Over recent years there seems to have been a noticeable increase in the numbers of people who can perform such unbelievable 'tricks', or at least those who are able to display their abilities on mainstream T.V or the internet. Many times I've discussed with friends the possibility that some of what we've seen is actually supernatural as oppposed to just an incredible act of illusion.
The suggestion has been made by some, that maybe there are presently high numbers of dark supernatural entities which are supplying these powers to individuals who have, for whatever reason, managed to connect with them; although I'm no expert on such matters and I'm only speculating. Referring back to qigong, there are warnings in some systems concerning wrong-minded practitioners who seek such powers in order to achieve fame & gain, only to be supplied with them albeit at the expense of unknowingly exchanging some of their own 'natural' powers such as vital/soul essence, which can then be used by a negative entity. No such thing as a free lunch.
Of course that's not to be confused with righteous cultivators who have opened up such powers as a result of diligent progress and without the object of personal/material gain in mind.
I recall seeing one T.V performance by a famous U.K illusionist/mind manipulation expert, who, upon completing an impressive trick and then clearly thinking he was off camera, was asked by his celebrity assistant how he did it and he replied 'I honestly have no idea'. Maybe it was a deliberately dismissive answer or it could have been that he really didn't know, in which case who or what gave him the ability to do the trick?
'Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world' - T’ien Yiheng.
'You are here for no other purpose than to realise your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment' - Morihei Ueshiba (Founder of Aikido).