Many people drawn to the massage profession also come from beliefs in metaphysics and magical thinking. Metaphysics asks the questions: “what is it?”, “why is it?”, and “how do we understand it?”.
Metaphysics is difficult to define. The simplest definition is: metaphysics is a set of views about the nature of the world taken as a whole.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality.[1] The word “metaphysics” comes from two Greek words that, together, literally mean “after or behind or among [the study of] the natural”
Wikepedia
Metaphysics is popular because it tries to answer the questions that science can’t answer. The questions are untestable by science. Metaphysics has a very long history and there are 6 components:
- ontology
- cosmology
- identity
- free will
- mind and matter
- religion and spirituality
Concepts such as causation or laws of nature, although relevant for science, are rarely the subject matter of science itself.
Magical Thinking
Magical thinking is the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a result of supernatural effects. Thinking can make it so!
Magical thinking and metaphysics provide people with comfort, confidence and feelings of positivity. It prevails in times of uncertainty and stress. It helps us feel better and helps us to overcome feelings of inadequacy and it can even be a motivator for people with low self esteem.
It also is an excuse for not making the real efforts to achieve your goals. The whole Law of Attraction thing and The Secret made us all believe that believing was most important for things to happen. It left us all hoping for something to happen rather than going out to make it happen.