Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Settle Down, Reya!



Are you superstitious? I am, always have been. Well, kind of. If I see a black cat when I'm out walking around, I will invariably say to her, "Don't cross my path! I mean it." But if the cat does anyway (they always do whatever they want) I don't turn and walk in the other direction. Classic superstitions don't mean much to me, however I have a lot of personal habits that revolve around this same concept.

For instance, I have "good luck" and "bad luck" clothing. Any time I wear certain pieces of clothing, I invariably have a bad day. Other items of clothing bring good luck, or at least I think they do. I wear four different perfumes, not all at once of course. Each fragrance brings a certain quality into my day - or so I think! My personal system of superstitions is like an ideosyncratic version of feng shui. Is that a superstition or not? You tell me.

All the usual superstitions have no impact on me. Walking under a ladder? No problem. Stepping on a crack in the sidewalk? Who cares? Rabbits' feet should stay on the animal, and horseshoes are just horseshoes, nothing else. So am I superstitious or not? I think I am.

Following the recent looting of my bank account, I notice that my tendency towards superstition is amplified, compared to "normal." I passed on a chain letter for abundance, something I never do, and I'm thinking about buying a lottery ticket at the new moon on the 18th. I've never bought a lottery ticket.

Clearly the bank account looting was more traumatic than I allowed myself to understand. It shook me up. Whew!!

26 comments:

glnroz said...

i feel like it's "bad luck" if I dont check your post when I get to the office.. I guess that makes me super... that word I cant spell. lol

Reya Mellicker said...

I think it makes you super! xx

Tom said...

no doubt you'll be looking over your shoulder for awhile...this too shall pass.

Rebecca Clayton said...

After I got mugged in Arlington, I was psychically "shook up." One thing that really helped me was to talk about the event. The therapist at GWU's health center advised me to talk about it until I was completely bored by it. He said the talking would deprive the memory of its power, just wear it out.

It worked. It got to be a tired old story I was sick of hearing about. (I tried to spare my friends from boredom by spreading the talk out to passing acquaintances, and even strangers. I hope I was successful at that--nobody ever told me to shut up, anyway.)

Just a thought, but isn't it interesting that you can exorcise trouble by talking it to death?

Rosaria Williams said...

What are those beautiful flowers? They are all good signs to me, though, like you, if I have one bad stroke of luck, I keep looking for more.

ellen abbott said...

Did you light one of those Catholic saint candles for money? I've been known to but never got any immediate results.

That picture of the flowers is so beautiful.

Steve Reed said...

I don't doubt it shook you up! My thoughts are with you!

JC said...

After I read about your bank account, I bought a virus detector acct for my puter. Just in case ...

Black Cats ... I love them. Had several of them and they are really nice.

The one about bad things happening in threes ... if two have happened I'm always worrying about the third one.

Cyndy said...

When something traumatic like that happens, it's kind of natural to be extra aware or extra cautious or extra superstitious about everything. It's a defense mechanism. You'll probably be in a state of "who knows what else could happen?" for a little while. I'm sorry to hear about your bank account - that really sucks.

Linda Sue said...

superstitions are not innate wisdom- if no body ever told you about good/bad- black cats- whatever- you would chalk it all up as 'just life'. We tend to transfer value on objects in an empowered way- like a lock of hair- a toenail (eeeuuuw)because we really want to believe it- good/bad- it all just IS. superstitions can be fun like throwing salt- love that one!I love thirteen and ladders and cats that are black- I am NOT a racist, afterall. Sorry about your bank account- that is NOT superstition- that is real but still it has no power over you- it's just f-in money...and you are YOU- all wonderful and stuff!

Barbara Martin said...

I'm kind of like glnroz, I'm here for my daily fix of energy. It just floats through the screen (or something).

Losing money via skimming from a bank account is very shocking to one's nervous system and well being. It takes time to get over this. I don't think this is bad luck, but more like bad energy that found a spot to grab and run from. The bank will likely get its commercial fraud people to hunt down the culprit.

Supersition for me? Sort of, well at least some things. When people open umbrellas to dry after being out in the rain. My grandmother said it brought bad luck. So I close my umbrellas and hang them on a door handle to dry. Broken mirrors - definitely bad luck for seven years. Twice it happened and too much to be considered a coincidence.

Though today I'm much more into positive thinking to manifest good. A bit of angel advice I received in 2002: Have patience and kind thoughts.

Cheryl Cato said...

I'd say it was bad luck getting your bank account looted... I've been away & totally missed that terrible event... gotta go back & read your blogs. I'm happy to be back home after having been away almost 3 weeks!

