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<\/a><\/p>\nNot exactly lies<\/h2>\n
Not all false statements are lies.\u00a0A lie is when you say something you know is false with the intent to deceive. When Bill Clinton said \u201cI did not have sexual relations with that woman\u201d he was lying.<\/p>\n
Trump lies. Bob Woodard\u2019s interview<\/a> shows Trump knew how contagious and deadly Covid-19 is, but he still downplayed the risk \u2013 resulting in thousands of needless deaths. But much of what he says that\u2019s not true isn\u2019t exactly a lie.1<\/sup><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re rounding the corner on Covid.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a vaccine by the election.\u201d \u201cMexico will pay for the wall.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m losing because of illegal votes.\u201d \u201cI won this election, by a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n These statements are false. But he didn\u2019t say them with the intent to deceive so much as he said them because he wanted them to be true<\/em>. He thought that by saying them and sticking to them \u2013 by really really believing them \u2013 he could make them true.<\/p>\n Some of this is because he\u2019s lived his entire 74 years as a rich, privileged brat. If he didn\u2019t like reality, he could use his daddy\u2019s money or his own money or money he borrowed to change it. Money is power.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more to it than that. And that more<\/em> is what\u2019s relevant to those of us who practice magic.<\/p>\n Evangelical Christians are Trump\u2019s largest supporters, even though he\u2019s about as unchristian as you can get. I wrote about why that is<\/a> in August. What religion Trump has comes from a rather unorthodox source.<\/p>\n Norman Vincent Peale was one of the most influential Protestant ministers of the mid-20th<\/sup> century. He was pastor of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York, part of the Reformed Church in America, which is part of the Calvinist tradition (yep, Calvinism is partially to blame for Donald Trump, as if I needed any more reason to dislike it). He\u2019s best known for his 1952 book The Power of Positive Thinking<\/em>, which has sold over 5 million copies. My parents had a copy when I was growing up, but I don\u2019t think I ever read it.<\/p>\n Though Peale was Christian, his philosophy comes straight out of New Thought<\/a>, a movement that includes Mary Baker Eddy and her Christian Science church. Its current \u201cchildren\u201d include the pseudo-Christian Prosperity Gospel, The Secret<\/em> and its \u201claw of attraction,\u201d and a lot of contemporary Paganism and witchcraft.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a Tweet from Joel Osteen<\/a> that illustrates its application in Christianity:<\/p>\n It may be impossible to you, but it\u2019s not to our God. Start expecting His favor. Start believing that new levels are coming. Start talking like it\u2019s going to happen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This 2015 article from Politico How Norman Vincent Peale Taught Donald Trump to Worship Himself<\/a> explains why Trump makes so many baseless claims and allegations. Here\u2019s a key quote:<\/p>\n Peale\u2019s outlook \u2026 fit perfectly into the Trump family culture of never hesitating to bend the rules, doing whatever it took to win, and never, ever giving up.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Power of Positive Thinking<\/em> has helped millions of people. But when it\u2019s taken to ridiculous levels \u2013 as with Trump \u2013 it becomes harmful.<\/p>\n I have a three-fold understanding of magic<\/a>. Magic works by the intercession of Gods and spirits, by the manipulation of unseen forces, and by psychological programming. Skeptics can argue that there are no Gods, spirits, or unseen forces (obviously I don\u2019t think the skeptics are right, but that\u2019s not the point of this post) but psychological programming is undeniably real.<\/p>\n Our words matter. What we say influences what we believe, what we believe influences how we act, and how we act influences what happens in our lives and in the wider world.<\/p>\n The key word here is \u201cinfluences.\u201d Because while our words influence our lives and the wider world, they do not control them.<\/p>\n In the fictional world of Harry Potter, say wingardium leviosa<\/em>, swish and flick, and the feather rises off the table. Cause and effect.<\/p>\n Real magic is much less direct \u2013 and much less binary. Even the best magic doesn\u2019t make things happen. It increases the odds that they will happen.<\/p>\n If you need something to happen and there\u2019s a 50-50 chance it will happen, good magic can move the odds to, say, 70-30. Now, that\u2019s no guarantee you\u2019ll win \u2013 Hillary Clinton\u2019s odds in 2016 were 70-30. But 70-30 is better than 50-50.<\/p>\n If you need something to happen and there\u2019s a 2% chance it will happen, good magic may move the odds to 20%. That\u2019s a 10x improvement \u2013 but it\u2019s still lousy odds.<\/p>\n I could subtitle this section \u201cor, why witches can\u2019t stop hurricanes.\u201d<\/p>\n Hurricanes are arguably the most powerful force on Earth. NASA says<\/a> \u201ca hurricane can expend as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs.\u201d I know some powerful witches, but their power is a blip compared to the power of a hurricane.<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s magic is tiny compared to the power of a virus. His Presidential power is (soon to be \u201cwas\u201d) great, but it\u2019s insufficient to alter the results of the election.<\/p>\n Sci-Fi author Philip K. Dick said \u201creality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn\u2019t go away.\u201d Just like the coronavirus hasn\u2019t gone away just because Trump said it would.<\/p>\n The purpose of this post isn\u2019t to bash Trump (well, that\u2019s not the only purpose) but to help us learn from his errors.<\/p>\n If you want to work effective magic, start by getting a solid grasp of the facts.<\/p>\n What is the situation? How did things get to be this way? What\u2019s been tried before? What worked? What didn\u2019t work? What\u2019s changed that might make some of that work \u2013 or not work \u2013 differently now?<\/p>\n Skeptics like to make fun of \u201cmagical thinking.\u201d But the most effective magicians I know are also some of the most coldly logical people around. Whether you\u2019re using magic or mundane effort or both, you can\u2019t fix a problem unless you understand the problem.<\/p>\n Deal with the world as it is. Not as you wish it was and not as you fear it might be, but as it actually is.<\/p>\n A common magical principle says to work magic for the ends, not the means. There are likely many ways you can achieve your goal, and your odds are better if you\u2019re open to all of them rather than if you insist it come in one and only one way.<\/p>\n But another principle reminds us to define our magical targets<\/a> as precisely as possible. Vague targets yield vague results. Make your targets clear, positive, present-tense, and literal.<\/p>\n When you hone in on exactly what you want, you start to see that some ways are open and other ways are closed.<\/p>\n And if you see no way to get to where you want to be? Miracles do happen on rare occasion. But you\u2019ll be better off adjusting your target. Or better yet, taking the first step toward your target, and then adjusting your approach when you can see the target a little more clearly.<\/p>\n Big magical goals are like the old joke about eating an elephant \u2013 you do it one bite at a time.<\/p>\nThe legacy of Norman Vincent Peale<\/h2>\n
How magic works<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat magic does<\/h2>\n
You do not create your own reality<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFirst, get a solid grasp of the facts<\/h2>\n
Find an open pathway<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nUse magic to make that pathway more likely<\/h2>\n