Wellness

It is widely known that the mind plays a role in physical health. But sometimes it is hard to know exactly what thoughts to think in order to gain that health. I suggest that you do not look for any one thought or way of thinking. Let your inner dialogue grow and develop on all the aspects of the high level wellness you want to achieve. The right brain or the inner self is wise. Let yourself relax and ask your inner self to take you on a journey towards greater health. Let it be open ended. Use as much sensory imagery as you can. Visualize, imagine hearing positive sounds, imagine feeling soothing movements. I had been hunting for improved mobility. When I relaxed about it I found that I was able to change the way I stood and walked in a way that was more aerobic, more balanced and felt better. As I practice this new way of walking I am feeling better about myself and feel that it is possible I will find other ways to improve my health. I didn't gain this insight logically as much as my body showed it to me while I was trying to be more open to a flow in my walking. I didn't demand as much as I asked with faith that the answer would come to me. If you have ways you would like to change your lifestyle or improve your health reach out for that spark of energy that is a spark of magic to overcome the inertia that is holding you back. You deserve wellness. Let it come to you.

The Magic of Inner Dialogue

Sometimes I find myself feeling angry or depressed that the miracles and magic that I know can happen, haven't. I can even fail to notice that side miracles, like a great idea for a story, have come along to help me endure until I find a way to reach out for the spark to bring the magic I need to me. That is the time to stop and do a little self management. The mental spring housecleaning I needed to do was more than just throwing out stuff. It was some re-arranging and some planning. I had to look at the source of my discontent: I wanted several things I didn't have. I then used the magic of inner dialogue to decide what it would take to pursue those wants. This involved some recognition of priorities, values, and what resources I had. I also had to deal with time concepts. The self that recognized my wants didn't have much sense of "Mortal" time. I wanted what I wanted right now! Due time is a concept I really like. My inner self likes it most of the time also. So the dialogue allowed my 'wanting' self to admit that things do seem to happen in 'due time' or when the time is ripe. That freed my energy up to look at problems I needed to solve in order to bring my desired magic to me. My more centered self was then able to solve some problems and make some progress. I don't have that particular desired miracle just yet. But I have lost the anger, I have solved some problems, I gained some other benefits, and I do have hope. This was a spark of magic for me and it improved my life.

The Magic Is In The Message

When you tell something to someone the communication link is not complete until they have accepted or understood what you have to say. The best principal I ever had, when I was teaching, used to say that we hadn't taught a subject until the children had learned it. The way we use our voice, the timing of our communication, eye contact are all important along with the content of what we say. It is important to be on the same wavelength as the person you are trying to communicate with. It is important that you be clear in your own mind what you want to communicate. But you need to get an idea of what it is the other person wants to or will hear. One way to get an understanding of the other person is to note their speed. If they talk and walk slowly they probably like to listen to a slow rhythm of speech. You can also note whether they are partial to one sensory mode over another. If a man talks about 'seeing things a certain way', 'looking at the big picture','having some color in his life' he is apt to be partial to his visual senses. Do not jolt his visual realm by giving him things that are hard to look at and do not talk to him about 'feeling your way on a project' and then expect him to listen to you fully.
The main sensory modes for communication are visual, aural, and kinesthetic. Or eyes, ears and muscles/feelings. One who talks about being 'in on the action' will think and communicate along the lines of body involvement in other ways, for example.
So reach out for a magical life by refining your communication in ways that build good relationships.

Divine Order

They call it divine order because it feels so heavenly when you can find your keys, your notebook or your glasses. There is one bit of folk wisdom that people have heard enough that it comes to mind like a spark of magic to give a boost against the inertia of disorganization. That bit is "A place for everything and everything in its place." Remember, however that the place must be right so that things can be put away and retrieved. That brings me to an aspect of organization that is often overlooked when people are trying to set up a room. Living in any area is a process, an active process. So type of use and frequency of use of an object has to be taken into consideration. Some objects have the sole use of being looked at. Even with those objects it is well to have them in the right place, doing the right thing. Remember that magic is well formed and that it can be done in small increments. So grab onto the spark of magic to energize yourself enough to face your need for organization. Then determine the needs for function in your area. Be creative and self nurturing but keep at it. What do you want to have close to hand? What will you be willing to go to a bit more trouble to take hold of? How will you know where things are if you can't see them immediately? What can you put somewhere else or throw away? If you keep at this in a self loving way your life will be more magical sooner that you might think.

