Friday, May 22, 2009

Jackpot !!!

The first time I went to a casino - I hit big.
Not big enough to retire, but enough to spend.
But was it the feeling of winning or the feeling one gets right before the win?

I had the fever - bad. REAL bad.
But what was the feeling or sensation I was trying to replicate?
Was it the thrill of winning? (Even several jackpots later - I could never get the same feeling.)
Was it the thrill of being on the verge of losing everything?
Was it just the unconscious effort and visual stimulation?

What I'm asking is; Is this what prayer is like?
Do we pray out of a hope for replicating a past sensation or result? (Is it like crack heads trying to replicate that first timer's high?)
Are our odds any better when we pray to God than when we pray to a machine, table or wheel?

6 comments:

RunningMom said...

I was thinking crack head high, and then saw you wrote it! I think it's a combination of new experience + endorphins + the thrill. It's like that with many firsts.

But prayer has never been a high for me, it gives me peace, centers me, refocuses my energy, helps me heal, but it's not a "thrill"

uglyblackjohn said...

@ RunningMom - That same "Peace" can be found in people who are addicted to things.

Even when losing hundreds a pop - I'd be MORE relaxed, centered and focused than when I was making the money.
I could figure out any other issue I was having because I wasn't 'thinking' about those problems.

We pray and pray - but it seems that we end up getting what we are asking for only as often as someone gets on a lucky streak in gambling.

brohammas said...

often the most recognizable answers to prayer are the "no" answers. They come not as doubt or resignation, but simple, factual, "no".

If you are praying in the hopes of recieving some sensation than maybe you are right, its like a high of any other sort. But prayer should be communication, not just suplication.

FreeMan said...

That's why people say I'm not always there when you call but I'm always on time. I think people pray like putting prayers on a tab with GOD then one day they come due and you get one. Now I don't believe prayer works at all but people have to believe in something.

Citizen Ojo said...

I don't know if it's trying to re-create a past feeling.. more like trying to keep a good feeling going.

uglyblackjohn said...

@ brohammas - Yeah... I think the problem arises when people try to convince God that a "No" should be a "Yes".

@ FreeMan - I believe in prayer. I just don't think I'm doing it right anymore.

That voice that was always there when I was a child no longer speaks to me.

@ Ojo - I wish.