The Magic of 'Beyond'

Many times in life all we can reach is that which is "good enough". But once in a while we can go beyond good enough to excellence, joy or transcendence. When a runner pushes beyond the resistance of aches and fatigue there comes the 'runner's high' which is the reward for going 'beyond'. I believe nature or the universe is set up so that "beyond" is highly rewarded. I also believe that if we never go into that higher state we will be punished. The steps we go through in our experience of a situation can be set out this way: Healing(this may just be from minor things such as boredom or it may be trauma), stability, success, celebration. As we adjust to each stage we eventually develop a drive to go on to the next stage. You may have heard of Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Human Needs. He points out that if our basic needs for safety, food, etc are not being met or are endangered it is very hard to focus on higher needs like planning for the future or creating a good society. So much of our ability to go "beyond" is influenced by our perceptions. If we believe we are in danger it is hard to push beyond our fear to get to a place of joy. But once we know how to gain safety for ourselves and know that not all fears are reasonable we are better able to go into a higher realm of experience. Pain and fear may actually be stimuli that help us reach out towards joy and transcendence. They are strong feelings and make us think about the need for change. But what do we do about 'the ordinary', about boredom, about constantly being in the mundane world? I believe that the wise magician will train himself or herself to notice when things are too gray. We can then challenge ourselves to go beyond that. We can reach out into the field of magic that surrounds us on a regular basis. We can reach out for excellence, for joy, happiness and great change. If you habitually ask yourself if you can go beyond where you are at the present it will do much to create a magical life. Give more, love more, do more. May the spark be with you.