The Power of Intent

[Nilbog]

I have read some books about occultism and secret societies of the early 19 hundreds such as Order of the Golden Dawn which Alleister Crowley belonged to.

Some people think that magic is nothing more than projecting your intent into reality. When you have a group of strong willed individual meditating or projecting a goal it theoretically can put the wheel of manifestation into motion.

So which is the most desirable outcome, single purpose we can channel our passionate reserves for this game?

To me this outcome would be the best news:

Due to popular demand NCsoft re-opens City of Heroes including 8 year contracts for Paragon Studios and their returning team of Devs with new issue being released as previously planned.

Light a candle, meditate and project your desirable outcome into the canvas of the universe. Maybe if thousands of people focus on this on top of all the active measures taken that reality can emerge?

Yes, I am desperate enough to suggest magic

[TimtheEnchanter]

Timing is very critical when it comes to things like this.

I'm not one to be a downer and say it isn't possible to move mountains, but let's face it, we don't live in a world where it's very common to spew fireballs or Force-pull a Pepsi can from the fridge.

What I mean about the timing is... if for instance, you wanted to use Magick to stop an object from falling, you'd have a much better chance at accomplishing it when that object is teetering on the ledge, than you will when it's already in free-fall. The former requires far less energy manipulation than the latter.

I think the opportunity for this sort of thing has passed, at least as far as executing some kind of 'brute force' event. The best time for it would have been in the heat of the rallies, when PS was still in negotiations, when we had way more people who hadn't given up. There was likely a lot of group energy to draw on at the time, and there's a good chance that we were sending out a 'group prayer', whether we were consciously aware that we were doing it or not.

But trying to intentionally do it, now of all times? Of all the CoH players, there's probably only small percentage who even believe in Magick. Of that handful, there's even less who have ever tried using it and actually know what they're doing.

You're also talking about trying to manipulate reality in a way that would affect a LOT of people. This is akin to taking up programming, and expecting their first "Hello, world," program to result in a fully-functional WoW-clone. The greater the change, the harder it is to accomplish. Most people are happy if they can just get an annoying sore throat to go away.

You also have to be extremely careful of what you wish for, because these things have a way of taking unexpected turns, even with selfless intentions. Let's say someone has a brother who needs a new kidney, and asks the 'Fates' to make it happen. A week later, their Mother suffers a fatal heart attack. The brother then gets the mother's kidney. The desired result was accomplished, but with dire consequences.

"All Magic comes with a price, Dearie." - Rumpelstiltskin

[Rotten Luck]

There also an issue of using Magick on other people's minds.  Kind of a no no in my way of doing things.

We would have to nudge NCsoft board of directors and whoever else in charge of things to do our will.  From my limited experience we would need some kind of link or channel to said person or people.  We would also be messing with the free will of another person... I said that before didn't I?  Personally last time I tried I ended up with a migraine for a week. 

I'm more focused on now bring good luck and creativity to Missing Worlds Media, and Golden Girls group Plan Z studios. 

[dwturducken]

There's also the issue of power. These things work best at locations where the magickal energy is the strongest. Unfortunately, power draws power, so many of these locations happen to be the building sites of important centers of what we think of as "real world" power. I don't see the security guards at the Sears Tower (sorry, Willis Tower) allowing someone to just walk in and set up what looks like a seance in the lobby. Likewise, Secret Service would have a pancake fit if such a thing were to happen on the East Lawn of the White House.

I think we'll have to stick with the letter writing and the social media, unfortunately.  But I like that you're thinking outside the box!

[Nilbog]

I was prepaired to be burnt at the stake and cast out for this post. Thank you for the open mindedness.

[JaguarX]

I was prepaired to be burnt at the stake and cast out for this post. Thank you for the open mindedness.

REPENT!!!  ;D

But seriously, who knows. There are many things beyond the understanding of the human mind at any given point in time. First we have to figure how much power is needed, and how much power per person produces and then we can figure out how many people is needed and how to establish that link in an effective manner and not to mention polish exactly what we are asking for to the teeth or else as many things that are asked that are vague or unclear end up wasted power on something that wasnt in mind or the in the intentions. Even luck, I think there is more to the eye than what is commonly believed as in why do it seem some have more than others in different areas while some seemingly have none at all. Even as mundane as why some people can get three purple drops in one mish even with the very small chance while others never gotten a single purple to drop. To something as big as a chance meeting with a certain person that propels a person career to a certain level while others just as skill never attain that level no matter the work they put in.

