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speedofhuman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
lyndseylibros's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting book! It was a bit dry and hard to read at times. I ended up borrowing the audiobook from my library and reading along with my hard copy. Much easier to get through that way.
iamedterry's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent read. This reminded me a lot of Stealing Fire (which I read recently), though it comes at the state of ekstasis (here gnosis, or the state of oneness) from a different perspective - one that the underlying principle is that magick (sic) is real, the universe is built on the fundamental basis of a single oneness, and that this oneness pervades all things. magick is thus the principles and practice of accessing this state (and meditation counts).
The book discusses many experiments that have been done, much of the research that has been published in revered scientific journals, and much of the bad press that is given to magic. This gives the reader an insight into the potential of psy (short form for parapsychological occurences) at the three levels discussed in the book.
It is enlightening and entertaining but, as it says, if you're open minded you'll buy into it, but if you're not then you'll probably see it as hogwash. The closing chapter summarising the nature of magick and human attitudes towards it is notably poignant.
In essence, as we advance scientifically we are scratching the surface of the great unknown that is 'magick' or the 'oneness' of the universe. Some psy (once thought of purely as magic) has been proven repeatedly (though the scientific community still sidelines it) and much more is documented anecdotally throughout history. A good portion of the research discusses the achievement of the state of gnosis and identifies how this (in part) is packaged in the current movement of purposeful intention about one's life and circumstances. The methodology for this is covered in other books (such as The Secret et al) but Real Magic discusses the experiments performed. Overall, it feels a little safer than some of the techniques mentioned (but not recommended) in Stealing Fire!
The book discusses many experiments that have been done, much of the research that has been published in revered scientific journals, and much of the bad press that is given to magic. This gives the reader an insight into the potential of psy (short form for parapsychological occurences) at the three levels discussed in the book.
It is enlightening and entertaining but, as it says, if you're open minded you'll buy into it, but if you're not then you'll probably see it as hogwash. The closing chapter summarising the nature of magick and human attitudes towards it is notably poignant.
In essence, as we advance scientifically we are scratching the surface of the great unknown that is 'magick' or the 'oneness' of the universe. Some psy (once thought of purely as magic) has been proven repeatedly (though the scientific community still sidelines it) and much more is documented anecdotally throughout history. A good portion of the research discusses the achievement of the state of gnosis and identifies how this (in part) is packaged in the current movement of purposeful intention about one's life and circumstances. The methodology for this is covered in other books (such as The Secret et al) but Real Magic discusses the experiments performed. Overall, it feels a little safer than some of the techniques mentioned (but not recommended) in Stealing Fire!
alexfromatlanta's review against another edition
5.0
Based on other reviews, maybe it makes the most sense to start with what this book isn't. It isn't a purple prose gamble through a fairy-rich world of magic and incantations. It isn't a complete refutation of the super/supra-natural by a hard-nosed skeptic. It isn't a beginner's guide to understanding pop psychology, quantum physics, or ancient magic traditions. And it isn't a blind screed from a devout occultist who drinks too much of his own kool-aid.
Most of the disappointment I see in reviews of this book comes from readers looking for one of the above. There are plenty of options out there for each of the above, but this isn't that.
Instead, Radin presents a carefully thought out and well-researched argument that human consciousness may play a bigger role in the Universe than a modern scientific worldview would "allow". Not because the evidence isn't there, but because we've allowed an anti-religious backlash and materialist line of reasoning to trap us in a box of limited possibilities.
If you're skeptical of psi abilities, alien contact, spiritualism, etc..., I'm not sure that this book will convince you, but I don't think that that's what Radin is trying to do.
The project in 'Real Magic' is to open enough space in the conversation to ask questions and to accept evidence, even if it leads us to some unexpected answers. It's very similar to Avi Loeb's recent Extraterrestial, in which the author doesn't so much make the case for having observed an alien object as argue that if an observation is best explained as having extraterrestrial origins, the scientific community shouldn't force itself to jump through intellectual hoops to justify other (less reasonable) explanations.
Here, Radin lays out a model for understanding traditional magical practices, including ESP, fortune-telling, evocation, and ritual spellcraft, based on the interaction of personal human consciousness and a larger, deeper universal consciousness underlying what we perceive as physical reality. It's hard to do, rare, and limited in effect, but his explanation would fit stories of magical practices throughout history.
Radin's professional career has been spent finding ways to test these consciousness impacts in scientifically designed and carefully controlled lab experiments. And his evidence for telepathy, remote viewing, and even mentally influencing quantum events is compelling. Again, the impacts are small and hardly universal, but based on the accepted scientific thresholds for effect, they pass muster.
One reviewer points out that this might be more of an indictment of the current scientific process than anything else, and that's a possibility. If the effect of psi influence is shown to be greater than some more acceptable science, maybe it means that a good bit of our accepted science is also hogwash.
But the alternative is quite compelling, too. Researchers continue to find that our mathematical models of the universe are incomplete, and there are fundamental characteristics of the universe that don't seem to fit. The amount of mass & energy, the interaction of forces at the quantum level, and the reconciliation of quantum events with macro-scale physics don't quite jibe yet. So we know that there are things that we still don't know.
I don't know if Radin's universal consciousness is the solution, but I know that any scientist who declares (as Radin quotes) 'it's definitely not X because we've already discovered everything there is to discover" makes me nervous. Human history is full of similar quotes shown to be laughably wrong within a generation, and our history is also full of miraculous stories from cultures across the world that we can't explain.
In the end, I'm of two minds. On one hand, any scientific process that dismisses a possibility out of hand, without testing and looking at the data, is a faulty process. We've had to learn that lesson thousands of times, and each time, future generations look back on their ancestors with disbelief. How could they not have seen something so obvious?! I think even Radin would invite other scientists to disagree but disagree with data, replication, and observation. That major scientific journals blush at the mention of as-of-yet unexplained natural phenomenon is crazy.
On the other hand, whether or not Radin and his colleagues are able to prove the fundamental truth of a universal consciousness and our ability to interact with it, 'magic' may still be real for us. Human beings experience the world through a million subjective lenses, and as other scholars have explored, we have evolved to be story-telling animals in order to create personal meaning and direction in an otherwise cold and chaotic world.
Remote viewing and telepathy may be less powerful without a real 'physical' force, but the placebo/nocebo effects show that intention and directional human belief can still impact our lives in meaningful ways. Sure, chemo and open-heart surgery are likely more reliable and impactful treatments for disease than a shamanic ceremony, but in the day-to-day, intention and focus are likely more beneficial than listlessness.
I found this book to be very approachable. It's a little academic in sections, but not bad at all compared to a lot of non-fiction dealing with the hard sciences, and at under 300 pages, I finished it in only a couple of days. Radin presents his case reasonably and doesn't browbeat the reader with mysticism or insider occult lingo. Whether you accept his premise or not, it's a great entry into a larger discussion about 'acceptable science' and exposes the possible limits of our current inquiry.
One thing we know for sure is that we don't know it all yet. Opening ourselves to possibilities is the best way to ensure that we continue to expand what we do know. And the upside to what Radin is proposing is potentially huge - a new era of human consciousness.
A very interesting read.
Most of the disappointment I see in reviews of this book comes from readers looking for one of the above. There are plenty of options out there for each of the above, but this isn't that.
Instead, Radin presents a carefully thought out and well-researched argument that human consciousness may play a bigger role in the Universe than a modern scientific worldview would "allow". Not because the evidence isn't there, but because we've allowed an anti-religious backlash and materialist line of reasoning to trap us in a box of limited possibilities.
If you're skeptical of psi abilities, alien contact, spiritualism, etc..., I'm not sure that this book will convince you, but I don't think that that's what Radin is trying to do.
The project in 'Real Magic' is to open enough space in the conversation to ask questions and to accept evidence, even if it leads us to some unexpected answers. It's very similar to Avi Loeb's recent Extraterrestial, in which the author doesn't so much make the case for having observed an alien object as argue that if an observation is best explained as having extraterrestrial origins, the scientific community shouldn't force itself to jump through intellectual hoops to justify other (less reasonable) explanations.
Here, Radin lays out a model for understanding traditional magical practices, including ESP, fortune-telling, evocation, and ritual spellcraft, based on the interaction of personal human consciousness and a larger, deeper universal consciousness underlying what we perceive as physical reality. It's hard to do, rare, and limited in effect, but his explanation would fit stories of magical practices throughout history.
Radin's professional career has been spent finding ways to test these consciousness impacts in scientifically designed and carefully controlled lab experiments. And his evidence for telepathy, remote viewing, and even mentally influencing quantum events is compelling. Again, the impacts are small and hardly universal, but based on the accepted scientific thresholds for effect, they pass muster.
One reviewer points out that this might be more of an indictment of the current scientific process than anything else, and that's a possibility. If the effect of psi influence is shown to be greater than some more acceptable science, maybe it means that a good bit of our accepted science is also hogwash.
But the alternative is quite compelling, too. Researchers continue to find that our mathematical models of the universe are incomplete, and there are fundamental characteristics of the universe that don't seem to fit. The amount of mass & energy, the interaction of forces at the quantum level, and the reconciliation of quantum events with macro-scale physics don't quite jibe yet. So we know that there are things that we still don't know.
I don't know if Radin's universal consciousness is the solution, but I know that any scientist who declares (as Radin quotes) 'it's definitely not X because we've already discovered everything there is to discover" makes me nervous. Human history is full of similar quotes shown to be laughably wrong within a generation, and our history is also full of miraculous stories from cultures across the world that we can't explain.
In the end, I'm of two minds. On one hand, any scientific process that dismisses a possibility out of hand, without testing and looking at the data, is a faulty process. We've had to learn that lesson thousands of times, and each time, future generations look back on their ancestors with disbelief. How could they not have seen something so obvious?! I think even Radin would invite other scientists to disagree but disagree with data, replication, and observation. That major scientific journals blush at the mention of as-of-yet unexplained natural phenomenon is crazy.
On the other hand, whether or not Radin and his colleagues are able to prove the fundamental truth of a universal consciousness and our ability to interact with it, 'magic' may still be real for us. Human beings experience the world through a million subjective lenses, and as other scholars have explored, we have evolved to be story-telling animals in order to create personal meaning and direction in an otherwise cold and chaotic world.
Remote viewing and telepathy may be less powerful without a real 'physical' force, but the placebo/nocebo effects show that intention and directional human belief can still impact our lives in meaningful ways. Sure, chemo and open-heart surgery are likely more reliable and impactful treatments for disease than a shamanic ceremony, but in the day-to-day, intention and focus are likely more beneficial than listlessness.
I found this book to be very approachable. It's a little academic in sections, but not bad at all compared to a lot of non-fiction dealing with the hard sciences, and at under 300 pages, I finished it in only a couple of days. Radin presents his case reasonably and doesn't browbeat the reader with mysticism or insider occult lingo. Whether you accept his premise or not, it's a great entry into a larger discussion about 'acceptable science' and exposes the possible limits of our current inquiry.
One thing we know for sure is that we don't know it all yet. Opening ourselves to possibilities is the best way to ensure that we continue to expand what we do know. And the upside to what Radin is proposing is potentially huge - a new era of human consciousness.
A very interesting read.
chaoswizard's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
"...real magic is always present, patiently waiting just below the surface of the every day world. Every so often its tentacles brush our leg, causing shivers to shoot up our spine." Real Magic, pg. 7