HW3: Chapter 2: Discussion

              What effects those superstition have on the daily lives of the Filipino?

I-Definition and How Superstition Manifested In Filipino cultures

           Definition of superstition includes transfer from one person to another. Superstition defined as “belief in the direct agency of superior powers in certain extraordinary or singular events, or in magic, omens, prognostics, or the like”. Another is, it is the worship of a false god and goddesses or even false of religion. There’s a quotation says that “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing” by Helen Keller. 

One of this expert is Mary Worobec, better known as a woman of many superstitions. She is around the age of 80 years old. When I read the text of Warobec, I wonder that she used a well know superstition in her life. One of that is when she is preparing for her wedding, she fallowed the superstition that not allowing the groom to see her before the marriage and not setting the date of marriage on Saturday.  She grew up when superstition where plenty. Even though that superstition are very plenty that time, Warobec those not always rely on this superstition but rather she always believe in his creator Jesus Christ.

Another expert is Kelly Wall  has many superstitions since she is an athlete who grew up in a small town. She is 20 years of age. She studied at Elizabethtown College in eastern Pennsylvania. She has a dog and she loves it so much. She said that seeing a dog eating grass, that means it is going to rain or if a dog is howling for no reason then there are spirits in the area as well as if he howls three times then there was a death. Because of this superstition, I wonder that dog's bark, can be something else.
 Common manifestations of superstitions are the beliefs in luck, people wants to believe in any curses and some are in spirits . But why many people especially Filipinos wants to believe in this kind of manifestations. Believe in curses is a way of saying "karma". In any case you still have  choices and there are ways to reduce bad "karma" by doing good things. In superstition we never accept the fact that in superstitious belief, spirits are also exist. There are good and bad spirits, Other people says that they are always in our side, in everywhere but it is our decision if you want to believe in curse and spirits.

  
II-What Reinforces Superstitious Beliefs 

 A. Religion
      Every religion has their own superstitious belief and many of them are continuing to believe on it. Superstition affects the religion of every people. Religion and Superstition are against with each other. We all know that any religion do not want to have any superstitions because it says that it is an ignorance and fear. And if you have superstition, it is like that you do not believe to your own God. Based on my article not everyone who is religious is also superstitious and not everyone who is superstitious is also religious. A person can faithfully attend church services all their life without giving a second thought to a black cat walking in front of them. On the other hand, a person who completely rejects any religion whatsoever may consciously or unconsciously avoid walking under a ladder — even if there is no one on the ladder who might drop something. 

B. Culture
      Superstitions is also reflected in cultures. We say that superstitions exists because of our own culture, because of the traditions that always there and exist in our country. Superstitions primarily represent the underlying inherent fear of mankind, caused by the uncertainties of this world. In a way, it is a sign of acceptance of our ignorance and limitations of our power. In another way, it is a sign of accepting the grandness of this universe and its scheme of operation, which is still largely beyond our comprehension and understanding.
 
C. Media
    The reinforces of superstitions is also affect because of the media. Technology now a days is considered as one of the most powerful sources in our country. And as a writer of this research, I considered that media can affect the superstitious beliefs of many people. Like, Horror movies, it considered as of the powerful source why superstition exist here in our country. Like the ghost, spirits, white ladies and many kinds of supernaturals that always affect to our daily lives.  

  
III-Effects of Superstitious Beliefs
   
   A. Foolish Behavior
         In superstition we can't deny that many people believe in superstitious beliefs. They want to rely on every beliefs that they have and it is always their decision if they want to continue to believe and to rely on this different superstition. Foolish behavior can be one of the effects of superstition. Because of many people wants to rely and believe superstition, they become fool on it. Maybe it can lead them to be embarrassed, and to be stubborn of anyone. they become misinformation or become an unwise person. As writer of this blog, I don't want to happen this kind of situation to any body. I want everyone to know that it is not bad to believe in superstitions as long as you know the limitations in every superstitions that we have.

