英國的次文化- 靈學、迷信（偽科學）
This month I’d like to share with you an interesting subculture in the UK (and other countries), which is about spirituality 靈性 and pseudoscience 偽科學!
Pseudoscience is a negative term used to describe practices that claim to be scientific and factual, but that haven’t undergone rigorous scientific testing. In speaking, the term ‘pseudoscience’ is basically equivalent to ‘bullshit’.
偽科學是一個負面詞語，用來描述聲稱是科學和事實的做法，但並未經過嚴格的科學測試。在口語中，「偽科學」這個詞基本上相當於「胡扯」。
*Read to the end for Vocab Summary!*
❋ Disclaimer ❋ Far from the majority of the population are interested in the subjects below, which is why it’s a ‘subculture’.
Most ‘woo-woo’...
Most people believe the following to be ‘woo-woo’ or pseudoscience (‘woo-woo’ adj. means ‘out there’, a bit crazy, unusual and not scientific).
Crystal healing
Crystal healing is about using special gemstones to benefit your mental, physical or spiritual health in different ways. Different stones are believed to hold different properties, making them therapeutic in different ways by ‘lifting your vibration’. 提升你的磁場或頻率
Vibration 磁場或頻率 is something that is often talked about in circles of people who are interested in spirituality. The idea is that the higher your vibration, the happier, healthier, and less weighed down by toxic energies you will be.
2. Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese alternative healing method also known as ‘energy healing’, where the practitioner uses their hands to move and influence the energy of the patient. The practice has become increasingly popular in the UK, although it’s still in the ‘alternative medicine’ category, meaning it’s not mainstream. Chinese medicine is also in this category, i.e. most people think, “It might work, but not sure, sounds weird” 😛).
靈氣是一種日本的替代療法，也被稱為「能量療法」，治療師使用雙手移動和影響患者的能量。儘管這種實踐在英國越來越受歡迎，但仍然屬於「替代醫學」的範疇，意味著它尚未成為主流。中醫學也屬於這個範疇，即大多數人認為，“可能有效，但不確定，聽起來有點奇怪” 😛。
3. Shamanic healing
Shamans originated in Siberia, and they are thought to heal people in spiritual dimensions by returning lost parts of the soul to the human body. It often involves drumming to enter an altered state of consciousness.
薩滿起源於西伯利亞，他們被認為透過將失去的靈魂部分歸還給人體來在精神層面治療人們。這通常涉及打鼓以進入一種改變的意識狀態。
4. Tarot cards
Invented in northern Italy in the mid-15th Century, this practice gives insight into the past, present or future by choosing from 78 cards.
5. Astrology & Psychic healing
*Don’t mistake the word ‘astronomy’天文學 for ‘astrology’占星術! *
Astrology is about your star sign and the alignment排列 of planets and stars.
Psychics can communicate with spirits and ancestors 祖先.
Less woo-woo
Most people can get on board with the following, even though they’re more in the realms of mysticism and holistic healing.
Meditation (Mindfulness is now commonplace in the UK)
Breathwork (e.g. Wim Hof’s breathing method has become popular)
Yoga (almost everyone seems to do yoga now, but the practice has been westernised / taken out of its original context so the spiritual element may be lost)
Acupuncture (more and more people report benefits from acupuncture, and it’s even offered on the NHS)
Aromatherapy (using different smells like essential oils to help you feel better)
Forest bathing (this is a Japanese practice of relaxing in nature that’s gaining awareness)
Grounding / earthing (by putting your bare feet on the ground, it’s believed you can release electrical charges back to the earth and improve your health)
Sound healing (using singing bowls and other instruments to feel better)
Manifesting - This belief is about altering your conscious state or outlook in order to attract what you want in life. There are different opinions about whether this is ‘woo-woo’ or ‘not woo-woo’. Some people think you can’t just sit around imagining something and expect it to happen. But others think it’s a powerful motivating tool (when combined with action). What do you think!?
顯化- 這種信仰涉及改變你的意識狀態或觀點，以吸引生活中你想要的東西。對於這是否屬於「神祕主義」或「非神祕主義」有不同的意見。有些人認為你不能只是坐在那裡想像某事然後期望它發生。但也有人認為這是一種強大的激勵工具（當與行動結合時）。你怎麼看？
As you can see, there are a lot of practices out there, ranging in people’s minds from ‘totally unscientific and outlandish’ to ‘probably beneficial and we should try it’.