Anonymous said...

I don't think I've ever paid attention to the 'common superstitions', except when take them on. If there IS a latter in my way on the sidewalk, I WILL walk under it, just to see if anyone around me freaks out.

In addition to three dogs, I am a parent to two black cats, who cross my path everyday. If there is such a thing as bad luck, I figure I've accumulated so much of it that I've built up an immunity.

Elizabeth said...

Poor old you!
Question: shouldn't you dump your bad luck clothes.......?!!
Remember not to spill salt... or if you do, take a pinch of it and throw it over your shoulder.
The autumn anemones are so lovely.

Joanne said...

I have those certain "good luck" clothes, jewelry, what have you. In fact, for an extra boost, my daughters and I all have the same pair of star earrings, and when one of us needs a lucky day, we alll wear our stars together :)

Bee said...

I think that you should throw away all of the bad luck clothing! Does it feel uncomfortable, too? Is it ill-fitting?

I often wonder why I cannot manage to pare down my wardrobe only to those things which are soft, beautiful, warm, comfortable and flattering. (Is this too much to ask?)

I've been reading through the past week of posts -- and thinking how your "numerical theft" worries were lurking behind all of those bits about angels. It makes a person want to hide their money in a mattress, really, but I struggle with the intangibles sometimes. (That's why is it so good to be your friend, Reya!)

steven said...

hi reya - in some countries - like the one i was born in - black cats are good luck. so superstition doesn't carry a ton of weight with me - but ritual does. if i am riding anywhere on my bike, i love to see crows. they talk to me and offer me a form of comfort. i carry pennies that i am given by my daughter for "good luck". really they remind me of her - my very best most beautiful fortune!!! my boy and daughter and i hug in the morning. always. we hug at bedtime - always. even if i am going to bed before them!
loss of any kind opens doors - because we get a chance to look through the wedged open door that loss has left open and we see a strange light flooding into that space where there used to be the familiar glow of our comfortable space and we poke our face into that wedged open crack and whispertalk "is there anything else out there? is there anything good? hello?!"
good luck reya mellicker!!! really good luck!
steven

Reya Mellicker said...

Bee, Steven and Elizabeth, it's SO good to have your friendship, too. All of you, actually.

xxoo to all!

Tess Kincaid said...

I guess I just thought of those things as part of a few mild OCD's I have. Maybe you could say I was kinda superstitious, just a tad. I never really thought of it in that light.

LOVE the bottom pic!!!

Nancy said...

It's just a terrible, nasty thing to have happen. I'm not particularly superstitious. Can't say that I have lucky clothes, or scents. I do believe in things happening for a reason, however. And those reasons are not always known. In this case, maybe you were mean't to buy the lotto ticket, and you wouldn't have under normal circumstances. The Devine is always at work.

Margaret Gosden said...

I went to the local precinct today to tell them about how I was scammed. LOL We can't help you on that one, they said. There are three providers that have
been scammed, they said. If yours is one of them, change your pass word. Well, I did that when I was scammed, like any sensible person would, I said. So they said, the Media has got the news - watch the news. I still haven't seen or heard anything on the news, so I am telling the news from my blog - someone's got to stop the perps from having a
good day at other peoples expense. Right?

Ronda Laveen said...

That kind of violations is like rape in a way. And surely bound to chaffe your etheric edges.

When I competed in the semi-pro ranks of tournament bowling, I found myself to be very superstitious about my outfits and what I ate. I chose very carefully. Heck, I even had my lucky shoes and, of course, my lucky strike towel:-)

Lori ann said...

Hi Reya,
What a horrible thing to have happen,I hope whoever did it is wishing they hadn't. Hopefully everything will be sorted out soon.
Your photos are so gorgeous, the anemones, the leaves, all of them. I love good luck symbols, I choose new ones all the time!

Barry said...

I understand the feeling. And, yes, the looting of your account was a terrible thing!

Wishing you all Good Luck on the 18th, or should I say, "break a leg?"

Wine and Words said...

Came over from Glnroz link to Honest Scrap awards. Checkin' out the peeps!

I agree about the good luck clothes, but I do realize it's because some clothing looks better, making me feel better, making me more confident, which makes good things happen. Gotta get rid of those rags, and soon.

Gary said...

Here's to winning!!

I found I was most superstitious when I was performing. If I happened to have a wonderful opening night and I was wearing or doing something beforehand I would always want to wear or do it before each performance. It is a hard thing to break. These days I don't really have anything to parallel that experience.

Sorry to hear about the bank issues.