Superstitions, Made up Beliefs, and other things that make us Crazy

[Jade]

(This will probably be a short lived thread but it will be worth it for once response...)



I have NO idea how I became this way.. supersitious that is. But, admittedly, for better or worse, I am.

Ever since I can remember (and before..) I have had an EXTREMELY active imagination.


LOL! I remember not wanting to put on negative expression b/c just in case my teddy bear (or the furniture, or the car, etc. ) had "feelings"... I didn't want to hurt them.
So I would smile... um.. at the furniture and stuff and try to be all casual about it just in case they wanted to be "incognito."
Okay so I was "pretty" young... but uh, so yea, like I said, active imagination.
Sure, I did FABULOUS in creative writing, but... life was certainly never boring in all other aspects! (LMAO... oh my poor parents!)

Anyway, eventually I started believing other wierd things.. .like "if I think about that boy I have a crush on TOO much, then I will seem greedy, and fate will see too it that he never kisses me." (WTF?)

AHHHHHHH

And now, every once and awhile, I still find myself knocking on wood on occasion to prevent negative irony from occuring. So now, it is all little things, but I have NO clue where I got this stuff from! My parents aren't that superstitious. My mother is devoutly religious and my father believes that if you put your attention on something, good or bad, it will grow in your awareness, which I can believe, to a point.
But of course, then again, all things are connected so you really can't believe in a little or a lot of "fate." Either you do or you don't. Otherwise, it is like saying "slightly pregnant."


Perhaps I shouldn't share all this, especially after why I said in another thread about how I want to be more secretive here from now on... but I wanted to get an idea of these people I talk with practically every day here on the bb.


So, DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSITIOUS OR JUST PLAIN WIERD BELIEFS?

AND

DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE.. OR NOT?

(I was nice this time and capitalized the questions in case ya don't want to read all that stuff I had to say! hehe)

 

[Xander]

I believe in myself, and I'm weird. Does that make it a weird belief???

Anyway, there's one thing I do believe in. All good things comes to those who wait!

After years of emotional numbness, a fucked up lifestyle and about a ton of other bad things. Look at me now.
About to get married, decend income, and truely happy for the first time since I was 16.

All good things DO come to those who wait.

 

[Bonnie Wee Lassie]

I am believe in them all but the one I hate the most is putting new shoes on the table. It drives me nuts when I take out new shoes to show someone and the yell "OMG Don't put them on the table!". When are shoes not new anymore? But as for the black cat thing and not walking under ladders yes I believe them all.

And yes Jade I think my car can be hurt if anyone yells at it. My boyfriend at the time this happened yell at my car and always called it a piece of shit. Well every time he drove it, it would break down and he would walk home. I would go get it and it would start ok for me. I always talk nice to my car.

Ok have to go now, I am only out on a day pass from the mental hosp. LOL

Bonnie

 

[CreamyLady]

My car's name is Esme, and she has feelings. She is a marvelous car, one of the family, and definitely has moods. She likes the open road, and drives very smoothly; she hates the city, and, while not exactly rough, feels balky.

We both hate Family errands, and are both balky.

I always cast spilled salt over my left shoulder; it propitiates the spirits of earth.

I never blow out a ritual candle; I always pinch it out. This is to show respect to the spirits of fire. This can also be painful with a beeswax candle; it sticks to the fingers.

As for black cats, well, I live with one. He runs the place, and he is not bad luck. It is his considered opinion that I am lucky to have him draped in my lap.

 

[Expertise]

I don't know if it is some karmic type belief or just an ingrained honesty.

But I feel I have to point out mistakes when people "shortchange" themselves, even if it is in my favor.

eg. A cashier once gave me change for a hundred dollars when I had only given her a fifty (I really could have used the money at the time). Even though my friends harassed me for doing it (the cashier was a cast iron bitch) I was sure that some terrible retribution would befall me if I didn't do the right thing.

I (along with many others i'm sure) have a whack of superstitions and habits when it comes to sports.

I have to put on my equipment in a certain and very specific order, I have to retape my sticks every game, I have to have a certain type of bubble gum, you never say the word shutout when your goalie is having one.....the list goes on and on

Maybe i'm neurotic but I feel completely out of sorts if I don't do these things

 

[Cheri]

I am not really superstitious, although I do talk nicely to all my cars. I do have my share of weird beliefs. I do knock of wood occasionally and wouldn't dare open an umbrella inside or walk beneath a ladder. I guess my weirdest is thatI don't like looking into a mirror in a dark room, who knows what you'd see. I love reading Alice Hoffman books and all her superstitions and per her instruction I have planted lavendar by the back yard gate.

