Superstition has everything to do with a fear of the unknown. The mind is unsettled when confronted with a fear of the unknown. Superstition is simply a fear, an unknown, and a ritual you perform to settle the mind.
The three ingredients to a superstition are the fear, the unknown, and the ritual. I would hate to lose the foot race (fear), lots of good runners participating (unknown), I will take my lucky (ritual) coin. The persons mind feels unsettled because they are unsure of who will win the race. Form (the physical body) follows thought. The lucky coin (ritual) gives the illusion of control resulting in a calming effect. This allows the person to go on and compete in the athletic event.
Disease in the human body has always been a subject of superstition. Many individuals in the community will seek to place blame on the cause for a disease as a way to calm an unsettled mind. The blame a community places on a disease process can usually be broken down to the three pieces of superstition. The fear, the unknown, and the ritual.
The neighbor died (fear), everybody always said he had heart trouble (unknown), pretty sure it is cause his house is by the tall radio station tower (ritual). The person is fearing death themselves. This is natural, as they share the same community, and live a similar life. The person does not understand the complicated matter of a medical heart condition. To compensate the person decides to label the tall radio station tower as the culprit. The unknown is now made known and the person has a good, safe, state of mind. Because the mind communicates good, safe thoughts to the body, the person has an I am on the right track sense of themselves. Both mind and body are in unison and the benefit is a good, safe feeling.
The neighbor died (fear), everybody said they had multiple sclerosis (unknown), positive it is from all those years of working at the filling station and eating out of the vending machine (ritual). The person is fearing death themselves. The person does not understand the complicated matter of a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. To compensate the person decides to label employment at the filling station and eating from a vending machine as the culprit. The unknown is now made known and the person has a good, safe state of mind.
Try using this formula on some of your conversations related to health. See if you can identify a fear, an unknown, and a ritual. The anatomy of a superstition. Home Care Path http://www.homecarepath.com/ encourages seniors and family to consult with their primary doctor to clarify any health related questions.
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