Asking Qestions

It is good to ask questions, particularly of your self. The answers you get will guide you along the path you want to follow. They also may help you find the path you want to follow. Sometimes it is good to ask the question: "Is this a convention or tradition I want to preserve or follow?" If you do decide to continue with a certain convention you may have developed a better understanding of it by questioning it. I sometimes find myself questioning where I am trying to go with my writing. One of the things I am working on right now may not have a ready-made readership. I am not even sure that the friend who is the most encouraging of my writing will want to read it. I am not sure if it is his 'style.' But the work I am putting in on it is improving my skill as a writer and I am invested enough in it that I will continue. When I am finished I can worry about readership. If I had the answer to the question as to what would be wildly successful commercially that I would want to write, I would be putting effort that way. I do hope for commercial success. But I am trying to find ways to use words to persuade people to be whimsical, loving, courageous, tolerant, disciplined and happy. As I write stories in this vein I feel that I have grabbed onto that spark of magic. So my life feels good.

The Magic of "I AM"

Many times in life we will fall prey to our natural vulnerabilities. It is very hard not to judge ourselves; to wish we could describe ourselves as handsome or pretty, to say we are successful, to find an admirable label and give it to ourselves. Especially when we are forming relationships. Labels can be useful and they can be dangerous. If you can stop at I AM rather than going on to I AM A..... you will be stronger. Watch out for the pain wanting better labels will cause you. I AM. I have some friends I would like to have approve of me. However they may be human beings and will not approve of me at every moment and in every situation. Perhaps they have a life of their own to live and they cannot spend every moment giving me approval. When I am able to grab that spark of magic to help me with relationships I will reach out to find out in what ways my friend, or friends, and I will mesh. I will discover how we can give to each other in ways that is good for each of us. If I want something from my friends that does not suit them to give, I will still be thankful for the good I do receive from my friend, or friends.

Life's Jigsaw Puzzle

Sometimes life seems to be a puzzle. That doesn't have to block us from succeeding however. Think of the way a jigsaw puzzle fits together just right and makes sense as you find the clues to help you fit things together. The magician's mind set can help you fit things together in your own life so it feels right and makes sense. Here are a few suggestions. Don't settle for the wrong piece in the wrong place. Don't try to force pieces where they don't fit. If you think you are missing a piece don't obsess
over it, go on to the pieces you do have. The missing piece might turn up later. Looking for the broad outlines first,like finding borders, will be helpful. Always remember that this is supposed to be fun. Tiny pieces go together to make up a pleasing whole. Every piece has some importance. Again, remember that this is supposed to be fun. Sometimes a piece is in the right place but you have to adjust it by turning it around. There is a relationship between pieces. There are a lot of clues you can find as to what fits where. You have to lift up your head every once in a while to take a broader view and look for new pieces. When the last piece fits in place it's a good idea to look it all over and enjoy the feeling of a job well done.
As you puzzle over the life you are crafting reach out for that spark of magic that will help you add a bit more enjoyment and satisfaction to it.

The Magic of Brain Power

You can learn to use your brain better just like you can improve your singing or running. I am going to give you the rules for a solitaire game that improves the ability to think sequentially. This is a skill very useful in planning. The game is Trefoil or La Belle Lucie. Use a whole deck of cards. Lay all the cards out, face up, in piles of three. Only the top card of each pile can be moved. The object is to build on the aces from ace to king in each suit. The way you get to these aces, if they are not already on top of a pile, is to move cards and build them down on the same suit. A three of hearts will lay on a four of hearts. You must always have in mind the concept, 'if that then this.' Leaving the aces and any cards of that suit you have built up, you can pick up all the piles two times,(you can lay out the array three times altogether) shuffle and re-lay in the piles of three. You are also allowed to 'pull' one card at any time during the game that would otherwise not be available. The more you play this the easier it gets because your mind becomes more able to follow back to what has to be moved in order for something else to be available. Any time you decide to give yourself any kind of skill you are reaching out for that little spark of magic that will improve your life. Skills do make life less of a struggle. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Being