I firmly believe in fate, no matter if you call it that or God. I believe that whatever you do to others will come back to you. So I try to be as nice as possible, even to telemarketers (ugh). I also buy the whole karma thing and believe life is what you make of it.
Well there you go. Hope I don't kill off this thread as I am wont to do.

 

[Savage Kitten]

I definitely believe 'what goes around, comes around' I have seen examples of it wayyyy too often not to.. and it's probally the biggest thing that keeps me from being vendictive haha

and I dunno if its supertitous but.. I ALWAYS believed my mom when she said 'becareful, your gonna poke your eye out with that thing!' no matter what it was, I truly believed an eyeball would pop out of SOMEBODIES head if I wasn't careful hehe

 

[Expertise]

Yeah SK "Its all fun and games 'till someone loses an eye"

 

[Slut_boy]

"What goes around comes around" That's funny Kitten. But you try telling that to Japan - it kinda seems that Nagasaki and Hiroshima discredit that theory. Unless of course the reparation need not be immediate in which case America has a surprise still to look forward to.

Kitten, I didn't mean to seem sinister. Actually coming from a buddhist upbringing, the karmic principle of reciprocity really means that every action has a corresponding reaction, or as you put it, what goes around does come around. I agree with you - it's a great way to live your life *smiles at you*

 

[Rand al'Thor]

I try to think of myself as relatively down-to-earth, but I'm still extremely superstitious.

I'm an avid player of a certain card game, and play in large tournaments quite often. Well, as long as I'm doing good, I'll drive the same route, wear the same clothes, and listen to the same music CD's on my way there.

You know what? http://smilecwm.tripod.com/cwm/thinkerg.gif It works!!! Every time I keep doing the same pattern, I seem to do better in my tournaments.

There are a lot more things I'm superstitous about, but thats the main one.

As for fate, I don't believe in it at all, or anything that says my destiny is already planned out... I'd rather take that upon myself. Because what if whoever is running fate turns out to be some inter-galactic crack-head? I wouldn't want him running my life.

Rand al'Thor
The Dragon Reborn

 

[morgainefairy]

just in case you might like to know where some of these things "really" came from there is a cool book called:

panati's extraordinary origins of everyday things

not only does it cover superstitions, but also things like vallium and fig newtons. it's quite a fun book!

oh, and i am about 50/50 superstitious. maybe bec i know the roots?

 

[Patryn]

Oh, yes, I definitely believe in fate. I've seen it at work in my own life. Things happen that I can't understand at the time, but then later on, something else will happen because of it, and I'll see why the original event needed to occur.

Take, for example, I guy I dated and am still very clost to as a friend, even though we're dating other people. His name is Wesley Douglas and his son is Wesley Charles. His father's name was Wesley David. My great grandfather's name was Wesley Donald, my grandfather's was Wesley James, and if I had been a boy, I would have been Wesley Karl. I also share my birthday with his son, which is also his fiance's birthday. Now tell me there is no fate. That's just a little too weird. There's other instances with different people that are too coincidental to be coincidence, but that's by far the strangest one.

I'm not superstitious, though.

 

[Endlessly]

Admission: when I get stressed out, I get obsessive-compulsive.

I know that sounds odd, but if I'm having a REALLY bad day, I'll rearrange my socks by color and refuse to step on cracks or refuse to let anyone touch me because I feel like their germs will make me sick. Logically, I know that that isn't the case, but when I'm stressed out that much, I'm anything but logical. My 'rents wanted to take me to a psychologist.. But as long as I keep it under control and it only comes out when I'm under serious mental anxiety, I don't think that's necessary.

When I'm under the usual amount of mental anxiety, I refuse to whistle or say the name of the Scottish play in a theatre. (Hell, I'm so used to calling *gulp* 'Macbeth' the Scottish play that I usually call it that OUTSIDE the theatre. All the world's a stage..)

Other than that, I don't have too many superstitions. And as to whether or not I believe in fate.. What do YOU think? I read Thomas Hardy. Fate is deliciously evil and I love it.

 

[Guest]

Fate...

I am a BIG, firm believer in fate. I believe in the cozmos and in the Zodiac... I will go out of my way to NOT walk under a ladder. (Black cats don't scare me though.)

~Tiggs~
http://smilecwm.tripod.com/sd3/lise.gif

 

[Aranian]

I'm an avid player of a certain card game, and play in large tournaments quite often. Well, as long as I'm doing good, I'll drive the same route, wear the same clothes, and listen to the same music CD's on my way there.

I can relate. During chess matches, particularly the ones with high entry fees, I need to anotate my moves with a yellow no.2 pencil. The use of anything means a loss is imminent.


As for fate, I guess it all depends on how fate is defined. Since there are no truly random variables in the universe, we're headed in a straight line. Interpret that as you will.

