Nevertheless, as is so often the case, I ran across an unusual story that helped get my mind off my rather sad, pathetic self. Perhaps an answer to a silent prayer in passing...?
Apparently a man won the New York State Lottery not once but twice. The odds against winning the lottery even one time, of course, are millions to one; but twice is close to statistically impossible.
Asked by news reporters what he attributed to such an impossible two-time windfall, the man said the answer was simple: He prayed.
My first thought upon reading this was how, exactly, this unbelievably fortunate guy phrased his prayers the second time he won the lottery. i.e. "Dear God, I know I won a few million recently, and thanks, but I really need to win this next one too."?
You might well counter that a lot of people pray to win lotteries, but that not everyone who prays wins.
The question is...HOW are they praying? What are they doing when it DOES work? Do prayers of that kind really work?
A group in Scotland did studies on the effects of prayer on rye seeds. Seeds placed in a petri dish were prayed for to grow better. The dish of seeds was divided down the middle. One side was prayed for and the other side was not.
The seeds prayed for grew better than the control group. In fact, saline (salt water) was added to the soil, making growth even more of a challenge. The difference between the two groups was dramatic.
What is exciting about this experiment is that it is completely replicable!
Test it yourself. If you really don't want to experiment with rye seeds (or bacteria, as some researchers have), then experiment with people of your acquaintance by praying that they have some wonderful thing happen to them...and then notice what happens.
Researchers also found that among those who prayed for enhanced growth of seeds, the results of people who had more experience praying was greater than with people who were less experienced. Go figure!
This is important to notice because it means the more you pray the better results you are likely to get!
Also consider, and I'm happy to report, that the people perhaps MOST experienced in saying prayers balked at participating in the research, objecting to "putting God in a laboratory" and therefore were not included in the studies.
To sum up, be careful what you selfishly pray for...you just might get it.
Apparently a man won the New York State Lottery not once but twice. The odds against winning the lottery even one time, of course, are millions to one; but twice is close to statistically impossible.
Asked by news reporters what he attributed to such an impossible two-time windfall, the man said the answer was simple: He prayed.
My first thought upon reading this was how, exactly, this unbelievably fortunate guy phrased his prayers the second time he won the lottery. i.e. "Dear God, I know I won a few million recently, and thanks, but I really need to win this next one too."?
You might well counter that a lot of people pray to win lotteries, but that not everyone who prays wins.
The question is...HOW are they praying? What are they doing when it DOES work? Do prayers of that kind really work?
A group in Scotland did studies on the effects of prayer on rye seeds. Seeds placed in a petri dish were prayed for to grow better. The dish of seeds was divided down the middle. One side was prayed for and the other side was not.
The seeds prayed for grew better than the control group. In fact, saline (salt water) was added to the soil, making growth even more of a challenge. The difference between the two groups was dramatic.
What is exciting about this experiment is that it is completely replicable!
Test it yourself. If you really don't want to experiment with rye seeds (or bacteria, as some researchers have), then experiment with people of your acquaintance by praying that they have some wonderful thing happen to them...and then notice what happens.
Researchers also found that among those who prayed for enhanced growth of seeds, the results of people who had more experience praying was greater than with people who were less experienced. Go figure!
This is important to notice because it means the more you pray the better results you are likely to get!
Also consider, and I'm happy to report, that the people perhaps MOST experienced in saying prayers balked at participating in the research, objecting to "putting God in a laboratory" and therefore were not included in the studies.
To sum up, be careful what you selfishly pray for...you just might get it.
But chances are that you will be nothing but ridiculously lucky!
Sometimes there are no real answers to things that happen in life.
POST SCRIPT: Just FYI, after Bruce Magistro hit the jackpot the first time in 2012, his wife, Yvonne, lost a three-year battle with cancer. Much of the prize money went to pay for her medical bills.
"She passed away two years ago today," Magistro's son Nick Mayers said on the anniversary of his father's big win. He said he was sure the second jackpot was his mother's way of sending help back to the family. "This is definitely a gift, from her to him," Mayers said.
Magistro played the lottery every day. This time he plunked down $20 at Mike's Super Citgo in West Babylon for a set of the Win for Life scratch-offs. He won $1 million on a different lottery scratch-off game he played at the same gas station in 2012. The second win came the first time he had played the Win for Life game, which will pay him $1,000 each week -- with a minimum of $1 million -- for the rest of his life.
Lottery representative Yolanda Vega, who had presented Magistro with a ceremonial check for his first win, said even then she felt he could win a second time. "He was so positive and outgoing that I knew he'd win again," she said. "There was something about Bruce that I felt. There was this energy coming from his core."
State gaming officials said the odds Magistro beat to get the Win for Life grand prize were 1 in 7,745,600, and they were 1 in 2,520,000 when he won the Extreme Cash scratch-off in 2012.
"She passed away two years ago today," Magistro's son Nick Mayers said on the anniversary of his father's big win. He said he was sure the second jackpot was his mother's way of sending help back to the family. "This is definitely a gift, from her to him," Mayers said.
Magistro played the lottery every day. This time he plunked down $20 at Mike's Super Citgo in West Babylon for a set of the Win for Life scratch-offs. He won $1 million on a different lottery scratch-off game he played at the same gas station in 2012. The second win came the first time he had played the Win for Life game, which will pay him $1,000 each week -- with a minimum of $1 million -- for the rest of his life.
Lottery representative Yolanda Vega, who had presented Magistro with a ceremonial check for his first win, said even then she felt he could win a second time. "He was so positive and outgoing that I knew he'd win again," she said. "There was something about Bruce that I felt. There was this energy coming from his core."
State gaming officials said the odds Magistro beat to get the Win for Life grand prize were 1 in 7,745,600, and they were 1 in 2,520,000 when he won the Extreme Cash scratch-off in 2012.
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