Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, March 19, 2008


Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

- Arthur C. Clarke, visionary, who died yesterday in Sri Lanka, in his 90’s


Personally, I absolutely agree! It’s all magic to me. I have no idea how one can talk into a wire or a little device attached to nothing and hear a voice in Tibet (which, I hope, will someday soon be free of the Chinese overlords who are practicing a form of genocide there). I have no idea how shining a light on a plastic disk makes music. Or how a plane stays in the air. Or how some weird energy can flow through a cord and run a computer (let alone how the computer does what it does). Or the Internet – now that’s Magic, to press a button and have a message appear in an Inbox in 3 seconds in Hong Kong! No matter how simply a scientist tries to explain it to me, it makes no sense. It’s just ….. delightful.

The older I get, Life is Magic. And I want it that way. One of the things I have always like about rich ritual is that it evokes the Mystery, the “magic” of existence, us, “God”.

Arthur could be funny. He said, “I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.” Actually, I suspect more Americans read their horoscope each day than the Bible – and “trust” it more. There are more horoscopes in newspapers than Bible columns!

Arthur said, “I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.” I “believe in God”, but I’m never actually sure what I mean by it. He also said something fascinating, with which I think I agree: “It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God - but to create him.” If in fact we “create” God, does that mean that God does not really exist? I’m inclined not to think so. “God” as a mental construct of ours is certainly very real to me! Nor is there anything wrong with worshipping a God of Compassion we have come to know and who has revealed Herself through our magic brain!

Cheers to Arthur C. Clarke as he explores the Ongoing Magic!

Brian+

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