What do you call the ability to manifest one's will?

[Luigi]

Its a fairly basic concept, yet when you try to find such a word it seems to be missing, with a empty spot where it ought to be. Maybe we have become uncomfortable speaking in terms which are so broad yet so dynamic, maybe our modern secular material world is only okay with vagueness when its not all that important anyways. The well known 20th century occultist Aleister Crowley did have a word to describe this concept, he called it magick. The k intentionally was added to differentiate it from the common word which had already been filled with Harry Potter-like connotations.

The initial reaction of many is surely a roll of the eyes, in an almost automatic way. Yet if you let the LARPy imagery fade away for a second it seems to work, and work quite well. The etymological root of magic(k) is the widely attested Indo-European word megʰ- which pertains to ability and belies the English words "might" and "may", the Latin word "magnus"(great) and indeed the Old Iranic term "magi"(Zoroastrian wizard/priest) from which are derived Arabic "majjuz"(Indo-European polytheist), and Greek "magikos"(magic) from whence we get magic. It almost feels like these concepts were never really supposed to be conceptualized as so distinct from each other.

So as much as Hollywood has tainted this one, I will try to remove this deception from my worldview and embrace the holistic realization of this concept. So I must ask you my friends, will you do the same, and if so how will you cultivate and use magick in your life?

[Masato]

Interesting thread

For me personally, I figure one best know what the fuck they are doing before interfering with the natural flow of things.

My wife is more the opposite, she wields a sort of this power you're talking about to manifest things

[Masato]

Always love your linguistic breakdowns

[Masato]

This is kind of the theme of some screenplays that I'm writing. The difference between trusting a natural flow/God/Tao etc, VS activating one's Willpower, and imposing/manifesting one's own result.

I think both work well, I am better at the former as so I favor this in the stories, the characters who play with willpower end up making a mess like the sorcerer's apprentice, and must atone for the shit they disturbed.

I do believe that the kind of magick you speak of exists, and it frightens me to think who may be using it and for what.

Maybe a lot of the mess we see in the world is the result of this kind of reckless/selfish power being done in high places

[Masato]

I like to think about it in terms of martial arts too.

I bet most of the best fighters (or any great athlete) who really make it to the top have done so via some element of magick.

Maybe not rituals and pentagrams lol, but definitely some sort of manifestation of their willpower to have a greater effect on their reality than sheer muscles and skill alone. It is a kind of magic that makes those few great. Maybe this is why we like to see it, we can see a glimpse of magick when great things happen in sports

[Luigi]

^Great points, I often notice there are fights where it seems unnatural that fighter A wins yet they are just relentless and force it into reality. Strickland comes to mind, Gaethje often hits combos that seem almost out of place.

That theme you are discussing reminds me of Gilgamesh trying in vain to escape his mortality, and the classic story of King X who is destined to be killed by X so he has all the babies/swords/whatever removed from his kingdom but its all in vain because the simple goatherd saves the baby and raises him, etc.

[Masato]

That theme you are discussing reminds me of Gilgamesh trying in vain to escape his mortality, and the classic story of King X who is destined to be killed by X so he has all the babies/swords/whatever removed from his kingdom but its all in vain because the simple goatherd saves the baby and raises him, etc.

Love it.

Alan Watts used to say we are all being carried along by a great current. We can swim this way or that, hang on to a rock, build a canoe, etc etc but we're all going with the current one way or another lol

The current is always infinitely stronger than any individual will. But do what you can I suppose. I have a few things in this life I am trying to manifest.

[theraskal]

[theraskal]

there are different theories and possibilities to consider......fate/destiny as example would be another theory to consider in the contemplation of "manifestation" theory

[Luigi]

^I think the Watts quote does an excellent job of incorporating both the concept of fate/destiny with the concept of magick/manifestation.