Social media is good if applied right, just like magic. Words are the spell and all we have to figure out is the right spell to use to get the desired results. What make this hard is that we dont have a concrete spell book. Anyone up for a CoT cave raid of their library? Once I figure out where the real Orangebagel is located.

[TimtheEnchanter]

I was prepaired to be burnt at the stake and cast out for this post. Thank you for the open mindedness.

I don't think we have any Witch-hunters running around here. The worst you might hear from anyone on Titan is, "You're silly for believing in Magick."

Be fortunate you didn't post this on the NCsoft forums in the final months though. Some of the folks there were so anti-faith, that they even came down on SaveCoH for having hope. Talk of a SaveCoH Ritual would have gotten very messy indeed.

[JaguarX]

I don't think we have any Witch-hunters running around here. The worst you might hear from anyone on Titan is, "You're silly for believing in Magick."

Be fortunate you didn't post this on the NCsoft forums in the final months though. Some of the folks there were so anti-faith, that they even came down on SaveCoH for having hope. Talk of a SaveCoH Ritual would have gotten very messy indeed.

Ah the final months of the forum. That was a very terrible way for a forum of a good game to go. Yeah, I must agree, speech like that would have gotten you burnt, reburnt, and burnt once more and then tied to a stake and burnt again.

I guess some people dont understand faith of any kind. Although I think it seemed to have been a giant misunderstanding that got blown way out of proportion with each side saying the other shot first and neither side wanting to cease fire and figure out the purpose. I wish, had faith, that before the end, an understanding could have been reached but it seems that it didnt happened and both sides just left angry at the other side. It kind of casted a slight pall on a situation that was already sad enough.  I wished I would have said more and maybe I could have helped somehow, but I guess my mind was much on the closing instead of seeing the rift of a community that been together for years. I guess in some way I'm trying to make up for it now by saying more here, and various other places. I might have missed the boat but I have faith that one day we can come together again and put that past mess behind us. It seemed that both sides wanted to be heard but none wanted to hear. Well I take that back, I recall a few people trying to mediate but they usually ended up as innocent victims in the cross fire. I hardly reconized that community when I came back after hearing the bad news. I mean what happened? I know there was always little bickering here and there but geesh, it's like everything fell apart worse than a yahoo religious news blog comment section. We were voted most friendly community, we got praises all over the gaming world for being friendly, even in WoW forum out of all places, but after Aug 31st, I was like what the hell and was hoping that eventually some people stopped took a deep breath but the rounds kepted on beign fired and every single manner of unicorn and flaming came out the wood work from grammar unicorning from people that normally was rational and level headed to slightly off kilter people becomign totally off kilter, to people that usually just walked away from flaming and unicorning to unicorning and flaming in return, to insults being trown around by both sides liek it was going out of style. Again, I still kick myself for not sayign anything and maybe taking a shot at maybe at least getting some to cease fire and mayeb it would have caught on. I just let it burn by leaving it alone thinking that someone else will step up when I should of stepped up. I think maybe it was a fear of post counts as I havent had many that no one would listen anyways as post counts always seemed to be important in the type of pull a person had there and with my post count barely reaching the teens, I felt that I didnt have the pull especially seeing the forum cartel people going at it like no tomorrow when they had the biggest pull and respect out of anyone there.

And how some jumped on Tony V, and I'm looking at this strictly as much as I can outside looking in down the middle and while I am here in Titan I'm not saying this as fan service or anything I'm just calling it like how I seen it, was very much uncalled for as many here probably agree with me on that aspect. Very uncalled for and rabsurd. My hats off to how he handled it. As much as I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and put up with irrational people and even then try to understand their point of view, I'm not sure I would have been able to handle it in that much a graceful manner.  From what I could see each of his posts seemed to be level, rational, and non-condecending and to tell you the truth I cant say that for all the posters that are here for their posts over there but hey, emotions were running high, and it was an emotional time so no dings towards anyone, but Tony seemed to have kept a very level head even when under attack when many others folded and stooped to the attackers level. Captain Electric and that other one, Electric Knight also seemed to try to keep it even. Even though there were times Electric Knight walked that fine line though, but he did it beautifully.

