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 100th Monkey Phenomenon
contributed
by Lynne
I shared this piece on the site during its early days. I think now, with the energy and conditions moving into the millennium, it might be good to post again. It may help us all understand that what we do has the potential of making a difference. Read and imagine the possible!
In 1952 a group of scientists began a study of the Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata. The scientists introduced a new food, the sweet potato to the monkeys. The monkeys liked the new food, but the potatoes were dropped in the dirt, and the monkeys didn't like the grit from the dirt.
Imo, who was an 18 month old female solved the problem by washing the potatoes in the stream. Her mother imitated her, and so did many of her playmates. Between the years of 1952 and 1958 all of the young monkeys had learned to wash the sandy potatoes in the stream. Many adults who imitated the children learned this behavior.
In the autumn of 1958 something startling happened. At that time a certain number of monkeys were washing potatoes, the exact number is unknown. Let us suppose that in the morning of that day 99 monkeys were washing potatoes. Now the 100th monkey learned to wash his or her potato. By the evening of that day almost all of the tribe was washing potatoes.
The most surprising and important occurrence happened outside of this tribe of monkeys. Other scientists had been conducting the same studies with other tribes of Japanese monkeys on other islands of Japan, and on the mainland. These other tribes had not developed the habit of washing potatoes. However, on the day that the Hundredth Monkey washed the potato, all of the tribes began washing their sweet potatoes.
The scientists who conducted these long-term experiments with the monkeys reported this phenomenon. The explanation?
This phenomenon, which is referred to as the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon, suggests that there is a synergistic process acting in the collective awareness, or group mind. When the 100th monkey washed the yam, there was an energy level or awareness created that actually allowed not only the local tribe, but the related tribes to "get" the information through a kind of telepathic group consciousness.
We, as students of enlightenment, understand that there is a web of life. That web connects us not just with one another, but with the energies of life. I meditate because I do. There is no other explanation. You may do the same. But at some point, when you and I reach an epiphany, a magical moment that changes us forever, there will be a collect shift in out tribe. When that occurs, there is a chance that there will be a shift in other tribes. There is a good chance. Perhaps, we have a bonus. Rama is alive and well in the world of conscious awareness. We are part of his web of enlightenment, and maybe, as each one of us taps into that light, we will collectively create a brighter world. Awesome!!
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