Notes on A New Approach to Synchronicity by Lance Storm (2025)

Overview

Lance Storm’s A New Approach to Synchronicity revisits Jung’s acausal connecting principle through the lens of contemporary parapsychology and related empirical work. The book reconsiders whether synchronicity can be framed as a systematic topic of study rather than a metaphorical construct.

Terminological Distinction

A central feature of Storm’s analysis is the differentiation between psychophysiological and psychophysical.

• Psychophysiological refers to established relations between psychological states and bodily processes.
• Psychophysical refers to possible correlations between psychological states and external physical events that are not mediated through known physiological mechanisms.

This distinction is used to separate conventional mind–body interactions from the types of correlations Jung associated with synchronicity.

Contextual Considerations

Research in quantum biology has investigated the presence of quantum effects within various biological processes. If such effects contribute to physiological functioning, the boundary between internal bodily processes and broader physical processes becomes less distinct at a fundamental physical level.

Within this broader context, Storm’s differentiation may be interpreted not as a strict division but as a conceptual tool for organizing observations. Whether the categories correspond to separable domains in nature remains an open question.

Conceptual Implications

The relationship between psyche, physiology, and external physical systems can be approached in multiple ways. Storm’s distinction provides one framework; quantum-biological perspectives offer another. Each aims to clarify how correlations between mental events and physical events might be described without assuming deterministic causation.

These approaches do not resolve the underlying mechanisms. They simply outline different ways of framing the question of how acausal or noncausal coherence might appear in empirical reports.

Summary

Storm’s work contributes to ongoing discussions about the status of synchronicity within research on anomalous correlations. The book’s conceptual distinctions assist in structuring inquiry, though further empirical and theoretical work is required to determine how these distinctions function in practice.