RSPK and Magick
This paper deals with two very specific types of transpersonal phenomena. These two types being recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK) and intentional psychokinesis. Transpersonal phenomena relate to experiences of people who report a feeling that his or her "consciousness has expanded beyond the usual ego boundaries and has transcended the limitations of time and space." (Grof 38). There are many different types of transpersonal experiences for they "cover an extremely wide range of phenomena which occur on different levels of reality" and in a sense the wide range in which they can occur is "commensurate with existence itself" (Grof 39). Thus there are also many classifications and categories of transpersonal phenomena. The category of phenomena which is the main focus of this paper belongs to the transpersonal experiences of a psychoid nature.
Transpersonal phenomena of a psychoid nature have very interesting characteristics. This is because they involve meaningful connections between subjective intrapsychic events and objective physical changes in the world of physical reality (Grof 148). The term psychoid can be thought of as referring to phenomena that lie in the strange realm between consciousness and matter. Carl Jung first used the term in this manner, referring to it as "quasi-psychic" (Jung 397). Jung said the collective unconscious was psychoid in nature because it "represents a psyche that cannot be directly perceived or 'represented'" and he said, "on account of its 'irrepresentable' nature I have called it 'psychoid'" (Jung 397).
Jung also commonly used the term psychoid in reference to synchronistic events (Grof 148). A term he coined "to designate the meaningful coincidence or equivalence of a psychic event and a physical state or event which has no casual relationship to one another." (Jung 400). Synchronistic events are also a type of psychoid transpersonal phenomena in addition to RSPK and magic. Jung claimed synchronicity is unexplainable not because its cause is unknown but because the "cause is not even thinkable in intellectual terms" but is "no more baffling or mysterious than the discontinuities of physics" (Jung 401).
Psychoid transpersonal phenomena can be divided into three large categories. The first category involves synchronicity, the second events in which psychological processes appear to influence physical reality and the third category refers to instances of a deliberate intervention in the physical world by psychological means (Grof 150). This paper mainly deals with the phenomena occurring in the second (RSPK) and third (magic) category. Both of these phenomena are a form of psychokinesis. The phenomenon of magic is referred to as a form of intentional psychokinesis. The term psychokinesis (PK) can be defined as "the ability to use the energy of the mind to move or otherwise affect matter without physical contact" (Roll & Duncan 4).
Before I begin my discussion on magic I feel it is necessary to discuss an other form of psychokinesis belonging to the psychoid category of transpersonal experiences. This form of psychokinesis is called recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis. Psychokinesis or RSPK belongs to the second category of psychoid transpersonal phenomena, which is a spontaneous psychoid event. RSPK is often commonly referred to as Poltergeist phenomena, poltergeist being a German word for noisy or rowdy ghost (Roll & Duncan 164). This type phenomenon is frequently studied in the field of parapsychology and was even called the "royal road to an extended understanding of man, of his position in nature and of nature herself" by noted parapsychologist Hans Bender (Roll 3). According to leading parapsychologist William Roll RSPK is a "manifestation of kinetic energy as in object-movements and percussive sounds" (Roll 10).
In these so-called poltergeist "hauntings", events and disturbances of a remarkable variety are often reported. Typical reported disturbances and events often include strange noises such as unusual knockings, raps, bangs, whistling, singing, and talking. Movements and destruction of domestic objects by themselves as if under their own power is another strange occurrence often reported (Groff 155). Objects have even been reported to fly about in bizarre trajectories, to crash to the floor and break, to break or shatter in place for no apparent physical reason, and to disappear and reappear, sometimes in different locations. Beds are sometimes reported to shake and furniture to rearrange itself. In more rare cases, small, innocuous fires have started, water droplets or bursts have fallen from nowhere, stones have pelted homes, and vague apparition-like forms have been seen (Forcella). Residents living in a house with a poltergeist sometimes report finding strange scratches or bruises on their body with out remembering any physical injury to those particular areas. In extreme Poltergeist cases "teleportation, mysterious conveyance of various articles in and out of locked doors and closed drawers or cabinets" have been reported (Grof 155). Numerous Poltergeist cases have been studied by contemporary parapsychological researchers and as a result these strange occurrences are well documented in the parapsychological literature as well as in the mainstream literature and press.
