• Examines the Oldawan, the Ancient Soul of Africa, and its correlation with what modern psychologists have defined as the collective unconscious
• Draws on archaeology, DNA research, history, and depth psychology to reveal how the biological and spiritual roots of religion and science came out of Africa
• Explores the reflections of our African unconscious in the present confrontation in the Americas, in the work of the Founding Fathers, and in modern psychospirituality
The fossil record confirms that humanity originated in Africa. Yet somehow we have overlooked that Africa is also at the root of all that makes us human--our spirituality, civilization, arts, sciences, philosophy, and our conscious and unconscious minds.
In this extensive look at the unfolding of human history and culture, Edward Bruce Bynum reveals how our collective unconscious is African. Drawing on archaeology, DNA research, depth psychology, and the biological and spiritual roots of religion and science, he demonstrates how all modern human beings, regardless of ethnic or racial categorizations, share a common deeper identity, both psychically and genetically--a primordial African unconscious.
Exploring the beginning of early religions and mysticism in Africa, the author looks at the Egyptian Nubian role in the rise of civilization, the emergence of Kemetic Egypt, and the Oldawan, the Ancient Soul, and its correlation with what modern psychologists have defined as the collective unconscious. Revealing the spiritual and psychological ramifications of our shared African ancestry, the author examines its reflections in the present confrontation in the Americas, in the work of the Founding Fathers, and in modern Black spirituality, which arose from African diaspora religion and philosophy.
By recognizing our shared African unconscious--the matrix that forms the deepest luminous core of human identity--we learn that the differences between one person and another are merely superficial and ultimately there is no real separation between the material and the spiritual.
“The scope of the author’s knowledge is simply awesome. . . . For those who entertain notions of collective unconscious and deep-structure racial messages, I cannot think of a better text that navigates such thinking.”
“Human biology originally found its footing in Africa and spread geographically outward. Bynum makes a comprehensive argument for Africa’s primal influences on human consciousness evidenced in the spiritual outlook and practices of ancient cultures worldwide.”
“What Bynum has accomplished in pulling together such a mammoth body of knowledge and research into one cogent volume and theme is remarkable. . . . A contribution of this magnitude seldom comes once in a decade.”
“Our African Unconscious is indeed a daring work and a unique contribution to African diasporic studies. It is a must for all students of human psychology”
