There are moments in life when we meet people who change our course forever. Some enter quietly, like a gentle breeze; others arrive like a storm. But their presence is never without purpose.
So, are these encounters just chance? Or is there an unseen thread—cosmic design or a deep psychological law—pulling us together?
This age-old question—why do we meet certain people?—runs deep through philosophy and spirituality, and invites a range of explanations: spiritual, karmic, scientific, psychological, and mystical.
Here, we explore these perspectives, offering a panoramic view of the many faces of this truth.
Universal Design and Soul Connections
Ancient spiritual teachings say that souls never meet by accident, but according to a precise cosmic design. Every relationship—no matter how fleeting—is an appointment written into the journey of the soul..
Some researchers in spiritual energy believe that before we enter the physical world, souls make secret agreements with one another to learn certain lessons. They call these agreements “soulmates” (Soulmates) or “twin flames” (Twin Flames).
A soulmate might be a great love, a close friend, or even a fierce rival. Each plays a part in guiding us toward spiritual growth. The concept of “twin flame” is more mysterious: someone who mirrors everything we've hidden from ourselves, awakening both pain and healing, as if the universe has sent them to return us to self-awareness.
Reincarnation
Eastern metaphysics offers a different view: repeated encounters across lifetimes. It is said some souls cross paths again and again in different bodies, finishing lessons left incomplete. They explain it simply yet profoundly: a sudden pull toward a stranger, or the feeling you’ve known someone forever, isn’t a coincidence—it’s a spiritual memory from a previous existence. In this view, we meet those we’ve loved, those who hurt us, and those we haven’t forgiven, in order to close old chapters and move forward.
While material science doesn't support this idea, it poetically expresses an experience many share: that feeling that someone has always been part of your story.
What Science and Psychology Say About Attraction and Aversion
If we set aside the spiritual for a moment, neuroscience offers fascinating explanations for what we often call “destiny.”
The Impact of Familiarity and Emotional Memory
Studies show we’re drawn to what’s familiar. The subconscious seeks out what it knows, even if it’s painful. A woman who always ends up with controlling men, for instance, may be unconsciously replaying old patterns with her father in an effort to “fix the past.” This is called reenactment (Repetition Compulsion) in psychology: we repeat scenarios and relationships, hoping to reshape old endings, even if only symbolically.
The Mirror Theory
Analytical psychologists suggest that those we love or dislike are mirrors of ourselves. Someone who triggers strong reactions in us is reflecting qualities we’ve buried or forgotten. Intense love or aversion isn’t really about the other person—it’s a reflection of something locked within us.
Neurochemistry
On a biological level, chemistry between two people is very real.
When we meet someone we’re attracted to, the brain releases dopamine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin—chemicals that create pleasure, comfort, and even emotional addiction. That’s why our hearts race or we feel a sweet tension when we’re around someone who stirs something deep inside.
Science sees this as a complex brain chemistry process. Spiritual seekers call it an “energy vibration” harmonizing with our own. Perhaps both are true, each in their own way.
Real-Life Stories
These ideas aren’t just theory—real life is full of stories where encounters have changed destinies:
A Wrong Message Leads to Marriage
A woman sent a text to an unknown number, and a stranger replied kindly. They kept talking, a connection sparked, and within a year, they were married.
Was it a mistake, or something bigger at work?
Rescuer Becomes Life Partner
A firefighter saved a woman from a car accident. Months later, fate brought them together again by chance. They eventually married. She said, “He saved my life twice—once from death, and once from sorrow.”
A Technical Glitch Sparks Love
A young man accidentally logged into a woman’s Facebook account due to a system error. What started as curiosity grew into conversation—and years later, they married. Sometimes, technology seems to make ‘heavenly’ mistakes.
However simple they may seem, these stories remind us that what looks like randomness might mask a greater plan. Perhaps chance is just fate in disguise.