I want to continue with a concept I started to discuss in the last post, of being your own teacher. I have known several very successful people who would write in their journal every night about the day's events. Then they would make comments on how they could have been better at what they were doing. That is one way of being your own teacher, judging after the fact and planning ways to make changes. What I am suggesting is that you can become so attuned to yourself and the circumstances that you can make changes as you go. Like an actress who understands the role so well that when another actor changes his line, she instantly comes up with a change in her own line that fits the play and the audience has no idea they have gone 'off script'. Look at the readiness of tennis players. They are ready to go in any direction needed in order to hit that ball back over the net. You may have to work up to this flexibility and readiness. To start you may need to practice stopping the flow of words that streams through your mind, such as conversations with other people. You can substitute reporting what is going on in the moment, such 'I am standing, I am breathing, I feel the wind.' In addition to getting rid of mental distractions you need to be aware of physical distractions. Notice which muscle groups are freezing up and look for ways to keep them free enough to be ready to use if they are needed. Reminding yourself of the goal or task may also be helpful. This is your for you to teach to yourself. You can reach out to grab that spark of magic that will help you be in the moment and live your life more successfully.

Balance as Concept of Magic

We have been taught the importance of balance in numerous ways. We are encouraged to have our life in balance between work and play, to eat well balanced meals, have a good balance in our check book, to regain our balance after an emotional upset and so on. I wonder, however, if we are taught how to gain that balance or if it is something we need to learn for ourselves. I believe "balance" is something we can learn best by checking to see if our senses tell us when we are in balance or not. For example in physical balance the body has numerous ways of telling us if we are in balance or not and the best way to encourage good balance is to learn to allow that sensory input to come through. When people are in rehabilitation to help them regain their sense of balance while walking they have to be taught not to look down at their feet (as that leads them to lean down then fall down) but to rely on other ways of feeling balance. Ballet dancers are instructed in gaining balance by being put into positions and sensing their balance, rather than being told in words what balance is.
If you develop a sense of listening to what your body tells you it will pay off in numerous situations. In a relationship that is enriching you will feel more self-aware. In a relationship that is more mundane or out of balance you may feel nothing or you may feel self-conscious. You will know the difference by the tightening of muscles in your body, by slight temperature changes in your skin, by tightening of the muscles around your eyes, or other physical sensations.
I am suggesting that by reaching out for that spark of magic that is deeper awareness you can gain improved balance in many realms of your life. This will make your life better.

Energy Magic

Being in a "happy place" in your mind is pretty wonderful. I can go for hours feeling fairly happy, just getting things done. But I have to beware of getting in my head too much sometimes. At times I want to be more energized to take of challenging tasks or to interact with the people I care about in a better way. Sometimes I also want to feel more connected to the natural world around me. At those times I try to raise my energy level. There are several little things you can do to give yourself a quick spark of energy. One is to do a quick short expulsion of breath, with or without sound. Do it hard enough that the breathing muscle, the diaphragm, is jolted. Another is to breathe deeply, hold it, then slowly exhale for several times. You can also gain energy by cupping your hands in front of your mouth and nose so that you breathe in what you breathe out for a breath or two. A little shake of your head as you flare your nostrils and eyelids in an energizer. Rubbing your hands and arms will up your energy. Aerobic movements will help. Shouting and lunging may be useful. I suggest you practice assessing your energy level and experiment with upping it. It is very useful to be able to calm yourself and it is also very useful to be able to energize yourself. Let this change in energy level give you the spark of magic you need to have a satisfying life.

