Morphic resonance is a term coined by the biologist, Rupert Sheldrake. Sheldrake defines morphic resonance as “the idea of mysterious telepathy-type interconnections between organisms and of collective memories within species”, and accounts for phantom limbs, how dogs know when their owners are coming home, and how people know when someone is staring at them.

A basic property of nature is that forms and patterns are contagious: once something happens somewhere, it induces the same thing to happen elsewhere. An example is a substance such as xylitol, which was reliably liquid for many years until suddenly, around the world, it began to crystallize. Chemists sometimes spend years trying to make crystalline forms of a substance; once they are successful, it is henceforward easy, as if the substance has learned how to do it. There are two possible explanations. The phenomenon could be explained by ‘seed particles’—little bits of crystal blown by the wind or carried in the beard of a visiting chemist that find their way into a supersaturated solution and initiate crystallization. Or, if the sample was quarantined in a dust-filtered lab and it still occurred, could it be morphic resonance, the 100-monkey effect – a new jump in consciousness? 

If a crystal can suddenly transform into a new state of matter, what about humans? Could it be possible that changed people can change other people? And that this change is not a simple cause and effect mechanism, it’s something bigger. That simple act of humanity rippled out into the universe and changed those around it. There is a kind of senselessness in the most beautiful acts, usually they are quite mundane. You show up in the right place, at the right time and you respond to practical needs. The principle of morphic resonance justifies the fact that these senseless, invisible acts are somehow significant. Your act of kindness has induced a new morphic field. 

In our sad, confused, brainwashed world, teetering on the edge of a recession, where are the great avatars and miracle-workers of yesteryear? We really need people like Jesus, Buddha, Allah and Quan Yin to help us out, right now. With the idea of morphic resonance, maybe they are here, working behind the scenes. Ordinary people, doing their jobs, trying to live decent lives and holding the fabric of the world together. Not the flashy leaders and celebrities, these are good people holding the space for the rest of us to step into. 

Imagine yourself on your deathbed, looking back on your life. What moments will seem the most precious? What choices will you be the most grateful for? The accolades, the money, the business success? Or will you be grateful for each choice of connection, love, and service contributing to a Universe that is intelligent, purposive and whole. 

Margot Wagner
 Yoga Under the Bodhi Tree

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