I believe we influence the path our lives take by our thoughts. Would I go as far as saying our thoughts cause reality? Realistically, no, but I can be superstitious. At the very least, I believe that my thoughts subconsciously affect my actions.

This comes to play in my writing career (can I call it a career?) I am afraid of people discovering my books. I have a walloping fear of being exposed as a fraud, of being called a bad writer, of people objecting to my sometimes controversial twists. There’s an entire list of lurking fears.

Could this be impeding anyone discovering my writing? As I said, I can be superstitious. It’s not consistent with the rationality of a professor, but I leave room in my life for the less-than-rational. Which means I have to do something about this.

I am envisioning a simple ritual, where I write all the things I’m afraid of on a good piece of paper with my favorite fountain pen, and then I burn it. Probably in the sink, so I don’t catch the house on fire. Do I believe this will work? It fits in the framework of the superstition.