“The psyche and the world are not separate; they are intertwined through synchronicity.” C.G. Jung
“Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Einstein
Jung’s discovery of Synchronicity revealed, for the first time, the a-causal connecting principle underlying the mysterious relationship between Psyche and Matter. While both exist independently, the relationship between them manifests a unified field, what the ancients referred to as the unus mundus.
Seeking to deepen his understanding of this phenomenon, Jung turned to the work of physicists Wolfgang Pauli and Albert Einstein. They understood that in synchronous events, the veil between the inner and outer world is lifted, and the concept of duality is superseded by the insistent evidence of an inter-connected universe. Einstein intuited the existence of a “Unified Field Theory.” English psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott understood the mother-infant relationship as an “undivided unit.” So too, have we all been touched by the experience of a lovers embrace when “…they no longer are two, but one…” (Mark10:8)
Art itself is a synchronous event. In Henri Gorecki’s “A Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,” the music compels us to share in the inconsolable suffering of a mother’s heart for her lost child. In Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” we feel the experience of a tortuous confinement and the never-ending longing for freedom. In these moments, we are connected to our shared humanity and brought to the threshold of perhaps the most profound meaning given to us by our awareness of synchronistic phenomena.
Ultimately, synchronicity is an expression of Eros, allowing us to feel an inexorably connection to one another, to Psyche, and to our own soul. This revelation paves the way to a profound paradigmatic shift in our understanding of human nature and the world. Could we continue to hate and to kill others, who are at the deepest level part of ourselves? The implications of a world where separation and autonomy are celebrated are evident in the ongoing crimes against humanity, forcing us to ask why do we cling to the antiquated myth of separation?
Perhaps it is a fear of the unimaginable consequences of such interconnectedness. Rather than defer to the greater reality of our unity, we defend ourselves against it, erecting ever stronger boundaries between one another, between countries, between ideologies, and in doing so, we forfeit the gifts of living undivided. Perhaps our greatest fear of all is the experience of Agape where we are brought to our knees through feeling the closeness of others.
But the archetypal spirit of synchronicity has never stopped making its way into our lives. It seeded the vision of the ancients, who saw reality as an unus mundus, inspires religions that point to our oneness with God, and finds expression in science, where Einstein and others have intuited the illusive nature and existence of a unified theory of the universe. In each, we hear the voice of Psyche, speaking directly to us about the archetype of Eros, an unimaginably rich world of inter-connectedness, now urging us to open ourselves to the soul of life itself.