Jules NYC wrote:
I watched Oprah's "Master Class" the other night.  I got a lot of what she was talking about and she doesn't believe in luck.  She mentioned how she surrendered her great desire to be in 'The Color Purple' and when she did, *poof*! , she got the gig!

oprah is wrong. there have been scientific studies on the subject of luck. statistically some people are always more lucky than other people. the studies show that these people have different behaviors that make them luckier in general than those that do not have those behaviors. it actually is not "luck" at all.

1. they are more optimistic and extroverted than average
2. they notice things that other people miss
3. they choose actions with better chances of success
4. they tend to learn from mistakes

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti … d-have-it/
http://theweek.com/articles/617478/how- … ng-science
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic … -luck.html
https://www.popsci.com/luck-real

Leonard Gee Photography wrote:
oprah is wrong. there have been scientific studies on the subject of luck. statistically some people are always more lucky than other people. the studies show that these people have different behaviors that make them luckier in general than those that do not have those behaviors. it actually is not "luck" at all.

1. they are more optimistic and extroverted than average
2. they notice things that other people miss
3. they choose actions with better chances of success
4. they tend to learn from mistakes

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti … d-have-it/
http://theweek.com/articles/617478/how- … ng-science
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic … -luck.html
https://www.popsci.com/luck-real

I can't wait to read these links!!!
1-4, yes indeed.

I am still questioning if luck exists myself.  I have to give it great thought.  I'm always amazed when people just step into something without trying, without much talent and everything is so easy.  I'm not necessarily talking about modeling.  A great part of that success is dependent on your looks.  I'm talking about just general success.

I do sincerely believe one has to put a lot of energy into something for positive results.
Maybe I believe in dumb luck.  No preparation, no anything... just stepping into a rainbow.

Toto Photo wrote:
Next time I buy a lottery ticket, I'm going to give up wanting to win in order to text Oprah's theory.

lol

Jules NYC wrote:
Religious or not, do you think the universe has a 'plan' for you?

I watched Oprah's "Master Class" the other night.  I got a lot of what she was talking about and she doesn't believe in luck.  She mentioned how she surrendered her great desire to be in 'The Color Purple' and when she did, *poof*! , she got the gig!

It was inspiring listening to her, then I thought... wait a second... seems like a lot of people don't really have a divine anything.

If everyone surrendered what they really wanted in life, do they end up getting it?  Seems like she got those gigs because she was super ambitious, talented and luck was in the mix.

Start here and go on into the world of amazing:

Zero Point : Volume I - Messages From The Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpJ3yO4-Xpo        PT 01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpJ3yO4-Xpo        PT 02
Zero Point : Volume III - The Legacy of the Ark:           PT 03
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqKEpbZf1qo         
Zero Point Volume IV - Left Hemisphere Edition           PT 04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcdlMZuPUjA
Zero Point : Volume IV - Beyond - Right Hemisphere (Psychedelic Version) PT 05
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNL7RibvuDM

Jules NYC wrote:
Religious or not, do you think the universe has a 'plan' for you?

No, I don't think there was any specific "plan" for me.

I do however often times feel that someone has been "looking out for me" since I've managed to live a pretty decent life. I've worked real hard, enjoyed a decent enough life and have managed to avoid death/injury in any number of situations that could have gone wrong.

I've always been a "the glass is half full" person. I'm not envious of people who are richer or have done more "fun/exciting" things... Sure, I've had my fair share of "challenges", but in the end they've all been manageable.

Abbitt Photography wrote:
I believe I'm pre-programed to die some day.

How can you be sure?  After all, you haven't yet, have you?

Jules NYC wrote:
Religious or not, do you think the universe has a 'plan' for you?

I watched Oprah's "Master Class" the other night.  I got a lot of what she was talking about and she doesn't believe in luck.  She mentioned how she surrendered her great desire to be in 'The Color Purple' and when she did, *poof*! , she got the gig!

It was inspiring listening to her, then I thought... wait a second... seems like a lot of people don't really have a divine anything.

If everyone surrendered what they really wanted in life, do they end up getting it?  Seems like she got those gigs because she was super ambitious, talented and luck was in the mix.

Good question. I do think, from my own experience, we get "in our own way" a lot. Author David Foster Wallace, RIP, who was not a formally religious man, gave a great commencement address about this called "This is Water". Basically, he says that we by default see the world from our own, limited, egocentric perspectives. In other words, I look at a situation as to how I benefit from it, how I suffer, etc. But this warps reality, because the universe does not revolve around me. So the more I can rise above my own perspective and my own ego, the more I can see things as they really are. And the more I can see things the way they are -- apart from my own natural feelings about them -- the more I will properly respond to circumstances or relationships or opportunities.

