Adventures in Synchronicity

 

Russell Coat of Arms

A great many unusual experiences in my life have involved what is known as 'synchronicity.'  Since the period of my life documented in Testament (1997), two names in particular to frequently recur among my acquaintances in my daily life are 'Michael' and 'Bell' (and variations of these names or sometimes 'bel' as part of a name).  Just this last Friday afternoon I was at work and listening to a woman who wanted me to pass on a complaint when I discovered her last name was Bell.  I am also aware of the symbolism of the pronoun 'us' appearing in names, such as in Jesus, 'Mabus' of Nostradamus lore, and even in the surname Russell; however, I never could find any substantiation for some Nostradamus researchers having associated 'Mabus' with any metaphorical antichrist.  Regarding the name synchronicity in my life involving 'Michael,' not only does my twin brother have this name but my first significant employment was as an assistant to actor Mickey Rooney (birth name Joe Yule, Jr.) in the Hollywood Hills home/office of his agent Ruth Webb.  This was in 1980, seventeen years prior to my becoming a metaphysical author.  When I eventually was hired to work as a publicist (staff writer) at Paramount Pictures in 1987, there were so many men named Michael in the publicity department that it was a point of jocularity among coworkers.  Even the studio executive who'd handled my offer of employment had been named Michael.

 

My fascination with the subject of synchronicity began after my trip to Oklahoma in August 1995 to research what had been described in a Fortean Times magazine article as a 'talking poltergeist' case involving an unseen presence named 'Michael.'  When I returned home to Southern California to find incidents of so-called 'paranormal phenomena' continuing in my presence, far broader metaphysical implications concerning 'Michael' and the phenomena became evident.  One of the first synchronicities I noticed was that I was living in a condominium complex on the hillside across from the Angelus Temple in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles.
 

There was one morning when I considered going to the library downtown to visit the extensive Genealogy Collection.  I was returning home from an errand and began considering postponing the library trip; however, upon attempting to unlock the outer iron-grilled security door of my condo, it was proving difficult to turn the key in the lock.  This had never happened before (or after) and it seemed apparent that 'Michael' (or 'Mighael' as an EVP message once instructed me concerning spelling) was indicating this was the appropriate time for me to go to the library.  
 
Considering the array of genealogical information available at the Central Library, including city directories, census records and family histories, I hardly knew where to begin but I made my way to the department card catalog and began investigating what was available for 'Russell.'  My birth name is Mark Gordon Russell and the Bell pen name had been channeled to me through my startled friend Marie during that memorable summer of 1995.  I glanced through the various catalog cards but nothing seemed compelling until I found a card about an 1833 book entitled Historical Memoirs of the First Race of Ancestry, Whence the House of Russell Had Its Origin: From the Subjugation of Norway to the Norman Conquest by J. H. Wiffen, Corresponding Member of the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy.
 
The book was kept in a special collection so the librarian gave me a call slip to fill out and soon I had the antiquarian treasure in front of me.  On the title page was a depiction of the Russell coat of arms: a crown is shown above a shield presenting three scallops and below the shells is a lion with right raised paw.  Encircling the emblem is a garter inscribed with the motto partially obscured by the crown emblem "Honi soit (qui) mal y pense."  The motto on the Russell coat of arms is translated from the French as "Shame to him who thinks ill of it" and is associated with 'The Order of the Garter,' the oldest British Order of Chivalry dating back to the Middle Ages.  Among the names of the publishers was noticeable "Carpenter and Son" of Old Bond Street.

 
I would soon learn some interesting information about the origination of the surname Russell:

 

. . . the first peculiar chieftain of Le Rozel aspired to become the independent founder of a new House, that should transmit to other times its own illustrious surname.  The rise of the Russell surname synchronizes also with the first usage of heraldic arms; as the metrical chronicle of Wace, a most interesting relic of the feudal age, declares, that at the great battle of Val des Dunes, which occurred in 1047, there was not a baron or rich man amongst the combatants but had his banner or other ensign, to which his vassals might be rallied, and that there were amongst them both watch-words and war-cries, and shields for cognisance painted with various devices.

 
Wiffen explains at the beginning of Chapter I: "The House of Russell derives its distinctive appellation from one of the fiefs which the first Chieftain of that surname possessed, anterior to the conquest of England, in Lower Normandy, in the ancient barony of Briquebec."  The lineage is charted back to an individual named "Olaf the Sharp-eyed, King of Rerik," the precursor by five generations to "Sigurd Hring, King of Sweden" and his queen Alfhilda circa A.D. 735.
 
