What Remains To Be Discovered

"They both had serious reservations about the direction quantum physics was taking, but stepped out of the fray into another place altogether - the fifth dimension." - The Quantum Ten, by Sheilla Jones (2008). ;)

Per the nuggets of good advice that popped up today in the blogosphere, I create/blog about my current muddled state of thought.

"Consider how the problem will be solved..." Recapping: The big problem I have is this - What laws govern a system that produces all aspects of classical physics experience and the consistently observed exceptions to those laws? (Auxiliary problems abound.)

Unfortunately, all indicators right now are pointing to the need to study consciousness and the mechanisms that give rise to the various aspects of conscious experience. (I say 'unfortunately' because mentioning 'consciousness' is often enough to cut your audience by at least half.) But this is also a problematic perspective because, in order to produce something scientifically useful, you end up attempting to map elements of subjective mental experience onto external knowledge structures. 'Why is that problematic?', you ask.

Consider: If I want to say that the mechanisms involved in object classification might give rise to our experience of gravity, then with what structures do I identify those mechanisms? If gravity isn't an absolute external force, then how can I justify introducing neurons or neurochemistry into the model? When does external knowledge reflect something that is absolute? (Rabbit hole!)

What remains to be discovered is whether or not I can extricate myself from this predicament and preserve something that has validity beyond a subjective perspective...

A Wizard Should

"Above all else, a Wizard knows himself - what drives him, and his weaknesses, for without this knowledge, he is not a Wizard at all."

You didn't really think that I just read books on physics, did you? ;)

Contributed by Katlyn Breene to Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard (2004)...

A Wizard Should...

• Be a constant student of life.
• See the Divine in Nature and Nature in the Divine.
• Not say a word and be clearly heard.
• Lead without force and teach without pride.
• Take the most mundane things and surrounding, sense their inner magick, and be able to open that window for others.
• Stare into the dark infinity of the night sky and feel it as an awesome source.
• Love the beauty of paradox and always be able to see the cosmic humor in the darkest times.
• Be a shapeshifter to blend in or be invisible if needed... and make those around feel safe, and heard.
• Maintain his calm center and clear mind when all around him is chaos.
• Open his inner eyes and really see.
• Say 'I don't know...' and realize that is great wisdom, that is okay.
• Have compassion for all beings, and know when to be a healer and when to be a witness.
• Know that the secrets of magick are bestowed upon the open-hearted.
• Speak to the Gods and know he is heard.
• Cast a sphere of protection and light.
• Make up his own mind, walk his own path, and never follow another blindly.
• Know the courage and power of nonviolence and the swift strength of a keen mind.
• Conjure a tale or myth that the moment requires to be understood. ;)
• Know the plants and creatures of the wild enough call them friends and allies.
• See the God and Goddess within all and everyone.
• Have a spirit that glows in the dark.

That's good advice regardless of how you feel about magick.