On this Halloween afternoon, awaiting trick-or-treaters, the tutor shares some reflections about the paranormal.

What is magic? I’d say it’s anything that definitely happens, but can’t be explained by science. Ostensibly, fewer and fewer believe in it.

I’ve been trained in science, yet I believe in magic. I’ve had experiences I can’t explain, and believe others’ stories as well. That doesn’t mean I’m not a skeptic in many cases. However, I wholeheartedly believe in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena.

In our science-dominated world, television shows suggest that the study of the paranormal is perhaps livelier than ever. While ironic in one sense, the idea does ring true from another point of view. We are surrounded by marvelous technology, much of it already decades old, whose inner workings very few humans – and perhaps no individual – can fully explain. We see it working, so we trust it; the technology is normal. Yet, by trusting something we can’t hope to explain, are we not believing in magic?

To me, people’s fascination with the spirit world, being apparently intrinsic, must be functional. From the point of view of evolution, we could have developed away from such beliefs. Yet, they seem strongest in what we believe is Earth’s most intelligent animal.

As the shadows lengthen this calm, clear Halloween, let’s imagine a walk together down the alley between belief and non. Who, and what, might we meet? Do you prefer to go in costume?

Halloween is a time when imagination flourishes. Everyday problems seem more mundane, but perhaps life is all about changing beliefs.

Happy Halloween:)

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.