Exploring  Science and Mysticism together

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Arthur Koestler in The Roots
of Coincidence (1972) has much of value to say
about synchronicity, as defined at the head of this journal.
. One of the points he makes, which I have found
especially interesting, relates to the fact that everything exists as part of a
 hierarchy of wholes, or “holons” (from the Greek "holon" “whole”).
The atom is a holon, which is part of holon of a different order, namely a molecule,
which in turn is part of an ascending hierarchy of holons, such as cell, tissue,
 organ, body, and then the individual.

The individual itself is an organic whole, but at the same time a part of his
family or tribe. Each social group has again the characteristics of a coherent
whole but also of a dependent part within the community or nation. Parts
and wholes in an absolute sense do not exist anywhere. The living organism
and the body social are not assembly lines of elementary bits; they are
multi-levelled, hierarchically organised systems of sub-wholes of a lower
 order, like Chinese boxes. . . Each holon must preserve and assert its
autonomy, otherwise the organism would lose its articulation and dissolve
into an amorphous mass – but at the same time must remain subordinate
 to the demands of the (existing or evolving) whole. (pp.111-2)

I believe we must extend this thinking all the way up: that Nations are holons,
 as is the human race, the Earth, the Solar System, the Galaxy, in ascending
 orders to the Whole, the Universe. This is an important concept indeed, I feel,
 when we are considering the phenomenon of synchronicity.

Meaningful coincidence takes place because of activity in the ascending scale
of wholes, that embraces ourselves, wholes/holons in our own right.

We can contrast Koestler's understanding of  meaningful coincidence, with
that of Lilley, who speaks of love and our connections with each other,
with Stephen who speaks of orchestration by Christ,
with Bohm and his Implicate and Explicate order.

The editor's view is these varying pictures are compatible with each other,
and true to what we can observe about meaningful coincidence, that we
should accept them all, in order to obtain a more balanced understanding
of meaningful coincidence.

For me, that this is the case does not diminish my feeling of the numinous or
 the presence of the holy when synchronicity occurs. Perhaps the feeling of the
 holy comes when we truly feel ourselves to participate in a holon of a higher order.
I have noted that synchronicities are often experienced in terms of archetypes.
  And archetypes are certainly characteristic of particular culture.
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