 

[Skitten]

I am not a very supersticious person, but I won't walk under a ladder and I do the knock on wood thing too. Black cats make me crazy. I believe that you always get what is coming to you either good or bad. If you work hard enough in your lifetime and do you job as a parent you will reep the rewards in the long run.

I believe that all things happen for a reason, yet we may not know what the reasons are. I think in the most part if you are an honorable and good person in your lifetime that good things will come to you. Because of your hard work and the way you have lived your life.

 

[Wizard]

I work on ladders all day long walk under, over, thru, beside whatever it take.....my lucky number is 13.....I don't buy into any of that...just what you belive in........I thing that allways made me laugh is got to a nice hotel and look for the 13th floor.....more than likely there isn't one.......folks won't stay on the 13th floor .

I have to agree that there must be alot of folks that DO belive in the bad luck.....

 

[teresafannin]

I am not too superstitious, but have some things that have to be followed to the letter. I am obsessive-compulsive in many areas. I believe that everything happens for a reason, although we may not know why. My closets & drawers are arranged a certain way,I always talk nice to my car & truck, hate to have my end of day rituals messed up. It is goiong to be real interesting when I get married & am sharing my space.

 

[Cheyenne]

"What goes around comes around" That's funny Kitten. But you try telling that to Japan - it kinda seems that Nagasaki and Hiroshima discredit that theory. Unless of course the reparation need not be immediate in which case America has a surprise still to look forward to.

Or, you could look at it as Nagasaki and Hiroshima were the "comes around" part of the sentence, not the "what goes around" part. Anyone remember Pearl Harbor? Hence the end of the loop and the truth in the whole sentence "what goes around, comes around."

 

[Never]

So, DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSITIOUS OR JUST PLAIN WIERD BELIEFS? I don't have any superstitions.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE.. OR NOT?
I'd argue that you can believe in partial fate but that's not what you wanted so..
Oh, this is the big one. It's really the choice between orderly and chaotic meaninglessness. If there isn't fate then events are random, arbitrary and the universe doesn't follow a plan - making the universe meaningless. If, however, there is 'fate' then there isn't really free will, events are predetermined and any actions we take are meaningless. So, am I a pawn in another's grand scheme or am I another particle adrift in an amniotic bath of chaotic action - action - reaction?
I'm rather fond of the idea that I have my own mind and that my actions can influence events one way or the other depending on my whim. I'll have to say, no fate for me.
Of course that leads to, does it really matter?

Only if it matters to you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Only if it matters to me.

 

[Weird Harold]

As for fate, I don't believe in it at all, or anything that says my destiny is already planned out...

Rand al'Thor
The Dragon Reborn

I wonder if I'm the only RJ/WOT fan to see the irony here?

 

[Aranian]

If, however, there is 'fate' then there isn't really free will, events are predetermined and any actions we take are meaningless.

Yes, logic would dictate that events are indeed predetermined. But how did you come to the conclusion that there is no free will? Your reasoning seems to hinge on an assumption that the human mind making a decision is a random factor.

 

[Rand al'Thor]

Well shit, Harold, I think you got me there!

Maybe Book-Rand's life has been planned out, since he's ta'veren wrong spelling, I'm sure), but since I'm (Me-Rand) not anything important, I think fate will stay the hell away!

Rand al'Thor
The Dragon Reborn

 

[Never]

Yes, logic would dictate that events are indeed predetermined. But how did you come to the conclusion that there is no free will? Your reasoning seems to hinge on an assumption that the human mind making a decision is a random factor.

First, I'll give a simple definition of what these words mean to me.
Fate: That which inevitably happens.
Free Will: The power of personal self-determination.

To me these ideas are almost totally secluded to one another. Obviously - well, no, I shouldn't use that word since nothing is obvious but to those who see it that way.
If I am a pawn on a chessboard, say the white king's pawn, and my first move is KP-K3 I will go there no matter what my will is for I have no will, or at least no way of exercising it. A pawn does not want to be in K3 anymore than it wishes to be in K2.

If, however, the pawn was a sentient being and had the ability to move to K3, K4 or to not move at all and a 'free will' it would still move to K3. It is a Pawn and its predetermined position is K3, it will then want to go to K3. It has no choice in the matter of its desire or action because the only desires or actions available to it are the ones that lead it to K3.

Now, perhaps the white Pawn wants to go to K3 because that's an important spot in the battle, perhaps it wishes to go to K3 because it wants to explore the board, maybe it's just running from K2 or it wants to go to K4 but gets stuck there for some reason (ran out of gas perhaps?). All these ideas are cosmetic however, they are just a rationalization of what Fate as already decided will happen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[morgainefairy]

i really liked that analogy, never.