Mink and Worm

Such a dirty name for such a delectable drink. Coconut milk, fresh-squeezed lime, lime zest and a little seltzer. Mmmm.

I was watching the show Heroes last night (had missed it on Monday and taped it...yes, I am old school and don't have DVR). I must say that the show simultaneously fascinates me and scares the shit out of me. I'm not going to go into all the details of it if you aren't familiar with the premise, but it's this idea that there are some people with "mutant" DNA who have special abilities (think X Men, but they don't look any different from the rest of us). It seems that it is just recently that these special "heroes" have realized their extraordinary abilities and now have to decide what to do with them.

It made me start thinking about quantum mechanics and the idea that we shape our realities...that the universe is nothing more than energy vibrating at various frequencies, and we control the frequency of our vibration, thus drawing things (events, people) of similar vibration to us. If we are co-creators of our realities, then what's to stop us from believing that we are more powerful than humans are "supposed" to be? Is it just this belief in ourselves and our abilities that then allows these abilities to manifest? Anyone who has seen Criss Angel, the badass version of illusionist/magician David Blaine, knows that there are some things he can do that are "impossible." Only, if he can do these things, they are clearly NOT impossible. Is it just his strong concentration and belief in his ability to, say, walk on water while people swim around him and below him that allows him to accomplish this "magical illusion?" Or it is something far simpler, like clear, pencil thin stilts on the soles of his shoes that no one in the water or filming frombelow actually notices? He can't fly, mind you: He has to take the steps to walk, and he's clearly concentrating very hard. I wonder what would happen if something broke his concentration?

But I digress. At what point did Criss (or David, for that matter) start realizing they had extraordinary capabilities? And should they feel obligated to be some sort of "hero" and "save the cheerleader, save the world?" The credits are quick to point out that the stunts these men do are "illusions" and conducted by a professional and thus should not be attempted at home. But Criss pulls a Tesla (if you've seen the movie, "The Prestige" you know what I am talking about) and lights up an ordinary lightbulb (unscrewed from a hardware store lamp fixture) simply by holding it in his hand. Then, he levitates the light bulb and makes it spin around and has a bystander run his hand in the air all round the bulb. Remarkable. And again, I wonder if there are just some people who have extraordinary abilities but aren't yet aware?

Talk to most "intuitives," or psychics, and they will say that they have had their abilities ever since they can remember and learning to control them was the big lesson. Does that mean that the rest of us are simply out of luck? Or can we too reshape the fabric of our realities and manifest some "super powers?"