There seems to be a general agreement among parapsychologists that the Poltergeist phenomena is not the result of pesky spirits, ghosts or demons but is caused by recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis. This statement immediately begs the question: "if not from ghosts then where does the RSPK causing these strange occurrences comes from"? This can be answered by the fact that in most Poltergeist cases there is a living person at the center of the disturbances who is referred to as the "agent". It has been found that in many Poltergeist cases the person is a teenager experiencing a difficult time during adolescence (Roll & Duncan 171). Most parapsychologists believe that without the person realizing it, they are venting their inner psychological frustration or anger in an unusual way by projecting it onto the people and physical objects surrounding them (Roll & Duncan 177). These people, instead of the resolving their stress in normal ways, "blow off steam" unconsciously with the RSPK activity. This is thought to be so because patterns can usually be found in the disturbances, which are generally symbolic and give clues as to the nature of the unresolved stress of the agent. The disturbances often appear as metaphors to the causes of stress. For example, sexual tension may be released through causing the bed to shake or anger towards a certain person may be released by the agent causing items belonging to the target person to break (Forcella). In short, the objects in the physical environment the agent unconsciously effects are in some way meaningfully connected to them.
The main obstacle for serious scientific research of the RSPK phenomena has been the traditional Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm in modern day science. This paradigm is incompatible with transpersonal experiences of a psychoid nature because of its authoritative assumption "that consciousness is an accidental product of matter and an epiphenomenona of physiological processes in the brain" this even "made their existence, in principle impossible and absurd" (Grof 149). It is no wonder these type of transpersonal experiences are met with resistance from members of the traditional scientific paradigm since "the existence and nature of transpersonal experiences violate some of the most basic assumptions of mechanistic science" (Grof 162). RSPK's incompatibility with the worldview of mechanistic science is easily seen in the numerous studies of the phenomena that seem to suggest it is due to "a mental energy that interacts with physical energies, including electromagnetic energy" (Roll 2).
An individual trapped in the narrow thinking of the traditional Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm would most definitely reject parapsychology's conclusion of how the RSPK phenomenon occurs immediately as impossible. For a person trapped in this limited reality tunnel the conclusions about RSPK appear impossible simply because in their world they are. Any intelligent reader will recall that most all of the revolutionary new discoveries in science are met with extreme resistance from the traditional worldview at the time. This resistance that most new discoveries in the world meet is due to mankind's resistance to "any finding that genuinely increase the knowledge of natural functioning and man's relationship to the cosmos" which "comes to acceptance only after very many bitter years of struggle and persecution" (Baker). This resistance and persecution of the knowledge of natural functioning is what Wilhelm Reich called the "emotional plague." This resistance and persecution of the natural functioning of life comes from the fact that to man "deviation from what is known, from what is familiar, from the beaten path, can mean total confusion and ruin." (Reich 39). Reich goes on to say "man's fear of what is uncertain, bottomless, cosmic, is justified or at least understandable" (Reich 39). At this point it would be pertinent to include a statement by Aleister Crowley that lucidly illustrates the puzzling phenomena of people rejecting truth and reason.
"The fact is that the vast majority
of people are absolutely impervious
to facts. Test the average man by
asking him to listen to a simple
sentence which contains one word
with associations to excite his
prejudices, fears or passions—he
will fail to understand what you
have said and reply by expressing
his emotional reaction to the
critical word. It was long before I
understood this fact of psychology.
Even to this day, it surprises me
that there should be minds which are
unable to accept any impressions
equably and critically."
(Crowley 253-254).
Any intelligent reader can easily recall that many revolutionary discoveries in science are met with extreme resistance from the traditional worldview of the time. It is hard to imagine now, in the year 2000, that in 1633 Galileo was convicted of heresy for proposing the sun didn't revolve around the earth. And now, in the year 2000, this is simply taken for granted. Another more recent example is the fact there is now a completely separate discipline in science called quantum physics that only studies the smaller parts of the atom, when a short time ago it was commonly accepted that the atom was the smallest form of matter. When looking at the developments of science through history "it's incredible the number of 'miracles' we accept today without question that yesterday's teachers of science told us were impossible" (Roll 5).
