Magic and Mysticism, Skepticism and Science (Part Two)

"Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time."
--C. S. Lewis

In the last entry with this title, I wandered far afield from the point I was going to try to make. So, let's revisit the topic and see if I can manage to stay on track this time.

Today we'll be talking about "Magic and Mysticism, Skepticism and Science." That's the guiding motto of my blog, but what exactly do I mean by that? How do these subjects fit together? Heck, do they fit together?

I say they do. In fact I will go so far as to say that not only do they go together, they have to go together.

Magic and mysticism go together pretty well. As I see it, they're two sides of the same coin. Magic is (in my opinion) to mysticism as electrical engineering is to physics. A mystic doesn't really need to do magic, and a magician typically doesn't have to have a mystic bent to get results, but each can benefit greatly from at least a little knowledge of what the other is up to. Skepticism and science are also two great tastes that taste great together. Science daily pushes the boundaries of what we know about the universe, and skepticism asks the hard questions about whether or not that knowledge is genuine.

But why would science and magic go together? Or mysticism and skepticism?

Because each challenges the other. Mysticism allows us to seek the transcendent, to search out things and worlds of the spirit, to achieve union with the Divine. Magic is the tool kit, applying the insights of the mystic to achieve results in the higher worlds and in this world. Both are challenged by science and skepticism, which rightly point out that there can be other explanations and that there is a genuine possibility that we are deluding ourselves.

But this doesn't mean that science and skepticism are the unchallenged dispensers of Truth and the sole arbiters of reason and understanding. Magic and mysticism challenge science and skepticism, pointing out that we are more than just stimulus-response biochemical robots and that "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".

Be skeptical. There are limits to human knowledge. There are things that we will never know the answer to. But never give up on the search for knowledge. Be mystical. Believe a dozen impossible things each day before breakfast. Remember that, just because something can't be put in a test tube or smashed together at CERN, doesn't mean that it isn't real.

Never stop asking questions. Never stop looking for answers.