In that way, surrendering to something higher than yourself is not mystical or necessarily religious, but rather adopting the posture that I do not see everything or know everything, and to look at things from multiple perspectives. An example that Wallace points out is the person who cuts us off on the highway may actually not be a rude a-hole, but may actually be trying to get to the hospital quickly because he has a sick relative. Considering possibilities like that may save us aggravation, which will then color the rest of our interactions with others.

We can never rise above ourselves totally, but we can do so in little ways. And the more open we are, the clearer we see, and the more light-hearted we are with others, which makes them more open to us. So maybe that's what Oprah meant by self-surrender to the universe's plan.

kickfight wrote:
Nope, don't subscribe to any idea of an external agent's "grand plan". To me, all that stuff's just ideological trinkets. In my own experience, Life's What You Make It

Great tune!
I always listen to it now and again.

Leonard Gee Photography wrote:

oprah is wrong. there have been scientific studies on the subject of luck. statistically some people are always more lucky than other people. the studies show that these people have different behaviors that make them luckier in general than those that do not have those behaviors. it actually is not "luck" at all.

1. they are more optimistic and extroverted than average
2. they notice things that other people miss
3. they choose actions with better chances of success
4. they tend to learn from mistakes

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti … d-have-it/
http://theweek.com/articles/617478/how- … ng-science
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic … -luck.html
https://www.popsci.com/luck-real

Read these yesterday, mostly true!
I have to question the peaceful introvert though if not a writer. Many good things came from people who were far from gregarious and took time to process the world slowly.

I can’t agree any more in the philosophy, ‘if you don’t believe you can succeed at something, you surely won’t’. Esteem is half the battle if you want to call it so.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

  - Seneca

Lisa Everhart wrote:
What a great post Jules.

It is my experience that whenever something good happens to me I tend to attribute it to my own hard work, actions and smart decisions, and whenever something bad happens to me I tend to blame it on fate or someone else's actions and decisions. 

But when I am still and quiet and being truthful with myself, I know that good and bad happenings are really the by products of "Shit Happens". I mean how many times do we work our hardest and make our best decisions only to fail at some goal we have set for ourselves, and how many times have the fates, or some other person's decision, dumped a pot of gold in our lap when we were least expecting it and had done nothing directly attributable to it being there. I am not so sure if this is Divine or just the universe going about its business but it just seems to be what it Is.

I suppose I think that no matter what happens, the way in which I respond to it is the most important from my limited perspective. Neither too hot nor too cold seems to work best for me when I can manage it which isn't as often as I wish I did.

There is a line written somewhere that I really like and try and remind myself of when I am tempted to boastfulness or despair, "There remain faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love" or something like that. Anyway, whoever wrote it was pretty insightful I think.

Thank you Lisa!

I've been thinking about this deeply because I've lived a double life most of my life... art and corporate work.  Sometimes they laced over each other but hands down, I've concentrated on the first.  There have been moments I had to question the universe... ok, I just got this apartment in NYC, then I have an opportunity to tour musically but can't keep the apartment and do so?  Or now... geez... making good money in corporate, am I losing my artistic goals here?  The touring thing keeps popping up but having to pay rent, bills and such makes me go, wait a second...

I also am questioning a lot of a 'plan' because the monkey on my back has been my student loans.  Wondering if my path is to knock those out quickly to do what I want.  Who knows?

I do realize that when things weren't going right in my life in the past it surely was because I had to learn a lesson that I wasn't 'getting'.  Lesson learned, no more of 'that' problem.

LeboGraphics wrote:

We can never rise above ourselves totally, but we can do so in little ways. And the more open we are, the clearer we see, and the more light-hearted we are with others, which makes them more open to us. So maybe that's what Oprah meant by self-surrender to the universe's plan.

If there is the concept of self-surrender, I wonder how persistent one must be in the cause.  The cause being the goal at hand.

Tim Summa wrote:

Start here and go on into the world of amazing:

Zero Point : Volume I - Messages From The Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpJ3yO4-Xpo        PT 01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpJ3yO4-Xpo        PT 02
Zero Point : Volume III - The Legacy of the Ark:           PT 03
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqKEpbZf1qo         
Zero Point Volume IV - Left Hemisphere Edition           PT 04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcdlMZuPUjA
Zero Point : Volume IV - Beyond - Right Hemisphere (Psychedelic Version) PT 05
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNL7RibvuDM

I have to check his out with more time on my hands!

sospix wrote:
I once saw "Divine" at a restaurant  .  .  .



.  .  .  and, I watched a lot of Andy Devine movies as a kid  .  .  .



.  .  .  but, I'm not sure I got any "divine" guidance from either one of 'em  .  .  . 

SOS

Were you thrilled when you saw Divine?   

Jerry Nemeth wrote:

Were you thrilled when you saw Divine?   

"She" was quite striking  .  .  .  at least from a distance  .  .  . 

SOS

crx studios wrote:
As my mom got older, she used to quote an old Yiddish expression:

“Man Plans, and God Laughs.”