It is absolutely clear that anybody who takes an unbiased approach to studying the RSPK phenomena will be immediately forced to conclude the phenomena represents a critical challenge to the Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm of Western science (Grof 161). Phenomena such as RSPK shatter the most fundamental assumptions of the traditional paradigm of materialistic science and the mechanistic worldview. RSPK shatters this worldview because it cannot be explained in traditional ways. The shattering of the traditional paradigm in science always calls for the emergence of a new paradigm. We cannot dismiss RSPK as impossible simply because we do not know exactly how they occur. The validity of the RSPK phenomena has been proven but the problem is in proving how the phenomena actually occur. The RSPK phenomena simply cannot be explained with the mechanistic science paradigm; it can only be integrated and explained by the "revolutionary developments in various scientific disciplines that have been referred to as the emerging paradigm" (Grof 163).
Scientific disciplines of the emerging paradigm that have and are contributing to the drastic change in the traditional scientific worldview are quantum-relativistic physics, astrophysics, cybernetics, psychedelic research, thanatology, neurophysiology, information and systems theory, Sheldrake's theory of morphic resonance, holomovement theory, and the holographic model of the brain (Grof 163). These revolutionary discoveries "suggest that mind and possibly consciousness are inherent properties of nature and the cosmos" (Grof 149). To understand the main theme of this new scientific paradigm "it would be most satisfactory of all if physics and psyche could be seen as complementary aspects of the same reality" (Roll). Psychoid phenomena such as RSPK appear possible and, in a certain sense, plausible when seen within the context of the emerging paradigm in science (Grof 149). It is clear the new paradigm is emerging and will continue to do so. Largely due to the efforts of a relatively small number of rational and progressive thinking scientists "the scientific climate is becoming gradually more open for unbiased study" for transpersonal phenomena such as RSPK (Grof 149).
I feel it is necessary to point out that physicist Albert Einstein and psychologists Carl Jung appeared to have had knowledge of this new paradigm decades before it became overtly manifest. Jung became extremely interested in the developments in quantum-relativistic physics and as a result became friends with Wolfgang Pauli, one of the founders of quantum physics. It was even Albert Einstein was the person who first encouraged Jung to pursue his idea of synchronicity as fully compatible with the new thinking in physics (Grof 152).
A person might be willing to accept the major premise of this new paradigm that essentially says "psyche and matter (are)…inseparably entangled" (Roll 2). They also might be willing to admit this fact could explain the RSPK phenomena but they still would probably enquire as to how the phenomena actually occurs. There are many theories as to how and why RSPK occurs and like all theories in science, "a theory for RSPK must enable us to understand the phenomenon and increase our ability to predict it" (Roll 8).
In some RSPK cases incidents are reported of objects moving out of or into closed space. For example Tina Resch the agent of a Poltergeist case reported seeing an egg penetrate a door (Roll 8). The concept of four dimensional space, or space-time, has as been hypothesized to explain unusual incidents of RSPK such as this (Roll 8). If the universe has four dimensions then "objects moving in space-time beyond the window of human perception would then seem to appear or disappear" and it can be said "this is what happens to our thoughts and feelings when we remember and forget" (Roll 2). Parapsychologist Hans Bender proposed "objects that are forgotten might actually disappear and remembered objects might return"
(Roll 2).
According to William Roll "four-dimensional maps [of reality] are not as esoteric as they once were…the world of human-scale objects has four dimensions, three of space and one of time" (Roll 9). Roll goes on to state "the suggestion that the lived world is four-dimensional rather than three-dimensional makes good sense" because "if it were not for their extension in time, three-dimensional objects could not be experienced" (Roll 8).
The four dimensional hypothesis helps to explain the RSPK phenomena but it is important to remember, "in considering RSPK the psychological aspects of objects cannot be ignored" (Roll 9). It can be said, "psyche and mater (are)…so inseparably entangled that the discrimination between an external (physical) and an internal (psychological) aspect might…be an inadequate way to grasp what essentially happens" (Roll 9). This immediately begs the question "what is an adequate way to grasp what happens?" One might suppose the "adequate way to grasp what happens" has something to do with the nature of the agent in RSPK cases. Agents usually only effect objects in the physical world that are meaningfully connected to them in some way, shape or form.
