For Carl Jung, the inner world of thoughts, dreams, and emotions and the outer world of physical events, nature, accidents, and history are not separate. This division is artificial. Everything, both psychological events and physical events, arises from one underlying reality. Jung called this reality Unus Mundus, a Latin term meaning,One World.
In Unus Mundus, reality is neither psychological nor physical in itself. It exists at a pre-dual level. According to Jung, all events must have an a priori aspect of unity. Only later does this unity divide into subject and object. Psyche and matter both arise from the same source. As they emerge, inner and outer become distinguishable. Dualities such as mind and matter, self and other, inner and outer appear. But at the deepest level, there is no division.
This idea is remarkably close to Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of non-duality.
In short, Jung is saying that events are not randomly stitched together after the fact. Their unity exists before we interpret them. This understanding forms the philosophical basis of synchronicity. Synchronicity refers to meaningful coincidences that are not linked by cause and effect, but are connected through meaning and pattern. In a unified reality, inner and outer events can mirror each other because they emerge from the same source.
Jung is not saying that everything happens for a moral or religious reason, nor that thoughts magically cause events. He is saying something subtler. Inner states and outer events can co-occur meaningfully because both arise from the same underlying reality.
Simple Everyday Examples
Example 1
You have not spoken to an old friend for years. One evening, they suddenly come to your mind with strong emotion. Minutes or hours later, they call or message you. Your thought did not cause the call, and the call did not cause the thought. Yet the timing feels meaningful. Jung would say that your psyche entered a particular emotional pattern, and the outer world mirrored that same pattern at the same moment. Both arose from the same underlying field. This is called synchronicity, not coincidence.
Example 2: Crisis Moments and Life Crossroads
You are stuck in a job that feels empty inside. You feel drained and purposeless. You silently think, “I cannot go on like this.” Within days, you may randomly meet someone who left a similar career, or read a book that precisely names your inner conflict, or encounter an unexpected opportunity. These events are not caused by your dissatisfaction, but they arrive when your inner state is ready. Jung would say that when the psyche reaches a threshold, reality often reorganizes symbolically around it.
Example 3: Illness and Symbolic Events
A person lives under long-term emotional suppression, always pleasing others and never expressing anger or grief. Over time, they may develop unexplained physical symptoms or suddenly face an external breakdown such as loss, conflict, or collapse. Modern medicine looks only for causes. Jung asks what meaning the body or situation is expressing. Inner truth and outer events speak the same language.
Example 4: Dreams Meeting Reality
Someone dreams of a bridge collapsing or being unable to cross a river. The next day, a relationship ends, a job ends, or an important life phase collapses. The dream did not predict the event, and the event did not cause the dream. Both express the same psychic situation unfolding.
Example 5: Relationships and Repeated Patterns
Some people ask, “Why does this keep happening to me?” A person repeatedly attracts emotionally unavailable partners or controlling figures. Each relationship looks different on the surface but carries the same emotional structure. Jung would say the inner pattern is active, and the outer world brings people who fit that pattern. Until the inner meaning is recognized, the pattern repeats. This is not fate. It is unfinished psychological meaning seeking awareness.
Example 6: Sudden Symbols in Meaningful Moments
Jung famously described a patient who spoke of a dream involving a golden beetle. At that exact moment, a beetle, very rare in that area, tapped on the window. This moment was powerful because the patient was emotionally stuck, and the symbol shattered her rigid worldview. The moment carried meaning, not causality. Life sometimes speaks in symbolic gestures rather than explanations. Similarly, some people unexpectedly hear a song that deeply resonates with them during a crisis, appearing from somewhere almost mysteriously.
IMTM (I Mind The Mind)
A free online counselling service
Contact us via WhatsApp message:
Adv. Vrinda Sankar
Senior Psychologist & Advocate, IMTM
+91 62354 89007
Dr. Nelson Kattikat
Psychiatrist, Hypnotherapist
+91 94950 4530
whisperer 