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The Llewellyn Encyclopedia

Term: consensus reality

DEFINITIONS

Consensus Reality: The philosophical theory that concepts of what are and are not real must be agreed upon (not by a test or statement, but by “consensus,” a general agreement) by a group or culture. That is, if enough people believe some concept is “real,” whether it is or not, the cultural view is that it is real. An example of this is the concept that at one time it was believed by most Western Europeans that the Earth was flat. Maps and expeditions were made based on this belief. In reality, the Earth is not flat. In fact, the belief that most people during the Middle Ages and before believed that the Earth was flat may, in itself, be a form of consensus reality. There is now a belief that educated and influential people knew the Earth was spherical, and the wide spread popularity of the flat Earth myth actually developed only in the 19th century due to the popularity of Washington Irving’s book, The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, a novel that claimed most thought the world was flat until Columbus.

Consensus Reality:

The concept that the physical world, as we perceive it, is an illusion—an illusion so powerful that it we accept it as “real” and in our endeavors to understand this reality we have given it still greater “hardness” through our accumulation of  history, myth, fable, and statements of physical laws. All of this has been limited to the perceptions of physical senses and rejection of the non-physical.


source: Astral Projection for Psychic Empowerment, by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke & Joe H. Slate, Ph.D. - Carl Llewellyn Weschcke


ARTICLES

The Devil
The Devil card of the Tarot: The 15th Major Arcanum image: usually a conventional-looking devil with horns and hooves standing on an altar to which are chained a man and a woman, alternatively the Pagan’s Horned God Hebrew letter: ...
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Visualization Power
Visualization is an extraordinarily powerful instrument. In focusing our psychological and psychic powers and drawing on the untapped potential of the unconscious, we are dealing with forces that in some ways seem almost magical. One writer on ...
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The Shamanism of Today
We all have the capacity to follow a shamanic path. In our increasing attunement to Earth wisdom, we have all become like shamans mapping our journeys and our relationships with Nature. Shamanism is an ancient art, a creative craft, and a way of ...
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The Shamanic Journey
Regardless of other specialities - which may include plant medicine, divination, or healing rituals - the key approach of all shamans both ancient and modern is the shamanic journey. This is a special state of trance consciousness that enables ...
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Visualization Beyond the Body
In traditional cultures the shaman functions as healer and seer. His role is to mediate between the material world and the spiritual world. When someone requests a healing, the shaman visualizes his soul traveling through other realms of existence ...
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Review of Elemental Tarot
Summary: This eclectic, unique deck explores the world through the four basic energies of earth, fire, water, and air. The art creates a pleasantly chaotic feeling as it shows how these energies interact, creating our reality. Using this deck is a ...
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Vodou - An African Shamanic Tradition
At first sight, shamanism and Vodou - what Hollywood has introduced into the popular imagination as "voodoo" - seem to have little in common. The former seems based on peaceful co-existence with nature and the elements, while the latter, in so far ...
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What is Dianism?
The Second Degree of Sex Magick in the GBG, Dianism is sexual union without climax. It’s further training, but unlike Alphaism with its emphasis on avoidance here the partners should be warm and ardent, but controlled. It’s like a surfer ...
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The Contemplative Tarot Review
Summary: The Contemplative Tarot is designed for meditation, for self-discovery, and for self-improvement. It is suitable for beginners and advanced tarot users if the user desires a tool for reflection not for learning traditional tarot usage, that ...
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The Power of Negative Thinking
So far we have been considering visualization as a technique that works because it forces us to concentrate all our energies, psychological and psychic, on positive images. We have seen visualization as a method of transcending the many negative ...
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Sports Visualizations
Visualization plays a key role in the successes of many great athletes. Most obviously, of course, visualization in-creases confidence and motivation. Less obviously, it affects and sharpens players’ muscles. This was discovered by physiologist ...
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Whatever your background is, it's bound to happen to you: the scary paranormal case. We're not talking about your run-of-the-mill haunting here. We're talking portal hauntings, negative entities, and bad earthbound spirits—in a nutshell, things that scare us! These cases usually start out as a seemingly routine investigation; then, somewhere... read this article
Evolutionary Astrology: How Our Nodal Axis Defines the Soul's Path
The Mibramig Magical Tarot
Cultivating Bliss: 4 Ways to Explore Your Inner Garden
Exercise: Asking for a Dream Visit from a Loved One in Spirit
The Final Secrets of Enochian Magick

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