William Roll hypothesizes a fifth dimension to further explain the RSPK phenomena. It was shown earlier in this paper that the four dimensional theory of the world allowed for objects that were forgotten to actually be able to disappear and for remembered objects to then return. To allow for such possibilities, Roll suggests we imagine objects have a fifth aspect of dimension which is experienced as meaning. He claims that in "RSPK the agent interacts with the meaning of the object and thereby with its physical condition" (Roll 2). The meaning of a particular object depends on our memory of the object. Is it possible the agent's emotions are moving the meaningful objects? Roll claims, "if matter is connected to meaning and memory, this may become a possibility" (Roll 9). It is generally assumed that the meaning a person gives to an object in their perception has no physical affect but if Roll's claims were true then it could be said the act of perception affects the object perceived by the individual (Roll 10). Although these theories seem to provide further insight into how the phenomenon actually occurs, RSPK still remains a mystery. However, what is important to keep in mind says Dr. Roll is "that the energy that underlie RSPK may be of practical benefit" (Roll 14).
William Roll claims his research on the RSPK phenomena strongly suggest "human beings have an unrecognized capacity to interact directly with their physical environment and that this ability may be activated in particular individuals at times of extreme stress" (Roll & Duncan 178). If the RSPK phenomenon proves humans have the capacity to interact with the physical world by means of their mind, then I think a fair question to ask is "are there any other way to activate this ability besides by way of extreme stress? I would answer yes. There exist certain techniques specifically designed to unlock this inherent ability of the mind. This technique is a form of what Grof calls intentional psychokinesis, which he defines as
"the ability to influence the material environment without the physical intervention of the body (muscles and glands) by simply wishing events to happen or by performing acts that have no ordinary cause-and-effect
relationship to the outcome" (Grof 157).
Grof names magic, healing, hexing, siddhis, and laboratory psychokinesis as forms of intentional psychokinesis. I propose that magic is the form of intentional psychokinesis which is the key to unlock the power of the mind. The mind, according to the famous occultist Colin Wilson, "has the same power as the hands: not merely to grasp the world, but to change it". This power is unlocked with the techniques of magic and as a result "the energies released in magical work are quite profound" (Spiegelman 135).
Based upon my research of RSPK and magic I have come to the conclusion that they are remarkably similar phenomena. I hypothesize they are essentially the result of the same natural processes of nature that appear out of the ordinary simply because science has yet to completely explain them. "As bizarre as all this [magic] might appear to a modern mind brought up in the tradition of materialistic science, phenomena of this kind [i.e. magical techniques causing changing to occur in the objective physical universe] deserve serious interest of open-minded scientists (Grof 157). I whole-heartedly agree with Grof's statement and will attempt to shed some light on magic for the "open-minded scientist". I will briefly discuss the history and theory of magic; providing an example of magical technique or ritual. In addition I will compare the similarities between the ways in which magicians and parapsychologist explain their respective phenomena as being based in objective reality. Lastly I will explain where I think the system of magic fits into the emerging paradigm in science and why an integration within that paradigm could be extremely beneficial to mankind's further evolution as a species.
The supposed origins of magic are extraordinary to say the least. Many magicians claim it has no origins or that it was born with the world. The apocryphal Book of Enoch claims there were angels who consented to fall from heaven to earth. These angles who were said to be initiates of magic, then communicated this knowledge to man (Levi 41). Some sources claim magic was first given to Adam who in turned passed it to Noah and then Abraham who then reportedly spread it to Egypt (Andrews 9). In The History of Magic, Levi claims magic "was the science of Abraham and Orpheus, of Confucius and Zoroaster, and it was magical doctrines which were graven on tables of stone by Enoch and by Trismegistus(Levi 3). Moses was reported to have put the teachings of magic were under the disguise of the Holy Kabalah. It is also believed the ancient Persian magi preserved the wisdom from Babylon. Throughout the ages different groups and individuals have tried to keep the teachings of magic "secret" so as to conceal its truth from the profane masses. The Gnostics are said to have preserved some of the teachings of magic. They then passed them on to the celebrated Order of the Temple who passed them on to such secret associations as the Rosicrucians, Illuminati and Freemasons (Levi 4). These groups then passed the knowledge to modern day groups such as the Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis. Groups such as these tried to preserve the teachings of magic in their original unadulterated forms, however Levi still claimed, "that profanation had befallen the doctrines and mysteries of magic [it was] repeated from age to age…[this] misuse [of magic] has been a great and terrible lesson…" (Levi 4). Levi went on to say "the key of science [magic] has been thrown to children; as might have been expected, it is now, therefore, mislaid and practically lost" (Levi 5). The teachings of magic where salvaged from this fate in modern times by occultist Aleister Crowley. Crowley felt his "special job was to preserve the Sacred Tradition" and to "restore magic the respect and honor it commanded in earlier times" (Beta xxiv). The ancient teachings of magic, as properly restored by Aleister Crowley at the turn of the century, are now available to every free man and women on Amazon.com or at major bookstore near you.
Magic is the key of all secrets as yet unfathomed by the philosophy of history and the key that opens the secret temple of nature. Magic can be easily understood as both absolute religion and absolute science (Levi 30). It can be said
"magic is the highest, most
absolute, and most Divine Knowledge
of Natural Philosophy, advanced in
its works and wonderful operations
by a right understanding of the
inward and occult virtue of things;
so that true Agents being applied to
proper Patients, strange and
admirable effects will thereby be
produced. Whence magicians are
profound and diligent searchers into
Nature; they, because of their
skill, know how to anticipate an
effect, the which to the vulgar
shall seem to be a miracle"
(Beta 123).
The laws of magic are merely the laws of nature and it can be said that magic's fundamental conceptions are "identical with that of modern science" and "underlying the whole system is a faith, implicit but real and firm, in the order and uniformity of nature" (Beta 123). Stated simply, "magic may be defined as the name given to science by the vulgar" (Crowley 144).
Having given a general definition of magic I will now explain some of the principles behind its basic theory. "Magic is the Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with the Will" (Beta 126). It is important to point out that in the system of magic a person's Will is said to be in "harmony with the movement " of the divine mystery of creation and therefore equal to the "Will of God" (Crowley 208). "Any required change may be effected by the application of the proper kind and degree of force in the proper manner through the proper medium to the proper object" (Beta 126). The theory behind this practice is that a person can perform a specific procedure (i.e. ceremonial magical ritual) that will in turn be the catalyst for a change in the physical universe that is in accord with the will of the magician and of the divine will of nature. It is also important to point out that attempting to bring about any change in the physical universe that is not in accord with the divine Will is considered in the magical tradition as black magic. This idea of causing change to occur in the physical world that is in accord with the divine will is illustrated lucidly by Shakti Gawain. She says:
"[magic] is a means of unblocking or dissolving the barriers we our
selves have created to the naturally
harmonious, abundant and flowing
universe. It is only truly
effective when it is used in
alignment with our highest goals and purposes, for the highest good of
all beings. If someone should
attempt to use this powerful
technique for a harmful or
destructive selfish end, he would
only be demonstrating his ignorance
of the basic principles of radiation
and attraction, 'as you sow, so
shall you reap'" (Gawin 19).
The universe is flux and as result can be said to be always changing thus there is always a potential for change. If the desired change of the magician coincides with the flux of the divine Will which is working toward ultimate perfection, then his ritual will act as a catalyst to bring about his desired change. A magician working in accord with the dynamic flow of the divine Will "has the inertia of the Universe to assist him" (Beta 128). The use of magic "enables us to take advantage of the continuity of Nature by the empirical application of certain principles [through magical rituals]." The ritual sets into motion events and energies who's "interplay involves different orders of idea connected with each other in a way beyond our present comprehension" and is counter productive for the magician to dwell on (Beta 128).
The new paradigm in science is now proving scientifically that magic is possible. However, this is of no significance to the magician. The practice of magic "presumes a sympathetic model of the universe. The idea that the basic energies can be manipulated is based on the realization that from certain dimensions all things are interconnected" (Hyatt 195). The validity of magic is something magicians are intuitively aware of. Intuition "is another faculty of human consciousness…one might almost describe it as the fourth dimensional faculty" (Grant 40). The intuition of magic's validity as a science is "not the understanding of empirical things, but that insight into the hidden side of things made possible by a sudden and total identity of the mind with pure consciousness, wherein all ideas are stored" (Grant 40). It appears after a few hundred years science is finding out that what magicians have been claiming for centuries is not 'magic' but reality.
The similarities between the ways parapsychologists explain RSPK and they way magicians explain magic is quite convincing evidence supporting my assertion that magic is the key that unlocks the powers of the mind exhibited to be possible by RSPK. William Roll proposes meaning plays a roll in how and why the RSPK phenomena occurs. It is important, when reading the comparisons between the way RSPK and magic are explained to keep in mind Roll says "a meaning dimension should not be regarded as a dimension in the physical or mathematical sense but as complementary to the physical dimensions". Kenneth Grant's (former student of Aleister Crowley) views on the reality of nature which in turn make magic a possibility are in many ways similar to Roll's views of the reality of nature that make RSPK a possibility. Observe Grant's view of reality.
