My magic castle

My magic castle

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Magic of Rough Drafts, Critique Groups and Rehearsals

Some of the stories of the birth of the Goddess Athena have her springing from the head of Zeus fully formed in all her perfection. The God Zeus may have been able to bring forth a finished creation from his head but it is not quite so easy for us lesser mortals. Sometimes the magic comes in just getting started. If we expect the finished product to manifest too quickly we may get discouraged and give up when it does not. Goethe says to start what we can think of because the action of starting has power and magic in it. The problem comes when we are not clear about what we are doing, what our final work will be. That's where the magic of learning as we go comes in. Get a rough draft going. Get a rough draft of a rough draft. Get a rough draft of a part of the rough draft. Share what you have done with supportive people who will encourage you but also point out things you need to change or add. Also, don't be afraid to rehearse as many times as you need to. We are not born perfect nor are our creative endeavors perfect at first. Creative endeavors include more than poems, paintings or such. It can be a creative endeavor to work out how you are going to persuade someone of something. How you are going to approach a sales prospect. So if you have something you have wanted to do or bring about stop letting it stay in the shadows of "someday". Start working on it, even if your ideas are poorly formed. I have said that magic is well formed. It is but that well formedness may have to be developed. When you really have your head around what you want you will find that forces outside of yourself will help you move toward the manifestation of your desire. Reach out to the energy of the field of magic that is around you and start a rough draft of what you want to create. The rest will follow. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Claiming

AT first all is chaos. Then we begin to name things. But they are still separate. Then we begin to claim them or make them our own. Some are touchable such as pets or possessions. Some are more conceptual. But until we claim a thing we have no real relationship with it. A magician calls things to manifest in his or her life, or claims them,in a variety of ways. The waving of the wand is a symbolic gesture of the claim that is being asserted. I have been thinking about the way different people claim abundance. Some people only claim enough to get by. They don't expect more. They become skilled at getting by. Others become clear about the amount of specific abundance they want, come to believe they deserve it and discover the specific steps it will take to bring that abundance into their life. Working smart rather than hard is part of the claiming of abundance process. In our not too distant history woman had not been able to claim the vote. But they came to believe they deserved it, they used the power of working with others, and eventually women gained the vote in our country. There are still countries, such as in the Middle East, where women can not vote. But they are beginning to claim that right for themselves and I believe that in time the changes will be made. So I suggest that you, as a wise magician, look at your life and see ways in which you want to add more glory and joy to it. Name those areas. Then lay claim to them. That will start a process for you in which you will find more and more ways to become clear about your desires and find ways to fulfill them. Claim a better life for yourself. May the spark be with you.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Magic Of Generosity

The author Vicki Hitzges says that when we do good it boomerangs back to us for our benefit. That is a big part of the idea of Karma as well. Even if we don't notice direct and quick benefits from doing good to others we do benefit from it in the increased self esteem and satisfaction from knowing we have reached out in a good way. Claim your abundance and share it with others.
You may be wondering how ideas about magic and karma can be connected. Both paradigms are built on the ideas of being connected in greater ways than we can see and that actions have an effect.
You may also wonder how you can work magic through generosity. You must be careful here. Doing good only to get good could possibly backfire on you. Insincerity gets found out. But if you will put trust in the energy of the magic that surrounds you you will benefit. Think about the way Disney movies, and others, show a magician casting a spell. It is a very exuberant motion outwards. Nothing is constricted or held back. Do your giving in the same way. Cast your generosity out into the world. Stephen Post, Director of The Center for Medical Humanities......(long name) says "Happiness is a byproduct of living generously.". So I suggest to all wise magicians that if you give small appreciations of others often, that if you respond to need without worrying about your ego, that if you do not enable but empower, your life will take on dimensions of joy and glory that it may not have had before. Often when you help others they look for ways to help you in return and both benefit. If you already live generously give yourself the awareness of all the good that is already in your life. Be generously grateful. May the spark be with you.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Magic Of Looking For Loose Ends

