Controversial, but mine. If you overlook the chance of misfortune befalling you, it will befall you. But if you consider the possibility of it occurring, you can forestall it. I sincerely believe this. Some might think me naive, yet it's something I've observed since childhood. It's usually the unexpected that creeps up on you. From big things like heart attacks to small things like delayed trains.
In an uncertain world, outcomes are random. A solar flare could knock out all electrical power on earth. A supervolcano could plunge us into a seven-year-long winter. An asteroid strike could lead to a mass-extinction event. A plague could sweep the earth. Nuclear holocaust could be unleashed. To date, we have sidestepped these. But for how long? As long as it aligns with the Purpose for us to do so...
Nudging outcomes, but only if they align. Wishful thinking? Yes? Whyever not?
The Purpose of the universe is not for you to live a life of luxury and high status. But then neither is it for you to suffer in discomfort. Align your wishes with this, and be mindful of what can go wrong along the way.
Mindfulness and prayer merge. "May I not slip up on the ice" becomes not just a petition to the Lord but an instruction to self; "be careful out there". Sceptics may argue that effect = not slipping over on the ice is caused by attention's triumph over inattention. But a metaphysical 'guardian angel' effect may also be involved.
If we look at luck through the prism of quantum mechanics, the observer effect and the possibility of willing outcomes at the subatomic level – could we not train ourselves to do this at the macro level? To alter classical-mechanical outcomes with our will? Highly speculative, a matter of belief and personal observation. But if it works out in 51% or more of cases in your life over many decades, well, hey – it works for me. Call it pseudoscience, I have no idea how it works, but it is practical. It's just that you have to cover so many bases. "May the shit not hit the fan." But which shit, and which fan?
When I step out and lock the front door, I make that conscious prayer that I may return safely home, my tasks achieved, the day fulfilled in its promise. And on returning home, the cats all well, I give thanks.
Take care. Look after yourself. With mindfulness. Look after our planet, too.
Postscript: I prompted ChatGPT and Google Gemini to produce an illustration for the theme "willing yourself good luck". Both images were predictably full of horseshoes, four-leafed clovers and dice. Not the point.
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Lent 2024: Day 15
Aligning Prayer with Cosmic Purpose
Intuition and instinct
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