But in the end we all are human and in the end what happened at the end during those high stress times, emotional times, some people felt like their hearts were ripped from their chests with no remorse and stepped on in front of their eyes with golf cleats, and combine that with people that didnt get it, remoreless, and some probably emotionless, and bad timing with rational and too rational though and cant reconize that sometimes all a person need is a shoulder and not to be kicked, with some people that didnt give a hoot, and some took advantage, it's a wonder that someone didnt get hurt in real life. Now we might see those people in other games and maybe we can let by gones be by gones and remember the good times. Even America has history that it's not proud of but lets dwell on the good times, not saying forget, but forgive, and remember we are all humans in one way or another and we all bleed and we all were affected in one manner or another with the closing. Whether it was very much emotional or merely just cant play COX. We all are now ex-COXers and we all were and are part of the COX community.

I know somethings I said many times before but that is what is most is eating me and bothering me the most.  Talking/writing about it is my therapy. Sometimes I write poems, sometimes I just write things, sometimes, I talk to others but since the only other person in my circle that played COX probably wont understand one bit, as she as shown in the forum, I guess this is my only outlet. Not meaning to bother anyone or burden anyone with my long posts. I guess it's my way of coming to terms that I cant save the world no matter what I do. I mean here I am releasing to a group of people I never met before that probably have their own problems to deal with. I'm starting to wonder, do I understand as much as I thought I do. Here we have people on the surface that have every reason to give up but yet they persist, and somehow, I cant explain, it inspires me to not to give up. Faith and belief that something good will come out of this. Do I have proof that COX will come back or the projects are guranteed? Hell naw. I just know in my gut that it will work in one way or another and that is all that there is to it as far as evidence. And that is good enough for me to continue to believe no matter how crazy it sounds to others. And I consider myself a realist (with a maniacal idealist edge at times) but there is nothing that says that realist and faith cant work together. In fact I think when it works together, the results are better than anyone imagine than either working purely on faith alone or purely working on percieved reality alone. Every invention and every now common idea (i.e facebook, internet, the telephone, cellphones, blogs, the camera, the airplane, microbiology) all started off as some abstract nut case idea (faith and ideals) then when coupled with realist outlook it became a reality. I bet if you went back in time to 1799 and blabbed about an internet, you'd be locked up in a mental institute as mentally insane if not burned at the stake for heresy or practice of sorcery. Today, many people cant imagine a world without the internet.

[Shenku]

including 8 year contracts for Paragon Studios and their returning team of Devs

Not to nit-pick, but this part is rather unlikely. Not sure if it's been stated already elsewhere(probably was), but Matt Miller said this past weekend at his panel at C2E2 that it's unlikely we would be able to get a large majority of those developers back if by some miracle NCSoft decided to reopen the studio since most have already found new jobs at other companies.

Don't know about you, but if I was one of those devs, I'd hesitate to return and work for NCSoft after the way they let everyone go... Just sayin'...

[Nilbog]

Not to nit-pick, but this part is rather unlikely. Not sure if it's been stated already elsewhere(probably was), but Matt Miller said this past weekend at his panel at C2E2 that it's unlikely we would be able to get a large majority of those developers back if by some miracle NCSoft decided to reopen the studio since most have already found new jobs at other companies.

Don't know about you, but if I was one of those devs, I'd hesitate to return and work for NCSoft after the way they let everyone go... Just sayin'...

ya those logistics did come to mind but the heart wants....

[JetFlash]

REPENT!!!  ;D

Reminds me of an old D&D adventure years past...


"Repent!!!" *whack*

"Repent!!!" *whack*

"Repent!!!" *whack*

"Repent!!!" *whack*

"Repen-" *looks at dead offender with consternation*

"Raise Dead."

"Repent!!!" *whack*

"Repent!!!" *whack*

[FatherXmas]

We can do this the easy way or the easier way.  The easier way is we kill you and do a speak with dead.

[Mister Bison]

I believe in magick. I actually have its power. It's called programming. How else do you call influencing the world with words and formulas, manipulating glyphs and patterns, requiring high intelligence, and failing miserably if there is the tiniest fault?

