Into the Wider Dream: Synchronicity in the Witness Box

“It is probably true to say that all world religions believe that life-changing meaningful coincidences, or synchronicities, are signs that our lives are somehow mapped out, predestined in the world of Spirit. When we experience such meaningful connections we feel good, as if our actions are in harmony with “God’s Will” and that our lives are somehow on the right track.

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Details

Publisher: White Crow Books

Publication Date: March 2015

Extent: 236

Size: 229 x 152 mm

ISBN: 978-1-910121-36-8

eBook ISBN: 978-1-910121-52-8

Summary

The author, Michael Cocks, is an Anglican clergyman from New Zealand. He is editor of an e-journal, The Ground of Faith and the book, Afterlife Teachings from Stephen the Martyr.

It is probably true to say that all world religions believe that life-changing meaningful coincidences, or synchronicities, are signs that “the Will of God” is being worked out in our lives. There is deep meaning here, and the long synchronistic episodes described in this book help us explore some of it.

The author’s conversations with the spirit of the Martyr Stephen were surrounded with multiple synchronicities with several themes from the Book of Revelation, “dead and not-dead”, “philosopher’s stone”, “the five wounds of Jesus” and many more. The stream of synchronicities continued for many years giving him and others personal experience of the truth of what Stephen was teaching at the time.

To try and make sense of these experiences, this book explores the thinking of a number of leading physicists, psychologists, and those writing directly on synchronicity.

It compels us to ask, “Are we and these events being dreamed up by a Mind that encloses all of us? Does this Mind dream ourselves up, as well as these strange coincidences?”  “That theory makes some sort of sense, and that is why I named this book, Into the Wider Dream” Michael tells us. Some people might argue that it can also help to enrich our understanding of what it means to be “In Christ.”

About the Author

Number of books: 2

Michael Cocks

Michael Cocks (1929–2022) was an Anglican priest from Christchurch, New Zealand, known for his open-minded approach to spiritual exploration. Unlike many in his tradition who viewed mediumship with suspicion, Cocks was willing to investigate extraordinary experiences. In the 1970s, he became part of a small group that regularly met to witness the trance mediumship of Thomas Ashman. Through Ashman, a communicator identifying himself as Stephen the Martyr—the first Christian martyr—began speaking to the group, offering teachings on life, spirit, and the nature of existence. Initially skeptical, Cocks came to believe the communications were genuine, supported by profound synchronicities and the occasional use of ancient Greek unfamiliar to Ashman.

Cocks chronicled these remarkable experiences in his book Afterlife Teaching From Stephen the Martyr and in his memoir Into the Wider Dream. Educated at the University of New Zealand and Oxford University, he held master’s degrees in philosophy and theology. His work encouraged dialogue about spirituality beyond traditional religious boundaries and was furthered through his journal The Ground of Faith, which explored spiritual experience in conversation with science. Cocks’s life was deeply transformed by his encounters with Stephen, shaping his understanding of faith, spirit, and the continuity of life beyond death.