...To scrape the sky. To make my mark...

The question is "So What?" What does this magic bullshit Do, in the end, that people should care?

Specifically, oletheros asks: 'if you were in an elevator with someone who had the ability to influence your life and you only had five minutes to explain your concept to him, what would you say? i don't think you're concise enough to produce a purpose statement yet.'

I want the term "magic" to be seen as a perspective through which we can investigate phenomena and experiences. A term which holds in itself various aspects of other disciplines, but is not, solely, any one of them. I want magic to be seen as more than a throw-away term. Magic, as a category, gives us an understanding of a sense of control, of awe and wonder, of mystery, and of searching. It gives us the idea of rituals and particular psychological states, language and social stance, outward physical action and internal mental action, philosophhy and experimentation, combined, together, to achieve a goal of change in perspective, and/or the physical world. Magic has elements of religion, of ritual, of philosophy, of sciences, of psychological analysis, of linguistics, but, again, it is not solely any of these things, as these things are not solely the areas in which they overlap with each other. Understanding how these ideas work, and what magic can do, allows us to better understand, shape, and integrate with the world, around us.

oletheros, again: 'don't let someone else define your success for you, but also remember that it's nice to be able to point at things you have done and say "i did that." what do you have to show for yourself at this point?'

Magic-related: I've written several fairly popular articles on magic and popular culture, for NeedCoffee.com, with a perspective I wouldn't have had, if I hadn't studied magic.

I've given two successful public talks on philosophy and magic in pop-culture.

I've written a master's thesis on the nature of magical phenomena and magic as a category or conceptual frame.

I've taught classes on conceptual analogy and critical thinking, with a high success and approval rating from both the students and the university.

And, so far, i've helped built a pretty decent community of people interested in magic. Not a "tight" community, maybe, but an intricately connected web of individuals and groups.

I did that.

I've also done consulting and research on things I can't really talk about, yet, but those weren't done from a magical perspective, anyway.

So far, that's what I want to do-- either in academia, or as a consultant-- and what I Have Done.

"Then I'mma get me a diamond-crystal speed boat, paint it Gold."

Thoughts?

Take just what I came for, Then I'm out the door, again

Lately it seems that I am constantly incapacitated by a giant influx of People's Bullshit. Be this at work, or in explaining, again and Again, what it is that I'm trying to get done, I simply don't have the patience to deal with it, any more. But, as I'm not independently wealthy, I don't know what to do about this.

All I know is, my driving ethos, right now, is something akin to, "I am Going to Change The World. I know how I want to do it, I know how others want me to do it. I don't much care for the 'established way of doing this.' So, Either Help Me, Get Out Of The Way, Or Get Set On Fire."

Again, I'm not independently wealthy, nor vastly influential, and I kind of enjoy having friends, so this is not exactly conducive to the achievement of goals.

But, gods help me, it Feels So Right.