Magic and Balance of Power

The Magician is one who creates his or her own magic. Sometimes the way so to do can be confusing, the way may not seem clear. At times like that it is important not to lose your sense of personal power. One time that the path can seem confusing is when you are experiencing loneliness. Loneliness is a feeling that can creep up on a person and rob them of energy and will. Don't let that overwhelm you. Find ways to deal with your loneliness before you do something that shows your loss of personal power. Some people give up their sense of personal power and give it to another in a mistaken attempt to push away loneliness. In the interaction of relationships the balance of power will be fluid and that is okay. But when it becomes set and rigid the relationship is in trouble. So, how does the magician grab onto the spark of magic to deal with loneliness? Reaching out and reaching in will do it. Simple. Dialogue with yourself in a variety of ways. Your creativity will show that dialogue and by reaching out to the ages you will be less lonely. I write for the readers I hope to have. Then sometimes I simply journal. That is another way I reach inwards. Reach out. Sometimes you may have to break the ice by simply going to the store and engaging in small talk with the clerk as you check out, before you attack the bigger problem of your loneliness, by assessing your relationships and seeing what changes you need to make. Whatever you are dealing with in your life, never doubt that you have to power to grab onto that spark of magic for yourself and make your life better.

The Magic of the Deep

Getting to know yourself, another person, a pet or a discipline can be one of the most enlivening and wonderful things in the world. There is a baby in my life that I really love. When he looks at me and I know he recognizes me it is truly a delightful experience. It is the same with a few friends and even the funny dog that lives with me. If you find yourself heading toward ennui grab onto the energy given off by the spark of magic and get to know someone or something deeply. Getting into this relationship will be full of surprises, challenges and delights. As long as you avoid preconceived notions about how things "should" be you will be in for a great adventure.
The dangerous thing you must avoid is the use of labels. Husband, boyfriend, son, can all be very good ways of referring to a person. But if these labels obscure the discovery of the person's individuality they mar the relationship. May you find many ways to enjoy the joy of deep discovery. It will truly bring magic into your life.

Magic and Folk Tales

Many great scholars have studied the way people have passed on wisdom to the following generations. You may be familiar with some, such as Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Joseph Campbell, Bruno Bettelheim. Folk tales, fairy tales and myth have been very important is this way for thousands of years or more. Very often the tales refer to magic. Yet they are imparting realistic life wisdom. Why is magic in these tales? you might ask.
Magic is in these tales for the same reason we look for it to give us a little spark to help us go along our daily path. There are goals that can be reached. There is help for us from expected and unexpected sources. There are lessons we need to learn about kindness, sharing, being fair, having a calm mind, finding our inner resources and so forth. Our right brain, our sub-conscious, is powerful and likes to discover, to enjoy, to find wide applications for knowledge. It is this side of the brain that delights and seeks out the metaphor of magic. But our whole mind and our whole being benefits from this. Folk tales are not just for the young. The hero or heroine goes on their life journey every day. We are that questing person. Reach out to the realm of magic, ignite that spark of belief in yourself. Have a fulfilling life.

The Magic of Planning

I expect life to be pretty good most of the time and it basically responds that way for me. But I think I ought to develop the habit of "foretelling the future" so to speak. I had a lot of trouble being upbeat today. There are times that are going to be stressful and if I looked ahead and planned ways to alleviate those stresses life would be much smoother. Stress is all relative, of course. But if enough little stresses hit and there aren't any dollops of joy to balance them out they can seem pretty major. In addition, when the stresses are big one certainly needs joy and comfort in big doses to survive. The next couple of months are going to be a bit busier than usual for me. It is a good time to look at ways I want to utilize my time and resources. Then, if I am at peace with that, life will probably do as it usually does, give me gifts of serendipity and synergy. So my 'mission' for tomorrow is to look at stresses I will expect to encounter and plan on ways of dealing with them. Lists and schedules etc. In order to get the spark of magic, that little smile, the zing that is so helpful I will try to use humor and whimsy in making plans and in planning ways to keep to my plans. May all your plans have the spark of magic you need as well.

