Real Magic and the Bicycle Metaphor

Real Magic and the Bicycle Metaphor

Do you remember what it was like learning to ride a bicycle? I do. It felt nearly impossible. My wife described her own experience this way: “I thought I'd be the only one who couldn't do it.” The main thing that allowed most of us to even try, let alone keep trying until we got it, was the fact that we saw many other people doing it, and they all reassured us that we would get it eventually, and once we got it, it would be easy. And it is easy. From that first “Aha” moment when everything clicked and the balance happened on its own, riding on two wheels became for nearly all of us an easy task that we can repeat any time we want to for the rest of our lives. What once seemed impossible now seems effortless.

Now imagine if we had never seen all of those examples of people riding bikes, and we had never gotten all of that reassurance. What if you lived in a world where training wheels were instead called balance wheels, and they were permanently attached? What if the few people who had ever tried to take off their balance wheels had always given up before they reached that “Aha” moment, and they always reported that it is impossible to ride on two wheels?

Can you imagine this? Can you imagine not knowing for certain that riding on two wheels is possible? Would you even try? If you did try, would you keep trying until you succeeded, or would you just try it once or maybe a few times, then let it be confirmed in your mind that it is impossible, just like everyone else says it is?

Now imagine that you live in a world where most people say that true magic is impossible, the kind of magic that lets you directly control the things around you without even touching them, the kind of magic that lets you know things simply because you want to know them, or even create things seemingly out of thin air, the kind of magic that Jesus, Buddha, and other great teachers have all said that we're all capable of, if we only have faith. You look around, and you see no examples of people doing any great miracles, at least nothing that's been confirmed, nothing that everyone accepts. And there are so many people who say it's impossible. So many people who would call you crazy for even considering it, let alone discussing it or attempting it.

Now imagine that you're fortunate enough to have heard and taken in some of the messages from the great teachers, and that there are people in the world today, such as spiritual teachers, philosophers, visionaries and quantum physicists, who now say, “We create our reality. We can do real magic if we can only attain enough certainty, enough clarity of purpose, enough faith.”

But then you wonder, “Is this true? Is it happening? Have people achieved this? Are they doing it? Why haven't I seen it, or been able to do such things myself?” Here are the answers Jesus gave to these kinds of questions: "Because you have so little faith. I can guarantee this truth: If your faith is the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20. “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mark 9:23. And here is what Buddha said: “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.” “He is able who thinks he is able.” “With our thoughts we create the world.”

There are definitely a great many people today who report healing and being healed through spiritual and mental means. There are also many people reporting that money and other forms of miraculous help showed up in their lives right when they were needed. There are even a lot of people now reporting that they're manifesting things they simply want: a better life, new relationships, peace, more money. And they say all of this is happening through belief, faith, focus, meditation, and prayer. Are all of these people imagining it? Are they fooling themselves and each other? Or is there something to it? Could it be that even these people have not pushed the limits of what is possible? Could it be that you can ride on one wheel? Oh yeah, people do that too.

Would it be worth the effort to learn how to do real magic, true miracles? It is the same as wanting to be smart, strong, wealthy, faithful, good, or wise. It is a skill, an ability that could bring greater abundance and happiness to you and the world. Most people say real magic is impossible. What if they're wrong. What would have happened if no one had ever tried to balance themselves, and then never passed it on? You would live in a world where everyone believed it was impossible, and you probably wouldn't even think of trying it. Are you content to live in a world of limitations other people have defined for you, or are you willing to put in some real effort and maybe learn something extraordinary? What if all it takes is for you to get on that bike and just keep trying until something clicks inside of you? What if you can just keep trying to do real magic over and over, having faith that you'll get it, until something clicks, and from that moment on, it will be easy, effortless, for the rest of your life?

– Jay Miller