Customer Reviews

Signs: A New Approach to Coincidence, Synchronicity, Guidance, Life Purpose, and God's Plan

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Robert Perry's "Signs" is an important book, though one suitably written with caution and modesty.

In the Middle Ages, theology was considered the Queen of the Sciences. It consisted principally of the study of a God who ruled the Earth from on high and who was thought to periodically intervene on Earth. Theology was later dethroned by rationalism and scientism (the belief that the physical universe alone existed and that there were no worlds other than space-time). A new paradigm is now emerging, one which transcends both former limited visions. I believe that the science of spirituality may eventually become the most important science. The science of spirituality studies how non-space time (spiritual) realities interact with space-time and those of us who live in space-time. Per the new science of spirituality, God is not seen as a being separate and apart from space-time or us but as the Supreme Intelligence that guides all evolution from within, including the inner spiritual growth of humans.

Perry's "Signs" is a significant contribution to this new science of spirituality. He documents the existence, in the lives of all humans, of CMPEs, Conjunctions of Meaningfully Parallel Events, a phenomenon that he describes more thoroughly and scientifically than the "synchronicities" discovered by the late renowned psychologist Carl Jung. CMPEs are two or more events that occur together in time, that share quite a number of objective commonalities, and that are designed to say something spiritually meaningful to us. They happen to all of us. Perry tells us how to recognize them and heed them.

In a sense, CMPEs are waking dreams. All the major spiritual traditions, from time immemorial, have recognized the importance of dreams as a means through which the spiritual world connects with us and speaks to us. The Hebrew and Christian Bible recount many such dreams. But, from the vantage point of outside space-time, this world, our everyday space-time world, can be seen as a dream. So, everything that happens to us each day can be interpreted as if it were a dream. And, just as dreams are rich in spiritual guidance, so too are the events of everyday life - if we pay attention and have eyes to see.

Native Americans say the most important dreams are "Big Dreams," powerfully spiritual dreams that we have all had and recognize as important. Perry's CMPEs are the "Big Dreams" of everyday waking life, the stunningly parallel events that occur to all of us to teach us spiritually but that we, all too often, fail to recognize or capitalize upon. Perry tells us how to recognize CMPEs and what to do with them to realize spiritual growth. I recommend "Signs" to all serious spiritual seekers.
Jim Marion, author of "Putting on the Mind of Christ, the Inner Work of Christian Spirituality."

This book really surprised me. When I first started reading it, I was drawn in by Robert Perry's explanation of the signs and the examples he gives from his personal experience with them, but was pretty skeptical that what he was describing had any relevance in my own life. But the further into it I read, the more I began to appreciate that this book has something completely new to say about a universal intelligence that is not only present in my life, but also cares about me and wants to communicate with me. In fact, by the time I got to the final chapters, I felt like it was written specifically for me, and I couldn't put it down. Within a few weeks of finishing it, I experienced a series of signs myself: unlikely synchronicities that couldn't be written off as mere coincidence, that actually fit the model in the book, and that demonstrated incredible insight into my past, my present life experiences and relationships, my thoughts and feelings, and my questions about the future. So now I'm really curious to see what happens once word gets out about this book, and whether other people will have their own amazing experiences to report after they read it!

I have read several books and listened to more than a few hours of lectures on the topics addressed in Robert Perry's book. I purcahsed Stan Grof's WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENS a few years ago, and I was very excited to read it, but it was not what I needed to further my own understanding. Having now read Robert Perrry's SIGNS, I believe this is THE BEST book on coincidence, guidance and life's purpose. In all his writings Robert uses a style that is both relaxed and easy to read without being shallow. This book is no exception. Page after page of, frankly, astounding examples of conjuctions of meaningfully parallel events that will leave you wide eyed and stunned.One example is his story about Y2K. You will be speechless when you read that one! But, with Robert's superb insights and analysis, you will also be blessed beyond measure to know that God cares deeply for you and communicates that fact through these events. Please note that the book is more than a collection of storeis and real life examples. This is a book for both the serious, philosophically oriented reader and for the layperson who wants an answer to the questions of: who am I, where did I come from, and where am I going? I would give this book 33 stars if Amazon would permit me.

SIGNS by Robert Perry is a groundbreaking approach to the phenomenon of synchronicity and the search for guidance from transpersonal sources. As someone who has written and researched in these areas myself, I was deeply impressed with both Robert's hypothesis of the CMPE and the careful, deliberate way in which he analyzes and presents this phenomenon. No flighty, sensationalized metaphysical fluff here but a well-reasoned, well-researched approach to a topic meaningful to all of us. Robert Perry has definitely given us all a big step forward in understanding our relationship to the spiritual worlds. Just as importantly, he has given us a practical way to use his insights to bless our own lives and the life of our world. Excellent!

