A Mirror’s Reflection
Recently I received an IM from someone thinking themselves “cute” in which some of my views weren’t just being “challenged” but to the sender’s mind, “slammed” – he/she thought, or so it would seem, that a video by a comic that slams the precepts of “faith” would hurt me in that he/she did not consider the fact that I don’t buy into the Hebraic tales of Genesis or their precursor which pre-dates them by some 1,500 years (found in a cave located near Kashmir India). In fact, I believe whole-heartedly in Evolution and the general scientific idea as to how this planet and all the rest that makes up the Universe came into being. You see, this person ASSUMED something that was untrue, based on incomplete data and the personal assumption that when an individual expresses belief or support of one thing “fantastical” they must likewise buy into all the rest; said individual failing to recall that the majority of the world’s foremost physicists, chemist, mathematicians – SCIENTISTS & INTELLECTUALS up to and including the mid and late 20th century, we individuals of faith. In fact, many of them were ordained members of clergy. Similarly, many of the greatest minds within magic, including a certain Mr. Houdini, were likewise men of faith; hell, Howard Thurston was about to join a seminary prior to meeting up with Kellar.
So here we have a would-be smart-ass now standing with mud all over his face because he ASSUMED something about me that wasn’t even remotely close to the truth. Unwittingly, he likewise lit a spark under my fat tukkiss, which resulted in this particular post; one that will hopefully lend to all of you a bit of food for thought, maybe a hint of clarity and even more importantly, a challenge by which you may actually learn something you never knew when it comes to learning “true” Mentalism (though I do reference it in that FREE book I posted here a few weeks back).
For starters let me point out that Junior’s antics when it comes to the aforementioned video, come from a current trend within Magic that’s both, dangerous and on so many levels WRONG. Wrong in the sense that it encourages and extends a sense of deliberate aggression towards those that may believe in things you might personally not embrace. . . and for the record, I believe that this same wrong applies to all those “missionaries” that ring our door bells or leave those ignorant little comic books laying about town – anytime you attempt to force others to yield to your point of view – your “beliefs” – is simple WRONG on both, moral and ethical planes. Just as you would take affront to such gestures so do others when you mimic such madness. The problem is the Magician’s society has become impregnated by the LIE that being a Magician requires you to not believe in anything spiritual or phenomenal – if it is not based on analytical data, it cannot exist. An idea that is mirrored in today’s realms of higher education, even within those colleges that were founded and sponsored by this or that religious institution. Yet, we find the wake of this lie – the delusional idea that Intelligent People Cannot Believe in “God” or the Paranormal. . . again, based on the arrogant views held by a handful of mortals. . . the same kind of “clergy” that gave us the dominating cults of the past 2,000ish years.
Funny, how many of these intellects fail to see that they are forming a gospel in the same exact way their predecessors did – the very people who they now attempt to deny as the result of some invented religiosity.
But let’s ignore all such facts and take a look at the real issue or “challenge” here; the fact that properly studied and executed Mentalism mirrors, almost step for step, the path taken by a neophyte seeking a certain form of spiritual & mental “enlightenment” which just happens to include the expansion of consciousness – awareness.
QUESTION: How is the act of learning how to LISTEN and actually SEE one’s environment “Mystical” or anything outside logical analytical action?
Were you aware of the fact that Edgar Cayce, one of the foremost Psychic personalities of the mid-20th century, taught that being Psychic was nothing more than the expansion of one’s consciousness – one’s sensitivity and ability to connect with the finer “energy” set in one’s environment. For an example, those subtle tics and facial movements one might notice when playing a game of chance – the “tells” of a gambler, con-artist, liar, pick one.
It’s not “cheating” nor is it proof of “fraud” it is merely an analytical explanation as to how mystics were able to do some of the things they are known to have done. . . the very techniques psychology and other mental & emotional health sciences BORROWED and now use with the same regularity as you would find in the religious & psychic arena. Which makes one ponder if the reason we are taught to view such things with contempt actually involves cruel deception by the mystic or if the Mental Health industry itself, seeks a monopoly on said tactics and has thus, criminalize or “demonized” the very source from which they stole said skills and understanding? Granted, the scholars & researchers refined what was known to the mystics, but the real truth is, they borrowed from a known thing re-labeled it and called it their own. It’s an ancient practice that goes back millennia; you may want to check it out.
