This study traces western humanity’s physical and mythological evolution from its earliest known origins to the present day. Signposts of this evolution are the taming of fire, the creation of weapons, clothing and housing to the great civilisations of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome and religious expressions of early Judaism, Christianity and the less known Gnosticism and Alchemy.

It explores the idea of unity in the disciplines of Philosophy, Psychology and Physics and its expression in Matter, Vegetation, Animals and Humans. The study also shows how the idea has bearing on decision-making of contemporary issues and how societies structure themselves based on projected ideas and inner characters. It emphasises the importance of knowing the difference between unconscious contents and the physical world to avoid possession by either side.

The final chapters offer methods of forming a relationship between the physical world and the inner world of ideas and characters, and shows how the symbolic language of dreams, ideas, fantasies and synchronicities are interpreted through association, amplification and objectivity. It endeavours to categorise and describe the components of synchronicity using examples from individuals. Finally, it shows how to perceive, understand and integrate the Idea of Unity.

"The important aspect of Kant’s division of the world into opposites is that he regards ‘Noumena’ having an objective reality. Indeed this is an important viewpoint in that the products of the unconscious do have an objective reality. For example, dreams come to us while asleep without conscious input or control. They happen of their own accord and in their own way. Similarly, we project inner characters and ideas onto the ‘phenomenal’ world, which connects us to that world."

"Projection is an interesting form of natural connectedness and the beginning of relationship to the object and unites object and subject. For example, most people have an idea of a snake and it is activated when they see a snake in the wild. With knowledge of snake species, we may appreciate it, not fear it, get closer and feel comfortable enough to catch it. If we do not have knowledge of what type it is and one’s idea of snakes is undifferentiated, we lump all snakes together as potentially dangerous and move away from it. The idea is activated and we behave according to the idea based on our understanding and knowledge of snakes. This is the unifying function of projection, in that the object and idea of the object coincide. What happens after that depends on our knowledge and experience of the object and the idea. This example shows that projection is an initial form of synchronicity."

Review

“Merkus does an impressive job at bringing together what seems like a vast array of un-connected thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.  His book is both deep and broad in what is covered, but Merkus is a master in synthesizing the complex and diverse into short, understandable concepts, that he then assembles into a convincing continuum.  Being an engineer who has studied the inter-relationships of chemistry, physics, and biology, I was both fascinated and impressed with Merkus’s ability to clearly explain such diverse phenomena as quantum physics from sub-atomic particle theory to what’s beyond the universe.  His work is both scientifically current and philosophically timeless.  It’s a milestone in human understanding.”

Dr Jeremiah D. Jackson, PhD, PE