There are lives where signs, coincidences, and synchronicities abound for decades and perhaps for an entire lifetime, and there are lives such as mine where these signs are a transitional phase that may last only a few years. In whichever category you fit into, Robert Perry's "Signs" is a most valuable book to have, as a guide to understanding what is happening, and also to be able to compare, and logically deal with the many signs that sometimes come to us within minutes of each other.

Perry's method of interpreting signs, or CMPE's as he calls them (which stands for Conjunctions of Meaningfully Parallel Events) and his method of lining up each event and matching them up is unique and useful. There are some people who see "signs" everywhere but they don't stand up to the test (and end up being rambling confusion instead). Perry has established an almost scientific way of evaluation, and it's a great guide to go by. It weeds out the coincidences that are just that, coincidences, and focuses in on what really matters, and what is being communicated to you with these CMPEs. I believe it's a way God makes known His presence and His best for our lives, and it's a good idea to be alert and cognizant of what a sign is and what it is telling us.

Perry touches on forgiveness as a key to life in Chapter 10, and this always indicates to me that the author knows what he's talking about. Forgiveness for me is the central issue of life, that makes everything else fall into place; Perry's section on the subject is a guided vision, based on his teaching in a Course in Miracles class, that will turn the key in the lock for many. If you see yourself being surrounded with what seems like numerous "coincidences," or simply want to become more aware of any signs that may be happening in your life, this book will help you recognize them, sort them out, classify them and make sense of it all.

I have always appreciated the value of even simple "synchronicities" as moments that pull me into the present to notice and reflect on something that is going on, either internally or around me. Perry's system for evaluating true signs takes that a step further in a way I like a lot. I found his discussion of the four-point model to be logical and clear. And the steps he provides, to unravel the validity and meaning of specific signs, are straightforward and easy to grasp. Of course I'll need some practice before I become really confident at it, and that's ok.
I am reminded of a book of essays exploring important mathematical equations, "It Must Be Beautiful," edited by Graham Farmelo. In the forward, the editor describes the way a scientific equation can be "beautiful" by saying:
"Fundamentally, it means that the equation can evoke the same rapture as other things that many of us describe as beautiful. Much like a great work of art, a beautiful equation has among its attributes much more than mere attractiveness - it will have universality, simplicity, inevitability and an elemental power."
In my mind, the system Perry presents in Signs can be called "beautiful."

Sometime ago I was shopping with my grown daughters and too old, fat and tired to keep up, I begged off, sat on a bench and waited for them to finish. I felt glum and useless. A little round pin caught my eye as it twirled through the feet of passing shoppers, came to rest next to me and plopped on its back. In bright red letters it said, YOU ARE LOVED! I felt a rush of happines at this sign, surely sent from above. The next day I filed the experience in the "coincidence" drawer in my brain and scolded myself for wishful thinking. But, like most of us in this confusing, weary and sometimes frightening world, I oh, so want to believe there is something more, something meaningful and wonderful watching out for each bewildered soul, guiding us to a happy ending. At the same time, I don't want to fool myself. That's why I loved this book. Robert Perry clearly and engagingly gives us a solution to this ancient dilemma in "Signs: A New Approach to Coincidence, Synchronicity, Guidance, Life Purpose, and God's Plan." This is not a book about a better religion nor is it about how you should hope against all odds. It's about a system that makes NOT believing a stretch. It teaches us to recognize and interpret the truly extraordinary experiences that happen to us, not by way of superstition, but by way of reason. If you are looking for something clear and rational to blow away the cloud of doubt that darkens your path (whatever that path may be) it's here in this deceivingly simple little book. There really is Help, we just need to know how to listen. I'm starting a new file to learn what that Help has to say to me.

First of all, I cannot honestly say that this book served to convince me of the author's point of view. How could it, I have held the same point of view for two decades now. All it could do is validate what I had already found to be true. I had no sooner read the foreword describing another's experience with reoccurring cases of meaningful coincidence after a near-death experience than I knew that this book spoke to me, for this was also my experience. So much of this book paralleled the thoughts and observations in my own journals and files over this period.

