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The Good Luck,

Is It a Matter of Superstitions, Random Circumstances

or Attitudes and Skills?

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Copyright © Rolando José Olivo, 2019.

5th Edition.

www.novelmaestro.com.

Philosophy, Self-Help and Religion Book.

This book is an authorized edition from the author and www.novelmaestro.com. The rights to this E-book in its entirety remains fully protected by international Copyright law. You are licensed to use this digital copy strictly for your personal enjoyment only: it must not be distributed commercially or offered for sale in any format. If you paid for this edition to anyone else other than www.novelmaestro.com, we suggest you demand an immediate refund and report the transaction to the author and the appropriate authorities. Thanks for reading the author’s work. First published in Spanish: La Buena Suerte: ¿Cuestión de supersticiones, azar o de

actitudes y habilidades personales? (2019). USA: Kindle Publications.

Translated by Rolando Olivo.

The images of the cover are from the public domain (available in Pixabay.com).

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INDEX

I. INTRODUCTION

II. GOOD LUCK AND SUPERSTITIONS

II.1 THE SUPERSTITIOUS AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

II.2 THE BACKGROUND OF SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS

THOUGHT

II.3 THE BASIS OF SUPERSTITIONS

III. GOOD LUCK AND RANDOM CIRCUMSTANCES

III.1 THE PROBLEMS OF GOOD LUCK

III.2 A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF GOOD LUCK

III.3 THE UNPREDICTABLE UNCERTAINTY

IV. GOOD LUCK, ATTITUDES AND SKILLS

IV.1 THE RESEARCH OF DR. WISEMAN

IV.2 GOOD LUCK AND RESILIENCE

IV.3 A STORY OF GOOD, BAD AND GOOD LUCK

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V. CONCLUSIONS

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS

VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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I. INTRODUCTION

Many people think incessantly about good and bad

luck. These beliefs are deeply rooted within the modern cul-

ture, being a result of multiple practical, religious and

superstitious ideas, which have been evolving progressively

throughout history.

In addition, it is difficult to define what luck is. The Ro-

yal Spanish Academy assigns multiple concepts to this idea

(in short): a) chain of incidental or casual events, b) favo-

rable or adverse circumstances, c) the same favorable luck,

d) coincidences, e) what happens or may occur for good or

bad, f) state or condition, g) means used to guess what will

come next, etc.

Although luck is treated as a deity, force, mysterious

energy or expression that determines good and bad circums-

tances, academics, scientists and researchers deny its exis-

tence. Nonetheless, some of them have constructed defi-

nitions in order to explain this notion, invented by the human

mind. The following conceptions about good luck stand out:

a) it is the successful combination of various factors

(fate, conditions, personal fortune, chance, know-

ledge, circumstances and talent), which manifest

themselves in certain situations, according to the

psychotherapist Jorge Bucay,

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b) it is a particular mental state (a way of thinking and

acting), according to the psychologist Richard Wi-

seman.

In this regard, the objective of this publication is to

provide answers to these questions:

Is good luck a matter of superstitions, random cir-

cumstances or attitudes and skills?

Is there good luck?

In that sense, in the Chapter II. Good Luck and

Superstitions, it is analyzed if good luck is an exclusive

matter of superstitious beliefs, distinguishing these aspects:

a) the superstitious thought is proper of the human being,

which is accepted by religions, and rejected by Judaism and

Christianity (II.1 The Superstitious and Religious Thought),

b) the religious thought is based on the diurnal and nocturnal

imaginary (II.2 The Background of Spiritual and Religious

Thought), and c) the superstitions are also supported on

pragmatic, imaginary and religious ideas (II.3 The Basis of

Superstitions).

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While in the Chapter III. Good Luck and Random

Circumstances, it is evaluated if good luck depends only on

random circumstances, emphasizing that: a) the charac-

teristics of good luck are so mysterious and extraordinary

that they generate multiple questions (III.1 The Problems of

Good Luck), b) possibly, good luck is a holistic notion,

according to the writer Bucay's approach (III.2 A Holistic

Perspective of Good Luck), and c) can random circums-

tances dominate and lead the good luck? (III.3 The Unpre-

dictable Uncertainty).

