Superstitious Beliefs, It May Affect You More Than You May Know

Growing up I heard a lot of superstitious claims. They were in my head and restrained me sometimes from certain actions.

I was told that whistling at night attracted evil spirits and I stayed away from whistling at anytime of the day - I guess that's why people laugh when I try to whistle, I end up making a funny sound instead.
I was told that killing a Wall Gecko would make me lose my ability to hold urine and cause me to urinate without restraint. This made us (my siblings and I) revere those creatures that adorn the walls of most homes - I still wonder how they find their way in.
I was told not to walk over the leg of a pregnant woman when she sits as that would make me pregnant - I knew nothing about unprotected sex so every pregnant woman was seen as a suspect, I stayed away.
I was told that kicking my left foot against a stone was bad omen as such each time it happened, I found myself praying against evil - now I know better.
And when my milk tooth pulled out, I was told to throw it on the roof to prevent chickens from eating them because if they did, my tooth (the permanent ones) would never grow again.

I have heard a lot of superstitious claims and believed some of them - but as I grew older and acquired knowledge I learned to do away with them.

I still hear certain claims and sometimes I laugh but today I had an experience that made me question some of these beliefs we call superstitious.

I was having a conversation with colleagues about work when all of a sudden one of us exclaimed. As we heard the exclamation, we all turned to him wondering why he exclaimed and he stated that a Wall Gecko had fallen on the Laptop computer of another colleague who had left his desk to sit with us.
Immediately the Laptop owner ran to his desk as everyone exclaimed, teasing him that the Wall Gecko falling was a sign that someone is pregnant for him - he is married so everyone assumed his wife would be pregnant.
I looked at them in disbelief as they - all of them - seemed so sure of their claim.
I turned to look at the Laptop owner who had a pensive look and was obviously deep in thought. 

'Are you seriously taking this to heart? You really believe this pregnancy talk?' I asked.

"Of course" he said and went on to share tales of friends who found out they had impregnated women after Wall Geckos fell on them.
He stated too that it had happened to him in the past.

"Okiemute it always works, a girl always comes days after Wall Geckos had fallen on my guys to claim she is pregnant for them and it always turned out to be true" he added.

Hmm, so Wall Geckos are the new kind of pregnancy test' I said laughing, I thought it was funny but everyone else didn't think so.

"Don't laugh o, remember that the spiritual controls the physical. These things we call superstitious claims are true". He added

'But they are unfounded and not based on facts' I said again but he said that not everything can be explained.

Just when I thought the matter had ended he said out loud "Since na my Laptop e fall ontop, na promotion dey come".
He gestured to his stomach and extended his hand over his stomach as though it were protuded like that of a pregnant woman and added "pregnancy na promotion but this time na money dey come, I claim am." 
I responded with 'Amen o' and we all laughed.

The conversation continued from superstitious claims to the existence of mermaids (majority said they exist) and then to sex which I'll write about in my next post.
As they shared their experiences and thoughts, I realized that some people still hold on to beliefs that affects their view of the world and the way they relate to people or respond to situations - whether they know it or not.

We may term these beliefs ridiculous but sometimes it is because these beliefs seem to have worked for them.
For example I still have a dislike for Cats - especially black Cats - because I grew up hearing how evil they are.

It's as they say, you can't judge a man until you have walked the same path as he and in his shoes too.

So do you believe in superstition or do you think it depicts an inability to think?

What are the beliefs you held or still hold that may be considered superstitious?

Any experience you would like to share?

Photo Credit: shrek.wikia.com