DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?

- part 3 -

by Dennis Gaumond

                      
        Parts 1 and 2 of this article suggested that the awareness of magic was much greater in the past. The idea that human consciousness has an innate power - that our thoughts and intentions could actually produce concrete results - was much more widely accepted than it is today. We once understood that anyone could develop the skills to harness this power and become a very powerful magician.
       Over the past two thousand years this awareness has been increasingly squelched and discouraged, especially in the west. The Church considered such notions to be blasphemous and heretical. The academic establishment dismissed it as unscientific nonsense. The current paradigms - the dominant belief systems of the collective consciousness of mankind - have not allowed for the concept of 'miracles', and so, far fewer have taken place. Again, this is especially true of western attitudes, which place much more value on left-brained logic. In the far east, particularly in India, the notion of having magical or 'siddhic' powers is not seen as far-fetched. Many modern holy-men, such as Sai Baba, are credited with amazing 'supernatural' abilities.
        However, western attitudes have been shifting dramatically over the past few centuries, as more people are looking past religious dogma to the underlying universal mystical concepts that have been around for thousands of years. Mystical bodies of knowledge such as the Tantra, the Qaballa, Taoist and Buddhist philosophies and those of indigenous/shamanic cultures all say much the same thing. They all testify to the power of consciousness, whether they refer to it as magic or not.
        Mystical thought suggests that our physical reality is a product of our collective consciousness and that the totality of reality is the product of the totality of all consciousness, which could be regarded as The Source or 'God'. One could say that reality has been and is being created, from moment to moment, by consciousness. The total collective of all types or factions of consciousness is the 'creator'.
        With the advent of Einstein's revolutionary ideas, more and more people began to see similarities between quantum physics' view of reality and the views of both ancient and modern mystics. Science began to be more concerned with the supernatural or the paranormal. Although it gets very little press in the popular media, there is a growing body of scientific research that is trying to deal with the idea that consciousness has a creative power.
        Some interesting results came from experiments conducted at Princeton University in recent years, from something called the 'Global Consciousness Project'. It is made up of a collective of international scientists led by Roger Nelson. They share an interest in this subject and have agreed to volunteer their time. Their work involves the use of a 'random events generator' (REG), a computer that produces a series of random events, such as flipping coins. These random events can then be recorded in a graph. Experiments have suggested that these outcomes can be influenced by human consciousness. Groups of people have 'willed' a different, more ordered set of results from the REG. Also, global events such as the tsunami and the destruction of the trade towers on 9/11 have produced measurable effects on REGs. (for more info on the GCP refer to the April 30^th newsletter. click here and go to the 'Newsletter' page - PAST NEWSLETTERS
        Further experiments have demonstrated the power of prayer, which one could view as a form of focused intent. Studies done recently in Washington DC had a large number of people praying and meditating over a period of several months with the intent of reducing the crime rate. It went down significantly. When the practice was discontinued, the crime rate returned to it's former highs.
        The research of Dr. Masaru Emoto has shown some remarkable results.  He has recorded the way that consciousness acts on water (ice) crystals, showing that intention can have a direct influence on the shape and form of the crystals. His work is generating a lot of excitement and I encourage you to look into it further.
        Experiments at a quantum level have also strongly suggested that consciousness is a creative force. With declarations like the 'Uncertainty Principal', physicists are claiming that no experiment is completely objective. The will or the desired outcome of the person conducting the experiment must be regarded as a factor affecting the results of the experiment. Respected physicists such as Geoffrey Chew and David Bohm are lending more credence to the idea of the power of consciousness.
        In many ways science is coming to understand what mystics have been saying all along. A quote from the Buddhist Dharmaphada sums up the mystical view, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world."

DATE                       CITY                        TOPIC                        VENUE                      
_____________________________________________________________________________
WED., NOV. 7/07       Guelph,                   Guelph                          Unitarian Church
7:45 to 9:30 pm        Ontaro                    Chant Club

The Unitarian Church is on the corner of
Harris and York Streets in Guelph.

For more Detailed directions, check out guelph-unitarians.ca

WATERLOO CHANT CLUB

HARNESS THE

POWER OF THOUGHT

                    Have whatever you desire to have!                                           
              Be whoever you desire to be!

Are you completely happy with your life? No matter how happy you may be, you can be much happier.

--  Be Happier  --  Enrich your life  --  Make more Money    --  Empower your choices  --  -- Be Healthier   --  Improve your Relationships  --

This Seminar is FREE, But seating is Limited

WHERE: Community Centre "Upstairs at Zehrs"                                                              1005 Ottawa N , Kitchener , ON (@ Ottawa & River)                                                    
(When you come into the store Turn Right and Follow the Stairs)

WHEN: Friday, November 30^th, 7:00 to 9:00PM