My magic castle

My magic castle

Friday, December 30, 2011

The Magic Of Inner Time

The year I spent every weekend in Boulder, Colorado studying hypnotism and Neurolingistic Programming was a fulfilling year. We would often do a therapeutic induction with the instruction to take all the time the subject needed to fully work out the problem they needed to process, even though it might only be a minute or two or clock time. I learned then and have realized it many times since, that the subconscious does not work on clock time. Sometimes there is a magical flash of insight about a problem that would have taken hours, or even days, to work out by conventional means. Other times the inner self seems to mull over things way too long. Of course at those times it is waiting for more understanding about the problem to occur, or come to you from life events. Clocks have their purpose. But they must not rule. Besides that we, most of us can develop it if we will, have a fairly good sense of clock time. When I had a music studio I did not have to watch the clock, but lessons seemed to tie themselves up and be complete in the half hour that was allotted to them. I have known many people who could set an inner alarm clock to wake up at certain times, either a time duration (such as a half-hour nap) or at a certain time in the morning. So, I suggest to all wise magicians: 'Do not fret about time. Try to get into the flow of due time, in which things happen in the right way at the right time.' Calmness and faith seem to stretch time so that we are able to get done what we need to do. Look instead to 'have the time of your life in living.' May the spark be with you.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

The Magic of 'Processing'.

Today, on the first day of Christmas, I made it a point to look outside at the pear tree. There was the partridge I had painted, sitting in the tree. I allowed myself the pleasure of knowing I had put in some work and accomplished a bit of fun whimsy. I processed that I could still be creative. I thought of how, all too often, we rush from flower to flower gathering nectar for the moment, and fail to go back to the hive and process it into honey. We read without a pause to reflect and fully take in what we read. We visit with a friend without truly appreciating the richness and value of that friendship. I suggest that all wise magicians go beyond mere sensory input. That we take the time to process what we sense, learn, discover. I suggest we learn to live life on a deeper level. Life is more than what we skim off the surface of our day to day experiences. If we allow ourselves to magically process the events and ideas of our life we will live with greater joy, love and abundance. I recently read in an article for teachers that they pause in their lecture after the first ten minutes and encourage their students to discuss among themselves and more fully process the information presented. Life doesn't rush by us, even though it may seem to at times, demanding that we never pause to reflect on what we experience. We create our life by the way we choose to perceive it. So if we process in such a way that we are moving towards the magical life we deserve, that life is sure to come to us. If something we perceive as negative happens, we can then give our self a pat on the back for having the intelligence and courage to overcome the negative event. Take time to process the many ways magic is is your life. May the spark be with you.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Work Magic by seeing the Next Step

I have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder), although the hyperactive part is not so much physical as it is in the way my thought processes can jump all over the place. I have had to design ways to cope, to rewire my brain. One of the things I do, to ensure that I am productive, is combat the resistance to shifting gears by visualizing the 'next step'. I may feel a big energy sink, I just don't want to get in gear. But if I practice in my mind 'the next step' I am able to get it done. We have a pear tree in our front yard and I decided to make some sort of partridge ornament for it. That meant looking at pictures of partridges, finding materials such as paint, drawing it out and so forth. Now I can look at my emerging partridge and feel a sense of anticipation..by tomorrow I will have a 'partridge in a pear tree' in my front yard. By practicing what I had to do in my mind until I could manifest it I was able to bring something fun into my life. I suspect that this is a technique that all wise magicians can use. Keep your goal before you, practice seeing yourself accomplishing it and you will be able to bring magic into your life. The field of energy that is magic that surrounds us will help you. The means to accomplish your goal will manifest. The old paints I had turned out to still be usable, brushes were good, pictures were on the internet that I could draw from. See your next step, as many times as you need to. Bring magic into your life. If you have to see yourself solving problems to do that next step, do so. This is a good time of the year for magic. May the spark be with you.

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Magic Of The Capture

I am currently re-studying a book on using our brain to be active in the world as a genius. It is by Andrei G. Aleinikov, Ph.D and titled "MegaCreativity: 5 Steps To Thinking Like a Genius"
He was a Russian Colonel who was chosen as the first Russian student at The US Air Force Air War College. He decided to stay in the United States and became a citizen in 2002. He teaches creativity and innovation in many situations, including to business like 3M. There are two things that stand out for me. First, he really puts out the idea that a person who wants to develop their creative abilities must push themselves beyond negativity and laziness. That is not new. It is widely agreed that one's mindset is very important for success. But I am delighted by the way he teaches ways to organize and capture ideas. That makes we think about the delightful inner self we all have, our imagination, in which we can get lost in a magical wonderland of fun and ideas. But if we don't 'capture' our ideas they do no good beyond the fleeting moment they occur to us. Systems of 'capture' have long been important in human development. Language is a way to capture and share a concept. Language developed and ideas could be shared. Then the art of telling a story, or the history of a group as an oral tradition was developed. Then writing came about. Another way to capture and share ideas. Then libraries. Of course now we have digital ways of sharing and saving ideas. Somewhere in there 'discourse' should be mentioned. Ideas are honed, refined, saved or rejected by the way they are discussed among people. Mathematics is a way of capturing and sharing ideas. I suggest that each wise magician may have developed their own way of 'capturing' their ideas for them self so they can go back to the concept and work it out. Even the way you note down your do-list or your plans for the day can be a magical capture. Look to the way you 'capture' concepts and see how that 'capture' helps you bring magic into your life. May the spark be with you.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Magic of The Back Burner

