Things you don't believe in but do anyway

[MRaverz]

I'm slowly getting rid of such superstitions as they arise.

Saluting the magpies is one which is hard to snap off, as is walking under ladders (but only because it's sensible to walk around them anyway :lol: ).

 

[RichardMNixon]

I'm slowly getting rid of such superstitions as they arise.

Saluting the magpies is one which is hard to snap off, as is walking under ladders (but only because it's sensible to walk around them anyway :lol: ).

I walked under a ladder out of spite once when everyone else went the long way around.

 

[Laurens]

Me too. One could say I have it....on tap...

:lol:

 

[FatStupidAmerican]

 

[Laurens]

I say bless you when people sneeze. That's about all I can think of for now.

I only say it to be polite.

 

[Zoten001]

I don't really have any superstitious behaviors any more. For me it was easy to shed them, and it's annoying when I see family members do them, like throwing spilled salt over ones shoulder to avoid bad luck. I mean come on...

Though there is one thing that was listed I've never heard of before. Whats "Saluting the Magpies" anyway?

 

[Anachronous Rex]

Oh, and the shower curtain in the bathroom. It must be open... can't have someone lurking back there while taking a dump.

 

[RichardMNixon]

I say bless you when people sneeze. That's about all I can think of for now.

I only say it to be polite.

I like to think of it as the word "bleshew," a polite response to someone sneezing. That's how its pronounced in the northeast US anyhow, is it two distinct words elsewhere?

 

[Lurking_Logic]

I'm also one who does the whole "don't step on a crack" thing

Even sometimes I find myself walking funny to avoid cracks that I see and it can give me a wierd trajectory in my various travels

 

[Zetetic]

I will not look in mirrors in a dark room.

How do you know whether you're looking in a mirror?

 

[FaithlessThinker]

I just remembered that living in a majority-Chinese country, I pretend to believe in certain things out of "respect"
- Chinese believes that if you leave chopsticks in a bowl after eating food, it means you're offering the food to the dead. Hence I always place chopsticks on the bowl as Chinese do.
- There are large bin-like things everywhere. They look almost like dustbins, but I'm aware that they are used by Chinese to burn "hell-money" and related stuff. Hence, I never throw trash into it. (Once did, before I learnt about this tradition).

 

[kenandkids]

I will not look in mirrors in a dark room.

How do you know whether you're looking in a mirror?

Occasionally I don't...

 

[Duvelthehobbit666]

This is not "Things you don't believe in but do anyway". It is "I belong to a group of people called nerds and saying stuff like this proves how nerdy I am."

 

[nasher168]

I do similar OCD-type-stuff to how Prolescum described, only I don't lose my balance but my concentration because it doesn't feel right to have one side do something but not the other... :?

Walking on cracks between slabs in the pavement is my really weird OCD one... I don't tend to stand on them, and unless I'm in a position where I would get funny looks or be likely to injure myself, I tend to place my feet in a certain manner around them. It's a bit like a knight on a chessboard. Two steps forward, one to the side. Two forwards, one to the other side. It's easy enough to follow and it's maddening, because on top of that, I also end up counting my steps in threes. Gaaah...

I feel uncomfortable walking under ladders from an irrational yet purely safety-based perspective. After all, what if it defies all known physical laws and falls on me?

As for sneezing. When other people sneeze, I tend to just smile. When I sneeze I just say "excuse me" or " 'scuse me" or whatever. Saying "bless you/me" just doesn't feel right. I don't know whether I've conditioned myself not to say it because I don't believe in it, it just feels weird to say it.

 

[FaithlessThinker]

When people sneeze, I just ignore it. By sneezing, they are not attempting to communicate with me. They are merely suffering their body's reaction to irritating stimulus in one or both of their nasal passages. I don't find a need to respond to that.

But one thing that annoys me is when someone sneezes and sprays his sneeze all around. It's so disgusting. When I sneeze, I immediately cover with my hand to prevent spreading (and annoying others) and hold this cover for a few seconds to allow the particles to settle down. (Sneeze comes so fast, you don't have time to pull out your handkerchief.)

 

[Tylzen]

I do not like to walk on cracks in the pavements, or spaces between tiles.
But it is only if I become aware of it, but I do not get out of my way to avoid cracks, it is more like "I rather not.."

 

[Andiferous]

Sometimes (I think) the nice thing about observing tradition and (superstition, without the superstition bit) in your life is your ability to take things lightly. If you're teaching your children only what you know to be truth, at some point they are going to have to decide for themselves; (not to mention how depressed they're going to be without all the fun getting there).

 

[Noth]

Sometimes I invoke karma when for instance I get out and the rain starts pouring. "I guess I deserved that for ........... ".
It's harmless and it lets me put things in perspective and not be too grumpy when all the traffic lights are red/ it never rains but it pours (until I set foot inside, at which point its suddenly dry again) etc.

I say "knock on wood", but then I knock on my head instead (as in: head filled with sawdust ).

 

[Laurens]

I don't believe in miracles, but occasionally I raise people from the dead

 

[Andiferous]

I don't believe in miracles, but occasionally I raise people from the dead

Oooh... you'll have to explain the process. You can't just say that without detailed explanation, you know. Not here! Besides, I wanna know, that would be so cool!!