional power and visible accomplishments, which often misses the "immeasurable that we most deeply care about—the undefinable, the intangible, the inexpressible—the real."

Fundamental Shifts. This "being" involves a fundamental shift in mental models:

• From a fixed, mechanistic universe to an open, dynamic, interconnected one, recognizing that "the future is not fixed."
• From seeing separate "things" to understanding "relationship" as the organizing principle of the universe, fostering an "I and Thou" connection with others.
• From a "puny, unfree will" controlled by instincts to a "grand will" aligned with destiny, rooted in willingness and trust.

Authentic Presence. Cultivating this state of being allows leaders to "listen" to the "implicate order unfolding" and to create dreams and visions that "want to happen." It's about developing an "authentic presence" that exerts "enormous attraction" to others, fostering collective wisdom and leading to "predictable miracles." This capacity, though often seen as exceptional, is "available to us all," a manifestation of our natural order.

10. Creating the Future: Shaping Reality Through Collective Action

We do not describe the world we see, but we see the world we describe.

Enactive View of Knowing. Francisco Varela's insights on the "biology of cognition" revealed that "cognition is not a representation of the world 'out there' but rather a 'bringing forth of the world through the process of living itself.'" This means humans collectively create their reality through language and interactions, as "we lay the path down by an accumulation of recurrent human practices." A spoon, for instance, becomes a spoon through our collective actions and language.

From Resignation to Possibility. This understanding empowers individuals and organizations to move from resignation to possibility, actively shaping the future rather than merely reacting to it. Jaworski saw this principle at work in:

• The growth of his law firm from a shared dream and collective commitment.
• The tangible impact of the American Leadership Forum on communities through shared vision and dialogue.
• The Shell scenario process, which, when used generatively, could influence global thought and action, as demonstrated by the Mont Fleur Scenarios in South Africa.

Generative Leadership. The "New Frontiers" scenario, developed at Shell, was an attempt to paint a plausible vision of a desirable future, demonstrating how collective mental models and shared stories can contribute to creating the world we want. This generative approach to leadership, rooted in an open and interconnected view of the universe, allows for "small discontinuities" to "suddenly and significantly transform the whole system," making leadership ultimately about "creating the future into which we are living."

Last updated: November 25, 2025