In a very coincidental light today, I encountered the word “energy” or “energizer” for at least five times; it’s still 09:30am. I saw it on the morning news on TV, read it in the newsfeed of my Facebook, I saw it stamped in a car, I heard it in a song lyric ("I wish I could rip out a page of my memory Cuz I put to much energy in him and me". oh give me a break! :)) , then heard it again on the news, but not the same ones as before. I recall a paragraph at Sigmund Freud’s “Psychopathology of Everyday Life”; he was going through a very interesting description of how during a day he had encountered a certain word numerous times. All day, the word would spring from everywhere! He would read it in a random book, someone would mention it just like this, and he would even encounter it in the most impossible settings.
For the superstitious ones, this would of course be a “sign” from a higher level. A kind of, cryptic message that “powers that be” were trying to send to them. That would indeed be nice if it was true. Getting signs, interpreting them, being a sort of personal oracle of the self, or putting the third eye in action. I could even envy those who can build up their life patterns around signs. Dreading to see a black cat, or being excited if they see a certain pattern of lucky numbers somewhere in a car plate, in a road sign, in the home screen of a cell phone. Oh look it’s 11:11! Uri Geller is thinking about me! Should I try to bend a spoon now? Nah, maybe later, I have to see the clock ticking 11:11 for at least 3 times! Because ..the power of 3, remember?
I could envy them, but I don’t since unfortunately I have gone through this “superstitious evaporation” which happens (or at least, should happen) when you study Psychology. I still remember the kind and threatening words of Dr. Rodafinos in my PSY 101 classes
“No astrology, palmistry, caffedology here, otherwise I will remove you from the register!”.
Of course he was joking, but in fact, he was not!
So, back to the point, even if one doesn't study psychology, it just takes to read about the Operant Conditioning experiments of B.F.Skinner (1947) in order to take a glimpse of what an enormous illusion we put our thoughts to when we try to interpret signs. What B.F. Skinner says in his seminal paper regarding the Superstition Pigeons experiment basically can be wrapped up in the following paragraph:
“The experiment might be said to demonstrate a sort of superstition. The bird behaves as if there were a causal relation between its behaviour and the presentation of food, although such a relation is lacking. There are many analogies in human behaviour. Rituals for changing one's luck at cards are good examples. A few accidental connections between a ritual and favourable consequences suffice to set up and maintain the behaviour in spite of many unreinforced instances. The bowler who has released a ball down the alley but continues to behave as if he were controlling it by twisting and turning his arm and shoulder is another case in point. These behaviours have, of course, no real effect upon one's luck or upon a ball half way down an alley, just as in the present case the food would appear as often if the pigeon did nothing -- or, more strictly speaking, did something else”
It makes sense doesn’t it? And it underlies something which is so evident but that we fail to understand. Us being passive, or mischievous! Interpreting signs, looking for signs, being frightened or excited by signs means that you have no or a little control on your life whatsoever. It means that either you are going to wait forever for a miracle to happen; blame God, the black cat, Friday the 13, Uri Geller for anything that doesn’t happen the way that you want; fail to fight for what you deserve since you accept your predetermined fate.
Well, this brings me to Carl Jung who said:
'Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.'”.
You can either take it or leave it. If you take it, try to ignore the signs, day by day and break this routine of strange patterns which gain meaning through some gestaltic tricks. If you leave it, well, I wish you a pleasant transfixing of yourselves.
