I have a friend who has absolutely the worst luck of anyone I know. While she was in Hawaii in the 70's, she picked up a lava rock from the area of a volcano. Is there any truth to the belief that this causes bad luck? If so, what can be done about it? Thank you.
Jimmie Anne
Dreamchaser:
Your question made me laugh, because I remembered watching that "Brady Bunch" episode where they went to Hawaii and came back with bad luck. However, in all reality, your friend's bad luck started WAY before she went to Hawaii and picked up that lava rock - but more on that later.
As a matter of fact, after much research, I am finding that most likely, the "lava rocks bring bad luck" myth was started by Hawaii's park rangers. They wanted to prevent people from doing to the lava rock what people did to Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock is all but gone now because people kept taking pieces. The rangers didn't want all the lava rock picked off of certain sites.
Of course, we humans always try to find SOMETHING to blame our "bad luck" on. This habit is how various bad luck superstitions were born, such as those about black cats, broken mirrors, walking under ladders, etc.,
I have a black cat. She crosses my path at least 20 times a day. I do not have bad luck as a result. I also have a loft in my house with a ladder going to it. We walk under the ladder about 20 times a day too. Again, no bad luck. If I DID have bad luck, I suppose I COULD blame my little black cat.
Also, some places have their own bad luck traditions. For example, in Japan, if a funeral car passes, you should hide your thumb, or you will have bad luck. Since most foreigners do not know that, do they "catch" bad luck when visiting Japan because they fail to hide their thumbs?
In places of the world where the "evil eye" is not only believed in but practiced, people believe that they can be given bad luck with just a look. There are usually lots of shops in these areas that sell amulets for good luck, money, love, etc.
Since I love New Orleans so much, I will use that city as an example. I know there are many superstitious beliefs there. One can "catch" bad luck quite easily. As I wandered the streets, I often wondered if some of these "beliefs" were made up long ago by people wanting to sell their amulets and good luck spells. I am SURE it would have greatly boosted their business!
Your friend should probably stop believing that she has bad luck and using that as an excuse. She CAN manifest good luck. She just has to stop thinking that she has none. She is so used to accommodating "bad" in her life that she has accepted it as her fate. If she spent as much time on self-discovery as she does on trying to find the source of her ill fortune, she would be happier and better off already.
I wish you and your friend great good fortune!
*****
Astrea:
In the Disney movie Dumbo, Timothy the Mouse gives Dumbo a "magic feather" so that he is able to fly. Of course to the audience, Dumbo looks really gullible because he believes it's the feather that gives him that ability, when actually, it's his great big EARS!
Dumbo doesn't believe in himself enough to fly on his own, but when he has that fake magic feather, he's the CONCORD! Eventually he discovers the truth, and for just a moment, he is undone. As is Disney tradition, however, he conquers his fear, summons all his self-esteem, and learns to fly without the feather.
Your friend's lava rock is that feather in REVERSE. Bad luck isn't real. We CREATE our OWN luck by the way that we live our lives. If you believe that you're always going to have bad luck, then you're always going to have bad luck. No matter what a person chooses to blame for bad luck, it all boils down to choices and consequences.
Picking up a rock - ANY ROCK - is not enough to cause a person misery for the rest of her life. Because your friend BELIEVES that picking up the lava rock set her up for failure, time after time in her life, it has. People are VERY suggestible, and we're always looking for something OUTSIDE of ourselves to blame for the consequences of our decisions, whether we have a rock or a feather or a special necklace or a cursed car!
Accepting that we are responsible for our own lives isn't as easy as it sounds. We're pulled in a hundred different directions at once by our jobs, family and friends. Often, we don't take any time for ourselves at all, and wind up at the very place we try to avoid.
Your friend needs to "de-clutter" her life, starting with that stupid rock, and ending with people who are a drain on her day after day. She might need some kind of ritual cleansing to make that happen. It's always easier to believe that we've CHANGED something if there is some kind of outward manifestation of that change.
There are hundreds of cleansing rituals designed to change someone's luck. Chakra balancing is one of the better ways. Take your friend to a Buddhist Temple and have that done for her. It will cost between fifty and a hundred dollars, and the money is usually taken in the form of a love offering to the temple.
Most people feel renewed and reborn after that process, and she might be able to toss the idea that she is just plain unlucky after that. It may take more than once to get her on the right footing. If that doesn't work, try giving her a "magic feather" to replace that silly rock!
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.