"Motion, however is illusory because
there is no thing, no object, to
move. Objects are mere objects
of consciousness, and cannot exist
apart from it. The illusion of
movement is created by the mind's
inability to entertain more than
one thought at a time. Hence
thoughts (things) appear serially,
and are apparently projected by the
mind into space, where they assume
objective existence. But the space
in which they seem to appear is
itself a thought and, together with
time, constitutes the mechanism of
manifestation, or duality, i.e.
Subject recognizing objects"
(Grant 74).
Now, compare Grant's view with the view of parapsychologist, William Roll.
"It is the meaning of things which determines our movement in space-
time, which makes us approach some
objects and spurn others. This
movement may be illusory from the
view of higher dimensions.
Sometimes the meaning of the object
is the only aspect present to
experience…May emotion move things
out of view, into space time? If
matter is connected to meaning and
memory, this may become a possibility" (Roll 9). Grant claims the key to magic, is also the key to understanding the living dream that we perceive as the physical universe. This key can be found in the fact that "the mind cannot entertain more than one thought at a time, it follows that at the moment of thought there cannot be a thinker as well as an object of thought." The actor and script are one, and the act of the script being read, together with an apparent performer of action is entirely illusory for the witness alone is real (Grant 154). This implies that in the act of seeing an object (the witness) there is in fact no subject or object and it is this 'double absence' of the subject and object that is the key to magic. Once again compare these views of Grant with Roll's explanation of RSPK. He states "in RSPK the agents interacts with the meaning of the object and thereby with its physical condition" (Roll 2). He further explains:
"…the act of perception affects the
object…[and to] account objects as
having informational, energetic and
mater components is helpful. The
three components interact within the
same object and between
objects" (Roll 9).
Grant and Roll's theories on the structure of the universe are admittedly not 100% identical. Although I think it is fairly obvious that Roll's and Grant's views when put side by side appear remarkably similar. I feel this is still further evidence supporting my theory that magic unlocks the power of the mind that is demonstrated to exist by RSPK.
Like RSPK and agents, magic only affects objects that are tied in a meaningful way to the magician. Crowley explains that in order for magic to work it is necessary that you should really want the object, in your subconsciousness, whose will works the miracle. He says "it is useless for me to think, or pretend, that I want it [the object]" (Crowley 115). This explanation of how magic works is similar to the fact that an RSPK agent usually only affect objects they are in some way meaningful attached to or objects of others they are in someway meaningfully attracted to. Agents are also said to be expressing repressed feelings from their unconscious onto the physical world (Grof 155). I feel the evidence I have given showing the remarkably similar views of reality by which these two phenomena can both be explained support my hypothesis: magic is the key to unlocking the energy that underlie RSPK. An energy that according to William Roll "may be of practical benefit" (Roll 14).
Fred Wolfe a leading thinker in the emerging scientific paradigm in science claims he feels like "a child on the seashore" when seeing where the emerging scientific paradigm is pointing. He says:
"I feel like we're on the verge of a gigantic discovery -- maybe the nature of God, maybe the nature of the human spirit. Something of that sort is going to emerge from this, because our normal notions -- in fact the notions upon which we think science makes any sense at all, the notions of space and time and matter – they just are breaking down, they're just falling apart, like tissue paper before our eyes" (Wolfe).
Magic is a scientific and religious doctrine that has been lost and recovered throughout the ages. It was saved in modern times by Aleister Crowley. He claimed his work with magic was to ultimately "lay the cornerstone of a magico-religious system that would bridge the chasm between scientific skepticism and spiritual revelation" (Beta xxiv). Since the dawn of time magic has known what science is only now hinting at explaining. I propose that in order for mankind to advance to the further stages of evolution the ancient system of magic must be integrated into the emerging paradigm of science. Perhaps William Burroughs said it best in his dust jacket blurb for Phil Hine's book Condensed Chaos (New Falcon Publications, 1995):
"Magic, in light of modern physics,
quantum theory and probability
theory is now approaching science.
We hope that a result of this will
be a synthesis so that science
will become more magical and magic
more scientific."
I believe that this integration would mark a new Aeon or age in the history of man. Crowley characterizes this new Aeon as "the worship of the spiritual made one with the material" (Beta 444). There are no limits to a technologically advanced civilization working in accord with the laws of nature. As Arthur C. Clarke has stated: "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
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