[healix]

https://i.imgur.com/udUOD4l.gif

[Heroette]

"All Magic comes with a price, Dearie." - Rumpelstiltskin

Yes, I watch the show too.   ;)

[ukaserex]

Hmm....how do I put this....please bear in mind that the following is my personal belief. Not all of you will share it and although that would sadden me, you all have your own views.
The OP is....close, but off the mark. I won't say that it's impossible, because it simply isn't. However, the power of intent has nothing to do with "Magick" or Magic, or any other spelling of the word. The power of intent IS Supernatural. I have heard more about this in the past year than I have the past 30 years. Some call it the power of positive thinking. I call it "And God said". As we are made in His likeness, is it so out of the realm of possibility to think that likeness doesn't include speaking things into existence? Many of you have done this yourself (yes, I said speak things into existence) without even realizing it.

For example: "Stupid jerk sneezed and didn't cover his mouth! Now I'm gonna catch a cold. Grrrrr...." Two days later, you have a cold.

Guys? Remember when you were trying to ask that pretty girl out, and when you finally got the nerve to do it, she shot you down for one reason or another? You had already felt you would get rejected and that lack of confidence was a big part of the reason for that rejection - you had already told yourself she'd say no.

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him." (Mark 11:22-23)

"Have faith in God" is an inaccurate translation here. In the greek, this verse actually reads "Have the faith OF God".

Jesus tells His disciples to "have the faith of God". Then says that if they believe what they say will come to pass, it will happen. In context, Jesus cursed a fig tree, telling it that it will never bear fruit again. It died. When the disciples saw that the fig tree had died, they were astonished, but Jesus said they could do the same thing with the words they speak, telling them to have the faith of God. What faith does God have? What He says comes to pass. God SAID let there be light, and light was. God SAID let the ground bring forth vegetation, and it happened. God SAID. . .and it happened.

Do you realize what this passage of scripture is saying? It is saying we can speak things into existence like God, if we believe what we say will happen. I can expect an unbeliever to disbelieve this, but do my fellow believers believe this? I do. And, it may very will be that because of the faith of so many of you, it WILL happen. It just may not happen right now.

Fear not, folks. It may very well be that MWM(The Phoenix Project) may do such a good job that you won't miss CoH that much, and that it will be essentially the CoH2 that so many wanted. It won't be that today - but someday. Someday *soon*.

[Hyperstrike]

Oh yeah.  Not stepping into this one.

*Hits the post button*

:o


D'OH!

[Lightslinger]

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.aaanything.net%2Fwp-content%2Fgallery%2Fabandon-thread-gifs%2Fabandon_thread_omg_with_baseball_bat.gif

[Turjan]

My favorite defintion of magic has always been the one in the Uncyclopedia :-

"Magic is the ability to use cheat codes or hacks in the real world." :D

[Captain Electric]

In City of Heroes, the character Captain-Electric went the whole time I played (four years) convinced there was a scientific explanation for everything--including magic. It was one of his quirks, I decided, and I played on his stubbornness with plenty of humor. Every once in a great while, I'd tease player character friends with hope (particularly magic origin friends), by playing up his confusion and bewilderment during a magic-related story arc. "I...I don't...I can't explain this!" But by the end of the arc, he always had a theory.  :P

His scientific determination knew no bounds. (His greatest undertaking, if he had his way, would be to postpone the heat death of the universe indefinitely.) Captain-Electric spent his formative years trapped in an artificial 1950's era pocket dimension, and was rescued from it by a magical pantheon god. The two became best friends, and yet still, Cap gave no quarter for what was quite obvious in Paragon's universe: the existence of magic!

For the super friends he made in-game with other player characters, I had always planned to give them the last word. The opportunity never really presented itself with a bang in those final days. But a handful of friends moved to CO afterward, including me, off and on. You work with what you have, eh?

After one mission in CO, with a CoH friend, to an alternate dimension filled with magic energy and magic-using peoples, there was a sentient, child-like magic toy that followed and escaped along with us super heroes, unseen until it was too late. (I used a sorcerer teddy bear that I had received as a reward earlier.) This magic sorcerer teddy bear now appears relentlessly and follows the Captain around on many of his adventures. A constant thorn in the Captain's rational mind. After much examination, Captain has found no scientific explanation for the teddy bear, and it's unlikely he ever will. It has fallen off buildings during missions, it has been burned, vaporized, electrocuted (:-[), and yet always reappears, tugging softly on the Captain's cape for some attention.

So for anyone who put up with Cap's stubbornness on Virtue, fair is far, there's your last word.