Wiffen's preface attested that he undertook this history of the early lineage of the House of Russell as the incidents recorded convey "a sketch of the wild and predatory habits which distinguished the northern nations during the dark ages."  Wiffen provided a description of events that convinces the reader that any monarch's power lay "frequently at the mercy of the strongest hand or the boldest adventurer" who are chronicled to have also themselves often suffered a violent demise.  The recorded incidents are "the result of research amongst the Icelandic writers, particularly Snorro, whose annals of the achievements of the Scandinavian heroes are frequently illustrated by curious extracts from the runes of the Scalds, by whom they were at first commemorated."
 
Wiffen appraised some of the actions of the period as "a faithful reflection of the half-barbaric life which the whole of the northern nations of Europe led, from the eighth to the eleventh century."  To give some idea of the proceedings, when an archipelago including the Isle of Man (the locale of the 'Gef' poltergeist case I'd researched) fell under the governorship of Russell ancestor Rogvald, Jarl of Moere circa A.D. 865, he repaid his bequeathing monarch's endowment by setting fire to the banquet hall of Vemund, 'the petty king of Vyrda,' destroying him with ninety of his companions so that Rogvald could gain Vemund's fleet and treasure.  Then:

 

Rogvald, being obliged to return to Norway, after an active warfare for some time with the pirates of the Western Islands, committed the fief to his brother Sigurd.  He, by the aid of Turstain Rauda, or the Red, son of Olaus the Fair and Audna the Bright-eyed, carried the terror of his arms to Scotland, overrunning Caithness and Sutherland, as far as the tumulus of Eckials.  In this maraud he slew, with his own hand, Malbrigdator, the Scottish chieftain, whose head he slung in triumph at his saddle-bow; but, as he rode, the front tooth of the jawbone struck the hollow of his thigh, with so much force as to inflict a mortal wound.  He perished from the inflammation it produced, was buried under a tumulus upon the hill of Eckials; and Gottorm, his son, succeeded to his earldom.

 

I remembered a parallel of sorts between this incident and one chronicled in the nineteenth century Bell Witch case.  In his memoir Our Family Trouble, Richard Williams Bell described how the haunting presence had manifested in different voices among a variety of observed inexplicable phenomena.  On one occasion a voice was reported to have said, "I am the spirit of a person who was buried in the woods nearby, and the grave has been disturbed, my bones disinterred and scattered, and one of my teeth was lost under this house, and I am here looking for that tooth."  This reminded the family of an incident that occurred several years previously when Drew Bell and a friend, Corban Hall, searched for Indian relics in a small mound of graves that had been found when a plot of land was being cleared.  Finding only bones, Hall brought a jawbone to the house and threw it against a wall, knocking out a tooth that dropped through a crack in the floor.  A portion of the floor was taken up during an unsuccessful search for the tooth.

 

As chronicled in Historical Memoirs . . . Rogvald's own fate was to be surrounded by a fire set by his foes upon his own dining hall and he perished in the flames with sixty of his household. 
 
Eighteen generations distant from Olaf the Sharp-eyed is Hugh Bertrand, born circa 1021, Lord of Barneville and Le Rozel.  Wiffen found earliest evidence of the Du Rozel surname on a monastic charter of the Countess Matilda executed on July 14, 1066 and witnessed by Hugh Du Rozel and two others.  
 
Here follows excerpts from the section of the book about Turstain de Bastembourg that describes a period circa A.D. 1000.

 

The influences of Christianity, and a more genial climate, had by this time softened down the rugged fierceness of the Scandinavian character; and in the progress of a century, the descendants of the first adventurers, by mingling with the Franks, had entirely imbibed the manners, gallentry, devotion, and even the language of that ardent people.

With the ceremonial religion, the popular superstitions of the people amongst whom they were established came naturally to be embraced; and, apart from the fancied spiritual advantage, the novelty and danger promised by religious expeditions now allured the Normans to make frequent pilgrimages to the hermitages of Italy, as well as to the Holy Land.

 

Incidentally, there is a quaint passage about an enormous "serpent" with "fire proceeding from its jaws."  The Lombards are said to have secretly planned the death of Turstain Scitel, captain of a band of 250 knights.

