This essay ties the idea of creative thought, or the Law of Attraction, to the story of the 100th monkey, posing the argument that if enough people would think thoughts of peace peace would be created.
It may feel to many of us that we can do little at this point in time to help create peace in the world. However, by just being conscious of our thoughts we might, indeed, be able to move ourselves and the rest of the world just a little bit closer to this goal. We can find peace if we only become conscious of where we place our attention.
As the great Rebbe Nachman taught, "You are wherever your thoughts are. Make sure your thoughts are where you want to be." I heard this same teaching in metaphysical circles many years ago expressed in a slightly different manner: Thoughts are creative. What we think about expands. Our thoughts attract what we want, which most recently has been called the Law of Attraction.
In other words, if we spend much of our time watching the news of war and terrorism and if we focus most of our attention on the lack of peace and joy in the world, we will find ourselves experiencing more war, terrorism, sorrow, and suffering. However, if we force ourselves to focus on that which brings us joy or makes us feel peaceful, we will find ourselves increasing our own joy and peace. In addition, the more joyous and peaceful our thoughts are - and, in turn, we are, the more positive energy we send out into the world. Our manner of thinking, therefore, becomes a form of "tikkun olam," which in Hebrew means a way to heal or fix the world.
If enough of us focus our attention on joy and peace, maybe, like the 100th monkey, we can cause others around the world to experience more joy and peace. According to the story, one monkey learned to wash its potato in water before eating it and then taught others to do the same. When the metaphorical 100th monkey began washing its potato in the water, the rest of the monkeys suddenly began doing so. As if traveling in the collective monkey unconscious, this behavior jumped across the ocean and other monkeys in other places began washing their potatoes as well.
It seems we don't need everyone to change to create change on a larger scale. We just need enough people to change. Imagine, you could be the "100th" human to transform your consciousness and create a critical mass, a metaphysical and spiritual quantum leap! And, "abracadabra," world peace would become a reality.
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