Manifesting Magic in Reality

Some goals take years. Sometimes it seems like they will never manifest. But with enough magic they are suddenly there for us. It's a matter of clarity, faith, visualization, and persistence. If you are in the right mind-set for that big goal you will take advantage of the opportunities that keep springing up, without even worrying about it. An adequate work space for my creative endeavors has been a dream of mine for a long time. My goal wasn't home ownership as much as it was adequate workspace. But it did work out that home ownership was the best way to have that space and now I have a home of my own. The universe opened the way and daily I glory in the ease of doing my creative work, at last. I did what I could but many other forces came into play that helped me. Meditate on what you want, what will help you express your higher self. Don't lose faith. Do all that you can. Send your desire out into the Universe and other forces will begin to work with you. You inner mind set of compassion, faith, calmness, surety, will all draw your needs to you. To overcome the inertia that pulls you away from starting the movement towards these goals reach out for the spark of magic to get started. What you want is waiting for you. If you clutch and add anxiety to the desire it will be harder for it to manifest. But the persistence of the desire along with faith will perform miracles. Reach out to the magic that surrounds you to help you believe in your dreams. May the spark be with you.

Zen Versus Bliss

Popular culture teaches us to 'follow our bliss' in order to gain success. But every time I have seen that urging I have not seen a description of what make success. The idea seems to be that you will find the career that makes you the happiest and this will automatically bring you material blessings. That's not totally wrong. You are much more likely to make a success of a career you enjoy than of one you dislike. But the Zen discipline of being centered, of endowing every movement with spiritual purpose has a very important message. Perhaps bliss is the goal and Zen is the way. As I type the pages of my books, from my handwritten pages, I focus on the rhythm of the typing and try to stay as relaxed as possible in order that I be fast and accurate. If I were thinking about the day when many children will be delighted with my stories it would pull me away from the moment I need to be in as I type. So I say 'bring bliss or the Zen consciousness into every moment of your life.' As I wrote that my inner self asked me "What about the necessary work of analysis? That has to be full of suffering to in order to get it done." I found myself laughing because yesterday I had done a fair amount of analysis over financial matters and in research for my writing but I had been centered as I did it and had not suffered at all. Things had become apparent and I had then dealt with each thing and gone on to the next. I reached out for that spark of magic to give myself the tools to make my life better. May you find ways to do the same for yourself.

The Magic of Self Parenting

Parenting is a process that is tremendously important in order for a person to gain the values and skills needed for a satisfying life. Usually it is a matter of teaching and encouraging the development of good habits and values. It can be fun and rewarding. But there are times when a clash of wills will take place. The good parent is flexible but never loses sight of what is important. They will return to the development process over and over in a variety of ways, eventually winning out over the stubbornness of the child. An important concept in magic is that 'possibilities are forever'. If a skill is not developed at one time it can be developed at another. It may seem like a miracle when a senior citizen finally learns to read. But it happened because the door was not shut and sealed. All too often people fail to realize that everyone needs to become their own parent. To push for change and growth in the face of opposition is a big part of being a parent. To utilize the spark of magic to help do this for yourself remember other parenting tools like whimsy, love, comfort, understanding, and figuring things out. I have an imaginary 'mom' I call Shom, for shoulder mom. She sits there at times rooting me on when I need to do something that isn't that much fun but is necessary. Find ways to be your own parent in magical ways. That will give you a much better life.

The Magic of Resisting the Urge To Settle

Refusing to settle takes time but it's time well spent. If you are not satisfied with something that lack of satisfaction is liable to bleed over into many aspects of your life and drag you down, thus costing you productivity anyway. The spark of magic urges you to go for that which is just right. I have two daughters. Both have a sense of living the magical life. Years ago one spent a few dollars on a blouse at K-Mart. Then she visited several fabric stores until she found some outstanding buttons for it. It made all the difference in the world with that blouse. She told me, "I didn't want to settle for just any old blouse. I saw the potential here and worked for it." There are several things to consider when you go after that which is 'just right.' First you have to know yourself and your situation well enough to really know what you want.
Then you have to know how much of a search you are willing to carry out. Many times the right kind of search, such as letting friends help, can draw that which you need to you. Then you need to know the range of alteration you are willing to get involved with, or if your goal is to find "just right' ready made. You deserve a satisfying life. But you must reach out for it. Let the spark of magic give you the energy to do so.