The unknown rescuer from nowhere
How many times have we heard stories of people surviving deadly accidents thanks to a mysterious stranger who appeared out of nowhere? In moments of disaster—collapsing buildings, fires, or crashes—a man or woman shows up just in time to help, only to vanish without a trace.
This pattern repeats in thousands of accounts worldwide: a drowning survivor recalls a strong hand pulling him from the water, yet when he turns around, no one is there. A woman trapped in her burning car is saved by a stranger who seems to know exactly what to do, and then disappears. Psychology explains this as the mind exaggerating the image of a "savior" during moments of trauma—a symbol of hope.
But from a metaphysical perspective, many believe that these "saviors" are no accident. Instead, they're seen as messengers of fate in human form, or as if the universe brings the right person to the right place at the right moment—a role destined for them since the beginning of time. It’s the embodiment of the idea that certain souls are summoned in times of need—not by our doing, but by a force beyond our awareness. It’s as if there’s an invisible thread connecting the one in need to their rescuer, shining brightest at the crucial moment.
The person who opens a door to new opportunities
Another kind of fateful encounter dramatically changes both the material and spiritual course of a person’s life. After years of hardship or injustice, a single individual appears—not offering pity, but a genuine opportunity.
It could be an employer offering a job at your lowest point, an old friend guiding you back to success, or even a stranger who proposes an idea that ultimately leads to your prosperity.
From a spiritual perspective, such meetings are said to be the result of a new energetic vibration within us: when our consciousness shifts and we step out of a mindset of scarcity, the universe sends people who respond to that new energy—transforming adversity into abundance, and isolation into openness.
On a more pragmatic level, science refers to this as the theory of serendipity (Compound Opportunity): when your mind is truly ready for change, you start recognizing signals that were always there and noticing opportunities you previously overlooked.
Whether we call it awareness or destiny, these encounters often feel nothing short of miraculous. For someone at rock bottom, the person who brings light into their life becomes a messenger of divine care—not an accident, but someone arriving exactly when they’re needed. Some people don’t save us from literal death—they save us from a lifeless existence.
The philosophy of encounters: from Rumi to Jung
Synchronicity according to Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist Carl Jung called meaningful coincidences "synchronicity" (Synchronicity). These are the moments when our thoughts and external events align in uncanny ways.
You think of someone and they immediately call you; you dream of a place and then visit it by chance. Jung saw this as a "universal language" in which the unconscious communicates with the world—each synchronicity carries a symbolic message, just like dreams do.
Spiritual connections in Islamic mysticism
The Prophet Muhammad said: "Souls are like enlisted soldiers: those that recognize each other, come together; those that do not, part ways." In Sufi thought, this means souls meet in the unseen world before inhabiting bodies and are naturally drawn to those who share their essence in this life.
Rumi wrote: "You will harmonize with those who resemble you in spirit, not appearance." Ibn Arabi saw love as a kind of soul recognition, believing, "the seeker is also the sought, and the lover is the beloved"—meaning the one you search for is searching for you on another plane of existence.
Meeting of souls: between psyche and science
From a holistic perspective, all these explanations complement rather than contradict each other:
- Science describes the mechanisms,
- Psychology explains the internal reasons,
- Spirituality reveals the deeper meaning.
We’re drawn to people who reflect us so we can better understand ourselves. We meet those who hurt us in order to heal, and we part from those we love because every encounter has a set lifespan in the book of fate.
Everyone we meet is a lesson in human form. Some awaken light within us, others test our capacity for forgiveness. Some teach us love, others show us how to guard our hearts. But all—without exception—are part of a plan deeper than our understanding.
In the end, perhaps what we call "destiny" isn’t some outside force, but rather the interaction between our awareness and the universe. Maybe "coincidence" is just the label we put on what we haven’t yet understood. Every meeting holds a message, and every person is a mirror. When we meet someone new, the question becomes: "What is this encounter meant to teach me?"
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