I heard recently that the phenomenon of a flock of birds all turning in the same direction seemingly at once is actually a tipping point scenario. While almost instantaneous, it is in fact a majority decision being made. When enough of them agree on a particular direction (by turning slightly and pointing) the rest simply follow suit. This got me thinking of the collective energy in my life. Once again finding myself on a transatlantic cruise with my mother and nearly twenty other writers there is an almost palpable shift in our creative energy that happens when we gather. Perhaps it’s only that we have nothing better to do all day so we may as well be productive but I believe its something more. Its an activated vibration, a strengthening of our inner listening, a building of energy that after the first few days seems to pull us effortlessly along with it, a turning of enough heads in the direction of progress that the scales tip and we fall into our creative zones.
This kind of collective energy exists in a number of places in our lives. It’s up to us to decide which flock we want to be in, what energy we want to subscribe to. Would you like to be in the collective that watches network news? A daily dose of focussing on drama and trauma, fear propaganda and the who’s who of celebrity socialites. Or would you like to find your world shifting in the direction of gratitude and beauty? Energizing yourself through active positive thinking and conscious attention. Truth and wholeness. Progress and productivity. What are you focusing on? What are you training your mind to see and do? What are you allowing to be magnified by your conscious thought? What flock are you in and which way are you turning the tides?
The Buddha by Odilon Redon
The hundredth monkey theory says that once enough of a population knows a certain trick (or use of a tool) then a tipping point can be passed where the entire population suddenly knows. If enough monkey’s on one island figure out how to open a nut with a rock, then spontaneously without cross pollination, the monkey’s on a nearby island begin practicing the same skill. What percentage of the world would it take to focus on light and creation, compassion and community before war and poverty and fear would fade away?
Something to consider. By taking responsibility for our attention, our thoughts and actions, perhaps we get to vote on what direction the world goes. Might you be the hundredth monkey?
Monkey with Skull by Hugo Rheinhold
The Great Rucksack Revolution 