Boomerang thoughts

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. H**elen Keller**

Photo by Athithan Vignakaran on Unsplash

Greetings gentle readers,

I have been thinking about the boomerang effect.

The boomerang effect in psychology describes what happens when a persuasive message produces the exact opposite of its intended result, pushing people further away from the desired attitude or behavior rather than closer to it. This isn’t a rare glitch. It shows up in anti-drug campaigns that increase drug use, health interventions that entrench unhealthy habits, and political messaging that hardens opposition. Understanding why it happens, and how to avoid triggering it, is one of the most underrated skills in human communication.

Boomerang Effect: When Persuasion Backfires in Psychology

A boomerang is an Australian word for missile or asymmetrical weapon that returns to its original state but does a lot of damage. The boomerang is as old as time and is hunting weapon but also for trade and negotiation.

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How to throw a boomerang

A successful boomerang return depends on throwing technique. Despite the boomerang’s horizontal flight path, it is typically thrown with a vertical tilt, often nearly upright. This initial angle allows gyroscopic forces to orient the boomerang during its flight. If thrown flat, it climbs and crashes, failing its circular trajectory.

Sufficient forward velocity and high spin are crucial. A strong, smooth throw ensures enough speed for airfoils to generate lift and for the gyroscopic effect to manifest. Spin provides the rotational momentum for precession, guiding the boomerang through its circular arc. The ideal release point is at eye level or slightly above, allowing for a clear trajectory and optimal initial conditions.\

How Does a Boomerang Come Back? The Science Explained — Biology Insights

Boomerangs are like life. It depends on how you observe the spin. Everything takes skills, skills take time. It is like a frisbee, practice makes perfect.

Boomerangs in Australia

Construction and Design Made from carefully selected wood and shaped with aerodynamic precision, boomerangs could be thrown for hunting or sport. Returning boomerangs demonstrated advanced knowledge of physics and environmental conditions.

Cultural and Ceremonial Significance Beyond practical use, boomerangs were part of initiation rites, storytelling, and dance performances. They reinforced social cohesion, passed knowledge through generations, and connected communities to the land.

Legacy Boomerangs remain a cultural emblem of Aboriginal ingenuity, blending science, artistry, and spiritual practice.

The Ancient Boomerangs of Aboriginal Australia

Legend of the orginal Bumerang

The first Buumerang. A long time ago in the Dreamtime, a young hunter was out very early; the sun had not yet shown his face. He was out to get some water birds for his family — his father was injured and he also had an elderly grandmother as well as a mother and 2 younger sisters to provide food for. The importance of being the food getter for the family was weighing heavily on his shoulders. He had hunted waterbirds many times before but always with his father — not alone. As he approached the water’s edge he could see a lot of birds standing still in the shallow water about 10 steps off shore. He raised his hand and threw his spear, but as he did the birds rose at once and flew a long way down the river. The young man was disappointed and thought hard. His father almost always got a bird, but he remembered it was his job when hunting with his dad to approach the birds from behind and scare the birds towards his father’s spear. The boy walked down beside the river- as he approached the birds, he slowly crept as quietly as he could. He must get a bird now or his family would be hungry today. Again, he raised his hand to throw his spear, but the birds flew off screeching as if to mock the young hunter. He must get food — but the birds had flown a long, long way away. With his head down he followed the birds, and when he was still quite a long way off, suddenly all the birds took off but flew right over him. He wondered happily what great spirit had helped him, as he raised his spear and skilfully caught a fat bird. As it fell, he saw a hawk was chasing the birds for his own breakfast too. He sat quietly and studied this cunning and silent hunter. He wondered how he too could soar and turn birds in towards his spear. The hawk hovered high and with the smallest twitch of his wing suddenly dived with great accuracy and secured his food. The young hunter turned towards home with his prize secured to his belt. It was a long way home and his mind wandered. He played a game of finding shapes in the branches of the trees of his favourite animals. He often found kangaroos and this kept him amused. Today he had found a branch which looked like a man laying down holding a very long spear, and something which looked like an echidna. As he neared home, suddenly he saw the shape of a hawk’s wing in the branches, as clear as anything he had ever noticed before. He looked at it for some time and wondered if it was a sign from the spirit elders. This occupied his mind as he hurried home to present his catch to his mother and father. That night after dinner as he lay beside the fire, he drifted off to sleep and he dreamt of his hawk and wondered if it would be there tomorrow to help him get tomorrow’s food. There was no hawk the next day. The birds mocked him laughing and screeching every time he rose to throw his spear. The young man returned empty handed. He sat disappointed and talked with his injured father, who was wise and explained that even he had returned empty handed from hunting. He asked his son to describe the hawk’s movements and how it had swooped down onto the birds the day earlier. The young man did so and then told him about the sign he had seen in the tree of the shape of a hawk’s wing. The father asked him to go collect the tree branch which looked like the wing. Together they took the branch and made it look exactly like the wing of the hawk and devised a plan to throw it around and behind the birds who would believe it to be a hawk. This would make them fly towards the hunter’s spear. The young man was too excited to sleep and rose especially early the next day. As he travelled to the river, he practiced throwing his hawk’s wing and made it turn in the air. Eventually, he could make it turn and come back to him. Down by the river he could hardly contain his excitement! He was going to outsmart the birds who had mocked him the day before. Using all his cunning, the excited hunter calmed his breathing and crept slowly to the water’s edge. He silently threw his hawk’s wing as he rose, and the birds leapt into the air, but soon the wing was behind them and they turned towards the armed hunter who skilfully downed his catch! At the same time, his hawk’s wing landed just a few steps from him. He could hardly wait to tell his family of today’s success! On the way home, he threw and threw his wing trying different ways until he could land it some 20 paces in front of him so he could continue walking after throwing it, and could pick it up without stopping. He thought this would be useful for hunting to scare up birds in scrub land. The word for Hawk is BUNDA The word for Spear is GUNANG. Perhaps the first BOOMERANG was called “BUNDAGUNANG”.

