A magic trick? Do you mean can we learn to manipulate reality through great practice so that it actually seems as if it is? Bend things to our own will? Or do you mean is there something about reality that is so much more real, that allows for the most amazing experiences, synchronicities, to take place, almost as if there is something supremely intelligent going on that defies explanation and usually evidence?
Hmmm. A trick would mean that what we see isn't necessarily how it is even though we look at it as if it is real, that reality as we perceive it on a general level is an illusion. I think the magic being real would refer to your second question, something about this reality that we perceive and experience that makes it so much more real than we could ever imagine. But that is simply how I think it means right now. I asked it this way because I invite everyone to bring their own ideas, interpretations and explanations. When the question came to mind I was pondering why people can be so fascinated by magic, even when it's known to be an illusion. But that's just it, even though it's an illusion what we experience because of it doesn't necessarily mean it's any less real.
Real magic isn't real.. If you consider magic to be the paranormal type of magic, it's not real. If you consider magic to be an illusion crafted by an artist (magician) it too isn't actually real, just smoke and mirrors to fool you.
lets have a friendly wager over some 3 card monte, I'll show you magic is real because all your money will be gone like *snaps* that.
There was a time when some of what we can do today, that we take for granted, would have seemed like magic to our not too distant ancestors. What appears to be magic only appears that way to those who don't understand. So is there anything that could be described as real magic or is everything always natural, because it is so, yet without the connection that comes from knowing, remains unexplained until it is? If I do something you cannot explain, that appears to defy reason or logic, is it magic or just something you do not understand? After all, if i can do it, then it must be possible, and yet, if it appears to defy the idea of what is possible, and no other explanation can be found, that surely can only mean an explanation hasn't been found yet, for one must surely exist for it to.
Aren't we living in a constant state of illusion, each of us having an individual reality, where if it overlaps with another, magic occurs? We each have a reality based on what we want to be our limitations and boundaries, some might say it is the higher self that creates these boundaries so that the lower self can overcome them. Isn't everything magic? Magic is just a manipulation of the world around you to enact your will in whatever way you please. Some can do it fast, most do it slow. Everything is magic to us when we are children, but as soon as we understand how a thing works, it ceases to be magical. Life needs magic for one to be alive. Having magic in your life means that you always have something you are working towards understanding.
That your brain can play tricks on you and alter your perception. Think about when you do drugs.. They alter your perception of life and reality. It's not some mystical alteration, it's caused by the chemicals in the drugs. The chemicals alter your brain's chemical reactions one way%2
Don't know why, but my last post got cut up.. and it only coincides if you think it does, otherwise no. It's alterations to your brain's chemistry, while it may be mysterious as to how it exactly takes place, it's not mystical. Below is what was supposed to have posted earlier. That your brain can play tricks on you and alter your perception. Think about when you do drugs.. They alter your perception of life and reality. It's not some mystical alteration, it's caused by the chemicals in the drugs. The chemicals alter your brain's chemical reactions one way or another and in turn alters your perception of reality, not reality itself. If our brains weren't able to trick us, there wouldn't be optical illusions.. They happen when you see something, but with the way it's laid out, your brain sees it a different way in an attempt to make sense of what it is seeing. A time tested example. Both yellow lines are the same length.. Since it looks like the train tracks are traveling out, your brain assumes that each black line is really the same length, just viewed from a further distance. Because of that, your brain thinks it is seeing the top yellow line further away. It appears larger because in order for them to be the same size and part of the actual track, the top one would have to be larger in order for it to appear to be the same size as the bottom one.. but since they're already the same size, it ends up looking longer.
another interesting illusion is this , inspired by the motion correspondence problem. now for me it appears the dots look like they're moving up and down and when I cover all the dots except the top 2 it looks like they're moving left to right. Why is it the case that I have to focus to make it seem like the dots move diagonally and why cant a dot from the top left quadrant seem to correspond to the bottom right quadrant when that is also a possibility? Somehow the apparent motion is limited to one corner of the square , when in reality they're just different dots flashing . A simply gif. why does more effort need to be applied to see them moving diagonally? This is probably an evolutionary traits as in the real world things either fall down so there is a vertical bias , And targets like a prey might move left or right. This is due to natural constraints in your brain that probably arisen from evolution. Making certain assumptions on proximity , motion similarity and one to one mapping constraint. You can even build these assumptions on artificial neural networks and train it beable to detect the motion the same way we do. In other words , to cope with the world pragmatic assumptions are hardwired in the brain, so we can make quicker decisions without having to fully process the situation at the moment. This will lead to some mistakes in our perceptions, thus illusions.
Really? Hm. Well, do you believe in legitimate alteration due to spirituality, let's say of consciousness? And you believe said change of consciousness would not coincide with an alteration of brain chemistry. I would have to disagree. How can consciousness change without brain chemistry changing?
I don't believe consciousness is spiritual. I believe it's a product of evolution, but if you alter your brain chemistry, you will alter your consciousness as long as the parts altered are parts of your consciousness.. So I don't know how to answer your last question cause I never made or implied that statement.
You said taking drugs is not mystical alteration, just an alteration of brain chemistry. I asked whether legitimate mystical alteration, too, woukd coincide with a change in brain chemistry. You said no. I disagreed, stating that all changes of consciousness would go along with a change in brain chemistry. And...that's my point, I guess. People say about drugs, 'that's just an alteration of brain chemistry.' My question, what change in consciousness, any activity of consciousness really, is not an alteration of brain chemistry?
Reason I said no is because I don't believe in any kind of mystical altering.. but if it was real, then yes, you'd be correct cause it'd end up changing the brain's chemistry, but it wouldn't be mystical. If it were a legit mystical altering, then that would mean there are mystical aspects of the brain that might not rely on brain chemistry and the mystical alteration could just alter the mystical parts of the brain.. To answer the question, pretty much any real change would change the brain chemistry.. Whether there are changes resulting in something mystical is another question.
The term I just coined, "real magic," has an implied contradiction if you accept the idea that magic simply uses our perception to create an illusion that something is real. I.e., if the magic were real it wouldn't be magic at all. It would just be real. Is the illusion real? Or is reality an illusion? Or both?
illusions form the the reality in the sense of our subjective experience , but not the reality in the objective sense