In the Chapter IV. Good Luck, Attitudes and Skills, it is

examined if good luck is a matter exclusively of personal

attitudes and skills, standing out these topics: a) the results

of a study about the luck that lasted ten years (IV.1 The

Research of Dr. Wiseman), b) how do resilient qualities in-

fluence over good luck, in accordance with the conclusions

of professor Wiseman's investigation? (IV.2 Good Luck and

Resilience), and c) a tale about triumph related with personal

merits (even facing adversities), refuting the existence of

luck, which is confirmed and ratified in the Judeo-Christian

beliefs (IV.3 A Story of Good, Bad and Good Luck).

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In the next chapters (V. Conclusions and VI. Recom-

mendations) the final ideas and guidelines are exposed, in

concordance with the previous questions (Is good luck a

matter of superstitions, random circumstances or attitudes

and skills? Is there good luck?), indicating that the supposed

good luck is not exclusive of superstitions, random circums-

tances or personal attitudes and abilities (rather it seems

that it depends on all these factors), and endorsing the

notions of Bucay and Wiseman. However, the luck is only an

invention of the human imagination. Therefore, it is not a

relevant matter to believe or not in luck, rather it is important

to live a true and satisfactory life, looking for an existential

purpose, in order to serve society and the Lord.

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II. GOOD LUCK AND SUPERSTITIONS

In this chapter, it is analyzed if good luck is simply a

matter of superstitious beliefs. It is divided into these sec-

tions:

1. The superstitious and religious thought.

2. The background of spiritual and religious thought.

3. The basis of superstitions.

1. The superstitious and religious thought:

The superstitious conceptions and the religious

thought are innate of the human being (in general terms,

everything that is inexplicable is replaced by a superstition,

and the human being is prone to believe in very powerful

supernatural forces). However, there are great differences

between the Judeo-Christian thought and the beliefs of other

religions, because the former strongly denies and rejects

superstitions and their associated practices (occult scien-

ces), while the latter supports the validity of superstitions.

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2. The background of spiritual and religious

thought:

Both ways of thought are based on the imaginaries

(archetypes of the subconscious), which confirm or question

a spiritual conflict between the good and the evil (extended

to good and bad luck).

3. The basis of superstitions:

Almost all superstitions come from complex ideas

(being pragmatic, based on the imaginaries and at the same

time, these are superstitious and religious). Therefore, good

luck is not simply a matter of superstitious beliefs, rather it is

also supported on practical matters, ideas of the diurnal and

nocturnal imaginary, and the religious thought.

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II.1 THE SUPERSTITIOUS AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

From the origins of humanity, the human beings ob-

served the heavens, wondering about the great existential

mysteries (origin, purpose and destiny of humankind), the

meaning of life and the final reality after death. They also

looked for the meaning of various inexplicable natural

phenomena. This gave rise to a superstitious, mystical, eso-

teric, spiritual and religious thought, considering that eve-

rything that has no explanation was replaced by a supers-

tition or a religious belief.

Certainly, the human beings have always been su-

perstitious, and realizing that they can´t control many of the

facts of daily life or defeat death, they have appealed to

supernatural forces and invincible and immortal beings1, that

allow them to survive and be successful.

Some anthropologists maintain that the first gene-

rations of human beings worshiped a single Creator God,

and almost all of the next ones worshiped several gods,

expecting that the good luck or the good fortune would

accompany them.

In the same way, in the vast majority of primitive cul-

tures, the following ideas prevailed:

1 The first astrologers believed that the planets were omniscient (they can be observed

from anywhere), omnipotent and immortal living gods (they move indefinitely in the sky).

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a) there is a god for every inexplicable fact. In this

regard, there are innumerable gods and godde-

sses associated with the nature (the fire, the sea,

the thunder, the rain, the crops, etc.), the cosmos

(the Sun, the Moon, the planets, etc.) and more

abstract notions (the new year, the good, the evil,

the dream, the time, the beauty, the fertility, the

war, the justice, the death, the life, and of course,

the good luck or the good fortune, etc.),

b) the catastrophic events (military defeats, diseases,

famines, floods, invasions, deaths, droughts,

earthquakes, etc.) are due to the wrath of the

gods,

c) it is necessary to make human or animal sacri-

fices, in order to: please the gods, calm their fury,

and ask for various favors (an ideal climate for

harvests, protection against enemies, victory in

wars, long life for rulers and their descendants,

etc.), in accordance with the good luck or the good

fortune,

d) the legitimate rulers of the community (astrologers,

magicians, priests, etc.) are those who communi-

cate with the gods, and act according to their will.

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This thought evolved and gave rise to religions. The

extraordinary and insatiable human beings, immersed in

their fear of death, and being unable to understand many

natural phenomena (including their existence and that of the

universe) sought answers to the existential enigmas and

looked for ways of living better in this life, and in the next,

accompanied by the triumph and the good fortune.

Even in this modern era (despite the extraordinary

scientific and technological progress, and the sophistication

of religions), it is common that the atheists and the religious

ones are superstitious, seek the good luck and avoid the bad

luck, at all costs.

Moreover, when everything is Ok, we acclaim:

What a good luck!

And when things go wrong, we simply say:

What a bad luck!

Today is not my day!

I'm in a bad patch!

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Although it is also convenient to clarify that despite

the superstitious essence of the human being (who is prone

to surrender to the forces of the great beyond, due to his

limitations and multiple aspirations), from the perspective of

good luck or good fortune, there is a great difference bet-

ween the Judeo-Christian beliefs and those of the poly-

theistic religions.

On the one hand, according to Judaism and Chris-

tianity, the Almighty Creator God is not subject to the whims

or selfish desires of human beings, who must accept the

authority of the Lord and face suffering, in an imperfect

world, in which the rebellion against the Creator, the sin and

the evil prevail. And on the other hand, the polytheistic re-

ligions (supported by superstitious practices, methods of di-

vination of the future and the worship of several deities) are

subordinated to the human selfishness, promising the grea-

test possible welfare.

So much so, that Judaism and Christianity condemn

the practices of occult sciences and any method of divination

(astrology, dream interpretation, magic, numerology, palmis-

try, sorcery, spiritualism, tarot, witchcraft, etc.), emphasizing

that these activities:

a) open the doors to demons and evil spirits, which

can cause considerable damages to people,

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b) disobey the divine orders of not trying to know the

future, obviously it is not convenient for the human

being to try to guess his destiny by these means,

the supposed diviners or false prophets tend to be

wrong, the consultants can receive false informa-

tion, make irrational decisions, commit serious

mistakes and ignore the will of God,

c) distort the true channels of communication esta-

blished by the Lord, only the prophets authorized

by God have the knowledge and the capacity to

use supernatural powers, and therefore, only the

Lord and his legitimate representatives know and

can transmit certain messages to the human

beings, in accordance with a relevant transcen-

dental purpose, and not related with the selfish

intentions of each person,

d) ignore the natural conceptions of good and evil,

and the notion of sin, in order to make principles

and moral values more flexible, and relativize

ethics, at the convenience of each one,

e) reaffirm the esoteric beliefs of reincarnation and

karma (strongly rejected by the monotheistic reli-

gions).

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Conclusions on the superstitious and religious

thought:

Although the superstitious thought is innate of the

human being (usually, what is beyond our control depends

on very powerful superhuman beings or mysterious energies

or the enigmatic factor luck), and persists a natural tendency

to seek the good luck or the good fortune, expecting to be

successful and achieve happiness, the Judeo-Christian

thought challenges the beliefs about the luck factor, forcing

to accept the will of God and not seek success through

superstitious pseudosciences.

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II.2 THE BACKGROUND OF SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

The essence of the spiritual and religious thought is

not limited to superstitions, rather, it is strongly influenced by

the imaginaries2.

An imaginary is a set of broad, complex, diffuse and

abstract ideas and beliefs, typical of the collective sub-

conscious, which are manifested in: attitudes, behavior of

people and various artistic expressions (cinema, literature,

music, painting, theater, etc.).

There are two imaginaries: the diurnal and the

nocturnal. Although they do not provide answers to the

existential mysteries, these constitute the pillars to interpret

them.

