Here's the irony: it's the belief that's important, not the tradition.
For those of you who prefer science over spirtualism, consider this: our knowledge of the brain is woefully incomplete. We've barely begun to understand 3% of its functioning. According to modern scientific theory, 96% or more of our brain capacity and capability is not even used.
Or ... is it?
I consider the placebo effect an argument for, rather than against, many of the more "fringe" concepts I've encountered in the past few months. It's really what all these programs are getting at: the power of your mind to bring about changes in the body - and perhaps outside the body as well.
I recently watched The Secret and began digging into the Law of Attraction. I was intrigued, but approached my research with a healthy (perhaps a bit larger than healthy) dose of skepticism. Time and time again I found andecdotal and personal evidence supporting one or more theories I would have considered ludicrous seven months ago.
I just retired following a 20-year career in the military, and I can't imagine an experience that would forge a greater degree of hard-headed pragmatism. But I am increasingly more and more open to these things. I never gave much credence to numerology, for instance. But I became aware of the recurrance of the numbers "4" and "9" in my life (addresses, phone numbers, bank account numbers, etc.) I looked up their numerological meanings. 4 is Practical and 9 is Universal (also called The Dreamer).
I suppose it's arguable that we all have practical and universal aspects, but the definitions get much more specific (http://www.numerology-guide.com/numerology_number_meanings2.htm). They're certainly relevant to me. I'm doing Jack Canfield's personal coaching course at the moment, and they have you take a Winslow personality profile as part of the coursework. Those numerological descriptions were practically word-for-word what my Winslow came up with.
I used to be a cop in the Air Force; now, I'm a full-time creativity coach. Go figure.
I've always been skeptical of astrology, too, but I certainly fit my starsign's profile.