Yup.

crx studios wrote:
As my mom got older, she used to quote an old Yiddish expression:

“Man Plans, and God Laughs.”

That's pretty funny:D
I remember reading an article on famous people who slept in their cars because they wanted *insert here* so bad before they made it.

I guess if you don't 'make it', then you're just a person sleeping in their car, that's the yikes! factor.
Talk about taking risks...

sospix wrote:

"She" was quite striking  .  .  .  at least from a distance  .  .  . 

SOS

Sometimes there just isn't enough distance.

Jules NYC wrote:
Religious or not, do you think the universe has a 'plan' for you?

No.  It just isn't logical.  IMO, the universe is totally random.  The collection of star dust that formed into our solar system and planet ended up providing the environment where "life" as we know it exists, at least in our own minds.

Tony From Syracuse wrote:
.the set up just seems a bit too good to be true. we exist and are able to ponder our existence, it just so happens we have food sources and water to survive which amazingly comes along as part of the deal.  I would say regardless of if we think our lives have a plan, to me... there was a plan in place before we got here. it seems kinda like an aquarium. something set up.

Be careful you don't fall into a classic logical trap...

The idea that something might seem too random to have happened on its own, therefore something or someone else must have planned it, has always had a critical logical error.  Where did THAT "something or someone else" that planned things come from?   Wouldn't the same logic dictate that IT was just as unlikely?

I'm not arguing for or against whether there's something out there.  I really have no idea.  Just pointing out the old classic logical fallacy of this particular line of reasoning.

Tony From Syracuse wrote:
well in theory an atheist should have need for that argument. since they are ready and willing to believe that we...thinking beings came about without needing a creator, then it only stands to reason that in theory they should have no problem that another sort of being...say a "God"..had no need for a creator and simply preceded us.

Not really.  I accept a totally random universe so no planning by any form of entity was needed.  My creation was the result of the union of my parents.  What resulted was partially random.

Tony From Syracuse wrote:
well in theory an atheist should have need for that argument. since they are ready and willing to believe that we...thinking beings came about without needing a creator, then it only stands to reason that in theory they should have no problem that another sort of being...say a "God"..had no need for a creator and simply preceded us.

Atheists don't believe in "other sorts of beings", whether doctrinal or theoretical or otherwise, whether someone claims those "beings" were created by other "beings" or not.

Anyway, the whole idea of seeing a "plan" in nature is an inherently flawed proposition, because as soon as you consider the idea of a "plan", then all you start noticing are its many, MANY flaws, and how it's demonstrably subject to randomness, so the more you consider those flaws and problems, the more this whole "plan" concept starts falling apart completely.

kickfight wrote:
Atheists don't believe in "other sorts of beings", whether doctrinal or theoretical or otherwise, whether someone claims those "beings" were created by other "beings" or not.

.

Given all the known number or stars in our universe, I consider existence of life on other planets as we define it likely including other forms of sentient beings.

Tony From Syracuse wrote:
I know. I only brought that point up because when someone who believes in God says they dont believe something can come from nothing, usually the atheist response is the challenge "well then where did your God come from then?" . so they are playing devils advocate.  it turns their own argument against them.

Understood. I was just pointing out that as a rebuttal, it's pretty awful because of that specific logical flaw.

rxz wrote:
Given all the known number or stars in our universe, I consider existence of life on other planets as we define it likely including other forms of sentient beings.

I consider the existence of life on other planets to be likely as well. But those aren't the "other sorts of beings" under discussion in this context, although their likely existence is also not contingent on the existence of a creator being.

Jules NYC wrote:
do you think the universe has a 'plan' for you?

No, since universe is a concept without thought.
And, anyway, believing in a "plan", would entail an idea of a predetermined destiny, but if this was the case, life would not have meaning, since you would only be a puppet.

Jules NYC wrote:
Religious or not, do you think the universe has a 'plan' for you?

absolutely.  I am starting to believe I was once part of a more advanced civilization in another part of the universe when I pissed off one of our supreme leaders.  They put me onto a ship headed for the "monkey planet" as punishment where I was sentenced to live out the life of a primitive, possibly using some type of avatar body or computer simulation.

We all had our memories erased and were sent down to this planet.  Others whom I feel a connection to were my former ship mates.  As my memory is starting to return I recognize them and have become friends.

One day, once my sentence is up, I intend to re-join my fellow in-mates and return home where hopefully we will stay out of trouble... perhaps revisiting this planet as an observer, rather than an inhabitant.

or, as an immortal, I was chatting with my fellow immortal friend and convinced her that we needed a 100yr vacation on the ape planet.  I chose a comfortable part of the world in a temperate climate at a time when technology was advanced enough to provide some entertainment in the form of smart phones and the Internet.  We had our memories wiped so as to fit in.  Once this vacation is over she will nag me until the end of time on what a bad idea this was.