So here's a little bit of new-age hippie nonsense I believe. Positive affirmation. Not the Stewart Smally kind. That's just .. what's the word.. oh right, gay1.
You know, they2 have done tests that imply prayer works and can heal others. There's hundreds3 of self-help books that say all you have to do is believe in yourself.
"Positive affirmation" is a bad name for it. It's more of an unashamed belief that reality is what I believe it to be. It's sort of like magic. And I mean that in the crazy occult finger-waving turn-you-into-a-toad kind of magic.
Magic, prayer, spells. They all work (or don't work) on the principle that the person doing the praying or spell or magic believes in what they're doing. Prayer works in that the person praying believes God will answer their prayers4, though, not always in the way they want. Spells don't work unless you believe they will work.
An example. I can stand at a traffic light, look up, and say, "Change," and envision the light changing. Chances are, I can step out into the street knowing the light has changed. It works far more often than it doesn't. I could say this is because the light was bound to change, and I was just lucky. A lot. I could say I don't remember the times it didn't change, or I had to sit there for 30 seconds thinking "walk sign, walk sign, walk sign". I could say I'm just making it up and it's something to do while waiting for the light to change.
I like to believe it's me doing it. And that's all it really takes. I beleive something, something happens that conforms to that belief.
So what if there's some cause that can be traced to something that's not me? "Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth," so says Sherlock Holmes, at least. It's bubkus.
Consistency is the defense of a small mind. Logic is the fallback position for the uncreative lout. How many paintings did Mr. Spock ever paint?
I say I made that light change by telling it to change. I have no idea the mechanics behind it.
It's a silly example, but it's a good one. The key to happiness is easy: Be content. And if you're not content, change it. I sound like Donald Trump, now.
But it really is that easy. Just change it, one step at a time.
Here's something that's a little gross and a wonderful illustration of the idea. I honestly can't explain the why of what happened. A doctor-friend of mine said (and I quote), "Um, that shouldn't happen," when I told her about this.
Many, many years ago, I cut my right thumb along the outer edge along the side, maybe 2 inches long. It was one of my many pocket knife/avocado injuries5. I still have a great scar. About two years ago, for no apparent reason, I developed a wart on the thumb. It moved along the scar, as, I found out, warts are wont to do, and grew into this monstrosity. I went to see a doctor who said, "I can freeze it off, it'll hurt." It hurt. It came back, with a vengence. I glared at my thumb.
About a week later, on a Monday, I woke up, rolled over, looked at the strange thing, and said, "You're done."
I woke up Tuesday morning, it was gone. Completely. A coworker asked, "Hey, what happened to your tumor?6" I said, "I decided it was time for it to go away." Another coworker said, "Magic."
I won't say magic, but I do remember exactly what I did that Monday. I just made up a new reality without Federico in it, and refused to accept the Federico-tainted reality.
It's all about being stubborn and unrealistic. Pick something outrageous, and cling to it like mold to the pans in my kitchen sink. Refuse to let pesky things like the current version of reality intrude, and don't sweat the details. The Universe is much better at rewriting itself than you are.
Who knows, tomorrow, you could wake up a lottery winner7!
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1I mean that in the derogatory way. Pretend I'm Sarah Silverman, and it's my job to offend you. Though, you can't deny -- Stewart Smally was pretty much what every bully on the planet has in mind when they call someone "gay".
2By "they" I mean scientists. Or privatly-funded think tanks with a specific social-political agenda with findings that support their idealogical worldview. Or maybe just scientists. You know. "They".
3I just made that number up. I have had.. considerable to drink.
4When I was a kid, I prayed for a motorcycle every day for 3 years and I never got one. The closest I got was a Hot Wheels bike, and only after I told my parents, "God is full of crap." And only after the Firm Talking To About Jesus and special Bible Study Time. Thankfully, I grew up to be a good Christian.
5The worst was when I had the avocado sliced open, and was trying to remove the pit with the method like on the Food Network, where they sort of chop the blade into the pit, and give it a little half-turn until it comes loose and then just life it out, stuck to the blade. I tried the chop, I got the blade to stick, but it wouldn't budge. I ended up cutting the pit, like it was a piece of firewood, and decided, this sucks. So, like someone who never paid attention in Boy Scouts, held the avocado half in my palm, and stabbed the pit, point first with the knife. It didn't do anything the first time, so I got it in a little deeper, and then just pushed... through the pit, and avocado, into my palm.. and sliced part of the tendon for my middle finger. Hurt like a bitch and couldn't move my middle finger more than about an inch for two weeks.
6We joked about it. I actually had named it Federico.
7Sadly, I'm not.