Your Own Little Secrets

Your mindset is your key to success or failure. But you may not always know your thinking patterns. A helpful thing to do is to find role models. Actions and thoughts are closely linked. The people you wish to learn from will say and do things that will reveal how they think. Then you can learn from that. At times you will say to yourself, "I don't agree with that." Delve down into your reasoning process and discover why you disagree. Perhaps you are right, perhaps you will discover that a change is in order. Affirmations are an old but useful tool for changing your mindset. You write or say "I am...(followed by what you are trying to become).." When you have a negative reaction such as 'I cannot do this' look at that as housecleaning of the mind. Just bless it and let it go. Conversations with true friends will also help you identify your mistaken mindset and thus enable to adopt a more successful one. James Allen wrote a book in 1903 As a man Thinketh, That is very helpful along these lines. The way the spark of magic can help you here is to give you that extra bit of energy to root out the negative, adopt the positive and gain success.

The Magic of Gratitude

I saw a program on PBS that said a good antidote for depression was to daily note three things for which you were grateful. It's hard to hold it down to just three things once you get into it. Today I'm going to a birthday party. I will be celebrating so much more than a celebration of this friend being alive, but the years of goodness she has brought to my life and to others. When I stop to think of all or even some of the things for which I am grateful I find it easy to believe in magic. There are so many things that seem to be way beyond the ordinary. This gives me an incentive to reach out for the spark to make my own life better. Today I think I will learn from my friend. She has a way about making people glad to be around her. If I can learn some of that skill my life will be more magical. I suggest you try the same thing. Find something that gives you joy, then see if you can find a way to give that joy to others. That will be a spark of magic that will help make your life a little better than it was before. May you be gifted with gratitude.

The Magic Of Home

So much of success with a problem is how you speak about it. There is a big difference between how a musician will be drawn back to the home key, and the way someone who thinks they have failed will say' back to square one'. Square one could just as well be going back home to re-orient, to let the chords reemphasize that you are in a good key. When I used to teach math to grade school children I would teach them the strategy of backing up until they were in the safety zone of 'what they knew'. Then they could try to figure out what to do with the problem again, usually successfully.
Life is full of risk and we do have to take risks. But being able to 'go home' is a good way to deal with risks. A meditation I sometimes use is to meditate on my problem as a sheet of ice. As I meditate I see the meditation as warm awareness that will melt the ice as the solution to the problem presents itself. Last night I was trying to do an outline for the plot and chapters of a children's book I want to eventually write. I meditated on the problems and the answers came. These were problems that I had been having trouble with for a couple of days. I don't have time to write that particular book right now but I needed enough written down that I wouldn't lose the idea when I do have time to get back to it. Meditation, do-lists, conversations with friends, singing about a problem, journaling are all ways that are comforting to me when I need to 'go back to square one.' I don't feel any sense of failure at doing this. It is just my way of going to my comfort zone to grab onto the spark of magic that will help me with my life.

The Magic Of Synergy

Synergy is when the sum is more than equal to the parts. When synergy kicks in there is some catalyst that makes 4 + 4 = 10. Friendships can be that way. When you are around certain people work is much more productive and easier. The burdens are lighter, the road is easier and the day is shorter. When you have work you love the productivity is greatly increased. How can you bring synergy into your daily life? Do all that you can to remove stress, streamline your activities by developing systems that make things go smoothly and share with others. Humor is a great help. Faith in yourself is helpful. If you doubt your abilities switch that to faith that you will improve or get help. Develop ways of keeping your eye on the prize. I find new story ideas crop up all the time that I want to pursue. I have developed ways of encouraging my creative self to continue to give me ideas, while I avoid distraction and work on the most important tasks. I also look for ways to make one thing do the work of two. One bit of research might be useful in several ways. One dead end might be a good pathway in another situation. Synergy does not exist in a vacuum. Nor is it static. It is part of an ongoing whole. Look at your life in a wholistic way and use that spark of magic to draw opportunities for synergy to work for you. That will give you a zing that makes life a little bit better.