There is a difference between tying up loose ends and looking for loose ends. Looking for loose ends will often lead to tying up loose ends, of course. But when you are just looking you may be in a more meditative frame of mind and open to all kinds of discoveries. A businessperson who looks for loose ends will look for the loose ends in the business; goals not reached, clients not services, ideas not developed, orders not placed. Then priorities can be set and the necessary loose ends can be taken care of. But in looking for loose ends the businessperson may end up doing an informal market gap analysis or finding out areas the business can move into, in which new pathways of growth may be the result. The same thing can take place on a personal level. If you wish to engage in this as a magic ritual follow these steps. First choose an area to monitor or study. Perhaps it is your desk or work area. Perhaps it is your wardrobe or garden. Then take an overview, looking for the broad purpose of the area you are studying. What is the function of this area? My work space is meant to help me produce creative projects and products. There are different categories of projects and I have to be able to access them when I need to.So my loose ends would be in putting similar papers together, deciding on categories, getting rid of unwanted paper, finding a good place for things. A wardrobe is meant to serve your needs to clothe yourself for different occasions. A garden is meant to grow plants.
After you have noted the function of the area you are dealing with you must make decisions about the different parts of the material (clothes, plants, types of paper material) as to where each part belongs and what you need to do with it. This is where the meditation comes in. It can be a very Zen like experience to go through your area of focus item by item deciding if there is a needed action connected to it. Here is where the discoveries happen. Be ready to take advantage of these. Have a way to get produce back to the kitchen. Have hangers for your clothes, or needle and thread for needed repair. Have organizers for your work area. Have a mind set of openness for your discoveries and a way to use these discoveries if it is good to do so. This may all seem very mundane. Tidying up can be a very boring subject. But if done with the proper mind set you will be drawing good things into your life and thus you are working magic. May the spark be with you.

Monday, July 18, 2011

The Magic Of Scent

Aromatherapy, clues for a bloodhound, this smells fishy, I smell something good going on. Think about all the metaphors we might use involving our sense of smell. Our sense of smell is connected to the oldest part of the brain and can have some powerful influences on our actions. But we can also use this sense for our good. Smelling cinnamon is said to be good for our heart. If something smells bad we are warned that danger might be near. A pleasant smell can be relaxing.
Following the scent has also come to be a metaphor for finding good things in life. When people are surfing the web and quickly go from one website to the other they are said to be "following the scent". They have a loose idea of what they are trying to find and when a site doesn't seem to be right they click off and go to another one. You can use this idea of sniffing around for what you want in life to make your life better. Suppose you know you want a change for the better but you don't have a clear idea of what you want or the steps to get there. Get into a relaxed mode and start "following the scent". Let yourself free associate ideas about your needs and ideas. When something resonates you are on the right 'scent'. Pursue that trail. Or you can engage in conversation with a good friend. You will know that you are going in the right direction when a question or idea comes up and you have an 'aha' reaction. A wise magician will use any useful tool. In this case adopting the behavior of a bloodhound could be a good tool for you to try. Sniff out your good. May the spark be with you.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Magic Of Coincidence

I recently re-posted on facebook a video my granddaughter had made a couple of years ago just because I had enjoyed re-watching it. But I found out that my re-post had brought benefits such as comfort and joy to several of the people who were mutual friends. It made me think of all the times we do things and events are set in motion that we don't even know about. Karma is a term used by many people but we don't always think about the implications of it. I suggest that the wise magician will, as often as possible, direct his or her actions towards kindness, nurturing of others, reaching out to make positive changes in the world, courage and consideration. It can't hurt and you may have set all kinds of unknown events in action in an ever widening circle. This is sending coincidence out into the world. When coincidence comes to us it is also known as opportunity. Many times small coincidental events will happen that we respond to with open arms. These may open up new vistas in our life. I recently ran into an old friend and that meeting seems to have widened my life quite a bit, because we reconnected. Coincidence is not really in our control. But we can encourage it by being open and watching for it. Patterns and connections are all around us. Find ways to let awareness into your life. The energy of magic that surround us will be more evident to you. Reach out for a better life. Appreciate the way life reaches back. May the spark be with you.

