Hey, this was actually a topic I made awhile ago that I wanted to bring on over to a blog post - this was back when I first joined, but I thought I'd put it up on a blog post anyway, it helped me when I was feeling bad about coincidences.
Hey! A lot of users on here are talking about having coincidences, being in-control of reality, and also controlling things inside of reality. I wanted to share this phenomenon with people who are suffering from this and thinking these things. There will be a link at the bottom of this page for more information, but if you don't like clicking links, I'll try to explain and paraphrase here.
The phenomenon is called the "Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon" and it's when one happens upon some obscure information and, after putting this information into their mind, they end up seeing it absolutely everywhere. Even people without DP/DR have had this and I remember having this before I had my own type of DR - it can be quite disturbing if someone hadn't come across reading about the phenomenon.
"The phenomenon bears some similarity to synchronicity, which is the experience of having a highly meaningful coincidence... such as having someone telephone you while you are thinking about them. Both phenomena invoke a feeling of mild surprise, and cause one to ponder the odds of such an intersection."
This is purely selective information taken in. The actual math behind these coincidences, if thought about, would be a lot more calming because it's actually common to have coincidences like this. So, for example, let's say you just learned about something recently. Your friend had been talking about this new band called "Example Band" and had been raving about it for weeks on end - you start looking into the band and, as soon as you do, you start seeing it everywhere and all the time. You're driving to work and notice a bumper sticker with "Example Band" on it, you're at work and see an advertisement for "Example Band", and you even see one of your co-workers with the band shirt under their button-up work suit. You start to think to yourself, "Does it mean something?"
No, it doesn't mean anything. You had probably seen the band merchandise before, but just hadn't payed attention to it because it was not something that interested you - it's selective information that you're taking in. You don't care about it, therefore, your sub-conscious pushes it all the way to the back of your mind. Then, after one of your friends brings it up, you start to see it everywhere because there is now substance behind the thought and the band itself in your mind. .
"In point of fact, coincidences themselves are usually just an artifact of perception. We humans tend to underestimate the probability of coinciding events, so our expectations are at odds with reality. And non-coincidental events do not grab our attention with anywhere near the same intensity, because coincidences are patterns, and the brain actually stimulates us for successfully detecting patterns... hence their inflated value. In short, patterns are habit-forming."
To all the people that freaking out because of coincidences, go check up on some more information about this phenomenon - it solves the crisis that I had with predictions and it could solve yours. The brain and it's sub-conscious are fascination items
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