Finish Up Your Magic

Magic is well formed. A sloppy magician will be a failed magician eventually. To make sure that the spark is not wasted you must train yourself to tie up loose ends.
Read over what you have written. Listen to what you say. Clarify conversations with others. Make sure bills are paid. Look over a job or task you have finished to see if it seems well done. The spark can help you in this. When I had a cleaning business I would wait for the zing of satisfaction to hit me as I looked back over my work. If it felt good then I knew I was done. Tie up your loose ends in a craftsman like way rather than in a dutiful way. To do things with joy, in a musical rhythm will help the spark of magic enter into your daily activities. Good manners are part of this magical flow. Do more than tie a simple good-enough knot to your loose ends. When you can, give things a bit of flair. When you see a mint on the pillow and toilet paper ends folded under in a triangle when you enter your hotel suite you feel as if all the cleaning was well done. Look for ways to tie things up with a flair in your daily activities. It will express your inner self and make it stronger. Magic is much more than simple cause and effect. Let your self shine forth. That will be a spark of magic that will bring you benefits from unsuspected sources.

Let Magic Help With Healing

The magician's calm and alert mindset will protect you from trauma and injury to a great extent. But when injury does happen you can use the spark of magic to facilitate healing. I do not use the term speed up healing, although it will speed it up in some cases, because each healing must happen in its own due time. One of the best uses of the spark is to help a person focus on the wound to see if they are re-wounding themselves, if they are picking at the scab before it has healed and fallen off by itself. Sometimes an injury becomes useful to a person and thus becomes something they are reluctant to give up. When the spark brings that to light that person can then find ways to find something else that is more useful to them than their injury. The little bit of light the spark brings does not set up that much resistance. Thus small cracks can be made in the concrete that has been put around this "useful dysfunction". Eventually the fortress will fall and healing will take place. The spark of magic is manifested in many ways. It is whatever brings a brief awareness of something better. When I was younger, and got winter colds more often, part of the healing I would give myself was to sit in front of a sunny window. The warmth and friendly feeling of the sun shining on me always seemed to speed up my return to health. It is the same with emotional healing, you need to find ways of letting the sun shine in. If you are consumed by guilt you will only be able to give yourself a few good minutes at a time. But the good that you still have to do in this world demands that you be happy and healthy. So the spark of magic that comes to you in brief flashes will help you find ways to heal, to lay down the burdens of the past and to accept a better life.

The Importance Of The Spark

It is said that a calm and accepting mind set is important for the magical life. No anxieties to push blessings away. However one must guard against settling for the ordinary or worse. That is why I advocate the spark as your companion on your magical journey. When you set out to write something you will make it true to itself and well formed, being the craftsman you are. You must then look for a way to add a zing to it to make it readable in a more magical way. When you smile at a baby do the little extra with your expressions to see if he will laugh. A smile is good but fleeting. Laughter causes a bond. Add color and texture to your meals. Don't be afraid to wear jewelry. Let those puns and jokes escape your lips. Many people arrange vignettes around their home to make a whimsical or sentimental statement. Those groupings are much easier to enjoy than the old knick-knack shelf.
Unrelated knick-knacks gather dust. Vignettes gather interest. Sparks start fires. Fires warm us and give us energy. With a spark hovering somewhere near your shoulder, perhaps, you are always ready to reach out for a bit of magic, to look up instead of down, to add a dash of spice, to make something better. Where you carry your spark is your personal preference. But let it be there at all times. Let a spark of magic help you make your life a bit more livable, a bit more magical.

