I generally enjoy mowing the lawn. I prefer to use only a push mower. I can make it look better that way, and it’s good for a bit of exercise. But it’s also a time when I exercise my brain. It’s rare that I think much about what I am doing. I’m usually thinking about some idea, trying to make sense of something I’ve recently learned, or questioning things I take for granted. Sometimes I have songs in my head too. Lennon’s Imagine often plays in my thoughts when I mow. It’s odd because I don’t think about the song much any other time.
Some thoughts come to me that seem random or insignificant. The last two times cutting the lawn, I’ve had a few of these that made little or no sense to me at the time, but became more interesting later.
Jainism
A week ago on Tuesday, out of nowhere, a word popped into my head: Jainism. This was a word that I knew practically nothing about, never ever used, and hadn’t heard in a long time. I was reasonably sure it was a religion, but that’s all. Why I thought of it was a mystery to me. I said it a few times (in my head) and thought no more about it.
The following Saturday, I went to download that week’s episode of the Point of Inquiry podcast. I was interested to see it was an interview with Hemant Mehta who had just written a book called “I Sold My Soul on Ebay.” He had been in the recent news, and I was interested to learn about him and his experience. After a few minutes into the show, he shared his religious background. “My religion that I was brought up with, it’s called Jainism,” he said. I immediately remembered having that word come to mind earlier in the week!
Becoming
On Tuesday of this week, it was time to mow again. It was past time actually, but due to some recent rain, I was behind. The chorus of a song I knew and liked was repeating in my head, “I’m born again with snake’s eyes – Becoming god size.” It was a song called Becoming by Pantera. Over and over, it repeated in my head. I made a mental note to listen to the track later.
Earlier this evening, I stopped in at the Rational Responder’s website to check on feedback about last’s night debate on Nightline. They posted a thread about the debate, which included a video of highlights. The video began with them in a van on their way to the debate. Playing loudly in the background was Becoming! The video started exactly at the chorus of the song – the part that had been stuck in my head!
Explanations
I decided to share these experiences for two reasons. The first is because it’s pretty damned cool. The second is because these are the type of things that lead some people to believe that supernatural powers, even gods, exist. Surely these things can’t have happened without some special intervention, right? Something greater than myself is surely at work. Maybe I have magical powers. Maybe it’s the mower. Maybe a magical entity is sharing its magical powers with me.
I can’t pretend to fully understand and explain what happened to me. All I have is my experience and reason. So far, there is no evidence for any supernatural power, either around or within me. I simply don’t know how those things happened, and I must leave it at that if I am to remain intellectually honest.
Until some sort of evidence is found, the best explanation is coincidence. Many aren’t able to accept this because of a common mistake confusing improbability with impossibility. It is improbable to roll six dice and get all sixes. The odds are one in 46,656… but it is still possible. Someone wins the lottery too, and those odds are even greater. It was possible for both of my experiences, though improbable, to occur according to natural laws.
I realize that some might read this and see clear signs of “god.” I welcome all interpretations. Post them in the comments section and I will respond accordingly.
Tags: coincidence, jainism, lawn mower, magic, pantera
