the secret is WHY the prophecy fulfills itself.
i never realized the WHY until recently and it made all the difference.... an epiphany really. dropping of the scales and such.
if you believe in yourself and are filled with self confidence in the middle of the woods, and you're a city boy with nothing but a subway token and a stick, i doubt it will help you much. in the same situation, if you are filled with self loathing and low self esteem, i doubt it would hurt.
the key to all this stuff is that:
1. it is a SOCIAL phenomenon. it is only evident when among people (well, perhaps animals as well). i question whether it affects the karmic, inanimate universe in some mystical way.
2. it has to do with how people are conditioned/evolved to respond to POWER or (important) perceived power.
3. how you think about yourself is not undetectable to others. your BEHAVIOR betrays you. do your actions and emotions and words come from a place of STRENGTH or WEAKNESS? others can see it and they know it - though they may never articulate it.
#1 has to do with the situation in the woods.
#2 is the surprising thing. basically, it means that no matter how fair minded the person, at an instinct level, people kowtow to strength and they despise weakness.
#3 and therefore, if you examine your words, your actions and your behavior... heck maybe even your personality, you will see that it reeks of whatever your self esteem is filled with.
and inasmuch as success in your endeavors in this world is primarily of the INTERPERSONAL kind, in a social setting among other people - and not of the isolated person in the woods sort - your destiny can indeed be greatly affected by how you perceive yourself.
i am not religious but in this light, it's surprising how much the church ends up preaching some useful ideas.... if you are a child of god and heaven and earth are yours and your behavior really reflects such a heritage - you'll probably behave in a manner that shows strength. but then again, there are other things like the mandate against vanity, material goods and some implied asceticism that can really sabotage your efforts at djing. and there is that whole thing about no sex till marriage and stuff like that....
delta