“Your ancestors called it Magick, but you call it science. Well I come from a place where they’re one and the same thing.” That was a quote from Chris Hemsworth while he played Thor in Marvels: Thor the Movie. This may seem like just a movie quote placed in for dramatic effect, but these words hold a surprisingly real significance.  

For thousands of years the argument on the worlds creation, and overall how it functions, has been a very prevalent conflict throughout history. To this day, two ideologies stand firm, science: The idea that everything has an explanation that can be understood through logical reasoning and numbers; and the supernatural/ spiritual: A means of explaining worldly phenomena through less than physical means. Usually through some sort of natural energy or higher power. These have been the two biggest competitors for the answers to the universe.

However, dear reader, I am not here today to give you my one-sided, biased opinion on these two ideals. I instead am here to help persuade you that the ideas that stem from Thor’s quote in the movie might not be so farfetched.  First, let me give you an example of how I’m more of a neutral in the argument. To do this I’m going to cover probably one of the most controversial topics to arise from this who debate: The worlds creation.

The scientific standpoint of this topic is most commonly accepted to be the Big Bang theory. Which states that all the matter in the universe came together in one tiny, concentrated point and began rapidly expanding in an explosion of massive heat. Many believe that it is still expanding today. Then there is the spiritual standpoint, and honestly, most every culture has their own ideals about this topic. So, for the sake of simplicity and this argument, I’m going to use the Christian example. To quote Genesis1:1,“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light’”(King James Version). 

The bible then goes on to state that God created everything else in the world by speaking it into existence; all except man, whom he made by hand.           

Now I have issues with both these theories. First with the Big Bang Theory, it’s very hard for me to imagine that everything in the universe aligned perfectly to create everything else I the universe. For an Ideal that relies so much on reason, it just doesn’t seem logical. Then there’s the spiritual Christian version, which believed that an all powerful being simply spoke it all into existence. Of course, from a spiritualists eyes that’s very easy to accept with a little faith. I never understood it though. Not so much that an all-powerful being can’t exist, but more so that if he does; why is the world the way it is today? Why does he/or she let thee world continue to destroy itself, that’s why I lack true faith. As you can see I don’t really lean towards one or the other. Rather, I’ve found that this whole, “same thing,” concept can decently explain both major ideals. Bear with me as I try to explain.

 In the beginning there may have existed a being, however, this entity was not omnipotent. They could not simply create everything on their own, but instead required help. This being, although not powerful, was indeed wise; and they knew that the currently existing matter of the universe had the potential to create. This matter, much like the entity however, could not do it alone either. So, equipped with the knowledge of the matter, the entity was able to create the known universe today by harnessing the matters potential and dispersing it in a method that could later be called the Big Bang.

 Understandably this does not provide any solid evidence of a blurred line between both practices. However, multiple studies have been made in the past that do scientifically prove the effects of spiritual practices. Now, I know what you’re saying,

“That’s not blurring the line, that’s just proving spiritualism can be explained through science, duh,” and to that good reader, I say you are correct. However, that’s not the point I’m trying to make. Of course, science can prove the supernatural, because it is the supernatural! Just keep in mind one simple question as I explain the experiment that was done: Who discovered the method first? Scientists or spiritualists?

 Let’s jump back to a time in shogunate Japan. Amidst an operation a shinobi, or ninja, is wounded as they attempt to escape. They cannot perform proper medical treatment while within enemy territory, so the shinobi must find cover and heal the best they can. Once safe, a shinobi preforms the Kuji-In or Nine-cuts. A meditation like practice used in ninjutsu thought to invoke many supernatural abilities, such as heightened awareness and healing. To use this ability, the shinobi must weave specific hand signs in a certain pattern while chanting a word of power for each. They are as followed: Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, and Zen.

Jump back to present time, where the age of the shinobi is long since passed, but the art of ninjutsu is still alive in some. In February of 2018, Mei University conducted an experiment to try and scientifically prove or disprove the effects of the Kuji-In; the results of their tests were incredible. In a test, 15 professional shinobi, all trained in the Kuji-In, were placed in scenarios of both high stress and quick thinking. All of them underwent the test before using the Kuji-In and after. Overall, the number found that the Kuji-In tremendously increased brain activity and awareness, while also greatly decreasing stress levels. So, while true the Kuji-In didn’t allow for immense supernatural abilities, it did have rather large phycological effects. Which to a very early Japan can be easily perceived as spiritual enhancement.

Back to the question I posed earlier: Who discovered it first? The answer is obviously the spiritualists, but now the new question is: Why? Well, that may seem like a hard question to answer, but it’s not when applied with a bit of thinking.

It all has to do with how we perceive the world around us, how easily we can open our minds to possibility. To view the world through a scientist’s perspective, means to seek a more in-depth understanding of how the world works. They want to know all the little detail of how everything and anything comes together, how it all fits, how it all works. On a path of spiritualism, they do not seek that. Spiritualists gaze upon a question in the world and look deep within themselves with an open mind and accept it for what it is. Both sides are gazing at the same question but addressing it in different methods, and because of it they learn at different speeds. The shinobi’s Kuji-In was second nature to them, they knew what it did and that’s all that mattered. It took scientists thousands of years to get the same results the shinobis did. Same problem, two different perspectives. Two different rates of understanding that yield the  same results.