 

They conducted him to a dell where an enormous serpent had been seen, and which was the customary lair of other savage creatures.  When the traitors heard the rustling of the serpent, they dispersed, without appraising Turstain of his danger.  Their flight at first surprised him, till he saw the monster approaching in an attitude of menace; he rushed upon it with his sword, and by repeated blows succeeded in dispatching it, after his buckler had been entirely consumed by the fire proceeding from its jaws.  He is stated, however, to have enjoyed his triumph but a few days, being fatally infected with the poison of its breath.  The good monk, in expressing his admiration of the tale,¹ (¹ Will. Gemmet. In Duchesne, p. 284) seems well persuaded of its truth.

 

Concerning the Russell coat of arms, the symbols in Christianity of scallops/shells were often associated with a pilgrimage and the lion with royalty.  On the Internet, I've noticed that some depictions of the Russell family crest feature a different French motto, that of "Che sara sara"/"What will be, will be" — not to be confused with the title of the famous song performed by Doris Day in Alfred Hitchcock's remake of "The Man Who Knew Too Much": "Que Sera, Sera" although in Spanish the meaning is the same.  Hitchcock is the movie director associated with intrigue and suspense with a penchant for leaving viewers wondering what will happen next.

 

My own family tree pedigree charts show ancestors dating back to Jonathan Russell, born in 1759 in Milton, Massachusetts, and Richard Hiscockes, born in 1556 in All Cannings, England.  The Hiscockes surname would become Hitchcock with Luke Hitchcock born in 1614. 
 
As those who have read the case study Testament (1997) know, my early career was in the entertainment industry so some of my reflections included synchronicity with the motion picture medium.  It was strange realizing that I might have a shared ancestry with film directors Alfred Hitchcock ("Rebecca," "Vertigo") and Ken Russell ("Tommy," "Altered States") — a filmmaker who also showed an affinity for surprising audiences.  Or perhaps the correlations with the Hitchcock and Russell surnames is significant enough, regardless of bloodline.  Luke Hitchcock's father John Hiscockes was also born in All Cannings in 1586.  The name of the town reminded me of the name of the author Victor Canning who wrote the novel The Rainbird Pattern that was the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's final movie, "Family Plot."  Alfred Hitchcock died at his home in Bel Air in 1980.  According to the www.victorcanning.com biography, Canning married Adria Irving-Bell in November 1976.  I also remember that one of my professors at the University of Southern California was John Russell Taylor, one of Hitchcock's biographers.  
 
My path in life did intersect with that of the late director Ken Russell at least once as he appeared and introduced a screening at a retrospective at the Los Angeles Director's Guild that I attended.  I had tickets to two of his early TV movies "Elgar" (about Edward Elgar) and "Bartok" (about Béla Bartók) at the retrospective.
 
There have been numerous instances of synchronicity involving the word 'Bell' in my life.  Recalling the stage musical "Cats," I remember the climactic ending where the wise cat of many lives known as 'Old Deuteronomy' announced the 'jellicle cat' to be reborn into a new (an-?)'jellicle' life.  After delivering the musical's big showstopper song "Memory," it seemed no big surprise when outcast Grizabella, the faded glamour cat, became the chosen one to make the journey to the Heavyside Layer via an ascending tire.

 
I saw "Cats" during a vacation in London and on another visit to that city saw "Starlight Express" in which Belle the Sleeping Car sings, "Experience is a quality that counts for a lot."  To cite a prominent instance of the Bell synchronicity in movies, I'd seen both the 1946 French film directed by Jean Cocteau "La Belle et la Bête" as well as the 1991 Disney animated movie "Beauty and the Beast."  Belle was also the name of the protagonist in this latter version of the fairy tale with the title song being first performed by the character Mrs. Potts (voice of Angela Lansbury).  Synchronistically, 'Pots' is a significant word in both the Bell Witch and Gef 'talking poltergeist' cases.
 
There was another synchronistic London theatre-going experience.  Many years later, I found a play programme reminding me that during a London vacation I'd seen a 1989 Barbican production of "The Tempest" where a winged Ariel was played by Duncan Bell! 
 
Several incidents to consider when contemplating synchronicity were described in the case study Testament.  I often mentioned these events in my radio interviews following the publication of the book.  First, one of the most astonishing vocal manifestations was chronicled by Richard Williams Bell in Our Family Trouble.