The Magic Of Renewal

It's daybreak on Easter Morning. The origins of Easter go back to the goddess Oestre
who fostered growth and renewal. Perhaps throughout this winter you have gone along, dealing with problems here and there, using what magic you could to get through the cold dark time. But now you might want to think about a complete renewal, of doing the proverbial spring housecleaning on your lifestyle. Are there people who insult you or pull you down, but you continue to see them as often as usual? Maybe this is the time to begin weaning yourself from them. Do you have credit cards with a large balance? Perhaps you can find a way to pay that balance down dramatically. More exercise will renew your body. The ritual of dying eggs is old but doesn't have to be smothering, a holding on to a past that is a prison. Let this old ritual be a spark of magic for you. If you see or think of any dyed eggs today I suggest that you use that as a trigger to imagine new freedoms, new blessings, new ways of doing things that will bring more joy, more love and more creativity to your life. Renewal can also be a refreshing of the old that is tried and true. But renew your appreciation and expectations today. Let the idea of renewal be your spark of magic today. Reach out for a better life.

Let Magic Shine

Magic is like sunshine. It streams down all the time but you have to be available for it to shine on you. Now how can you do that? Don't hide away from the world in a closet of dark thoughts for one thing. Don't push blessings and good luck away from yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested, in one of his essays, that if you stir the pond on one side the good things floating on the other side will eventually be drawn to you. Let people know what you have to offer them. Let people know what you need from them. Put it out to the universe what you are trying to learn or accomplish. The world is full of people who enjoy helping people along their way. To test out the truth of that statement think of the times you have noticed something in a shop you thought someone else would like and had the urge to buy it for them. Or you saw something in print you wanted to pass on to someone. Be aware that the universe often offers good things as pearls. Pearls are beautiful but come about as a result of an irritation of the oyster. So look for the tiny gem of good in the bad, see the silver lining, find ways of getting inspiration from events that do not go smoothly for you. Let magic spark for you. It is there.

Accept Magic In All It's Forms

You will get gifts and reminders that will help you along your pathways if you will be open to them. You will need an idea and it will come to you from an unusual source. Once I needed to get somewhere on a bus, but the bus driver for that route had left early. Another bus driver for a different route knew that and saw me at a stop, just waiting for the bus that would never come. He called out to me, I listened, and he gave me a ride home after he had finished his route. It was only a few blocks for him to detour but it would have been a hard bad walk for me. Jobs have opened up just as I have needed them. Food has been offered. People have been too busy for me and that has steered me into better contacts. You will get to see other people discover and nurture their gifts. Your gifts will develop and flourish. Someone will give you a health tip that will work. I was editing my grandfather's diaries while in graduate school. Many passages were in Dutch. Someone I knew had a friend who was a native speaker of Dutch, living within driving distance and willing to translate, for free. Life can have its difficulties. But it is sweetened and made possible with myriad events that encourage and sustain us. Be open to that spark of magic that comes to warm us.

The Magician' Quest

Some know it as the Magician's Quest, others know it as the Hero's Quest. It also goes as 'following your bliss', 'finding the purpose of life' or 'finding your path.' What ever we call it, it is human nature to strive to live a purposeful life.
We can get confused in this quest, however. Those who say they want to 'live the American Dream' sometimes are expressing a merely materialistic mindset. They dream of owning a home, car, and so on. There is nothing wrong with wanting to own your own home, of course. My daffodils are scrawny but still prettier than anything that surrounded the apartment building I moved out of, because they are mine. But I have a home to help me be around family and to have a place where I can write to my heart's content, not just to possess a house. I have often heard people claim of being unhappy because they didn't feel they were on the right pathway in life. How do you find your pathway? Your path is an expression of your values and your gifts.
You are a role model for others to follow. I remember the long time in my life when I knew I wasn't following my bliss, but I was on a quest nevertheless. The quest was to find out what my quest was. I journaled and experimented, suffered through wrong turns, hung in there with the best of them. One thing that helped was that I learned to identify what 'resonated' with me. I found myself interested in articles for senior citizens about writing their 'ethical will', or in doing their memoirs in a way that passed on their values and beliefs to their family. Also I noticed that friends and acquaintance who were most likely to express dissatisfaction with life were more likely to be ignoring any use of their talents. Reach out for that spark of magic that will help you on your Magician's quest. The magician goes on his own personal quest but in so doing also benefits others. May your quest be successful.