Years ago I read a short advice article that said you could think of your sub-conscious as a back burner on a stove. When you were clear about what you wanted you could then put it on the back burner and let it simmer. In other words, don't worry about something consciously any longer. You have trusted it to your inner self to create the ideas and opportunities you desire. In due time what you previously wished for will be right before you. I find that works very well for me in my writing. I have a hazy idea about something. I go about my other work but come back to what I'm trying to figure out from time to time because my inner self will remind me about it periodically. I notice there seems to be some kind of interaction between what I am trying to create with my inner self and outside influences. Articles, TV shows, comments people make, will all seem to be dealing with the topic I am trying to develop. The American Philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested that we bring things to us by 'stirring the pond'. He said that if we stir the part of the pond we can reach that ripples will form that will eventually bring that which was floating on the other side of the pond around to us. This is a bit of what happens when we turn our goal over to our inner self. We have prepped the pot and now ripples will be sent out into the Universe to draw our dream to us. Sometimes we may think of doing magic as a quick wave of a magic wand. We are feeling blah and need some quick zing to our life. It is good to draw beauty, joy, excitement, energy, flair, and so on to us in the flash of our wand. But we also need to look at the slow simmer of cooking up a well-formed dish of magic for ourselves. We may not have the recipe before us. But our inner self is a most marvelous chef and will craft the recipe for us as well. All we need to do is tray to figure out what we want, revisit this from time to time, as needed, to continue the seasoning of our dream. It will be served up to us as a lovely banquet when all is ready. Light the fire. Put the kettle on the back burner. Go about your daily tasks. It will happen. May the spark be with you.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Magic Of Expectation

Keep your eye on the prize, expect to receive it, and success will be yours. Why is that so? I recently saw a video that contained an interview with race car driver Mario Andretti. He said that you must look where you want to go. If you look at the wall your car will go into the wall. Your car will follow your eyes. In the same video Lance Armstrong was also mentioned, not only for his prize winning races as a bicyclist but also for his success against cancer. Neither of these men would let themselves take their eyes away from the goal. They would not let themselves imagine that they would fail, or drive into the wall. They expected to win. Even when failures would come there was still an expectation of an overall win. How can the wise magician use this wisdom from famous men? One suggestion I have is to apply expectation constantly. If you are tired and don't want to finish all the items on your 'do list' you will probably finish them anyway if you expect it of yourself. If you are trying to change habits the change will happen if you expect it to. Expectation is the worldly side of the sacred concept of faith. Have faith in yourself by expecting yourself to do what you start out to do. You have the innate ability to do what you imagine you can do. Otherwise your inner self would not have given you the idea of doing it in the first place. If the idea is too far out of your realm it doesn't stick around. But if it is meant for you to take on and you get to the point where you actually start the project or task you do have the ability to do it. Maybe not the first time. Things have to be figured out and skills developed. But if you expect yourself to develop skills it will happen. So reach out to the magic that surrounds you for the energy you need and expect great things of yourself. The needed ideas and skills will come to you. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Expectation

Keep your eye on the prize, expect to receive it, and success will be yours. Why is that so? I recently saw a video that contained an interview with race car driver Mario Andretti. He said that you must look where you want to go. If you look at the wall your car will go into the wall. Your car will follow your eyes. In the same video Lance Armstrong was also mentioned, not only for his prize winning races as a bicyclist but also for his success against cancer. Neither of these men would let themselves take their eyes away from the goal. They would not let themselves imagine that they would fail, or drive into the wall. They expected to win. Even when failures would come there was still an expectation of an overall win. How can the wise magician use this wisdom from famous men? One suggestion I have is to apply expectation constantly. If you are tired and don't want to finish all the items on your 'do list' you will probably finish them anyway if you expect it of yourself. If you are trying to change habits the change will happen if you expect it to. Expectation is the worldly side of the sacred concept of faith. Have faith in yourself by expecting yourself to do what you start out to do. You have the innate ability to do what you imagine you can do. Otherwise your inner self would not have given you the idea of doing it in the first place. If the idea is too far out of your realm it doesn't stick around. But if it is meant for you to take on and you get to the point where you actually start the project or task you do have the ability to do it. Maybe not the first time. Things have to be figured out and skills developed. But if you expect yourself to develop skills it will happen. So reach out to the magic that surrounds you for the energy you need and expect great things of yourself. The needed ideas and skills will come to you. May the spark be with you.

Friday, December 2, 2011

The magic of Just Before Sleep

Just before you go to sleep, when your brainwaves are in alpha rhythm, is a marvelous time to program yourself for change and other magical desires. As you lay your head on that comforting, welcoming pillow you can glory in the way you are preparing yourself, in all the self love you have, to rest and renew. Allow all feeling of pressure and worry to leave you. Sense your breath. Sense the texture of your pillow. Sense the temperature of the room. Sense the slight sounds around you. As you sense each thing let it bring you more and more into the present moment in which you are safe and trust that all will be well. Then allow that sense of comfort to accept that changes will come. You don't have to clutch at those changes. They will come. Accept the desires you have, in that present moment, for all things that may occur to you, in a gentle and accepting way. You may have desires for improved relationships. You may have desires for improved health. Whatever desire you have in that moment before sleep is simply a desire. It is part of the moment, as is your breath and what your skin senses. I have been doing this for improved physical health and it has been manifesting. Other things have also appeared in my life.
I have not been allowing myself to clutch or worry as I go to sleep. The desires are just part of the things I sense in the moments before I sleep. I suggest to all wise magicians that you celebrate all that is right and magical about your life as you lay yourself down to sleep. May the spark be with you.