# Do you engage in "Magical Thinking?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196 "2010-07-19T05:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/21 "2010-07-19T13:54:10Z")
I make wishes when I see that it’s 11:11. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/22 "2010-07-19T13:59:45Z")
Well, I get God shots. Many people call it magical thinking but it is just being spiritual really. It feels like a mental orgasm. Being detached from the earthly realm and looking down on myself. Like being full of intense joy to the point of bursting. I have it alone or with others and I just smile. I see so much beauty sometimes in a flower or a childs smile or a random face. I wish it for everyone. I don’t understand it but it is like so much joy in a moment. It is like I am plugging into something much larger then myself. Does anyone else feel this feeling? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/23 "2010-07-19T14:11:15Z")
Images all safe for work. Mostly on the motorcycle. I call it “good juju” and “bad juju” but its basically superstition. I think I told this before but when the HD “folded wings” patch ([http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/transportation/images/harleypatch/patch-hd-droopingsilver.JPG](http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/transportation/images/harleypatch/patch-hd-droopingsilver.JPG)) first became available at the shop I worked with, we got twelve. All twelve people who bought and wore them had bad accidents within a couple months. So you try to even sit for a picture on my bike wearing Broken Wings and I just may deck you. I also won’t wear skulls missing their lower jaw like a lot of the bikers wear these days. To me that’s like begging for 4th degree road rash to take the bottom of your face off. On the “good” side ------- once a bike shows its personality/traits that remind me of something, I get the tank painted with a design that expresses that trait. Sort of like a tattoo for the machine. I’ve had a few crashes over the years and two bad ones but never on a bike with a totem on the tank. [http://www.northhillscycle.com/gallery/detailGallery.asp?imageID=109](http://www.northhillscycle.com/gallery/detailGallery.asp?imageID=109) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/24 "2010-07-19T14:23:50Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Well, I get God shots. Many people call it magical thinking but it is just being spiritual really. It feels like a mental orgasm. Being detached from the earthly realm and looking down on myself. Like being full of intense joy to the point of bursting. I have it alone or with others and I just smile. I see so much beauty sometimes in a flower or a childs smile or a random face. I wish it for everyone. I don’t understand it but it is like so much joy in a moment. It is like I am plugging into something much larger then myself. > > Does anyone else feel this feeling? I have experienced this before, two or three times. It’s quite jarring but remarkable. My rational side says it’s just a quirk in my brain chemistry. The rest of me says “so what? A moment of so much awesomeness, even if it is only personal awesomeness, has meaning.” ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/25 "2010-07-19T17:09:28Z")
Wait, I thought we were talking magical thinking like psychiatrist-talk magical thinking, not religion/destiny/luck? Anyway, I have a couple. And even though I know it’s nonsense, I think it anyway. My shrink tells me you don’t have to believe it for it to qualify. ☹ 1. When I blink on something bad - image or words (always by accident; somehow not blinking on it keeps me safe even though I know anything can happen and there’s nothing I can do) - I think it’s like I just caused it to someday happen to me or a loved one (if that’s what the text says), and I have to shift my gaze to something innocuous and blink very quickly at least twice and generally more like 8 or so times in a row to reverse it. 2. I have this feeling that anyone I come across might be able to somehow read my thoughts (again, I know this isn’t true) so I have to be careful what I think. I also have a bit of the taboo thing going on and often curse people or call them horrible names that I don’t mean and then I mentally apologize to them and explain, just in case they read my mind. I especially have to watch my thoughts around my brother because I’m convinced he’s a mind reader. And not because he’s ever proven himself to be, just because it’s “true”. I daydream a lot and it used to be that I couldn’t do that with anyone else around, especially in public, because I’m rather embarrassed by it and can’t have anyone else pick up on it. Now I can daydream around my parents (not my brother, for reasons previously explained) and often in public, just not with the more embarrassing story lines. There are probably others, but those are the only two I can think of. Oh, I also vaguely follow some superstitions, but don’t really believe them or have a problem breaking them. Someone had better come in and top me or I’ll feel like the resident crazy. Edit: I also assign emotions and good or evil characters to some objects, mostly stuffed animals/dolls but anything, really. I can change bad ones into good, though, and generally do since I don’t want to be attacked when my back is turned. 🙂 (I don’t actually believe I’m going to be attacked, just that the object will somehow cause bad things to happen to me. Again, I know this is ridiculous.) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/26 "2010-07-19T18:04:48Z")
Would this be the same thing as performing superstitious rituals? I used to as a kid but dropped it entirely. It bordered on becoming just too much like a mild form of OCD. I sometimes catch myself falling into “magical thinking” and when I do I immediately make an effort to break the pattern. Anything people determine as bad luck superstitions I’ll do all day since I can’t stand the feeling of something irrational controlling my behaviors. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/27 "2010-07-19T18:08:14Z")
Anyone who says they do not, ever, _at all_, is completely, 100%, certified Full of Shit. > [@TimeWinder](#): > > Never, if I realize I’m doing it. After all, superstition is bad luck. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/28 "2010-07-19T18:08:53Z")
