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Christine Wicker: The power of magical thinking
Author found that more and more Americans are seeking meaning in life's mysteries 05:35 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Across the room at the Vampire and Victims Ball, I saw a dapper gent in shiny white and black shoes. His hair was closely cropped, his face pale, and he stood stiffly without smiling. "Are you a vampire or a victim?" I asked. "Do I look like a victim?" he responded, smiling so his teeth didn't show. "Weeeell," I said, stalling. "Are you a victim?" he asked, too calmly. "I don't want to say." "You have to choose." If I said victim, he was likely to start gnawing my neck. If I said vampire, he would demand proof. I hadn't fangs enough to back that pretension. Spotting an angel across the room and eager to shift Dapper Gent's attention, I said, "That takes some nerve in this crowd." "Why do you say that?" he asked. "An angel and a devil are only a breath away." I was only beginning my research into America's magical beliefs, and this was only a Halloween party in Salem, but already I was coming to understand that underneath America's allegiance to rational thinking was a river of magical thinking that ran broad and deep. I was soon to discover that, rooted here since the beginning of our country's history and despite all science to the contrary, magical thinking is on the increase.How am I defining magic? As all those paranormal, occult, otherworldly and supernatural ideas that science will not allow. Why are such beliefs rising? Some people blame ignorance. Others blame perversion, sin, video games. Others credit the new theories of physics that make human perception seem more important and actions seem more interconnected. Some think near-death experiences play a role. Others say that magical beliefs popular in the 1960s and '70s never disappeared but instead went mainstream. They became powerful kinds of positive thinking, for instance, and began to be heard in statements such as, "What you can envision, you can create." After studying this trend for five years, I blame life. Everyday, ordinary, just-trying-to-get-through-it and make-a-little-sense-of-this-muddle life. Life is now and always has been filled with mystery. For the scientist, all mystery must be solved. For the rest of us, it must be managed, lived through, learned from. I've heard hundreds of stories in dozens of settings about spirits that appear in various forms. They come in dreams and in waking visions. They give evidence of themselves by emanating perfumes, calling on telephones, flashing lights, moving significant things. Magical synchronicities seem to occur in many people's lives. Wishes get granted. Coincidences reveal meaning. Who says? We do. Scientists have explanations, but we don't particularly care whether our awareness comes from a spike in brain chemicals or an error in processing. They give us hope that life isn't random or meaningless. They tell us that what we do, what we want, what we pay attention to have force. They assure us we can have control and maybe even a happy ending. Magical thinking. Every bit of it is magical thinking. As America celebrates its scariest holiday, lots of people won't be merely playing make-believe. When stories begin to fly of ghosts and goblins, haunted houses and innocent people possessed, a good portion of tellers and listeners will be quietly believing that the gist of these fabulous tales has some truth. Forty percent of Americans think ghosts and haunted houses truly exist, up from 27 percent since 2000. Sixty-six percent believe demons can possess humans, up from 40 percent. That would mean that almost 200 million people in the world's most technologically advanced, scientifically sophisticated culture believe bizarre, even murderous behavior might be the result of possession by evil spirits. Surprised? Maybe not. You could be one of them. Don't be embarrassed. Mother Teresa had an exorcism, and Pope John Paul II performed one. Among Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, exorcisms are in such demand that the number of priests who do them has been increased. The Roman Catholic Church recently revised its rules for exorcism for the first time in four centuries and started a school in Rome for training exorcists. Fifty-four percent of Americans believe in psychic and spiritual healing, so many that the Episcopal Church, that most staid of denominations, includes healing among its important ministries. Pentecostals, the country's fastest-growing denomination, are famous for exorcisms and healings. More than a third of Americans believe in clairvoyance. Seventy-five percent believe in angels. There may be something healthy about all that. So this Halloween, I'd suggest, go ahead, party down, believe the magic. You're certainly not alone. Journalist Christine Wicker, who lives in Brookfield, Wis., is the author of "Not in Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic Is Transforming America." Readers may contact her through www.christinewicker.com.
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