1. The Diurnal Imaginary:

It contains the message of rejecting or defeating

death, reflecting a struggle between the good and the evil, in

which the first abstract referent defeats the second. It is

based on the day and the light, being contrary to night and

darkness. This imaginary is subdivided into: a) ascending,

b) diaretic, and c) spectacular.

2 These concepts emerged in France, at the beginning of the 19

th century.

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1.1 The Ascending Imaginary:

The good (up, forward, future and life) overcomes the

evil (down, back, past and death), the rise prevails over the

fall, and the bright colors are better than the opaque ones.

Symbols: the sky, the stars, the Sun, the clouds, the

mountains, the ladders, the staircases, the elevators and any

natural or artificial figure that makes reference to: a) rise,

b) get ahead, or c) be victorious.

1.2 The Diaretic Imaginary:

The good (north, right and day) is separated from the

evil (south, left and night), by: a) time, b) a cutting instru-

ment, or c) using ties or bandages. This is also fulfilled in the

rituals of cleaning and purification, transforming the dirty

body (evil) into clean (good), and by cleaning and ordering

the objects. In this way, the good overcomes the evil. The

first referent is reflected in cleanliness and organization,

while the last notion is present in dirtiness and disorder.

The main symbol of this construct is the sword, which

is clean and cuts perfectly, separating the good from the evil.

Other symbols: day-night, heaven-hell, spiritual and

material world, knives, scalpels, arrows, magnets, keys,

scissors, braids, ropes, etc.

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1.3 The Spectacular Imaginary:

The great creations (good) are opposed to destruc-

tion, disorder, misery and death (evil). In addition, the soft

and luminous colors are better than the dark ones.

Symbols: the universe, the constellations, the stars,

the Sun, the planet Earth, the oceans, the luminous cities,

the cathedrals, the monuments, the statues, the buildings,

etc.

Summarizing, the diurnal imaginary, product of the

fear of the end of life and the need to defeat it, is based on

the fact that above is better than below, the good must be

separated from the evil, and the great places exist and must

be contemplated. This favors the search for the meaning of

existence, confirming that: a) the religious beliefs are true,

b) there is life after death, c) the good will overcome the evil,

and d) the Divine Justice will end suffering and reestablish

the human rights. These aspects are also manifested in

optimistic songs and hymns.

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The majority of literary texts, movies and theater plays

are based on this approach. With the exception of Buddhism

(denies the good-evil duality) and several oriental religions of

the New Age, almost all other religions are based on a

confrontation between the good and the evil, in which, finally,

the true justice will prevail and the problem of human

suffering will be finished3.

2. The Nocturnal Imaginary:

It includes the conception of accepting or evading

death (whether or not there is a subsequent life) and denying

the conflict between the good and the evil.

3 Which involves these questions, mentioned in The Resilience of Job: The Keys of an

Extraordinary Triumph (2017): Why do the wicked or unrighteous triumph? Why do some righteous fail in life, while other unrighteous are successful? Why do the innocent or righteous suffer? Why are there so many injustices in the world? Where is God when the innocent or righteous suffer or ask for help? Why does the Lord allow the suffering of the innocent or righteous? Is it just that God, Almighty and Eternal, authorizes mortal humans to suffer? Is human life unjust? Is there Justice in this world? Does human justice work? Is Divine Justice perfect and infallible? How does Divine Justice work? Will Divine Justice prevail over injustices?

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This imaginary is based on: the night and the dark-

ness, the euphemization (changing expressions for other

less offensive), the logic of double denial (to build “new

truths”), the inversion of meanings (everything harmful is

beneficial and vice versa), and the enjoyment of a hidden,

hedonistic and pleasurable (postmodern) life, in which res-

ponsibilities are avoided. Its main premises are the following:

2.1 Above is the same as below.

2.2 Hell is like a paradise.

2.3 The future doesn´t matter or it doesn´t exist.

2.4 The dark colors are better.

2.5 The wealth is bad.

2.6 The suffering is normal and inevitable.

2.7 There is no justice.

2.8 An “underground” life is better than a normal one.

Main symbols: the night, the Moon, the darkness, the

caverns, the prisons, the tombs, the closed places and the

sinister beings (demons, monsters, vampires, zombies, etc.),

among others.

