Another view (not necessarily in conflict with the scientific view) is that, in fact, there will always be some things that are not fully explained--the source and exact nature of consciousness, for example. So what do we do with the unexplained phenomena?
My vote is to learn to live with them. Getting curious about them, exploring them, trying to make generalizations about them are all fine, but there's some point at which I must acknowledge that I have to let the mystery be. Acknowledge that some problems are currently insoluble, but know that there are things we can do and ways that we can effect change.
I'm suggesting that which some call magic is mostly a result of a certain attitude toward the unknown, including what will happen next in our lives. We can shape the direction of our lives, but we have little control over the outcome. So, why not re-enchant the universe?
Whatever I can do to manifest change in the world really is magic to me. What can one "human merely being" do to make a difference about anything? But there are ways of working that often lead to better results.
When I was re-doing our kitchen floor, I came to a point where I was stuck and just not getting anything done. I was trying to remove two layers of linoleum and plywood that had been nailed to the underlying hardwood floor (who would do such a thing?). I was trying all the tools on hand, working around the edges doggedly but without many results.
So I asked my friend Ed, who is an expert in getting things done, if there was any trick that I should try. He answered me simply: "Sometimes you just can't take 'no' for an answer."
At first, I thought he was just referring the use of brute force, which, I found, did get some results but at the cost of a certain amount of needless destruction. But then I gradually learned, over the course of an hour or so, that there are ways of not taking "no" for an answer that involve a certain amount of coaxing and a certain amount of finesse, combined with a positive vision of the outcome, that resulted in my being able to complete the job in fairly short order.
In effect, I learned not to take my own "no" that I was giving to myself, and really work with what was before me, rather than against it.
Among other things, ritual connects us with mystery and the unknown on the one hand, and with our own ability to perform practical magic on the other hand. There are a million such small acts of magic accomplished each day when our eyes are opened to it. May we all awaken with the "eyes of our eyes" opened!
