Ape and Essence (1)

I came across the phrase “monkey brain” again this week.  Monkey brain is a phase used to describe how our brain often works when we are trying to meditate or focus on one thing.  It seems to have a mind of its own – and it actually does.  The mind jumps from one thought to the next just when you want to quiet your mind and focus on one thing- God in the case of meditation or to empty the mind in the case of Centering Prayer.

Thinking about the monkey brain also brought to mind the idea of the monkey trap which I first encountered in a Tarzan comic when I was a pre-teen.  The monkey trap is a container with a small opening into which is put sweet morsels to attract a monkey (this would be in places where monkeys roamed wild).  The monkey would grab the sweet morsel.  However, the catch was that the monkey would be unable to pull it’s fist out as it is now too big to be extracted from the container.  The monkey would not be willing to let go of the morsel to extract its hand and was therefore caught.  The monkey trap was secured to the ground and the monkey would be eventually caught by the owner of the trap and used for whatever brought the greatest reward.  Below is a drawing of a monkey trap in operation which I found on-line.    

The use of the terms monkey brain and the monkey trap is apt because, if you have observed monkeys, they seem to always be in motion moving from one thing to the next.  Now honestly, I have not had enough direct experience observing monkeys to know if this is an accurate assessment or if they have been given a bad rap in this regard.  Like the monkey brain, we supposedly evolved human beings can display traits that seem to be very similar to our simian cousins.  We can hold onto beliefs and habits and ways of life which are not in our best interest or what God intends for us. 

However, thinking about the monkey brain, also brought to mind a novel that I read many years ago or, in this case, many summers ago.  The novel is After Many Summers by Aldous Huxley.  This is not one of the better-known works of Huxley and is probably not one of his better books.  However, it resonated with me in my youthful interest in fantasy and science fiction. 

As I recall it, the story concerns a rich man who is obsessed with trying to ensure he doesn’t die – the motif of the search for eternal life.  He spends much of his wealth in pursuit of this goal through the wonders of science.  One of his hirelings discovers a way to extend life in a significant way.  The only catch – as there always seems to be a catch in these scenarios – is that the person may have an extended life but would regress to become more ape-like, a sort of devolution of reverse Darwinism.  The last scene of the novel particularly resonated with me.  The protagonist is looking at the result of the experimentation in which two subject have reverted to a more ape-like existence.  The protagonist says something to the effect that, well, at least they seem to be enjoying themselves. 

Although I didn’t appreciate it at the time, this seems to be a strong critique by Huxley of the perhaps blind belief that science would solve all our problems. This seems to be gaining strength in parts of society as we live in hope that there will be a scientific or technological breakthrough that will mean we don’t have to change our lives dramatically to address climate change.  In effect, we are making a god of science that will answer our prayers – a long standing theme in fiction.

The thing that ties the monkey-brain and monkey trap and ape-like long life together is the understanding that monkeys/simians do not have self awareness.  Being conscious and self-aware is a God given gift but if we do not use this gift to know what God intends for us and for all of God’s creation, we will end up like the monkey in the monkey trap holding on to that sweet promise of what we desire but cannot obtain. 

One your journey may you be aware of what you are grasping in life that does not offer eternal life. 

[1] I have borrowed the title of another novel by Aldous Huxley that seems to be appropriate for these musings