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Summarizing, the nocturnal imaginary, result of the

acceptance or evasion of the death, is based primarily on the

euphemization and the negation of the reality, which inclu-

des not seeking a meaning to life, questioning and/or rejec-

ting: a) the religious beliefs, b) the existence of life after

death, c) the conceptions of good and evil, and d) the justice.

From this perspective, the reality of the physical world

is accepted, without considering the moral and religious

beliefs. This behavior is typical of atheists, “light” religious4

and some practitioners of religions who deny the existence

of the good and the evil (Buddhism), or are pessimistic

(Hinduism), or don´t accept the existence of a Creator,

focusing on various gods and/or energies of the universe

(various eastern religions of the New Age). In addition, the

literary genre of terror, extended to movies and theater, is

based on this imaginary.

4 Those who accept some religion, for various family, social and cultural reasons, but do not

believe in their dogmas, give it little importance and/or don´t act according to its foundations, giving priority to materialistic goals.

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Conclusions on the background of spiritual and

religious thought:

The human thought (mainly the religious one) is

influenced by very powerful archetypes: a) the diurnal imagi-

nary, which is based on finding the meaning of life (optimistic

religious beliefs, existence of life after death and victory of

the good over the evil, in order to restore the Divine Justice

and end human suffering), and b) the nocturnal imaginary,

which is based on denying the meaning of life (atheistic

ideas or diffuse religious beliefs, minimization or distortion of

religious foundations, possible non-existence of life after

death, rejection of the conceptions of the good and the evil,

and absence of justice).

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II.3 THE BASIS OF SUPERSTITIONS

To-date, the main superstitions are based on prag-

matic beliefs, notions of the imaginaries, superstitious con-

ceptions of their own and religious ideas. Its background is

closely related to the persistence of a spiritual conflict

between the good and the evil (transferred to good luck vs.

bad luck), which forces to constantly seek the good fortune

and protect from the bad fortune. In that sense, these su-

perstitions still exist:

1. Do not walk under a ladder.

2. Do not touch wood.

3. Do not deliver knives or scissors.

4. Do not spill, throw or give away salt.

5. Do not go out at night or during a storm.

6. Do not open an umbrella in a closed place.

7. Avoid the number 13.

8. Use amulets and talismans.

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1. Do not walk under a ladder:

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: the ladder can fall down and end the

life,

b) diurnal imaginary: the ladder is one of the main

symbols of the ascending imaginary,

c) nocturnal imaginary: the site under the ladder is

a symbol of the nocturnal imaginary (it is a closed

and lower space, which is like a cave), that repre-

sents the underground life,

d) superstitious: the fear that the ladder will fall or

that its negative energies will affect us (taking us

to an underworld) is the same of losing the means

of moving forward in life,

e) religious: the ladder also represents the ascent to

the afterlife and passing below it is a way of

questioning the ascent to heaven.

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2. Do not touch wood:

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: there is danger of cutting and beco-

ming infected,

b) diurnal imaginary: the tree is a symbol of life,

c) nocturnal imaginary: the wood is part of a dead

tree and also is a symbol of the transformation of

nature by the human work, which includes the end

of the existence of life,

d) superstitious: the fear of touching wood is the

fear of dying prematurely,

e) religious: the wood is associated with the death of

the tree (sacred symbol of life in many religions)

and the cross of Christ (which reflects his suffering

and death in this terrible method of execution).

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3. Do not deliver knives or scissors:

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: the other person can be cut,

b) diurnal imaginary: these instruments are symbols

of the diurnal imaginary and should be well used,

c) superstitious: these objects can shed blood and

release negative energies,

d) religious: an open scissor represents the cross.

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4. Do not spill, throw or give away salt:

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: there is danger of losing this food, in-

dispensable for human life,

b) diurnal imaginary: the salt is a symbol of health

and prosperity (properly used),

c) nocturnal imaginary: the salt is part of the soil

and the darkness, which can be easily hidden,

d) superstitious: once the powerful negative ener-

gies of the salt are activated, health and riches can

be lost. Also, in Antiquity it was common to pour

salt on the door of the house of enemies to curse

them,

e) religious: although this element is very precious,

according to the teachings of Jesus, in the Sermon

on the Mount, it is part of the material world that

will disappear (Matthew 5:13-16).

