Proving a Negative
Or
Is all that we believe real ?

For Example: Reiki

I got into a conversation with a man one day over Reiki healing

It was like getting into an argument with my rice crispies

Now in point of fact, I was speaking to someone else
about it at the time and he was rude enough
to be eavesdropping on the conversation, when he piped up,
Unasked, and said " that energy healing stuff is for fools ya know "
( I am saying it politely here, which he did not )

Since I was not about to let this rudeness or his blanket statement
pass unchallenged, I asked why he thought that ?

He said " because I don't believe it's possible"

Again I asked him " why?"

"Everybody knows they are all fakes" he said

Again I asked him " why?"

"Because only a fool would believe it" he stated

To make a long story short, he continued in this vein
no matter how often I asked " why ? "
or "have you read this study about it ?"
or  "have you seen this history about it ?" Ever try it ?
He had read none, seen none, nor wanted to even attempt it

In short, he had no reasons at all really
other than the circular argument
of his own personal feelings of disbelief.

I told him, " Well that's certainly your right to disbelieve it, however
that gives you no right to say that all the rest of us who do believe
it works are deluded ... without proof "

I proceeded to tell him my proof

That for untold eons, since the dawn of mankind
there have been records of such work.
Billions upon billions of people, who have been born, lived and died
on this planet believe that it works. There are records and documents
recounting how it works, since the beginnings of recorded history,
in every language the planet has ever known.

Every era, in every country, even during the times
when they didn't know each other even existed, there are such works.

And in the current day we have tools that can measure how it works,
Uncounted studies by all manner of professionals that show it works.
I have proved in my own personal life that it works.

All of these works and studies are available for free in any Library
For any who care to, to go and do the research.

That all these reports far outweigh any few reports
by comparison about charlatans or fakes.
And that If they were all  really fakes and " everybody"
knew this, then the whole idea would have died out long ago

Yet you, with no kind of proof whatsoever
Having admittedly done no research, no experimentation,
whose made no attempt to find out any information about it,
in any way, yet you feel justified in calling me
and all of those billions of people fools,
simply by saying you don't believe it and expect it to have meaning ?

That you and YOU alone know the truth about the matter
and all those people past and present, myself included
are fools who are just kidding themselves.
Or trying to con somebody out of something,
just because YOU say so !

Who do you think you are ! !

You can tell I  was just a bit miffed here :) What can I say
Rude people just tick me off.. when it's topped off with rampant
ignorance to boot, it just makes it worse !

But I shouldn't have gotten angry, as he did no more than billions
before him have done, for as little reason. Using the " common"
 dis-belief in a thing, that has no rational reason or " proof".

Getting miffed at him didn't teach him
anything, even through I have to admit it was emotionally
satisfying for a moment, but it was a waste of energy.

But the point is, for a great many
things, we are challenged for our beliefs, based on nothing at all
but another's disbelief, with no proof whatsoever.

Now its said, that you can't prove a negative, well... that's only half right
You can prove why you feel a thing is not so, by your own studies
and " prove it " so at least your stand has some validity.
But it must be REAL proof,  belief alone don't get it.

This man, didn't have a leg to stand on, but it didn't stop him
from trying to "correct" my delusion.

We hear the same thing on many beliefs a lot of us hold,
energy healing being only one.

I have always believed that to " believe"
anything positive or negative, there must
be proof. To act on a belief, it must have validity.

That when asked "why do you believe that" one should be
able to give a cogent answer, and if you cannot
then you have no businesses attempting to profess that you believe
or do not believe in something, without being able to say WHY

I have spent a life time studying the why, both within myself
for my own thoughts and reasons and without in study and research
on " things I believe" a process that I doubt will ever stop.

This is an internal part of the
Pagan way, this self introspection. Not for us blind, unproved " facts"
Or round robbin circular arguments of , it's so because I say so.

That argument for proof works till your about 5 years old
after that you better be able to prove it
to any rational thinking human being.
After all, why should they
listen to just you ?

We see this even in the schools, it's how we learn,
you all remember having to use book references
and make footnotes on our papers in the classroom right ?

This is " proving" a thing by referral to others that believe as you do.
Which is where the gentleman got his "everybody" knows statement.
Using his so called "everybody" as a referral to  "authority".
But he could offer no proof of his statements validity,
in the classroom this would fall on its face.

 You need  "real " proof for anything important,
so we study and we seek and we learn. We become the scholar
who seeks out truth, no matter how hard the seeking as one
reference is not enough, numbers alone are not enough
feeling is not enough and yes, even general consensus is not enough.

See it held constantly, throughout time and place
and watch even more proof be piled on top of what's known
in each era and then maybe you have something you can " Prove"

So when we speak, we KNOW that we speak from a stance
of believable reality, that others throughout history have shared
that we can also back up with major documentation if needed.

Anything less is just an argument with your breakfast food !

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