The view that we share is that meaningful coincidences are indeed real and meaningful. Moreover, by their very existence they prove that the universe is not a meaningless place of dead matter and energy. There is beneficent guidance to the universe. It speaks to individuals for the integrated common good. You have only to listen. The author refers to this as coming full circle. This means healing the dualistic mindset that has come to dominate western thinking since the 17th century by actually using empirical analysis of "conjunctions of meaningfully parallel events." In this way we return meaning, purpose, and yes, God to the center of our thinking about the universe. This healing can take place, for in my own case I was a total materialist and atheist before first hand experience blew that mindset away.

This is not just another book touching on the concept of synchronicity. It is the first book in a long time to break new ground and not merely regurgitate what has gone before. Moreover, it has a seriousness and precision that sets it apart. I think that the signs were correct in emphasizing the importance of this book in eventually establishing a revolution in the way that the world thinks.

Then again, perhaps I am not the typical reader for this book. I had the uncanny sense that the words were my own (though much better stated), or at least those of that which guides me...

On a recent evening, I picked up Signs around 8:30, and literally could not put it down until I finished it at exactly midnight. It's an amazing and significant book!

Robert writes about his investigation of a phenomenon he calls CMPEs (Conjunctions of meaningfully parallel events), or "signs". After thirty years of using them in his own life, he has come to realize that CMPEs provide wise, intelligent, insightful, specific, and consistent guidance.
So just what is a CMPE? The first half of the book explains the phenomenon and how we can learn to use it in our lives. Robert provides copious examples from his own life to illustrate just how they work. Later chapters explore the nature of guidance offered by CMPEs.

A sign is a response to *your* life, and it speaks with its own voice. It is usually speaking about a situation you are struggling with or seeking guidance about, either consciously or unconsciously. CMPEs frequently have certain characteristics that I will list here, excerpted from page 59 of the book:

*There is a question of yours that is central to one of the events; a question the sign could be seen as answering.
*There is a strongly felt need, issue, or problem of yours within one of the events.
*There is a new idea, realization, or decision of yours in one of the events. Signs will often come along and comment on new ideas or decisions, usually to confirm them (though occasionally to shoot them down).
*One of the events is emotionally significant for you - involving a major happening, an important piece of news, or a significant beginning, ending, or turning point.

Just days before reading this book, I experienced what I now recognize as a CMPE, and it contained all the characteristics listed above. Briefly, a few weeks ago I had one of those days when I was feeling particularly frustrated about certain conditions regarding my business, and had come to a place of deep surrender of the situation. Within a day or two, I had conversations with two people (2 events) that were independent of each other, yet occurring within an hour. The conversations, while completely different, contained objective similarities that seemed to respond to a question and an issue in my life. One of the events contained a new idea, and has thus provided helpful guidance and direction as I move forward.

It certainly doesn't seem to be an accident that I would pick up Signs and read it in one night, days after a significant CMPE of my own - especially since I bought the book over two months ago!

An aspect of the book that I find fascinating is Robert's commentary on how CMPEs can predict the future. This chapter is particularly interesting to students of A Course in Miracles in that, he writes about a CMPE regarding the suppression and eventual publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and its parallel with the suppression and eventual publication of the original versions of the Course.

He goes on to discuss signs that seemed to predict the events of September 11, 2001, as well signs predicting the recent economic collapse. And then, just for fun, Robert accurately predicted the sex of 3 of his children using signs.

It's also interesting to note that Robert experienced several CMPEs while writing the book that confirmed information he was writing about, as well as speaking to his doubts about how to present some of the material. As I write this, I recall quite a few "signs" I had during the years I wrote my book, and how they either provided much needed guidance and/or pointed me in new directions.

Robert doesn't bring God into the phenomenon until the last chapter, mainly because he wanted to show that CMPEs are not dependent on belief of any kind. They appear to be scientific in nature, but also point to the existence of another force at work in our lives. Is God the ultimate director and great Guide in the universe? Robert does a great job answering this question.

He asks us, "Could it be that, in the form of CMPEs, God is speaking, yet no one is listening?"

Anyone who can stick to something for 30 years has my attention. In this fast paced, fast food society, Robert Perry, is a rarity. First of all, since throughout our lives we seem to crave direction and wisdom of some kind I believe that once people find out about this special book they will be drawn to read it. Synchronicity and coincidence have always facinated me, but this takes it to a whole new level. Robert's consistant 30 years of study help to create a confidence level in his techniques. This is truly a manual for anyone desiring guidance. At present much of the world is living through very challenging times. People seem to be looking for meaning beyond the chaos. In my opinion...Signs is the perfect book at the perfect time to help guide those seeking a way out of this wilderness we have found ourselves in. Thank goodness, Robert, stayed true to this study for 30 years just for this present moment in time.