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5. Do not go out at night or during a storm:

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: there are greater dangers of suffering

an accident or being attacked by: other human

beings, wild animals or the forces of nature,

b) nocturnal imaginary: the night and the storm are

main symbols of this imaginary and reinforce its

beliefs of acceptance of evil and challenge of light

and justice,

c) superstitious: the evil beings appear in dark

areas,

d) religious: after the night comes the light or the

apocalyptic victory of the good against the evil.

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6. Do not open an umbrella in a closed place:

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: at other times, there were accidents

due to opening the umbrella in closed places,

b) diurnal imaginary: the umbrella is a protection

element that should be used only when it is nece-

ssary (it is part of the disorder to open it in a non-

open place),

c) nocturnal imaginary: the area under the umbrella

is a closed and underground place,

d) superstitious: opening the umbrella in a closed

place will generate or attract bad energies.

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7. Avoid the number 13:

This number has been associated with the injustice

and the bad luck, perhaps because it is an imperfect and

incomplete number that should not be the successor of the

number twelve (which represents accuracy and perfection,

each year the Moon rotates twelve times around the Earth).

This superstition has these components:

a) pragmatic: 13 is a peculiar, odd, cousin number

and can lead to calculation errors. Throughout

history, there have been tragedies and massacres

during Friday 13th,

b) nocturnal imaginary: 13 is an odd, cousin,

imperfect and incomplete number, which challen-

ges the established order in the universe,

c) superstitious: the 13 generates negative ener-

gies wherever it appears (the 13th floor, the flight

No. 13, the order No. 13, etc.),

d) religious: Friday is a day of mourning for the

death of Jesus.

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8. Use amulets and talismans:

The referred superstitions have these components:

a) pragmatic: although these beliefs are false, the

bearers of these objects feel that they are strong

and have energies to fulfill their day-to-day acti-

vities, being motivated and more productive. The-

refore, these practices are a way of tricking the

brain in order to awake optimism,

b) diurnal imaginary: many amulets and talismans

have positive and pleasant images,

c) nocturnal imaginary: there are amulets and talis-

mans with images associated with terror and dark-

ness,

d) superstitious: the bearers of these objects be-

lieve that the amulets bring good luck and that the

talismans protect them from bad luck. In the same

way, the superstitious ones consider that some

gestures such as crossing the fingers attract good

luck. Even more, some Christians have gone so

far, considering the cross, the rosary and the

images of the saints as protective objects. Also,

crossing the fingers simulates the cross of salva-

tion,

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e) religious: the Christian cross is a powerful symbol

of faith, life and salvation (Ephesians 2:16 and

Colossians 1:20), exalted by Catholics, which re-

places an ancient pagan symbol of death and te-

rror.

Conclusions on the basis of superstitions:

On the one hand, most of the superstitious persons

(atheistic or religious ones) believe in the presence of

positive and negative energies, or in the existence of good

and bad luck. And on the other hand, the superstitions have

several components (pragmatic notions, ideas of imagina-

ries, superstitious and religious conceptions), which have

evolved throughout history. Because of this, people do not

realize these realities, and superstitions are complex and

confusing. Obviously, the good luck is not a matter that

depends exclusively on superstitions, and there is no scien-

tific evidence to support superstitions or confirm the exis-

tence of luck.

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III. GOOD LUCK AND RANDOM CIRCUMSTANCES

In this chapter, it is analyzed if good luck is simply a

matter of random circumstances. It is divided into these sec-

tions:

1. The problems of good luck.

2. A holistic perspective of good luck.

3. The unpredictable uncertainty.

1. The problems of good luck:

This phenomenon of good luck is so unprecedented

and controversial, that it generates questions or problems

without solution:

Why does it come and go?

Why is it so fast?

Why does it change constantly?

Why is it invisible?

Why does it become unattainable?

Why does it bring inconceivable benefits?

The Greeks conceived these questions through the

myth of the fortune goddess.