P.s. I don’t have any particular beliefs, but I am somewhat suspicious of terms like ‘pseudoscience’ and ‘cult’ because they cause people to immediately reject something without investigating further.
Do you do any of these things? What should our attitude be towards them? Tell me here!
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如果你喜歡這個內容，你一定會喜歡我們的小組教學，因為我們每週都會討論有趣的文化話題，並提供大量的詞彙供你學習！立即報名下個月的課程。
Vocab Summary
Pseudoscience (偽科學, 名詞) - 指那些缺乏科學根據或可靠證據支持的理論或信仰。
Subculture (亞文化, 名詞) - 指一個社會或群體內部的小型社群，擁有特定的價值觀、興趣或風格，與主流文化有所區別。
Woo-woo (神祕主義的，形容詞) - 通常用來形容與超自然、靈性或超現實相關的理念，有時帶有輕蔑的語氣。
Out there (超現實的，形容詞) - 指與現實世界相當不同或難以理解的事物。
Lifting/increasing/raising your vibration (提升/增加/提高你的振動, 片語) - 在靈性或能量層面上，指提升個人的正面能量或頻率。
To be weighed down by (被壓垮, 被拖垮, 片語) - 指感到受到沉重的負擔或困擾。
Toxic (有毒的，形容詞) - 指對身心有害的，可能造成不良影響的。
Reiki (靈氣, 名詞) - 一種源自日本的能量治療方法，通過將能量傳遞給患者來促進身體和心靈的平衡。
Energy healing (能量療法, 名詞) - 通常是指使用能量或靈氣來治療身體和心靈的方法。
Alternative medicine (替代醫學, 名詞) - 指與傳統醫學方法不同的治療方法，如中醫、草本療法等。
Mainstream (主流, 形容詞) - 指社會或文化中被廣泛接受、普及的觀念或事物。
Shaman (薩滿, 名詞) - 一種在部分文化中擔任宗教或靈性領袖，通常通過靈性的方式治療或引導。
Dimension (維度, 名詞) - 指存在的空間或範疇，有時也指其他層面或現實。
Altered state of consciousness (意識的改變狀態, 片語) - 指通過冥想、靈性實踐等方式改變自覺的狀態。
Tarot cards (塔羅牌, 名詞) - 一種用於占卜和預測的牌卡，每張牌都有特定的象徵意義。
Astrology (占星術, 名詞) - 一種根據天體運行位置預測人生和事件的信仰或實踐。
Astronomy (天文學, 名詞) - 一門研究天體和宇宙的科學。
Star sign (星座, 名詞) - 指根據出生日期確定的占星術中的星座。
Psychic (靈能的, 形容詞) - 指具有特殊感知或預知能力的人。
To get on board with (接受、支持，片語) - 表示同意或參與某事。
Mysticism (神秘主義, 名詞) - 指追求與超自然或靈性相關的深奧知識或體驗的信仰或實踐。
Holistic healing (整全療法, 名詞) - 一種綜合了身體、心靈和靈性層面的治療方法。
Mindfulness (正念, 名詞) - 一種集中注意力並全神貫注於當前瞬間的心理狀態。
Taken out of context (脫離上下文, 片語) - 指將某事物單獨取出，可能導致誤解或失真。
Acupuncture (針灸, 名詞) - 一種源自中國的傳統治療方法，通過在特定穴位刺激以調節身體能量流動。
Aromatherapy (芳香療法, 名詞) - 一種使用芳香物質來促進身心健康的治療方法。
Essential oils (精油, 名詞) - 指從植物中提取的濃縮香氣油，常用於芳香療法和身體保健。
NHS (國民健康服務, 縮寫) - 英國的國家醫療體系，National Health Service的縮寫。
Forest bathing (森林浴, 名詞) - 一種在自然環境中放鬆身心、感受大自然的健康實踐。
Grounding (接地, 名詞) - 一種通過與大地接觸以平衡身體能量的健康實踐。
Singing bowls (音頻碗, 名詞) - 一種用於冥想和放鬆的銅製碗，產生美妙的音律。
Manifesting (實現願望, 片語) - 指通過積極思維和能量引導，吸引和實現自己的目標和願望。
