An Excerpt from The Last Observer

“Well,” he began, “I have been doing some research along the lines that you had suggested.” He paused to think. “And, I have reviewed the files that you left with me as well.” Stanley could feel Edwards gaze. “What do you mean by the term observer?” he asked.

“Well, an observer is someone who has the power to create reality,” replied Edward.

“But, everyone creates their own reality so everyone is an observer surely?” asked Stan impatiently.

“That is true to a certain degree but some people really do create their reality. By that, I mean that they have a special talent for it. Their imaginative faculties and their magical skills are developed to the point that they really influence the co-reality that we all live in.” Edward leaned back in his chair and took a sip of the coffee that he had ordered on his way in. “Some people have deliberately honed these skills often through years and years of practice while some are simply born with a latent gift.”

“Magical skills?” Stan asked somewhat indignantly. “Magic like in Harry Potter?”

“Yes, I had detected your cynicism,” said Edward dryly. Edward shifted in his seat as if to find a more comfortable position and rubbed his chin with his hand his eyes staring into space as if struggling to find the right combination of words. “Magic is said by some to be the art of causing changes through the application of will.” He said after a short while. “For me, I think there are actually two forms of magic. The first is where the practioner attempts to change himself and in doing so changes the way that they perceive their reality. You probably now understand that by changing your perception of reality you are, in fact, actually changing reality?” But Edward didn’t stop for an answer to his rhetorical question but rather proceeded to explain, “The other form of magic is physical magic in which the Magician actually attempts to willfully co-create reality.”

Stanley listened carefully while studying Edward’s expression looking for any hint that he might be pulling his leg but all he saw was Edward’s sincerity. He thought for a moment. He could he supposed give some credence to the first type of magic as it was in a sense akin to self-psychology and positive thinking and he had read quite a few books in that vein but physical magic. Now that was Harry Potteresque wasn’t it?

“The first thing a good Magician needs to do, amongst other skills, is to know himself. To dissect himself bit by bit, the good, the bad and the ugly. He has to know who he is and why he is. This is achieved through various forms of meditation and reflection, which, by the way, is another skill the magician needs to learn. By understanding himself, he can begin the Great Work of turning the inner lead into inner gold. In doing so, he is liable to discover that nothing, absolutely nothing is what it seems to be. It can be both a mentally and emotionally challenging experience to go through this process believe you me,” said Edward. “As the process, which can take years, decades, entire lifetimes, is followed through with discipline, the magician will come to understand many truths and these truths come from within. He must learn them himself and can only be gently guided and taught certain techniques for it must be the magician himself that makes these realizations.”