Post by Adona Mara on Feb 1, 2007 19:23:48 GMT -5
Originally posted by Icarus
Causality, Karma, Synchronicity, Fate, or Dumb Coincidence
It is only natural that we embrace coincidence and muse over the improbability of several seemingly unrelated pieces coming together when they had no former relationship, pattern, or forethought to do so. Some refer to this as fate, destiny, or karma. Others say that people, places and events just come together as a "dumb coincidence" and it is only our minds that make it into something larger.
Personally, I believe that everything happens for a reason and that we "map"our lives before we incarnate. That is, we decide which trials and tribulations we will face in the future life and even though we make a few detours, something always brings us back to the main road.
That is, of course, my opinion. There are so many examples of things happening to people where the laws of probability are set completely against them. So, what do you think is the cause? Is it Fate, Destiny, or Karma? Or is it just "dumb coincidence"? I would truly like to hear your ideas on this.
The following passages are taken from a book published by Reader's Digest called Mysteries of the Unexplained. I realize that most, if not all, of these samples have been exaggerated, but just suspend your belief for a moment and consider it. Many of you, I am sure, have read this book, or have read these examples before. Still, these are some of my favorite samples of what I refer to as "Fate".
"The Bullet That Found Its Mark"
In 1883 Henry Ziegland, of Honey Grove, Texas, jilted his sweetheart, who then killed herself. Her brother tried to avenge her by shooting Ziegland, but the bullet only grazed his face and buried itself in a tree. The brother, believing that he had killed Ziegland, then took his own life.
In 1913 Ziegland was cutting down the tree with the bullet in it. It was a difficult job, so he used dynamite. The explosion sent the old bullet through Ziegland's head and killed him.
"No Escape"
At the beginning of WWI, French intelligence officers arrested a German spy, Peter Karpin, as soon as he entered the country. They kept the arrest secret, however, and for the next three years, until Karpin's escape in 1917, sent fake reports to his superiors and intercepted all funds sent to France on his behalf. Those funds were used to buy an automobile, which, in 1919, ran down and killed a man in the Ruhr, at that time still occupied by the French. The victim of the accident was none other than the escaped spy Peter Karpin.
"Deadly Kimono"
A kimono, successively owned by three teenage girls, each of whom died before she had a chance to wear it, was believed to be so unlucky that it was cremated by a Japanese priest in February of 1657. As the garment was being burned, a violent wind sprang up, fanning the flames and spreading them beyond control. The ensuing fire destroyed three quarters of Tokyo, leveling 300 temples, 500 palaces, 9000 shops, 61 bridges, and killing 100000 people.
"A Shared Fate"
A man riding a moped was killed by a taxi in Bermuda in 1975, exactly a year after his brother had been killed-on the same street, on the same moped, by the same taxi driver carrying the same passenger.
"Twenty-One"
When Louis XVI of France was a child, an astrologer warned him to be always on guard on the 21st of every month. The advice terrified the young child, and thereafter he refused to undertake any important business on that day.
In spite of his precautions in regard to business, he was caught up in larger events on that date. It was on June 21, 1791, that Louis and his queen were arrested at Varennes as they tried to escape the revolution. On September 21 the following year, France abolished the institution of royalty and proclaimed itself a republic. And on January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed.
"The Unfortunate Bride"
The wedding day of Princess Maria del Pozzo della Cisterna, who married Amadeo, the Duke D'Aosta, the son of the king of Italy, in Turin on May 30, 1867, was marred by these events:
-Her wardrobe mistress hanged herself
-The palace gatekeeper cut his throat
-The colonel leading the precession collapsed due to sunstroke
-The stationmaster was crushed to death under the wheels of the honeymoon train
-The king's aide was killed by a fall from his horse
-The best man shot himself.
***Talk about Bad Luck***
Causality, Karma, Synchronicity, Fate, or Dumb Coincidence
It is only natural that we embrace coincidence and muse over the improbability of several seemingly unrelated pieces coming together when they had no former relationship, pattern, or forethought to do so. Some refer to this as fate, destiny, or karma. Others say that people, places and events just come together as a "dumb coincidence" and it is only our minds that make it into something larger.
Personally, I believe that everything happens for a reason and that we "map"our lives before we incarnate. That is, we decide which trials and tribulations we will face in the future life and even though we make a few detours, something always brings us back to the main road.
That is, of course, my opinion. There are so many examples of things happening to people where the laws of probability are set completely against them. So, what do you think is the cause? Is it Fate, Destiny, or Karma? Or is it just "dumb coincidence"? I would truly like to hear your ideas on this.
The following passages are taken from a book published by Reader's Digest called Mysteries of the Unexplained. I realize that most, if not all, of these samples have been exaggerated, but just suspend your belief for a moment and consider it. Many of you, I am sure, have read this book, or have read these examples before. Still, these are some of my favorite samples of what I refer to as "Fate".
"The Bullet That Found Its Mark"
In 1883 Henry Ziegland, of Honey Grove, Texas, jilted his sweetheart, who then killed herself. Her brother tried to avenge her by shooting Ziegland, but the bullet only grazed his face and buried itself in a tree. The brother, believing that he had killed Ziegland, then took his own life.
In 1913 Ziegland was cutting down the tree with the bullet in it. It was a difficult job, so he used dynamite. The explosion sent the old bullet through Ziegland's head and killed him.
"No Escape"
At the beginning of WWI, French intelligence officers arrested a German spy, Peter Karpin, as soon as he entered the country. They kept the arrest secret, however, and for the next three years, until Karpin's escape in 1917, sent fake reports to his superiors and intercepted all funds sent to France on his behalf. Those funds were used to buy an automobile, which, in 1919, ran down and killed a man in the Ruhr, at that time still occupied by the French. The victim of the accident was none other than the escaped spy Peter Karpin.
"Deadly Kimono"
A kimono, successively owned by three teenage girls, each of whom died before she had a chance to wear it, was believed to be so unlucky that it was cremated by a Japanese priest in February of 1657. As the garment was being burned, a violent wind sprang up, fanning the flames and spreading them beyond control. The ensuing fire destroyed three quarters of Tokyo, leveling 300 temples, 500 palaces, 9000 shops, 61 bridges, and killing 100000 people.
"A Shared Fate"
A man riding a moped was killed by a taxi in Bermuda in 1975, exactly a year after his brother had been killed-on the same street, on the same moped, by the same taxi driver carrying the same passenger.
"Twenty-One"
When Louis XVI of France was a child, an astrologer warned him to be always on guard on the 21st of every month. The advice terrified the young child, and thereafter he refused to undertake any important business on that day.
In spite of his precautions in regard to business, he was caught up in larger events on that date. It was on June 21, 1791, that Louis and his queen were arrested at Varennes as they tried to escape the revolution. On September 21 the following year, France abolished the institution of royalty and proclaimed itself a republic. And on January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed.
"The Unfortunate Bride"
The wedding day of Princess Maria del Pozzo della Cisterna, who married Amadeo, the Duke D'Aosta, the son of the king of Italy, in Turin on May 30, 1867, was marred by these events:
-Her wardrobe mistress hanged herself
-The palace gatekeeper cut his throat
-The colonel leading the precession collapsed due to sunstroke
-The stationmaster was crushed to death under the wheels of the honeymoon train
-The king's aide was killed by a fall from his horse
-The best man shot himself.
***Talk about Bad Luck***