Recently I received an IM from someone thinking themselves “cute” in which some of my views weren’t just being “challenged” but to the sender’s mind, “slammed” – he/she thought, or so it would seem, that a video by a comic that slams the precepts of “faith” would hurt me in that he/she did not consider the fact that I don’t buy into the Hebraic tales of Genesis or their precursor which pre-dates them by some 1,500 years (found in a cave located near Kashmir India). In fact, I believe whole-heartedly in Evolution and the general scientific idea as to how this planet and all the rest that makes up the Universe came into being. You see, this person ASSUMED something that was untrue, based on incomplete data and the personal assumption that when an individual expresses belief or support of one thing “fantastical” they must likewise buy into all the rest; said individual failing to recall that the majority of the world’s foremost physicists, chemist, mathematicians – SCIENTISTS & INTELLECTUALS up to and including the mid and late 20th century, we individuals of faith. In fact, many of them were ordained members of clergy. Similarly, many of the greatest minds within magic, including a certain Mr. Houdini, were likewise men of faith; hell, Howard Thurston was about to join a seminary prior to meeting up with Kellar.
So here we have a would-be smart-ass now standing with mud all over his face because he ASSUMED something about me that wasn’t even remotely close to the truth. Unwittingly, he likewise lit a spark under my fat tukkiss, which resulted in this particular post; one that will hopefully lend to all of you a bit of food for thought, maybe a hint of clarity and even more importantly, a challenge by which you may actually learn something you never knew when it comes to learning “true” Mentalism (though I do reference it in that FREE book I posted here a few weeks back).
For starters let me point out that Junior’s antics when it comes to the aforementioned video, come from a current trend within Magic that’s both, dangerous and on so many levels WRONG. Wrong in the sense that it encourages and extends a sense of deliberate aggression towards those that may believe in things you might personally not embrace. . . and for the record, I believe that this same wrong applies to all those “missionaries” that ring our door bells or leave those ignorant little comic books laying about town – anytime you attempt to force others to yield to your point of view – your “beliefs” – is simple WRONG on both, moral and ethical planes. Just as you would take affront to such gestures so do others when you mimic such madness. The problem is the Magician’s society has become impregnated by the LIE that being a Magician requires you to not believe in anything spiritual or phenomenal – if it is not based on analytical data, it cannot exist. An idea that is mirrored in today’s realms of higher education, even within those colleges that were founded and sponsored by this or that religious institution. Yet, we find the wake of this lie – the delusional idea that Intelligent People Cannot Believe in “God” or the Paranormal. . . again, based on the arrogant views held by a handful of mortals. . . the same kind of “clergy” that gave us the dominating cults of the past 2,000ish years.
Funny, how many of these intellects fail to see that they are forming a gospel in the same exact way their predecessors did – the very people who they now attempt to deny as the result of some invented religiosity.
But let’s ignore all such facts and take a look at the real issue or “challenge” here; the fact that properly studied and executed Mentalism mirrors, almost step for step, the path taken by a neophyte seeking a certain form of spiritual & mental “enlightenment” which just happens to include the expansion of consciousness – awareness.
QUESTION: How is the act of learning how to LISTEN and actually SEE one’s environment “Mystical” or anything outside logical analytical action?
Were you aware of the fact that Edgar Cayce, one of the foremost Psychic personalities of the mid-20th century, taught that being Psychic was nothing more than the expansion of one’s consciousness – one’s sensitivity and ability to connect with the finer “energy” set in one’s environment. For an example, those subtle tics and facial movements one might notice when playing a game of chance – the “tells” of a gambler, con-artist, liar, pick one.
It’s not “cheating” nor is it proof of “fraud” it is merely an analytical explanation as to how mystics were able to do some of the things they are known to have done. . . the very techniques psychology and other mental & emotional health sciences BORROWED and now use with the same regularity as you would find in the religious & psychic arena. Which makes one ponder if the reason we are taught to view such things with contempt actually involves cruel deception by the mystic or if the Mental Health industry itself, seeks a monopoly on said tactics and has thus, criminalize or “demonized” the very source from which they stole said skills and understanding? Granted, the scholars & researchers refined what was known to the mystics, but the real truth is, they borrowed from a known thing re-labeled it and called it their own. It’s an ancient practice that goes back millennia; you may want to check it out.
{End of Part One}