 

The company was treated one night to a repetition of one of Rev. James Gunn's best sermons, preached in the vicinity, the witch personating Mr. Gunn, lining the hymn, quoting his text and prayer, and preaching so much like Mr. Gunn that it appeared the minister himself was present.  A number of persons were present who attended the meeting that day, and recognized the declamation as the same sermon.  Shortly after this, Rev. James Gunn preached on Sunday at Bethel Methodist Church, six miles southeast, and Rev. Sugg Fort filled his appointment at Drake's Pond Baptist Church, seven miles northwest, thirteen miles apart, both preaching at the same hour, eleven o'clock.  It so happened that both ministers came to visit our family that evening, finding quite a crowd of people gathered in, as was the case every day during the excitement.  Directly after supper the witch commenced talking as usual, directing the conversation to Brother Gunn, discussing some points in his sermon that day.  Mr. Gunn asked the witch how it knew what he had preached about?  The answer was, "I was present and heard you."  This statement being questioned, the vociferator begun, quoted the text and repeated the sermon verbatim, and the closing prayer, all of which the preacher said was correct.  Some one suggested that Brother Fort had the advantage of the witch this time, that having attended Brother Gunn's service, it could tell nothing about Brother Fort's discourse at Drake's Pond.  "Yes I can," was the prompt reply.  How do you know? was the inquiry.  "I was there and heard him."  Then assimilating Rev. Fort's style, it proceeded to quote his text and repeated his sermon, greatly delighting the company.  There was no one present who had heard either sermon, but both ministers admitted that their sermons had been accurately reproduced, and no one could doubt the fact, or were more greatly surprised than themselves.

 

Secondly, in Oklahoma when I interviewed the family experiencing a contemporary 'talking poltergeist' case, Twyla told me: "Sue was supposed to come get Brenda one night.  I went to bed and I heard Sue come in and say, 'Brenda, I'm sorry I was late.  I had a flat tire.  Steve had to change it.'  So I thought Brenda had left.  I come back in here an hour, thirty minutes later to get some — I said, 'Didn't Sue come get you?'  She said, 'No, she's late.'  I said, 'Brenda, I just heard her come in and say she had a flat.'  Ten minutes later, she got here.  She'd had a flat and was apologizing.  It was like the house recorded the whole conversation.  It was playing it before it happened."
 
Thirdly, after returning to Los Angeles from the Oklahoma trip I began transcribing the interview tapes.  One night after working for several hours transcribing, I decided to take a break and watch TV for a few minutes.  I decided to watch "The Real World" on MTV.  I'd seen the previous episodes of this documentary-style series that brought together a group of youths as roommates.  The 1995 episodes had been filmed in London.  I started to watch and at that exact moment one of the roommates was complaining that their telephone had suddenly stopped functioning and he commented about how frustrating he found the situation.  As I remembered an incident Twyla had told me about where the battery of the video camera went dead just before the paranormal occurrence of a rock striking a car, I realized that Michael could affect technology.  Then my TV set went off without my touching the remote control.  I thought that Michael had made Himself clear that He didn't want me watching television.  He apparently wanted me to work on the case study of my recent experiences so that I could share the education process implemented for me so that others might benefit from the course of my research.

 
While writing this article about synchronicity over the course of this last week, I realized that individual posts of this blog should become more comprehensible for readers in relation to the extent of their familiarity with previous blog posts.  One previous statement I made about synchronicity was included in a 2007 news release although I'm not sure I would articulate my perspective in precisely the same way today:

 

My experiences and research have shown me that all living things are continuously interacting with an intermediary Superconsciousness or Spiritual Force that may be recognized through circumstances often described as coincidences and synchronicity, intuition and telepathy, prophetic dreams and visions, mediumship and trance channeling, healing, as well as events associated with such expressions as 'hauntings,' 'talking poltergeists' and 'electronic voice phenomena.' This predicament might be articulated as all living things having a shared Subconscious Mind and 'Thought Conductor.' Such expressions as 'Oneness' and 'Christ Consciousness' are also useful.

 

Many more unexpected incidents that made me contemplate synchronicity are described in Testament.  For example, I began an impromptu interview with an antique store owner and discovered he'd played all the alien monsters in the original "Outer Limits" television series. 

Duncan Bell played Ariel in a 1989 London Barbican production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest."