The world seems to be getting more and more incomprehensible, and reason alone doesn't seem to help us cope. Perhaps there are other ways to make sense of the mess. Here's a story and a confession.
I am so happy reading this post! Once upon a time, a wise yoga instructor told me, "what you think of as magic, is actually pure math". I think it would be a big loss for this world dismissing things just because one can't see it, measure it. Yet. Quantum physics progresses. I am actually interested in the more "magic" side of the coaching process, the presencing and the cuantum field, and more. Hopefully, one day we could discuss and share 🦋
Thank you, Silvina. My current stance is to stay away from these links with physics because I know there is not yet any scientific proof connecting consciousness with matter (Eric Hoel’s work here on substack is amazing to follow if you’re interested in the current scientific stance on consciousness) - and while the quantum bridge is so appealing, the reality is we don’t yet know why and how the Magic I’m referring to here works. Any rushed attempt to hazard a scientific-sounding explanation throws us into the realm of pseudoscience- one I really want to stay away from. So where I land with that is to simply embrace the mystery. I do think science will catch up, but I am also content to say I don’t know what this is, but I do know how to access it in my own life and harness it to become a bit wiser. And I’m no longer afraid to openly talk/write about it. And that, for now, is enough for me.
I must admit I read through this post with lightning speed, because it spoke to me so deeply. I deeply believe that magic is the one thing that keeps this planet from imploding. I too have delved deep into the sciences to understand life, humans and the universe we inhabit, and I too see glimpses of well-hidden magic behind them all.
As a voracious Fantasy reader, I can confirm that the best books are the ones that have a well-hidden magical element to it. Probably the most magical part is the empathy that books bring to the minds of those who read them. Humanity needs more books to teach current and future generations how life works and how they can return and stay true to the human nature.
Because science explains everything, but the non-scientific books actually coach, show and make us practice everything.
To quote Jay Kristoff "A life without books is a life not lived."
Beautiful, thank you for the courageous act of sharing your intimate story, Alis. It’s always been a great pleasure to read your writings and reflections – yet this one is special :)
Wishing all of us to be more in tune with this mysterious music of invisible piper – let your book facilitate this experience for more people 🙂
Alis, after reading your article, I instantly became tense. I felt a sense of betrayal and estrangement. “How could Alis, whom I admire for her eloquence and her gentle way of explaining complex concepts in a way that is both scientifically validated and so often aligned with my own experience, believe in Magic? Magic?! Really!?”
Immediately I noticed myself starting to criticize your point of view and bringing up a host of arguments to refute your belief. And in doing so, I only grew more tense. Then it struck me: I was being defensive because my own belief system seemed incompatible with yours.
That explained the estrangement and disconnection I was feeling. As soon as I recognized this, my body began to relax. I felt more spacious and open, realizing that our two different ways of relating to Magic can co-exist.
For me, Magic was simply a way of naming aspects of reality that felt incomprehensible given the knowledge I had at the time. It was both a shortcut to avoid cognitive effort and a way of soothing myself while going through experiences that seemed to make no sense. With time, I chose to discard this way of explaining certain experiences and replace it with a more inquisitive, time-consuming way of creating sense and coherence within myself.
That being said, I’m a big fan of fantasy books, mythology, and imagined worlds—through which inner struggles and societal problems can be observed more objectively and which can inspire us to imagine healthier, more supportive ways of relating to each other.
Alis, thank you for sharing this part of yourself. I’m looking forward to reading about the world you’ve created.
I so appreciate this candid comment, Viorel, and also the way you've walked the talk by staying curious and open towards your own resistance. To me this is what wisdom in action really looks like and this is the kind of world I'd love to live in - one populated by conscious humans who are able to observe their own cognitive dissonance, feel the discomfort and stay open nonetheless. I don't think we're on opposite sides of anything to be honest, as I'm just as firmly anchored in the scientific perspective as I ever was and celebrate you doing the same.
I guess what is changing now for me is that I'm more willing to publicly explore mystery (something that I've privately done for a very long time, my whole life, really). It's about not looking away from, but rather curiously towards the stuff I don't think current science has a clear explanation for yet (not to say it won't in the future) - and do so lightheartedly, with an intention to learn and grow. I'm much less interested in 'magic' for magic's sake, but rather in it as an adjacent path to be in a closer relationship to life, to be kinder, more self and other-aware, more compassionate, more curiosu towards that which is different (be that other people or other perspectives) and more keen to see the bigger picture wherever I can.
And I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that you, too, share the above intention of staying curious and exploratory, as you've just proven it in your beautiful comment above. So that being said, thank you for sticking around, and I do hope you enjoy the fantasy quest when its time comes to be published :).
Congrats on coming ‘out’ Alis! Loved reading about your journey and becoming a fantasy writer. We need more of these types of conversations and influences to weave art and science to living a full life.
Thanks for your support, Nathalie! Yes, we do need that weaving in service of wholeness and OMG, this does feel a bit like coming 'out'! :) It's so wonderful knowing I'm not alone!
I so relate to every word (but you knew that already). Science is doing magic now and science was the path for me in accepting and allowing my mind to let go and slide down the rollercoaster of magic, and now I am climbing on the beanstalk as a little Jack climbing more and more towards infinity.
I salute your courage to speak and I empathize deeply. You might have seen I started my own blog on Substack just recently- speaking about same topic but from maybe a different angle - called TheOneWithSpirit. It is my personal attempt to normalize what I discovered to be a magical world of the unseen that gave my soul wings like no other.
I would love to read your book and I truly believe everything is possible and our eyes are still shut but they open more and more to embrace a magical realm of possibilities.
I really liked your post Alis (as always), and I would be very interested if you'd write more about the non-scientific aspect of personal growth. I believe if we'd have to wait for science to prove everything, we're missing out on a lot of things. Your thoughts and work are inspirational, and that's from a not so 'scientific nerd' follower. Thanks for sharing your magic!
Oh Alis, so beautifully written and so eloquently shared. Dear Alis, I know of what you speak. Perhaps the reason I landed here with you... an undefined Magic that is sometimes hard to explain, but we know it when we feel it. I thank you!
Hi Alis, I resonate with the importance of re-embracing an enchanted world, after the West has become so hyper rational and associated from a larger intrinsic reality.
One distinction I'd like to propose is between a pre-rational magic and a post-rational magic. The magic of Santa Claus and the magic of synchronicity are radically different experiences, and I think it's worth clarifying that. That. This reminds me of the pre-trans fallacy of Ken Wilber.
A post-rational intuition is what guides my life! But I don't subscribe to interpreting any witch sign or connection that I make as some sort of magical knowing.
And I think you'd be able to sidestep a lot of people's resistance to your article by making it clearer distinction about what you're talking about.
I think you’re absolutely right, David. Magic (as in post-rational existing alongside the rational) is not the same as magical thinking and that distinction is very much worth making. The scope of this one article, which felt quite hard to write, was not that. Our podcast is next- it took me a long time to finally get to it, but I did, and thank you for your incredible patience :). I hope there will be more space here to explore the finer distinctions and practical takes on what Magic might mean for us, and hope you will be one of my dialogue partners. If you feel moved to write something about post rational thinking (versus magical thinking) I would very much love to reshare it! Thank you!
I can share a little bit about what I mean by pre and post. We can call it pre-rational magic and post-rational magic and what we're referring to is a developmental distinction. That before we develop rational capacities, we can experience magical reality where things just sort of happen that make no sense, like Santa Claus or a lucky pendant that makes things happen when we hold it tightly. Meaning things happen without any clear cause and effect relationship, just a simple thought about it.
When we develop rationality, we can start to see that there are laws of nature that have to work in order for things to happen, some way of seeing a chain of cause and effect. Modern science is a formal method that distills these laws.
But as we keep developing, we move beyond our mere rational capacities and see the world as way more complex than simple cause and effect can explain, and mere objective rationality can make sense of. We start to open to the re-enchantment of reality, the mysterious flows of energy and information, the synchronicities that just feel like there's a larger reality that is ultimately mysterious and unknowable to us, but is somehow in relationship to us. We can speak of something "wanting" to happen because we tap into a non-rational intelligence. Complexity science is one way of making sense of this non-rational and yet very real set of dynamics.
Its important to make this distinction because this is how we can reject Santa Claus and the tooth fairy but embrace the strange attractors that call us on our path. This is how we can hold "signs" lightly, as real phenomena but always interpreted through our lens and must be ultimately surrendered to the mystery.
If we too easily make claims of magic without including or considering rational laws, then we could inadvertently regress to a childlike fantasy world where every thought that comes through our mind, we believe to be real. And that is plain dangerous.
Ultimately, we need to hold the polarity of rational and non-rational in a dialectic to ensure that we are going post or trans-rational and not regressing to a pre-rational.
Does this resonate with the way that you're using it?
Ah Alice, your article immediately brought to mind a book I read many, many years ago - Mutant Message Down Under. It was a fiction about a woman's Journey into Dreamtime and the stories in each chapter had a huge impact on me, supporting my sensing then and now that magic is everywhere if I am open to seeing it.
Thank you for sharing this intimate story, Alis. I'm not a scientist, yet I have hardly any connection with what you call magic. It's been lost somewhere along the way. I envy you for keeping it alive. I would also like to become more open to the world beyond so-called facts. All the best!
Hi Alis,
I’m so happy to find out about your decision to share your wise perspective about this realm of Magic.
I cannot wait the journey in the coming series of…allow me to cal them - Alis’ Adventures in Magicland!
🤗
I am so happy reading this post! Once upon a time, a wise yoga instructor told me, "what you think of as magic, is actually pure math". I think it would be a big loss for this world dismissing things just because one can't see it, measure it. Yet. Quantum physics progresses. I am actually interested in the more "magic" side of the coaching process, the presencing and the cuantum field, and more. Hopefully, one day we could discuss and share 🦋
Thank you, Silvina. My current stance is to stay away from these links with physics because I know there is not yet any scientific proof connecting consciousness with matter (Eric Hoel’s work here on substack is amazing to follow if you’re interested in the current scientific stance on consciousness) - and while the quantum bridge is so appealing, the reality is we don’t yet know why and how the Magic I’m referring to here works. Any rushed attempt to hazard a scientific-sounding explanation throws us into the realm of pseudoscience- one I really want to stay away from. So where I land with that is to simply embrace the mystery. I do think science will catch up, but I am also content to say I don’t know what this is, but I do know how to access it in my own life and harness it to become a bit wiser. And I’m no longer afraid to openly talk/write about it. And that, for now, is enough for me.
Hi Alis,
I must admit I read through this post with lightning speed, because it spoke to me so deeply. I deeply believe that magic is the one thing that keeps this planet from imploding. I too have delved deep into the sciences to understand life, humans and the universe we inhabit, and I too see glimpses of well-hidden magic behind them all.
As a voracious Fantasy reader, I can confirm that the best books are the ones that have a well-hidden magical element to it. Probably the most magical part is the empathy that books bring to the minds of those who read them. Humanity needs more books to teach current and future generations how life works and how they can return and stay true to the human nature.
Because science explains everything, but the non-scientific books actually coach, show and make us practice everything.
To quote Jay Kristoff "A life without books is a life not lived."
Can't wait to read your book, Alis! <3
Can't wait to share it with you, fellow nerdy magical fairy! :D
Good on you Alis, I'm betting you will be pleasantly surprised how well this slight pivot is received.
I once read something I loved -
That the ultimate purpose of science is to create metaphors.
Surely then even a scientist is permitted to elaborate on those metaphors.
I love that, Nathan! May we create more metaphors!
I think that accessing magic may become more and more present to us as we expand our consciousness :)
Love that you shared this and that you're writing a book!
Beautiful, thank you for the courageous act of sharing your intimate story, Alis. It’s always been a great pleasure to read your writings and reflections – yet this one is special :)
Wishing all of us to be more in tune with this mysterious music of invisible piper – let your book facilitate this experience for more people 🙂
Alis, after reading your article, I instantly became tense. I felt a sense of betrayal and estrangement. “How could Alis, whom I admire for her eloquence and her gentle way of explaining complex concepts in a way that is both scientifically validated and so often aligned with my own experience, believe in Magic? Magic?! Really!?”
Immediately I noticed myself starting to criticize your point of view and bringing up a host of arguments to refute your belief. And in doing so, I only grew more tense. Then it struck me: I was being defensive because my own belief system seemed incompatible with yours.
That explained the estrangement and disconnection I was feeling. As soon as I recognized this, my body began to relax. I felt more spacious and open, realizing that our two different ways of relating to Magic can co-exist.
For me, Magic was simply a way of naming aspects of reality that felt incomprehensible given the knowledge I had at the time. It was both a shortcut to avoid cognitive effort and a way of soothing myself while going through experiences that seemed to make no sense. With time, I chose to discard this way of explaining certain experiences and replace it with a more inquisitive, time-consuming way of creating sense and coherence within myself.
That being said, I’m a big fan of fantasy books, mythology, and imagined worlds—through which inner struggles and societal problems can be observed more objectively and which can inspire us to imagine healthier, more supportive ways of relating to each other.
Alis, thank you for sharing this part of yourself. I’m looking forward to reading about the world you’ve created.
I so appreciate this candid comment, Viorel, and also the way you've walked the talk by staying curious and open towards your own resistance. To me this is what wisdom in action really looks like and this is the kind of world I'd love to live in - one populated by conscious humans who are able to observe their own cognitive dissonance, feel the discomfort and stay open nonetheless. I don't think we're on opposite sides of anything to be honest, as I'm just as firmly anchored in the scientific perspective as I ever was and celebrate you doing the same.
I guess what is changing now for me is that I'm more willing to publicly explore mystery (something that I've privately done for a very long time, my whole life, really). It's about not looking away from, but rather curiously towards the stuff I don't think current science has a clear explanation for yet (not to say it won't in the future) - and do so lightheartedly, with an intention to learn and grow. I'm much less interested in 'magic' for magic's sake, but rather in it as an adjacent path to be in a closer relationship to life, to be kinder, more self and other-aware, more compassionate, more curiosu towards that which is different (be that other people or other perspectives) and more keen to see the bigger picture wherever I can.
And I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that you, too, share the above intention of staying curious and exploratory, as you've just proven it in your beautiful comment above. So that being said, thank you for sticking around, and I do hope you enjoy the fantasy quest when its time comes to be published :).
Congrats on coming ‘out’ Alis! Loved reading about your journey and becoming a fantasy writer. We need more of these types of conversations and influences to weave art and science to living a full life.
Thanks for your support, Nathalie! Yes, we do need that weaving in service of wholeness and OMG, this does feel a bit like coming 'out'! :) It's so wonderful knowing I'm not alone!
It tis, Alis! Thank-you!
I so relate to every word (but you knew that already). Science is doing magic now and science was the path for me in accepting and allowing my mind to let go and slide down the rollercoaster of magic, and now I am climbing on the beanstalk as a little Jack climbing more and more towards infinity.
I salute your courage to speak and I empathize deeply. You might have seen I started my own blog on Substack just recently- speaking about same topic but from maybe a different angle - called TheOneWithSpirit. It is my personal attempt to normalize what I discovered to be a magical world of the unseen that gave my soul wings like no other.
I would love to read your book and I truly believe everything is possible and our eyes are still shut but they open more and more to embrace a magical realm of possibilities.
I really liked your post Alis (as always), and I would be very interested if you'd write more about the non-scientific aspect of personal growth. I believe if we'd have to wait for science to prove everything, we're missing out on a lot of things. Your thoughts and work are inspirational, and that's from a not so 'scientific nerd' follower. Thanks for sharing your magic!
Appreciate this, Robin, thank you! Will do my best to walk that line and write about that in-between space in a way that feels useful.
Oh Alis, so beautifully written and so eloquently shared. Dear Alis, I know of what you speak. Perhaps the reason I landed here with you... an undefined Magic that is sometimes hard to explain, but we know it when we feel it. I thank you!
June, isn’t serendipity the most wonderful thing? So glad you ‘landed’ here!
Hi Alis, I resonate with the importance of re-embracing an enchanted world, after the West has become so hyper rational and associated from a larger intrinsic reality.
One distinction I'd like to propose is between a pre-rational magic and a post-rational magic. The magic of Santa Claus and the magic of synchronicity are radically different experiences, and I think it's worth clarifying that. That. This reminds me of the pre-trans fallacy of Ken Wilber.
A post-rational intuition is what guides my life! But I don't subscribe to interpreting any witch sign or connection that I make as some sort of magical knowing.
And I think you'd be able to sidestep a lot of people's resistance to your article by making it clearer distinction about what you're talking about.
What are your thoughts?
I think you’re absolutely right, David. Magic (as in post-rational existing alongside the rational) is not the same as magical thinking and that distinction is very much worth making. The scope of this one article, which felt quite hard to write, was not that. Our podcast is next- it took me a long time to finally get to it, but I did, and thank you for your incredible patience :). I hope there will be more space here to explore the finer distinctions and practical takes on what Magic might mean for us, and hope you will be one of my dialogue partners. If you feel moved to write something about post rational thinking (versus magical thinking) I would very much love to reshare it! Thank you!
I can share a little bit about what I mean by pre and post. We can call it pre-rational magic and post-rational magic and what we're referring to is a developmental distinction. That before we develop rational capacities, we can experience magical reality where things just sort of happen that make no sense, like Santa Claus or a lucky pendant that makes things happen when we hold it tightly. Meaning things happen without any clear cause and effect relationship, just a simple thought about it.
When we develop rationality, we can start to see that there are laws of nature that have to work in order for things to happen, some way of seeing a chain of cause and effect. Modern science is a formal method that distills these laws.
But as we keep developing, we move beyond our mere rational capacities and see the world as way more complex than simple cause and effect can explain, and mere objective rationality can make sense of. We start to open to the re-enchantment of reality, the mysterious flows of energy and information, the synchronicities that just feel like there's a larger reality that is ultimately mysterious and unknowable to us, but is somehow in relationship to us. We can speak of something "wanting" to happen because we tap into a non-rational intelligence. Complexity science is one way of making sense of this non-rational and yet very real set of dynamics.
Its important to make this distinction because this is how we can reject Santa Claus and the tooth fairy but embrace the strange attractors that call us on our path. This is how we can hold "signs" lightly, as real phenomena but always interpreted through our lens and must be ultimately surrendered to the mystery.
If we too easily make claims of magic without including or considering rational laws, then we could inadvertently regress to a childlike fantasy world where every thought that comes through our mind, we believe to be real. And that is plain dangerous.
Ultimately, we need to hold the polarity of rational and non-rational in a dialectic to ensure that we are going post or trans-rational and not regressing to a pre-rational.
Does this resonate with the way that you're using it?
Yes, David, that is exactly how I see it too.
Ah Alice, your article immediately brought to mind a book I read many, many years ago - Mutant Message Down Under. It was a fiction about a woman's Journey into Dreamtime and the stories in each chapter had a huge impact on me, supporting my sensing then and now that magic is everywhere if I am open to seeing it.
Thank you so much for sharing that, Sarah! Can’t wait to read that book! 🙏🙏❤️
Can't wait to read it! Magic and love is all we need ❤️
Thank you for sharing this intimate story, Alis. I'm not a scientist, yet I have hardly any connection with what you call magic. It's been lost somewhere along the way. I envy you for keeping it alive. I would also like to become more open to the world beyond so-called facts. All the best!
That is the most hope-giving comment I’ve read in a long time. Thank you for choosing to stay open, Robert!