Could You be Superman or Superwoman?

Do you believe in superpowers?  Could you be superman or superwoman?

If your answer is no, then think again.  Whatever spiritual beliefs you may have, and whether or not those beliefs encourage belief in certain powers such as healing abilities, I can assure you that superpowers of a kind really do exist.  There is nothing esoteric about this, just the wonderful facts of nature.

For example, how about a normally quite frail and certainly not muscular person suddenly demonstrating enormous physical strength?  Is this possible?  Certainly!  Has it ever happened?  Many times!  Typically this is a mother lifting a car off her child.  Search the internet and you will find countless examples of this.  Some may not be completely verifiable, but there are enough that are for us to know for certain that this has happened in the past and will happen in the future.  There is even a scientific term for this superpower - "hysterical strength".  What seems to happen is a combination of a release of the hormone noradrenalin, to give a temporary additional power to the muscles, and a number of endocannabinoids and opiods to deaden any pain the person may feel when using that increased strength to the maximum.

As I have said, there are very many verified examples of people lifting cars to save a person's life.  But one example of hysterical strength which I found very inspiring was the case of Lydia Angiyou who managed to fight off an adult polar bear that was trying to kill her seven year old son and two of his friends.  She had no gun, or other weapon, just her hands, her determination, and her hysterical strength which saved the lives of her son and friends.  I am sure most of my readers have seen a polar bear in a zoo and know just how big and heavy it is and how lethal its massive clawed paws and teeth can be.  Imagine yourself standing alone in unarmed combat with a polar bear.  It doesn't bear thinking about, does it!  But that is exactly what Lydia did, using her superpower strength.  Lydia received the Medal of Bravery from the Governor General of Canada for her actions, so you can be sure this story is very true.

Superpowers are, of course, not simply limited to hysterical strength.  We all have many powers that could be described as superpowers.  Most of us simply don't know the powers we really have.  The power to heal - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  The power to turn evil into good.  The power to attract to us whatever it is we may need in order to achieve whatever it is we wish to achieve.

In Matthew 17:20 we are told "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  Personally I have never moved a mountain this way.  Nor have I ever heard of anyone who did.  Most Christians would probably say this was not meant literally.  But actually, I believe it was.  Just because there are no recorded instances of it happening that doesn't mean it never will.  I know many will disagree with me here, but that is my personal belief.

What I particularly like in this quote is that last sentence: "Nothing will be impossible for you.”  I believe this.  I know that superpowers exist because there is enough evidence out there to prove the case beyond any reasonable doubt.  I know that those powers generally appear when they are most needed.  And I believe the words of Jesus that if we have enough faith we can use superpowers to achieve marvellous results in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.

Cave of Shadows

Imagine a group of people sitting in a cave.  They are unable to turn around and can only see the blank cave wall in front of them.  Way behind them is a fire.  Life goes on between the fire and the people in the cave.  They experience that life only as shadows on the cave wall - the shadows cast by the light of the fire being obstructed by the people and objects between that fire and the cave people.

Really imagine this.  What would those cave people see?  How closely would it reflect reality?

Some of what they see could be close to mimicking reality.  Most will not.  But some will be close.  Perhaps close enough for them to work out what might happen next.  But certainly not close enough for them to be able to say they understand reality.  Of course, they will say this, as they do not realize that what they are seeing is only shadows, a very poor reflection of reality.  They will only begin to see the truth if someone releases them and turns them around so they can see what is passing between themselves and the fire rather than just the shadows of what is passing.

You may be familiar with this little story.  It is called the "Allegory of the Cave", and was written over 2,400 years ago by the Classical Greek philosopher, Plato, in his book "The Republic".  Plato believed that we are just like those prisoners in the cave.  What we see around us in "real" life is just shadows.  We never see the true forms that give rise to those shadows.

St Paul stated something very similar in his first letter to the Corinthians, no doubt recognizing that as Greeks they would be very familiar with the concept.  Paul's interpretation of Plato's story, depending on which translation you use was "For now we see as through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known."  When Paul spoke of a "glass", he was referring to a primitive mirror.  It was not possible to see anything truly in such a primitive mirror, but only to see it "darkly" or very much obscured.  His analogy was therefore very similar to Plato's story of the people in the cave who could only see shadows.

Shakespeare, too, referred obliquely to this concept when he said, in Hamlet, that "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Has anyone ever said to you "I only believe in what I can see"?  Or have you even said this yourself?  What you can see is the shadow on the blank wall of your cave.  What you can see is the dark reflection in a primitive mirror.  It is not reality at all, just a very imperfect reflection of reality.  So do not be so quick to say "I only believe in what I can see".  There is a big, unknown, but actually a very welcoming universe out there.  One which we cannot yet see.  One which wants to help us achieve great things in life if only we will allow it to do so.

I have my own thoughts about the reality out there, and where it comes from, but I don't allow my thoughts to become rigid absolutes, as I understand I can still only see shadows, only see through a glass darkly, but one day will really see the truth - which may be very different from what I had believed to be the case.  What is important is that I do know what others may view as impossible need not be impossible at all.  I know that the Universe, or God, or the inner Spirit, or whatever you want to call it or him or her wants me to live a good and happy life and to do all I can to help those around me live a good and happy life.  I will do all I can to achieve this and will always be thankful for this wonderful life I and others can live.  Will you do the same?

Negativity

Is there a place for negativity in your world?

On the surface, the answer should be a resounding "no".  I will get to that in just a minute, but first I want to be a bit controversial and say why I prefaced this with "on the surface" rather than outlawing negativity outright.

Life consists of a continuous cycle of creation and destruction.  Without the destruction there could be no new creation.

In the Hindu religion Kali is the destroyer of evil.  The spiritual equivalent of organisms such as funghi, which break down dead organic matter so it can be used to feed new life.

In Islam there is the concept of Jihad.  To me this is pretty much the equivalent of the Hindu Kali.  Jihad is a holy struggle.  This includes finding and destroying those things within yourself that prevent you living a holy life.

I strongly believe in the place for this concept.  We all have things within us that don't belong, and we should search them out and destroy them.  So we should all be involved in Jihad (in its true meaning) whether or not we are Muslims.

But having identified the place in our life for the destructive force, let me come back again to negativity in all its other senses.  I do not see a place for this in anyone's life.  Yes, find and destroy negative traits (which in itself is a negative action), but do not ever allow negativity itself to creep in and take over your life, which is what it will do if you let it.

Negativity is what causes unhappiness.  The situation you find yourself in does not, and cannot, cause unhappiness.  Only your negative reaction to that situation.

When negativity takes over, almost every situation seems hopeless and unwanted, no matter how good it may actually be.

Have you ever found yourself on holiday moaning about the poor quality of the hotel, the bad weather, the inedible food?  It may be true that the hotel is not up to scratch.  Perhaps the weather is not as good as you had wished.  Maybe the food is well below Michelin Star standard.  But you are on holiday in what is probably still a lovely place.  Relax!  Accept that things will be different here from home - in fact, rejoice in that difference! 

Don't allow negativity to take over.  See the good in every situation.  If you focus on what is bad, you will attract more of the same and the negativity will become a vicious circle.  Focus on the good and you will attract more of that instead, and your positivity will become a virtuous circle.