 B. Bad Decision
          Superstitions can bring us to bad decision. Why? Because in every time we believe in superstitions may it can bring us to bad decision. Sometimes, we want to continue our beliefs that we do not know what is the effect on it to our lives. Every people do  not want to have bad decision in their lives, they want to continue a better life. Bad decision can cause harm, can cause stubborn,and can cause unwise in every person. We want to have good decision and not bad desicion in our daily lives. 

 C. Anxiety 
          Based on my article, anxiety, like tension, excessive worry, trouble sleeping, obsessive thoughts and exhaustion are cause of superstition when we always rely and believe on it. Every person doesn't want to have anxiety because it can harm their body and their mind. Anxiety can affects the daily lives of Filipinos. Anxiety can cause because of bad decision that can also affect the daily lives of Filipinos. We want have a better life , so to prevent this anxiety do not always rely on superstitious beliefs.
         
       

              

HW2: Background of the Survey

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 

     This research paper is all about superstition. A belief that relates from ignorance and fear.  This is based from the power magic and witchcraft. It provides miracles, magics or supernaturals. But the focus of this research paper is the effect of superstition in a daily lives of Filipinos. In the Philippines there are a lot of superstitions. It creates beliefs that misfortune will always happen if it will not be followed. Some of the superstitions in the Philippines are like, when someone sits on the book, that person become stupid or dumps. Another one is when a person sleeps with wet hair, that person may go blind or may go crazy. In spite of difficulties, many people till believe in superstitions. And it is really connected to the religion, Being superstitious person, it helps it to hide their mistakes by blaming luck which according to one person that only God can control it.
         In this research paper, which is all about superstition. The information that I'm already gathered was not yet detailed, and to overcome this problem the only thing that I can do is to conduct a survey. Like asking particular questions that many people can answer. Because of this survey, it can help me to answer the main statement of the problem. Through survey I will know their answer. I can ask a question to a people who knows better than me like experts, professors or even psychologist. One of the question on this survey is - how many Percent of the Filipinos is still believe in superstition?. As a writer of this paper, I want know the effects of this to the daily lives of Filipinos. But not also that ,but rather to other country which have their superstition. The are the questions that can help me to solve my statement of the problem like what superstition those Filipinos believe most.This survey question can help me to know what superstition here in our country those Filipinos  believe most. Another one is What is the benefit of superstition? This question can benefit me because it can helps me a lot especially to my statement of the problem. And lastly,  Who is the most beneficial in this research? From this,  I can use it to know how the people can help this superstition and the person who most benefit with it.

      As writer of this research paper, I expect 3 things for this. First is, to persuade people to benefit this research. Second, that many people can learn and know what are superstition for them. And lastly, to help them to become more curious about the superstitious belief here in our country.  All I want is to finish this research paper with and answer to this question: What are the effects of superstition in the daily lives of Filipinos?.

HW1: RELIGION VS. SUPERSTITION (Article1)

Religion or Superstition? Why do you think this two are competing with each other? What are their reason behind that? We all know that religion is against to superstition because religion believes that superstition is becoming a people to be ignorant, but religion has no proof to said that but infact it is only their opinion. And as person, we have a right to respect others opinion.

According to the article that I read, not everyone who is religious is also superstitious and not everyone who is superstitious is also religious. A person can faithfully attend church services all their life without giving a second thought to a black cat walking in front of them. On the other hand, a person who completely rejects any religion whatsoever may consciously or unconsciously avoid walking under a ladder — even if there is no one on the ladder who might drop something.This means that religion and superstition is different from each other. 

    Furthermore, there is also the appearance of a desire to provide meaning and coherence to otherwise random and chaotic events. If we get hurt in an accident, it is might be attributed to a black cat, to spilling salt, to failing to pay sufficient honor to our ancestors, to performing the appropriate sacrifices to the sprits, etc. There seems to be a genuine continuum between what we tend to call “superstition” and the ideas in animistic religions. In both cases, people are expected to avoid certain actions and perform other actions in order to ensure that they do not fall victim to the unseen forces at work in our world. In both cases, the very idea that such unseen forces are at work seems to stem (at least in part) both from a desire to explain otherwise random events and from a desire to have some means of affecting those events. 

