Good overview! Maybe check out the idea of Aurobindo's involution and Bohm's Implicate Order. Both allude to how universal mind might have 'worked' through the eons...I also think our consciousness is embedded in millions of years of subconscious and unconscious processes.
That's great! Thanks for those mentions; I'll check them out for sure @andrewmarkmusic :-) And thanks so much for reading and commenting ;-)