Friday, July 8, 2011

The Magic Of A Name

For the last couple of days I have been getting some tech support for my computer from a wonderful company called iYogi. The main technician and I had several fun conversations about life and such and he told me that a Yogi was a religious person who devoted himself to good works and that the many technicians in that company feel like they are in a service brotherhood. They certainly gave me good service. I marveled at the care and patience of the technician and that was when he mentioned the meaning of their name. I then began to think about names. I've never been able to be too crass or rowdy and I think my mother telling me that Donna meant lady had something to do with that. Sports teams try to find a name that will draw fans to them. Companies often consider, or should, the impact their name will have on their customer relations. As a wise magician you can use this power that names have to motivate yourself and draw things to you. Perhaps you have a project that needs some zing added to it to help you get it done. Think about giving it a name. That might give your project some cohesiveness and a certain amount of importance that will help in getting it done. In our family we had an unlovable fridge for a couple of years. Getting a better one was a major project,(choosing, measuring space, knowing all the features we needed, getting it delivered and setting up, paying for it). Once it was in the kitchen and useful to us we found ourselves giving it a name. It was a useful, attractive, member of the family, so it deserved a name. As a wise magician you can consider the power of naming. Use it to give a little extra help or zing to your life. May the spark be with you.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Magic Of Assessment

It has been said 'You can't get where you are going until you know where you are.' This is true. It is important to take stock from time to time. Simple assessment is a tool to see what problems we have, what we want to get rid of and where we want to go. This is necessary in the magic working process. We do need to have a goal for working our spells. However, when we stop to do our assessment the wise magician will do more than focus on the problem or problems at hand. She or he will also focus on the joy, the glory and what they want to preserve or nurture in their life.
The way in which you approach your assessment is also important. Notice how you ask yourself the questions about what needs to change. The wise magician will look beyond the immediate irritation or fear to the most desired outcome. Assess what is currently the state of your life. Then admit to yourself what the glorious or magical life would be like. How would you express your loves? How would you express your gifts? What resources would you call on to grow into this magical life? If something is nagging at you or irritating you it may be a blessing in disguise. This is a chance to look at what you really want. You can admit to greater possibilities in you life. I am not advocating 'pie in the sky'. In reality we are all capable of doing a bit more than we do. We are also capable of accepting a bit more than we do. We receive blessings every day that we don't even realize have come to us. That is why it is a good thing to adopt the 'gratitude attitude'..to list daily the things for which we are grateful. So in a well formed magical assessment we can also assess the daily blessings and miracles we have coming our way. So look at your life. Assess it. Be thankful that you can clearly see the changes you want to make. Then reach out to the energy of the magic that surrounds you, for whatever help you need, and begin to work towards your goals. May the spark be with you.

Friday, July 1, 2011

The Magic Of Due Time or Proper Delay

When a spell is cast many expect immediate results. But that is not always the best way. You may have a goal in mind but you might not really be ready to be immersed in the fullness of achieving it. There must be a synchronization between what is wanted and what is achieved. A wise magician is willing for magic to be in the realm of the occult or hidden until the proper time for it to be manifest. We discover a purpose or goal. Then we work towards it. In doing so we grow, develop, even flower. Purposeful goals are much more than going to the grocery to buy a loaf of bread. They change us in due time. That is part of why 'instant wish gratification' has such a bad reputation. It deserves to be thought of as the less good way. Magic likes to be drawn out, to be appreciated. Magic also likes to reveal goals more fully as we become involved with achieving them. So if you have desires and wants, as we all do, add the extra zing that is magic by looking at these desires mindfully. Do you need clothing? You deserve well made, beautiful, magical clothing. Let magic help that clothing come to you in due time. Due time can arrive quickly or not so quickly. But it arrives as everything falls into place. So expect your needs and desires to be met. Work toward your goals. But I suggest that, as a wise magician, you set it up or expect to receive these benefits in due time. This is not greedy, grasping time. Nor is it always what you originally wanted. Sometimes it will be better. You deserve to have your needs met. I hope they will come to you 'in due time'. May the spark be with you.