magical thinking

I have a friend who cleans his sunglasses with paper money. He swears, “It keeps them cleaner longer.” However, the science says that’s not true. Paper, which is made from wood pulp, scratches lenses. So why is he convinced otherwise? Beats me. What matters is what he thinks—not what is. Neither truth nor science affect our decision making. If you believe your daily horoscope has meaning, it will. You’ll make sure of it.

What we think determines how we act but there are infinite choices influencing those thoughts. For example, did you know that waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to go back to sleep is a symptom of major depression? It could also mean you have a stomachache, lost your job, broke your leg, sent your firstborn off to college, are over 65—or—that you’re so worried about getting a good nights’ sleep you don’t get one. So which is it?

Two people can have the same symptom and one thrives while the other goes off the deep end. Like animals, we also make sense of the world through touch, taste, sound and smell. We can even smell fear, just like dogs do. It’s actually contagious! Being around fearful people makes us fearful! This isn’t just a feeling. It is fact. Our brain, our most valuable tool, can also delude us. Subliminal stimuli affect our subconscious, influencing our decisions without our even knowing it!

Our thoughts determine our health. For example, if you think you can’t sleep through the night because the internet is turned on. If low EMF readings won’t convince you otherwise. If everyone else in your house sleeps fine. You might ask: ‘If the internet effect is negligible, what else could be causing my sleeplessness?’ If you judge that it’s the internet, you risk missing the deeper cause which may be something else altogether.

For this reason, when clients ask me for answers, I often reply with questions. Questions open the mind. Judgments close it. I’ve learned that what ultimately determines their decisions are their opinions—not mine. Look around and you’ll notice that even deluded people are quite happy living with their delusions. That includes me whose ‘magical thinking’ is legendary.

In the end, it all comes down to what you think, even when you don’t think you’re thinking or think you’ve got it all figured out. So, give that some thought. OR, rub your head with a $100 bill. It just might help you see more clearly!