My magic castle

My magic castle

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Magic And Mirrors

I first saw an Illusionist when I was very young. It was wonderful. Even though my mother explained that many of the magic tricks were done with mirrors I still was awe-struck. At the tender age of five I had already decided that mirrors themselves were magic. My brother and I had a game in which we held small mirrors under our eyes so all we could see was the ceiling of whatever room we were in. Walking around (carefully) made us feel we were walking on the ceiling. That shift into another world was a lot of fun. Since that time I have noticed that in the lore of magic,( stories, spells, movies, and other references) mirrors often are mentioned. So of course I had to ask myself how a mirror could be used as a magic wand by the wise magician. The first thing that came to mind was the daily look in the mirror to see if one's hair is well combed or if one's wardrobe is free of any malfunctions. But it turns out that mirroring is a strong component of growth. Some therapists carefully mirror the client's statements back until the client actually listens to himself. Parents repeat the sounds a child makes to encourage development of speech. It also turns out that researchers in England and Italy refer to our mirror neuron system. What we see others do helps us learn to do or feel that same thing. So if there are changes you need to make put yourself in a place where you can see the good results of the actions you want to adopt. To become kinder it would be better to be around kind people than to listen to a sermon on kindness. When we journal we put down what we are trying to achieve, thus mirroring our efforts. Journaling is accepted as a great help in making changes and achieving our goals. So I suggest to the wise magician that you look for ways to see yourself as more successful, as moving towards desired goals in all the magical mirrors you can find. Friends who believe in you and will reflect your progress, your own visualization efforts, your journals, and the good examples set by others. May the spark be with you.

1 comment:

  1. I am really fascinated with the mirror neuron system and enjoyed reading your post. Your story caused me to wonder how much our youth are in-directly learning to mimic from television. I guess seeing really is believing.

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