Nearly fifty years ago, a distinguished meteorologist, mathematician, and climate predictability expert, Edward Lorenz, posed what was a now famous question at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?” In chaos theory, Wikipedia describes this phenomena as: “the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.” If you’re not familiar with this conundrum, perhaps the following explanation will make it clearer. The flapping wings of a butterfly in one part of the world can create a disturbance in the surrounding air that may alter the trajectory of a tornado in another location or perhaps delay, accelerate, or even prevent the occurrence. In other words, one small insignificant event can cause exponential ramifications far away. By the same token, perhaps we can imagine similar phenomena working out in consciousness too. Is it conceivable that one more person in the world thinking truth and applying high principles in daily life can be the catalyst that helps to precipitate an orientation in human thinking. Is it possible that such a supposedly random and isolated experience can be a turning point? Quite probably, each small act in the name of truth (and right values) can have effects far beyond its small sphere of apparent influence.
We live in a globally interconnected digital world, yet so often disconnected in consciousness, in values, and in a sense of right and wrong. Something is afoot, great differences in mindsets and worldviews play out on the world stage. They clearly define the passage of one age to another, from the Piscean to the Aquarian. This transition period is fraught with great challenges for the human family. But if we are mindful of the butterfly effect perhaps one more person thinking and living truth can have effects far beyond his or her small sphere of apparent influence and so help to foster the Aquarian values of sharing, cooperation and goodwill in society.
