Could prayer/meditation/magic be real?

Question

Ok so here me out before you bust out laughing or just jump at yes.
I speak from experience with magic. Magic (contrary to Harry Potter beliefs) is simply focusing intent on energy. Even though I am a practicing pagan, I am a scientist at heart (yes yes, my athiest friends I know you are having a very good laugh at that :D) BUT as a psychologist I also know there is alot about the human mind we don't know and we don't fully understand what its capable. So if we can control light (energy) and sound (energy) whose to say we can't control our own? So in that state of mind, could it be real?
Just one of those things I have pondering lately.

No if I don't believe it hard enough it will come true. Good grief.
There are a lot of conflicting studies on the effect of prayer. There is a lot of undiscovered science. We don't have all the answers. Today's science was yesterdays magic. Whose to say it just hasnt been discovered yet. THAT'S my point. I don't think spark are going to come out of my little magic wand and a frog will appear.

Good points Lao. I am not sure what kind of energy. We have all different sorts in there. Heat, electricity in our brains firing things off. I suppose what I mean by the "pwer of the brain" is like, the placebo effect. There is no reason a person should "heal" themselves, but some of them do literally that just because they THINK they are getting treated. So what causes that. What can our brain really do? And if our brain can "heal" ourselves sometimes, what other things can it do? Now I am not saying we will all evolve into being with laser vision, its just one of those things I ponder. LOL I admit its more questions then answers, but its still interesting.

Answer 1

prayer is real for the person who has faith.People meditate to renew,or refresh mind ,body,and spirit...if they experience positive results-it's real for them.And ,like you said ,magic for the practicing pagan,real for you.And for the inner scientist in you:Einstein's famous Law of Relativity tells us the universe and everything in it is made of energy.Light and matter are two forms of energy;just like ice and steam are two forms of water. And here's a thought:If we really could control a photon of light , we would be existing in a place where past,present,and future merge into an eternal now.We would have found eternity!

Answer 2

Most of what people understand to be "real" is only real in a conventional, material sense. All the things we regard as inherently existing really are dependent arisings, conglomerations of matter, constructed and deconstructed over time by actions and reactions, constantly changing and moving, even at the atomic level. So most of us are fundamentally deluded about our "reality," which we see as permanent and inherently existing when, in fact, it is all transitory and illusory.

Conversely, while we are happy with those delusions, we have not applied much science to understanding that which is most real and essentially our own -- our mind or consciousness (brain study, yes, study of consciousness, no). There is a great deal we simply do not understand about how the mind works, where consciousness comes from and where it goes. Buddhists do, in fact, spend a lot of time meditating upon this ultimate nature and ultimate reality. But we are a tiny, tiny minority.

I think that eventually we will apply ourselves to the scientific understanding of how the subtle consciousness manifests and works. Just as the existence of dark matter was long theorized but only recently proved with new scientific tools and techniquies, I think we'll some day be able to "see" and measure consciousness. This will bring us a step closer to a scientific explanation of why magic, prayer and meditation all work in ways our current scientific vocabulary cannot explain.

Answer 3

Some of it, certainly.

There's a lot of internal changes that can happen to someone - "mind over matter," mental states, psychosomatic changes.... I've seen people get "psyched up" and ignore extreme temperatures for lengths of time, exhibit near super-human strength, etc. Out of the ordinary events brought about due to techniques that have, at one point or another, been termed magic.

As far as external changes? ::shrugs:: Maybe. People have long told tales about being able to pick up a "bad vibe" from someone else - while that's most likely a collection of non-verbal cues, it could be more. We do radiate a certain amount of EM energy, and that energy by nature interacts with our environment. It's theoretically possible that those eminations can be controlled (within limits), and therefore have some control over the environmental effects.

Answer 4

Prayer is real. People pray all the time. There isn't any credible evidence that it does anything for anyone other than the person praying, but it's real. Meditation is also very real. People meditate every day. It's great, but there isn't anything mysterious about it. Magic? Well, magic as a ritualistic practice I suppose exists, but like prayer, the claims of its effectiveness are dubious. You talk about it in terms of focusing "our" energy. Just what kind of energy are you referring to? The chemical energy used by our bodies? Thermal energy released by our bodies? The bio-electric energy used to transmit nerve impulses? Or are you talking about some as yet unknown form of energy, like telekinetic energy? The most likely explanation would seem to be that the effects of magic as a practice are psychological, though I think it is more fun to inhabit a more mysterious and magical universe.

Answer 5

I have always believed that "magick is science that hasn't been proven yet."
Take a look at the movie "What the Bleep...Down the Rabbit Hole" it discusses the changes thought has on a quantum level.
I wholeheartedly believe magick/prayer/meditation (whatever word you want to use) is real and has a real, tangible effect on this realm.

Blessings,

I didn't say magick is science that hasn't been "discovered" yet. I said it hadn't been "proven" yet. You are right that yesterday's magick is today's science.
I am not saying that sparks will fly out of a wand or that people will turn into toads, true magick doesn't work that way.
Blessings,

Answer 6

I for one agree with you. I think this is the way magic works - and the only way it works. It's subtle, but it is stunning what a change in perspective can do for your outlook and the choices you make, even the little ones.

I'm a Taoist, so I believe there is a spiritual energy available. We just need to understand how to use it, like redirecting currents in a stream.

My favorite spell, which I saw online here, btw, was preparing food for the family and using the repetitive actions of stirring and mixing as a focus, to concentrate on our love for our family and how we want good things for them. It's really amazing. What a mood alteration it produced for me, when I'd had a tough day and was feeling down. Nothing *material* changed, but I went from having a bad day to a fantastic one and it showed in how I dealt with my children that night and how I felt when I went to bed and what a good night's sleep I got which helped me the next morning and so on and so forth.

The change occured within myself, but I require no further proof of magic. :-D

Answer 7

Meditation is proven, there are many different meditation techniques though, reaching deeper levels of consciousness.

Prayer and magic on the other hand, well... Every study ever done on prayer in medicine has shown no effect, and magic, that can't be proven either.

Answer 8

You might enjoy reading the studies and discussions on the topic where Buddhism works with science on the whole mind/body connection. B. Alan Wallace is most vocal about this online, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a book out on it. There's a connection and something to it logically.

_()_

Answer 9

I believe prayer and meditation have been shown to have curative and calming effects - on the person praying or meditating. I don't believe they have been proven to have effects beyond that. I'm not laughing. Just because religion grabs hold of something and wraps it up in their own dogma doesn't mean the thing loses its meaning or value outside religion.

Answer 10

It is real with the power of God! Where else do you think all this came from?? All good things of supernatural. Spells and sorts can be satan so beware of that one. The Bible talks about mediums and magic and evil doings. Not all is Godly but God gives us power and hears prayers.
Magic is:

1 a : the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces b : magic rites or incantations
2 a : an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source b : something that seems to cast a spell : ENCHANTMENT
3 : the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand