Suggestions for that annoying sceptic

[Kellhuss]

Imagine you're discussing magick with someone you know to be a sceptic; you usually avoid the issue given your friend's tendency to dismiss out of hand the topic. This time though, they seem a bit more interested, but still find the idea of magick highly questionable.

For a moment it seems as though you might have them considering something, but can see you're about to lose them. Given your friend's scepticism, you think that giving them a practical task to try themselves might actually be worthwhile.

You lean forward, getting their attention, and say:

'Actually, why don't you just try. . . '

Well? What would your direction be here?

 

[Robert Ramsay]

"Buying my book"

The demo I give at my talk is the Necker Cube. I describe it as "the tiniest piece of magic you can do" and challenge them to stop the cube flipping orientation as they look at it.

 

[Kellhuss]

"Buying my book"

The demo I give at my talk is the Necker Cube. I describe it as "the tiniest piece of magic you can do" and challenge them to stop the cube flipping orientation as they look at it.

Nice; that’s a great example as a lead into the issue of direct / naive realism and how intention apparently has external perceptual effects; an excellent base to build from.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Nice; that’s a great example as a lead into the issue of direct / naive realism and how intention apparently has external perceptual effects; an excellent base to build from.

incidentally, I found one bug - you need two different sizes on the screen - if people are too close, they can't get the effect.

 

[HoldAll]

I read the following saying somewhere: "Tell a man you'll build him a house, and he'll laugh in your face. Tell him you'll burn his house down, and he'll fear you." What I've noticed around people who think that magic, witchcraft, astrology, etc. are nothing but ridicoulous superstition is that they'll nevertheless be at least slightly apprehensive about stuff that could potentially harm them, e.g. instinctively shunning a person considered to be 'bad news' around the village where I grew up, older people reminding younger ones boastful of their good fortunes not to tempt fate, knocking on wood and so on.

So if mere arguments won't convince sceptics, you could offer to curse them instead - and enjoy the perplexed reactions.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

I read the following saying somewhere: "Tell a man you'll build him a house, and he'll laugh in your face. Tell him you'll burn his house down, and he'll fear you." What I've noticed around people who think that magic, witchcraft, astrology, etc. are nothing but ridicoulous superstition is that they'll nevertheless be at least slightly apprehensive about stuff that could potentially harm them, e.g. instinctively shunning a person considered to be 'bad news' around the village where I grew up, older people reminding younger ones boastful of their good fortunes not to tempt fate, knocking on wood and so on.

So if mere arguments won't convince sceptics, you could offer to curse them instead - and enjoy the perplexed reactions.

As a friend of mine said to a child that was annoying him: "I've put a monster under your bed."

 

[jzatopa]

Make a bet with them. Ask them if they will do Kundalini yoga in the morning and evening for 3 months to a year. Make the bet juicy. Then ask them to read the Sefer Yetzirah and Tao te Ching as part of it - Bardon's IIH if they will go that far and include that. At the end, if they don't have any results, they win. No lying, no cheating, a % of missed days is acceptable but not to many.

If not that, get them initiated into Kriya yoga, take a class at ISTA or something similar. They will thank you for it.