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I am reminded of the laws of karma which are like the boomerang effect

1.2 Karma as Natural Law, Not Cosmic Justice

Karma is often described as a law of nature, akin to the law of gravity. It operates automatically and impartially. There is no external “judge” keeping score, doling out rewards and punishments. Instead, the universe operates on a principle of ethical causality: certain causes inevitably lead to certain effects.

• The Metaphor of the Seed: A karmic intention is like planting a seed. You cannot plant an apple seed and get a thorn bush. Similarly, an action rooted in greed or hatred will not ripen into lasting happiness. The seed (intention), given conditions (circumstances), will mature into its corresponding fruit (karmaphala, the “fruit of action”).

1.3 A Look at the Types of Karma

Buddhist philosophy categorizes karma to explain its complex workings across time. Understanding these types helps clarify why we experience what we do and where we can intervene.

1. Sanchita Karma (The “Stored” Karma): Imagine a vast granary. This is the total accumulation, the “storehouse,” of all past karmic seeds from countless previous lives that have not yet ripened. It represents our karmic potential.
2. Prarabdha Karma (The “Fructifying” Karma): This is the portion of the sanchita karma that has been “activated” to shape our current lifetime. It determines our baseline circumstances: our body, family, innate tendencies, and the major events that seem to come our way. It is often likened to an arrow already released from the bow; its course is set, but how we respond to its flight creates new karma.
3. Kriyamana/Agami Karma (The “Current” and “Future” Karma): This is the new karma we are creating right now, in this very moment, through our present intentions and actions. Kriyamana is the immediate act of creation; Agami is the future result it will generate. This is our field of power and freedom. While we may not choose the prarabdha arrow’s flight, we absolutely choose which new arrows to nock and fire.

Karma (Cause and Effect) in Buddhism — Buddhist Learning For All

We all have free will. Our destiny is what we seed. Life is a cycle and the boomerang teaches physics and cycles just much. We have stored karma in the hawk, the fructifying karma in the spear and the current and future karma in the boomerang.

Life is a song — sing it. Life is a game — play it. Life is a challenge — meet it. Life is a dream — realize it. Life is a sacrifice — offer it. Life is love — enjoy it. **Sai Baba**

Also see this for more information about the Boomerang effect

[embed]Life Is a Boomerang: How What You Give Always Comes Back to You! Discover the profound truth behind the boomerang effect in life. Learn how your thoughts, words, and actions return to…medium.com

Have a great Friday. If today feels like chasing cats, just remember, this too shall pass.

Be a boomerang.