Lucky Charms, the forbidden fruit.

by kenpodragon 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  kenpodragon

  When I was a Witness I remember one time being in the Kingdom Hall talking to a group and a little kid walked up with something his "worldly" grandmother gave him. It was a rabbits foot on a key chain, a very well known symbol or good luck charm. I remember the woman in the group kind of freaking out, and walking the child back to his parents and demanding that the demonized object be taken out of Gods house. Of course, to Witnesses this had to be done as they felt they would be worshiping "The God of God Luck." I was wondering though, do you now have any Good Luck charms?

  I was thinking about this today, mainly because I remembered something said in a Psychology class once. Basically, we were talking about how certain groups put a lot of weight on certain symbols. Not quite idiolatry, but more in the fact that they think touching or doing something with it will make them happier or stronger. These things could be everything from wearing your lucky tie to a job interview, basing your lottery numbers on dates that were lucky for you, or even rubbing a certain rock for good luck. In the class we debated whether or not something like this was harmful, or actually productive.

  To me, I see anything that makes us feel good in a situation, as productive to getting what we want done. If holding a good luck charm, wearing a lucky shirt, or putting bamboo in your living room makes you feel better. Then just do it!! Like anything, you could debate the superstition for hours and hours. Yet in the end, if you want something to make you feel better and this works, dont feel bad about feeling the way you do.

  In our class we compared the issue to the "Placebo affect" in that it was not the medicine or object that created the positive feeling. It was the believing it would that made it work, and thus we touched again on subject of "the power of the mind" and its subconscious ability to bring about things we believe in. Some times we do not want to feel all alone and want a silent support that means something to us, and us alone.

  So with our Witness experience, and our now post-Witness life. Do you have anything that you keep that makes you feel a little lucky, or even stronger? If so, do you see anything wrong with that? If not, do you think the practice of lucky charms and lucky objects and lucky ways of doing things, is just something we should avoid? I would be curious to get some feedback, as I know our background on such objects was so forbidden.

  My thought

  Dragon
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  outcast

  " Frosted Lucky Charms..their magicly delicious "

  I only remember wanting this cereal, but it was banned in our house. When I got my own house I bought some, I was sick for two days and knew.....they were demunized.

  kenpodragon, everything that is tied to good memories in jw life is considered just that, good memories. Out of JW life, if we wear or do something that we remember as a good thing that happened to us, it's called positive thinking. But in jw life if we do it, it's called good luck, or demunized.

  Life gets so simple out of the borg.

  Good Luck in your life kenpodragon!
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  Shutterbug

  I always wondered why a rabbits foot was considered "lucky." I certainly didn't do the rabbit any good.
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  kenpodragon

  Why is a Rabbit's Foot considered lucky?

  

  Superstitions, such as a rabbit's foot being considered lucky, grow out of man's attempts to explain the unknown. When man disproves the old belief, and some still cling to the belief, it becomes a superstition, such as in the instant case. In Western Europe, prior to 600 B.C., man considered rabbits to be sacred, because of their belief that spirits inhabited the bodies of animals, and also because of their belief that man directly descended from a select few of these animals.

  Later, the ancient European Celts adopted portions of the older belief, that rabbits were sacred, and that spirits inhabited their bodies. The Celts, based upon the fact that these animals spent an inordinate amount of time in their underground burrows, held the belief that the rabbits' bodies were inhabited by numina, underground spirits with whom they communicated at very close proximity!

  Another reason the Celts held the rabbit to be sacred, was because of their prowess in the field of reproduction. They believed that the numina intended for rabbits to be put upon pedestals and revered as symbols of procreation, reproduction with a high turnover rate, of health, and of prosperity.

  Since the rabbit itself was considered to be lucky, it follows that any of its body parts would also be considered lucky. People selected the rabbit's foot to tote around for good luck, because of its capacity to dry quickly, its small size, and the fact that it made a great key chain!

  I

  had to look this up, as your question got me to wondering myself.

  My thought

  Dragon

  Edited by - kenpodragon on 4 November 2002 15:46:36
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  Francois

  I can understand getting sick on Lucky Charms. Man, those things are equivalent to Calvin's Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. I've never tasted anything so sickeningly, cloyingly sweet in my entire life...including straight sugar.

  francois
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  Elsewhere

  I never bought the idea that a rabbit's foot was good luck... hell, it didn't do the rabbit much good!
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  RandomTask

  Yeah, I mean the Rabbit didn't ...

  Whats that?

  Oh! ... Twice already?

  I see... ahem!

  Anyway, I always considered myself lucky so thats why I had to stop going to god's house &tm; in order to not defile it.
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  DJ

  I agree that Lucky Charms are gross.

  I realized about 7 years ago that the name, Jehovah was considered a lucky charm of sorts..... to me and other jw's. Think about it. Every prayer....sometimes two or three times we said the name. It was as if we thought our prayer couldn't be heard without chanting the name, Jehovah. I actually used to feel that if I didn't use his name that he either couldn't hear me or a demon would answer me. It was exactly like a lucky charm for me. Since I gotten rid of the need for that charm, I am not aware of a new one.
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  kelsey007

  I never kept or carried a "charm" of any sort. Nothing of that sort ever gave me any kind of confidence. Watched an episode of the Twilight Zone a fews weeks back and it was in regards to this subject. Each of these CEO types was addicted to some sort of supersticious object or manerism. From where I sit- if having such a charm of whatever makes you feel more confident I do not think it any more harmful than saying a prayer.