Gyroscopic Investing

MediumTex wrote: I would define a supernatural event as one involving the temporary invalidation of one or more laws of physics or other laws of nature as we understand them.

I would not consider the existence of the world or the birth of a baby as a supernatural event, although these things are obviously very impressive.

I tend to think that there is no such thing as a truly supernatural event, since we know that there either is or isn't a God or other supernatural being, and if there is such a being I would expect that he would have created the laws of nature as a binding set of rules for the dimension we inhabit, and if there is not such a being I would obviously expect that the law of nature would not be overruled from time to time by an external omniscient presence if no such external omniscient presence existed.

But one well-documented supernatural event might be a reason to re-think things.  Does anyone have one to report?

Storm wrote: I've never witnessed a supernatural event, although I realize that it is very possible to hallucinate such things:

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Heres Tom with the Weather.”? - Bill Hicks

AdamA wrote: I have never witnessed a supernatural event, but have been frequently surprised by people who say they have. 

I suspect a very high percentage of the population believes they have witnessed such an event.  I'll bet it would be close to 50%. 

MediumTex wrote:
What kind of physical trauma have you seen someone experience and survive that was surprising to you?

This would fall short of the supernatural, but might still be considered "superlucky".

Given how fragile we are physically, I'm always impressed at the things people can survive without dying.

AdamA wrote: That anyone ever survives even a modestly high speed automobile accident is amazing to me.  I will sometimes see a picture of an unscathed person's car after a crash and have no idea how they are still alive.

jackh wrote:

AdamA wrote: That anyone ever survives even a modestly high speed automobile accident is amazing to me.  I will sometimes see a picture of an unscathed person's car after a crash and have no idea how they are still alive.

I had a head-on collision with a car at about 40 mph in my senior year of high school. I wasn't wearing a helmet. I remember the moment of impact and then I remember a bunch of people standing around and someone saying I was dead. Then I remember getting up and walking away from the crowd so I could sit down by myself to figure out what just happened while the ambulance was on the way. It turned out I had nothing more than a bruise on my hip and a few scratches.

After the motorcycle was repaired I got back on it to get my nerve back and was going about 60 mph on a country road when a dog came running out from a yard. This was not an unusual thing while riding a motorcycle on a country road. Usually the dog just wants to chase you for the fun of it. I just gunned it as I usually did to hurry on by. For some reason the dog kept coming and lunged at me as though he had every intention of killing me. I think the dog was killed instantly. I nearly lost control of my bike but managed to avoid crashing. I remember turning around and heading home shaking like a leaf. I never did get my nerve back. At think that was the first moment in my life when I started to really comprehend the concept of mortality.

At one point in my life I saw supernatural involvement in this and though that maybe God had spared me to do some great thing. Since I haven't done any great thing and likely never will at this point in my life that idea has gone by the wayside but who knows? Maybe some dark force in the universe really did want to kill and God did intervene for reasons unknown to me.

Ad Orientem wrote: I am a bit reluctant to post this as it is something the family doesn't discuss much.  But some years ago my cousin Alice, who was crippled from advanced Multiple Sclerosis, in desperation went to a Protestant faith healer. I wasn't present but the details of what happened were related by people, including her husband, who were there. It was one of those faith healing services so there were quite a few people there. Anyways she was brought up in her wheelchair for the altar call. Once there she was helped to her feet and supported by my cousin Brett and another man while the minister prayed over her. What happened next was straight out of every B movie you have seen on the subject. He laid hands on her and she went stiff as a board and then fainted.  When she came too she walked out of the church like she was getting ready for a marathon. She went home, cooked a massive dinner and then went to bed and slept for more than 12 hrs. Prior to this she had not been able to move under her own power or do much of anything without help in several years. Even her ability to speak clearly was fading.

Today she has a slight limp but is in almost every other respect in excellent health and her doctors (she has seen quite a few) have no explanation for her recovery.

Gosso wrote: Maybe that post will stop someone from buying a motorcycle, which may prevent their early death, then they become someone that has a large influence on the population.  And it was all because of you!

MediumTex wrote:

Ad Orientem wrote: I am a bit reluctant to post this as it is something the family doesn't discuss much.  But some years ago my cousin Alice, who was crippled from advanced Multiple Sclerosis, in desperation went to a Protestant faith healer. I wasn't present but the details of what happened were related by people, including her husband, who were there. It was one of those faith healing services so there were quite a few people there. Anyways she was brought up in her wheelchair for the altar call. Once there she was helped to her feet and supported by my cousin Brett and another man while the minister prayed over her. What happened next was straight out of every B movie you have seen on the subject. He laid hands on her and she went stiff as a board and then fainted.  When she came too she walked out of the church like she was getting ready for a marathon. She went home, cooked a massive dinner and then went to bed and slept for more than 12 hrs. Prior to this she had not been able to move under her own power or do much of anything without help in several years. Even her ability to speak clearly was fading.

Today she has a slight limp but is in almost every other respect in excellent health and her doctors (she has seen quite a few) have no explanation for her recovery.

That's awesome.  That's the kind of thing I was looking for.

Tortoise wrote: Do those Protestant faith healers have a 100% success rate? If not, I wonder what it's like when they occasionally lay the hands on and absolutely nothing happens--the person just stares at them blankly and expectantly, as if to say, "I'm waiting!"

Seems like that could be a little embarrassing.

jackh wrote: I think they are all frauds and the success rate is close to zero with any success at all being contributed to psychological factors.  

jackh wrote: As for the situation you are describing above, it doesn't happen. It's an interesting study in mass psychology but nobody wants to embarrass the faith healer.

jackh wrote:

Tortoise wrote: Do those Protestant faith healers have a 100% success rate? If not, I wonder what it's like when they occasionally lay the hands on and absolutely nothing happens--the person just stares at them blankly and expectantly, as if to say, "I'm waiting!"

Seems like that could be a little embarrassing.

For the record, I don't believe in "Protestant faith healers" and I'm embarrassed if I gave the impression that I did. I think they are all frauds and the success rate is close to zero with any success at all being contributed to psychological factors. As for the situation you are describing above, it doesn't happen. It's an interesting study in mass psychology but nobody wants to embarrass the faith healer.

MediumTex wrote: I've seen plenty of interesting stuff that I now would not consider to have been supernatural, including sound waves that can chase people, shadowy figures, eggs turning into chickens and sombreros spinning on treetops.

jackh wrote: http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Su ... 036&sr=8-1

Finished over the memorial day weekend and give it 5 stars.

lazyboy wrote:

jackh wrote: http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Su ... 036&sr=8-1

Finished over the memorial day weekend and give it 5 stars.

Thanks, jackh, I'm interested in reading Unbroken, particularly since it was written by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit. Here's her article from the New Yorker describing her own personal struggles with illness and how writing Seabiscuit helped to bring healing into her life. I find it to be a compelling story:
http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=2003-07-07#folio=056