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Esotericism: Separating Scientific Facts from Fiction

September 15, 2007

In recent months, I have been deeply engaged with esoteric topics. The reason for this was the accusation that I couldn't claim it was nonsense if I had no idea about it. So, I decided to thoroughly investigate these topics to understand what they are about. I joined various forums to exchange ideas with like-minded people and even bought and read books on the subject.

The topics I have intensely explored include:

Through my in-depth exploration of these topics, I can confidently state not only that they are nonsense but also that they are complete bullshit. The only two topics that were somewhat interesting were meditation and lucid dreaming – more on that later.

Brief Explanation of the Topics

Why This Is All Absolute Nonsense

All of these esoteric concepts lack scientific validation. There is no evidence for the existence of chakras, spiritual healing, energy blockages, clairvoyance, astral bodies, or psychokinesis. The notion that one can influence life or health through these practices or abilities is nothing but a product of fantasy.

Many of these esoteric claims often rely on subjective experiences and anecdotes told by followers. A common phenomenon is the placebo effect: people believe that a particular treatment works, and this belief alone can lead to an improvement in their symptoms, even if the treatment has no therapeutic effect. Moreover, esoteric practitioners often use vague and ambiguous language, allowing them to frame their claims in a way that makes them unfalsifiable. If a "healer" claims to have blocked energy and someone feels better, this could just as easily be due to a change in attitude or life circumstances, rather than a real healing.

And if phenomena like astral travel and psychokinesis actually existed, they would be easily testable without much effort and could be proven. So far, none of the people in all the esoteric forums have been able to prove to me that they are capable of such feats.

If such phenomena truly existed, there would be scientific evidence for them, and the claimed results would need to be reproducible. Scientific studies require strict methodologies to ensure that results are not influenced by chance or other factors. However, there are no studies confirming the effectiveness of these esoteric concepts. Therefore – it's all nonsense.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

While I was sifting through all the esoteric nonsense, I came across two topics that actually work and are even scientifically valid: lucid dreaming and meditation.

I will write separate blog posts on these two topics later.

The Lesson of the Esoteric Community: Dumb but Happy?

During my exploration of esoteric topics, I also learned a lot about the community. Many people interested in these topics are actually very nice and friendly. Of course, there are also fanatics who seem a bit silly to me, but as long as they don't impose their beliefs on anyone, that's fine.

The problem arises when they recommend natural remedies and pseudoscientific methods instead of evidence-based medicine. In some forums and online discussions, there are even claims that diseases like cancer or AIDS don't exist and that one can heal solely through the power of thought. That is grossly irresponsible and should not go unpunished.

Closing Words

Esoteric concepts like chakras, energy healing, clairvoyance, and astral bodies are scientifically unproven and thus nonsense. While they may make for great fantasy films, that's all they are good for.