I can make it rain. All I have to do is wash my car. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/29 "2010-07-19T18:26:09Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Would this be the same thing as performing superstitious rituals? > I used to as a kid but dropped it entirely. It bordered on becoming just too much like a mild form of OCD. > I sometimes catch myself falling into “magical thinking” and when I do I immediately make an effort to break the pattern. Anything people determine as bad luck superstitions I’ll do all day since I can’t stand the feeling of something irrational controlling my behaviors. This. I even used to have **supergoose** ’s belief in the mind-reading powers of others. However, it only worked if they stood directly beside, behind, or in front of me. Diagonally was okay. :rolleyes: These days, when I am very worried about my kids or something, I catch myself starting to pray, then I nip it in the bud. Religious upbringing is so hard to throw off. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/30 "2010-07-19T18:29:39Z")
Oh yeah, absolutely. And I know perfectly well it’s silly. I’m a dyed in the wool skeptic and an atheist, but still I find myself looking for patterns that show that my actions are affecting the world around me. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/31 "2010-07-19T18:40:38Z")
I certainly do! When my therapist asked me about spirituality, I told her my belief is that there’s magic everywhere, although I am an atheist. Examples include bad things happening to people who have made me so angry I’ve felt it physically I(sort of a twitch of the eyes) and having a twin connection with my identical twin sister. I also make people appear by mentioning their names. I don’t have rituals or charms or anything though. That’s silly.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/32 "2010-07-19T18:51:09Z")
I have superstitous quirks that I know aren’t rational. But I pardon myself by saying they’re not irrational. They’re rationality neutral. It’s like wearing a lucky shirt. You know rationally that a shirt does not influence probability. But you were going to be wearing a shirt anyway. So you decide to wear the lucky one. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/33 "2010-07-19T18:51:33Z")
I used to always throw a bit of salt over my shoulder if I spilled any. I recently found myself deciding that this was “feeding” the bad spirits, and causing them to follow me around, so I stopped doing it. No, I don’t believe in evil spirits. What? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/34 "2010-07-19T20:19:42Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Well, I get God shots. Many people call it magical thinking but it is just being spiritual really. It feels like a mental orgasm. Being detached from the earthly realm and looking down on myself. Like being full of intense joy to the point of bursting. I have it alone or with others and I just smile. I see so much beauty sometimes in a flower or a childs smile or a random face. I wish it for everyone. I don’t understand it but it is like so much joy in a moment. It is like I am plugging into something much larger then myself. > > Does anyone else feel this feeling? Yes but I’ve never heard of “God shots”. I always figured I was just super sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/35 "2010-07-19T20:38:16Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Yes but I’ve never heard of “God shots”. > I always figured I was just super sensitive. It’s just a name I made up for it. I didn’t know what to call it. It’s hard to describe except it feels like being full of happiness. I wish it happened more often and I could know when it will happen. I am sensitive too so maybe I just feel more then normal? I had to laugh at the blinking supergoose mentioned. I still do that! For me it started at scary movies as a kid. I would peek through my fingers and it magically made me feel safe. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/36 "2010-07-19T20:39:27Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I very much try to avoid magical thinking. Among my friends, I am the most skeptical and cynical, and I denounce all woo-woo. I don’t even say “bless you” when someone sneezes. Sometimes I probably come across as a real Debbie Downer because I don’t play along, but I think it’s just silly. I’ve started extending ‘bless you’ to burps and farts. There’s no reason that sneezes should get all the attention. Occasionally it startles people. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/37 "2010-07-19T21:21:53Z")
Yep. I’ll do the “cross my fingers” and mutter “please-please-please-please!” under my breath if I’m waiting for good news/bad news. Along with some of the other stuff mentioned here. I’ve saved some messages from fortune cookies. I think it’s just human nature. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/38 "2010-07-19T22:15:05Z")
I do the sig at the bus stop thing, but only sarcastically, because I’m a smoker and while waiting for the bus I’ve got nothing else to do. As for other magical thinking; I do my best to get rid of it the very few times I catch myself doing it. ETA: as for “gesundheit” (we don’t say “bless you” over here), that’s just being polite. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/39 "2010-07-19T23:46:26Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > It’s just a name I made up for it. I didn’t know what to call it. It’s hard to describe except it feels like being full of happiness. I wish it happened more often and I could know when it will happen. I am sensitive too so maybe I just feel more then normal? > > I had to laugh at the blinking supergoose mentioned. I still do that! For me it started at scary movies as a kid. I would peek through my fingers and it magically made me feel safe. Serotonin cascade most likely. At least, it sounds a lot like what Ecstasy users describe, and that releases a serotonin cascade. . . ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196/40 "2010-07-19T23:56:30Z")
I fart to make the elevator arrive more quickly but it never works. Other than that, no. I don’t even bless people who sneeze. Don’t you need a license from the church to do that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-engage-in-magical-thinking/547196.md?page=3)