Re: Your smokes, or your job? Unbelievable. The Sheep Look Up

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 22:00:04 -0800, Lee
<watters3nospammersorwade@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>On 12/10/05 9:00 PM, in article 0icnp1d7ahb1c1m4anu2oge5ettv6229se@xxxxxxx,
>"Hutch" <champboat@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:20:09 -0800, Lee
>> <watters3nospammersorwade@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Robbery victims and robbers meet because the
>>> victims tended to be afraid of being robbed and the robber needed someone to
>>> rob.
>>
>> Bull***. And I say that in the nicest way :)
>
>Of course... <g>
>
>Everything happens for reason. Cause and effect are inextricably linked.

<nodding head>

>That said, you'll notice I wrote "tend to." Sometimes it's other stuff,
>filed under "invisible *** happens,"

I evidently consider that a higher % than you :)

> then it's up to us to choose how to
>react to it.

A lot of the time :)
>
>But how often have you heard victims say, "I've been afraid of this since I
>moved in here." Or "I knew this would happen to me." Too often.

I grant some merit to the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy, but
place as much weight on randomness and preparation meeting
opportunity. Part of what I have seen happen along the lines of the
former, and related to your victim example, is the prey aura that some
folks exude. They are fearful, which predators can sense from a
variety of indicators, and thus are more likely to be the object of
harm/abuse. I can and do spend a great deal of time in the worst
neighborhoods in Dallas and Ft Worth and have never been accosted,
bothered or threatened. I have a buddy that wouldn't be able to walk a
block with being robbed. I believe that this is because I put off a
different aura than he does. So in that sense I guess I sorta agree
with you, just not to the extent you espouse.
>>
>Ever watch a group of people come around to one persuasive argument or one
>person's firmly-held belief crushed under the weight of group think? There's
>more at work than just verbal persuasion -- it's vibrational matching on a
>cellular level.

That's a little deep for me :)
>
>There are incredible new frontiers of study that are only now starting to
>examine these relationships in events. Those who fear "X" will meet up with
>someone who can fulfill that fear. Just as those who know that good will
>happen to them in some situation will meet up with whatever will provide
>that.

Now this part I agree the most with, although, again, not to the
extent that you do. I'd be willing to say that positive results are
*more likely* to follow positive attitude, and visa versa. My own
personal example, of which you are pretty savvy, is a perfect example,
and is probably why I am able to understand what you are saying. When
I did bad things, and had no faith in human nature (big etc. here :) I
reaped what I sowed. My current positive, optimistic, faith-based
attitude has resulted in a life that I was never even able to imagine
prior.

>Expectation and intent are intensely powerful in shaping our lives.

Definitely !

> Beliefs
>are nothing more than opinions, fears or desires practiced over and over and
>over again.

Not sure about the desires part, but they are certainly "old tapes"
that we refuse to re-record :)

>Evidence appears to support it, enhancing its "reality" to the
>believer, leading them to more evidence, etc.

It's a tough cycle to escape from.

> It's a fascinating process,
>and if you watch it consciously in your own life, you can see how it works
>both for you and against you, and you can start to manage the process.

yes :)
>
>Once again, it's simple physics. Like attracts like.

I think of it more as psychic change, not physical. But the physical
certainly and obviously follows the mental. How often can we tell a
persons frame of mind instantly upon seeing them ? And how many doom
and gloom folks do we know that are in poor health ? An even better
example might be cancer survivors that just flat *refused* to give up.

>If you want some interesting and basic reading on all of this, I suggest (I
>don't agree with everything they posit, but it's all interesting):

<snipping a list of definite headache inducers> :)
>
>And if you really want to get into it, I recommend watching "What the Bleep
>Do We Know" -- but you have to watch it twice or the wedding reception scene
>makes no sense <g>

Funny that you should mention that show. While scanning channels
recently I stopped on it. The scene was that deaf girl smearing
toothpaste on the mirror and saying bad stuff about herself. I kept
surfing :)

<snipping spam> :)
>
>My journey has been one from blindly adopting my parents' belief that "God
>Predetermines Everything" (we were Presbyterian)

Mine started at quite the opposite end...."there is no God...."he" is
for the weak and not too smart" :)

>to one of knowing that we
>all have access to more of the wisdom of the Universe (the mind of God) than
>we ever imagined. And that we set the tone for what happens around us by
>what we focus on and ask God/the Universe to deliver to us by what we focus
>on, both good and bad, whether we're spiritual, religious or none of the
>above.

Mine has evolved to "Do the best I can and I will get what I
deserve/earn".

> My life works now; it didn't before.

That would be an understatement for me :)

> My Dad always said that none of
>us have the whole truth, but we each hold a piece of it. That's my journey;
>yours is yours (and it's been an interesting one as well, based on our
>conversations <g>)

It's been a wild ride :)
>
>It doesn't change my day-to-day life if you agree or disagree, although it
>does present a chance to discuss this with people I like and respect (which
>I thoroughly enjoy).

I had a similar discussion with Tim on the way up to Tahoe from Reno,
and was very interested that the tenets that he is currently
gravitating toward are those which I have been learning and embracing
for almost 5 years now.....and the most interesting part was that the
source of each of our learning paths was worlds apart, with the end
result being incredibly similar.
>
>But either way, it's unbelievably fascinating. This life is a fascinating
>game of discovery about the nature of reality, the roles we each play, the
>physics of human interaction, and more. And the more we discover, the more
>fascinating it becomes.
>
>That said, I need a cigar <G>...

I believe that I will join you. I'll smoke a Monte 4 with you in mind
:)
--

"I really think cigar smoking makes you smarter" P.J. O'Rourke
.