Real Magic: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science, and a Guide to the Secret Power of the Universe Paperback – April 10, 2018

Dean Radin, one of the world's foremost parapsychologists has written a very ambitious book which explores magic from a scientific point of view, demonstrates its validity through a number of his own ingenious experiments, outlines its history and relationship with science, religion and philosophy and attempts to explain both its power and limitations.For many people magical events are terrifying or unsettling, upsetting their rational conceptions of being able to explain and control their lives yet most people believe in some kind of paranormal phenomena (psi) and many indulge in positive thinking hoping to influence themselves and their environment. But psi and magic are essentially the same. Radin explains that psi is a real phenomenon because, after 150 years of research, " telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinetic effects have all been independently repeated in laboratories around the world".Over two thousand years ago, Plato and then later neo-Platonism proposed that there was a deep connection between mind and matter and that man could access a higher consciousness through his own "divine spark" from which he could directly influence the physical world. This was a world view which supported the development of magic and was also adopted by the esoteric traditions of religion like Gnosticism, Kabbala, Sufism, Shaivism, Tantric Yoga and Buddhism. It was also studied by scientists like Paracelsus and Isaac Newton. Perceived as very real threats to the church's monopoly over the truth, all forms of magic were considered heresy and outlawed by the Catholic church in the 13th century. In the early twentieth century, Max Weber celebrated the disenchantment of western society from all supernatural concepts (including magic and religion), as a liberation from the beliefs of savages. Paradoxically while Weber celebrated ,the very foundations of 19th century science, based on the assumptions of realism, causality and locality, were being undermined and eroded by quantum theory and Einstein's theory of relativity. For example, as Radin points out " from quantum theory we also know that “spooky action at a distance” definitely exists, so the commonsense meaning of locality is a special case of a more comprehensive world view." Today we have a new church, the "church of science", where the editor of Nature referred to Rubert Sheldrake's first book "A New science of Life" as the best candidate for burning while the editor of a journal on psychology retracted the publication of one of Radin's experiments and refused to publish a further paper because proving psi was real was like showing "pigs could fly". The church of science is fighting hard to preserve the dying dogmas of materialism at the same time that some quantum physicists are pointing to the evidence for retrocausation (the future influencing the present) and for panpsychism (the idea that matter at all levels, including fundamental particles, has an inherent property of sentience, or mind.)Against this background, Radin conducted a number of experiments to test the New Age belief -"You create your own reality" which is the core of magic practice.Radin elaborates "The essence of magic boils down to the application of two ordinary mental skills: attention and intention. The strength of the magical outcome is modulated by four factors: belief, imagination, emotion, and clarity."In one study, Radin showed that force of will produced objectively measurable changes in plant growth with odds against chance of 38 trillion to 1.Another study by Radin showed that intention influences RNG (random number generator) outputs not by “pushing” the RNG by force but rather through a goal-oriented or teleological effect. This accords with magical lore that " one way to manifest a goal through force of will is to affirm that the goal has already been accomplished". Our intentions seem to cause a gravitational space-time warp.A third study with 80 million trials of precognition of card selection by a computer showed that precognitive perceptions are influenced by the probable (and not the actual) future.A fourth study demonstrated Global Consciousness, where 32 quantum noise generators(QNG) (sampling random electronic noise for 5 days) showed a common (non-random) spike within minutes of the surprising results of the 2016 US presidential elections. The odds against chance are 226 million to 1. This suggests "that when millions of minds intently focus on the same event it causes a ripple in the fabric of space-time" because the samples over time should be independent in a random system and the QNG devices should be acting as separate objects.Further studies by Radin show how a controlled use of a positive magical technique influenced the fingertip volume and heart rate of the targeted volunteer.There is enough proof that magic is real but what are its limitations? Psi ability is normally distributed in the population just like any other ability so we all have some ability but we can't all be psychic super stars. Psi is produced by our unconscious so if there is a conflict between our conscious will and our unconscious, our psi ability may be blocked by self-defeating behavior. Beliefs influence psi ability and our cynicism may block us. Most importantly though my will may be the opposite of your will so the net result is a natural tendency for inertia and stability in the universe. On the other hand, when millions of people have the same emotion, they resonate together and that ripple is strong enough to make random events more coherent. For most of the time everyday reality remains solid and predictable.Radin concludes that we need to start taking magic seriously.I recommend you to take this book seriously.You won't be disappointed.

Radin deftly breaks down the scientific principles behind magic and psi phenomena, showing the reader that reality is far stranger than we've been led to believe.

Dr. Radin conducts careful experiments and draws thoughtful conclusions, employing reasonable discernment. Most of these studies have been peer reviewed and replicated. He has a charming writing style that's a mix of rich, clear details and a dry, quirky wit. The people who dismiss this strong body of work and evidence from scores of authorities are supporting one of the last bastions of prejudice and self-imposed ignorance. Dr. Radin is a prolific and courageous scientist and I had the great pleasure of meeting him and seeing one of his presentations recently.He points out in this book that the implications of the paranormal are both terrific and terrifying. If you read this book with an open mind it is sure to inspire a sense of awe. What we see about magic, mutants and the paranormal in fiction is exaggerated, but the more we explore consciousness we find there is a basis in reality for all of this phenomena. Thanks to Dr. Radin and his peers I think we're past the point of gathering enough evidence that these things exist. How it works is still a tantalizing mystery. I can't think of a subject more fascinating and important to support. This is true scientific enquiry that rises above academic politics.

Magic is a part of us, and whether we believe it is "real" or not, it has real power. Magic is essential to our oldest myths; momentous decisions throughout history were influenced by magical thinking; and it still powers our fictional superheroes, our childhood fantasies, our daydreams. Dean Radin takes us on a fascinating tour of the world of magic, touching on history, applications, scientific approaches, testimonies, and leads us to some insightful conclusions.He maintains a modicum of skepticism; unbelievers are safe here, trust me. The science is presented fairly enough, and is also fairly unconvincing to a skeptic. Radin acknowledges this, so there is no cause for alarm.The practical approach to force of will magic was fantastic: Radin presents a step by step walkthrough of affirmations and sigils (page 78-82) that I found extremely empowering. I wouldn't call it magic, I would call it positivity, but I believe it does real magic in our minds, our health, and our lives.Radin also gives us an amazing summary of the philosophy of idealism including a shout-out to my man Bernardo Kastrup (this was a real treat for me; I'm a dedicated student of Kastrup's philosophy). Radin then shows us how magic might work within an idealist universe. His model of reality was fascinating and apt (page 194). On page 214, he mentions the possibility of an artificial intelligence gaining psychic abilities after the singularity - what an amazing plot for a science fiction novel! - but I'm fairly certain Kastrup would rebut this prospect.In short, I enjoyed it.

Dean Radin does an amazing job of combining facts, theory and humor that somehow, in my impression, links magic and consciousness/reality. It was fun to read because of the way he interweaved common perceptions, and unique perspectives of spiritual and scientific views of magic, using a great amount of references from across the years. He put many concepts in layman's terms with a narrative that made me feel he was having a conversation with me personally. I look forward reading more from this author because his writing style peaks my curiosity to open up to more information about our reality.