Evolve or Die

Well, i think I'm an engineering student at RMIT now. I could consider that bad luck or I can see it as an offer, either way, I really don't care because there's no way in hell I'll be doing it by the end of the year. I had this really profound experience at an RMIT open day that would've been over a year ago. I remember it was the first open day I'd been to, and I was convinced I was better than that place. It's funny how much I actually learned during VCE... much to the disgust of the education system. I kind of find it ironic that on that day when I decided I'd be good enough to go one better was the cause of the grotesque arrogance that led me back. Maybe it's just the Nietzsche but now I think I believe that you can't ever think you're perfect, there'll always be work to do. So what better way to improve than by broadening one's horizons... and in no way does this involve marks and examinations.

Last year out of boredom I found some e-book on hypnotism. Yeah what kind of loser physics/maths student branches into a field that can't be used to construct anything capable of large scale mechanical slaughter. The kind that's getting pretty sick of numeracy's ability to supplant humanity. Alright, I admit, this often does sound weird to people. I don't get people up and make them embarrass themselves or anything cruel like that. I like the way hypnotism is presented in the book I learned it from, as a state of acute awareness. It sounds really uncomfortable but in actuality it feels like that state of mind just as you fall asleep...

Okay, I'll admit it, some of that creative genius you've heard from me at 2am was most likely due to self hypnosis. I've become quite good at getting myself into a state of mind where I just stream random images, ideas or scenarios through my head. I like to approach this with an open mind, it's hardly the insanity plenty of people who've had first hand experience with me think it is. Just think of one of the most bizarre dreams you've had (seriously, I'll beat it tenfold so don't worry... phallic cannibal puppets weird EVERYONE out). Alright, so does this mean you're insane? Of course not, the mind speaks with symbolism, why do you think we use words that barely reflect their intentions? This is just something I started to do to kill time and come up with stuff... It's free AND doesn't show up in urine samples.

But now I want to try my hand at stage hypnotism or something. People have this misconception that you lose all control of yourself when hypnotised. Therapeutic hypnotism to recall intense trauma or something is only beneficial once substantial trust has been established. Hypnotism hardly affects one's judgement which is why I'm so interested in how stage hypnotism works.

That's probably what got me onto learning how to entertain with a deck of cards. Anybody who's been in the same room as me and a deck of cards lately has probably been subjected to my amateurish attempts at illusion. The thing is with magic tricks though, they can either amuse, or amaze. This is based entirely on the capabilities of the magician. Lately I've been trying to think of ways to really draw in an audience, I suppose I'm trying to grow charisma if you want to call it that. I'm getting better at suspending disbelief and romanticizing a trick. I suppose developing someone's belief in magic could be considered glorified lying, unfortunate but true given the cynical climate. I've always thought instead that it's the development of trust, maybe something that can lead to some capability in stage hypnotism.

Well I don't know about quality, but I thought it was a change of pace and that people might find some of my stranger hobbies interesting. So next time it seems like you're on a one way road somewhere, leave the beaten track. Look up something strange you've always thought would be fun, because I'm finding the stuff you teach yourself can be more of an accomplishment than the stuff that's drilled in.