        Those, these psychological benefits can explain why religion exist and why religion persist. It is all the reason of existence and persistence of superstition. We all know that superstition is not a form of religion. People have their own ways to understand the difference between the two. It can also help us to gain more useful thing because of the two.

"The Magical Thinking"

      How many times a day do you either cross your fingers, knock on wood, or worry that your good luck will turn on you? These are common good luck superstition that people do nowadays. As a writer of this blog, I am also one of that, sometimes I do that especially when needed. It is true that we also readily believe in our own psychic powers. You’re thinking of a friend when all of a sudden your phone beeps to announce a new text from that very person.  Proof positive that your thoughts caused your friend to contact you at that very moment. This are some examples that our magical thinking powers happen.

      Magical Thinking is related to superstition. It is primarily because like superstition, in magical thinking powers we also believe. We consider our self that anything will possible to happen if we want. According to psychology writer Matthew Hutso,there are 7 laws of magical thinking.

  These are the following:

1. Objects carry essences. According to this first rule, we attribute special properties to items that belong or once belonged to someone we love, is famous, or has a particular quality we admire. Perhaps you’ve got a baseball signed by your favorite player or a pen that a rock star used to autograph your concert ticket.  The fact of the matter is that the objects are just those, objects, and despite their connection with special people in our lives, they have no inherent ability to transmit those people’s powers to us.

2. Symbols have power. Humans have a remarkable tendency to impute meaning not only to objects but to abstract entities. We imbue these symbols with the ability to affect actual events in our lives. According to the principle known as the “law of similarity,” we equate a symbol with the thing it stands for.We might also attribute qualities to an object on the basis of the word used to label it or to a person on what that person is named. Hutson points out that the popularity of the name Britney, for example, peaked after the release of her first album and has dropped ever since.

3. Actions have distant consequences. In our constant search to control the outcomes of events in our seemingly unpredictable lives, we build up our own personal library of favorite superstitious rituals or thoughts. We’re particularly likely to engage in superstitious thinking when the chances of something bad happening are high. It’s possible that this belief in luck causes people to perform better because their inner self-confidence is boosted, even if only for bogus reasons.
4. The mind knows no bounds. The more often this happens, the more likely we are to be convinced of our mind’s special powers. One reason we fall for this mental trap is the illusory correlation, but a second is that we’re poor statisticians. We count the hits but not the misses. Another manifestation of this rule is our tendency to believe that if we think positive thoughts about a person in trouble, our thoughts can truly help that person, even if that person is thousands of miles physically removed from us. 
5. The soul lives on.  On a more serious note, Hutson takes on belief in the afterlife from as much a philosophical as an empirical perspective.  Even if you’re not into Cartesian dualism (the idea that the mind and body are two separate entities), you might find interesting the notion that even by the age of 3, children realize that an imagined cookie can’t be eaten.  Even feeling identification with your favorite brand name product may be a way of protecting yourself from confronting your mortality.
6. The world is alive. Adults are supposed to grow out of the stage that Piaget called “preoperational” thinking- which is basically the logic of the child between the ages of about 4 and 7. However, as Hutson shows, we share the young child’s belief in animism, which is one key feature of preoperational thought. In other words, we attribute human-like qualities to everything from our pets to our iPhones. This is because we over-apply what’s known as the theory of mind, which is the process we use to understand and predict what other people are going to do. 
7.  Everything happens for a reason. The most insidious form of magical thinking is our tendency to believe that there is a purpose or destiny that guides what happens to us. It’s the thoughts that go through your head when you, for example, miss a bus that would have gotten you to a job interview on time but because you missed it, you didn’t get the job, but you did meet a person on the bus who you ended up going out with, who now has become your lifelong partner, and you then moved to a new home, and then had two children who never would existed if you hadn’t missed that bus. To do so gives us a sense of control, even if that sense of control is only illusory.
     These laws that Matthew Hutso given to us is not really to convince us to believe his way of magical thinking. It is always depends on us, if we want to believe it or not. It is our ow decision to decide. As a writer of this blog, I can say that some of this magical thinking is bring us good luck. And no matter happens, It is always our own decision. 

References:http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201205/our-superstitious-minds-the-7-laws-magical-thinking?page=2