I want some objections to sharpen my own thinking about occult stuff. Assuming "magic" is using personal directed will to affect reality external to your body, give me your best questions or objections for why it can't work. Example: Why don't very smart people believe in it?
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Replying to @liminal_warmth
My fear of magic is that it gives rise to runaway apophenia. Everything can be interpreted in a way that confirms that magic works, falsificatory evidence is explained away. Occultism is like doing brain surgery on yourself. You can damage your relationship to reality.
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Replying to @xstntlprvrt69 @liminal_warmth
This is the most obvious demon you may conjure up that you cannot put down, IMHO.
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Replying to @xstntlprvrt69
Yeah, this matches my line of thinking about sliding into insanity via self-delusion which is why you always hear about insanity being a risk of magical practice Mucking with your own sense of belief is dangerous
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Replying to @liminal_warmth
I am guessing that there are traditional lineages that have ways of addressing this, but are largely inaccessible to people from WEIRD cultures, or only accessible with immense personal sacrifice/distancing from the modern world.
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Replying to @xstntlprvrt69 @liminal_warmth
Counterpoint: lots of people do tarot/astrology/wicca or whatever without becoming psychotic, and this may only be a danger that applies to hardcore self initiates.
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Replying to @xstntlprvrt69
uh yeah it's a real danger for me I'm sure twitter will let me know when I get real crazy tho trying to keep guard rails up and be scientifically curious about things without going off the deep end
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Replying to @liminal_warmth
weird thing i've noticed is that very smart people who take up spiritual practices in the spirit of curiousity inevitably end up with some kind of supernatural belief. the synchronicities stack up and you can't ignore it anymore
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but my approach if this were my concern would be to try and find the most conservative/established tradition i could and a teacher with their head screwed on straight.
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