Should my dad have given me a book of magic tricks?

[Cam-masta]

For a birthday gift, I received from my father Telepathic Power: Everything You Wanted to Know about Spoonbending, Mindreading and more…; it includes a DVD on how to perform various magic tricks. I voiced my concern that this may be New Age; my family believes I am being ridiculous and that the title and picture on the box of the musician bending a spoon with his mind is only for marketing and has nothing to do with actual telepathy, but something to entertain others with for fun. Do I have grounds to be uncomfortable, or am I overreacting?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Do I have grounds to be uncomfortable, or am I overreacting?

A little of both, I think. Magic tricks that can be classified as illusions (e.g., sawing a woman in half, pulling a rabbit out of a hat, card tricks) are harmless fun. The “mystery” that surrounds them is just showmanship. To classify such illusions as “New Age” would be unfortunate. On the other hand, attempts (even “for fun”) to control nature (e.g., spoonbending) or to manipulate others’ minds (e.g., mindreading, hypnosis purely for the sake of entertainment) can indeed be problematic. I cannot recommend becoming involved in such “play.”

I do recommend to you though that you find more tactful ways to handle gifts that violate your moral values. You needn’t have mentioned to your family your worries about “New Age influences.” When given an inappropriate gift, ordinarily it is sufficient to thank the giver and then discreetly dispose of it later. Although it is rude for givers to ask people whether or not they are using the gifts they have received, if you do get such questions just smile and say, “Whenever I see [insert gift here], I think of you.”