Magical Sanity

There is the idea that floats around, like a dour raven, that fun is suspect.  That if we are laughing or playing we are 'not quite right in the head'.  This is a silly idea.  It is the worriers that are not quite right in the head.  I would go so far as to say that it is the responsibility of a wise magician to add a fillip of fun to the problem solving that we do every day.  It is the neurotic personality that cannot free associate, that cannot grasp the idea of magic and fun, that suffers.  This personality also may cause suffering to those around him or her.  It is good to be calm and stable.  Sometimes one has to work, to examine one's habits of mind, in order to be calm and stable.  But if you leave it at simply calm and stable, life can get boring.  We need variety.  Fortunately we have inborn creative skills.  Do not let your natural creativity get crushed out of you by all the "should-sayers".  We have the left hemisphere of our brain that is predominantly logical.  The right side is more intuitive.  They are meant to work together.  Help this integration develop.  Meditate. Solve problems.  Then add a dollop of fun.  Also, when you feel stuck in coming up with a solution to a problem, use your sense of fun, your creativity, to get past those blocks.  Turn a problem around, start from the other end, twist it, re-state it.  Fun is not suspect.  Fun is vital.  Be magically clear headed.  Magic is there for you.  May the spark be with you.

Interrupting is a Magic Wand

At times the urge for Magic to come to our rescue is a recognition that we aren't happy with the way we are thinking and don't know how to get to a better place.  We may be feeling negative thoughts but know that it might be dangerous to try to supress them.  The more we deny that we want that piece of chocolate cake, the more likely we are to eat three pieces when we finally quite resisting the desire.  At times like this there is one "magic wand" that we can use.  That is humor.  If we were to imagine that piece of cake growing green hair, taking a place on a stage and singing to a funny audience, perhaps of fat Alice in Wonderland caterpillars, we might be able to get away from the desire to grab the cake and gobble it down.  Other times we can go with the desire or urge and exaggerate it until it loses its hold over us.  Whatever way we choose to move away from the darkness of not having the magic we want, is a good way.  Don't suppress.  Examine and play with the negative thought. Magic is yours.  Find your magic wands.  Use humor.  Use movement.  Take deep breaths.  Do what it takes.  Do not suffer from the lack of magic.  May the spark be with you.

Take Your Magical Throne

Sometimes the magic you need is to shake off the lack of appreciation you didn't get from someone you expected it from.  Sometimes you need to feel wreathed in a magical zing, but others have thrown a bucket of cold water (they called reality) over your whole castle of spun sugar.  Now is the time to practice centering and finding your bit of magic again.  You can try this ritual.  Lift your head up like the queen (or king) of magic that you are. Raise your right eyebrow.  Or your left if that one elevates more easily.  Arise from the humble stool where you have been sitting.  With all the pride in the world, walk to your throne. Survey your domain.  With a truly regal air, be seated.  This is you throne, your birthright, and you must keep it occupied from time to time.  Now look around graciously.  As the sovereign of your realm you can dispense boons, favors, forgiveness and penalties. You can forgive those who do not read the style of writing you enjoy writing. If you have other crafts it is the same process.  You can bless them for being able to read, or able to recognize your craft.  This is your realm.  You are already rich.  You do not need to be judged by gold from outside the realm unless you wish to accept it as tribute. Find comfort and support from your throne.  You are now free to observe and learn what you will. Be proud.  Be seated in your throne.  I say to all wise magicians: There will be times when the slings and arrows of life will come your way.  Do not cower.  Be seated in your magical throne and be sovereign of your realm.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Me Chat

I couldn't quite go with "inner dialogue" for a title.  It sounded too heavy.  Magic is light and quick.  Even when the result is profound and it takes a while it still feels light and quick. So I chose Me Chat as the term for magical self talk.When you do talk things over with yourself you get a lot of good benefits.  What you perceive and learn becomes processed more fully.  Dialogue is a good term.  When two people are in dialogue they do interact on a deeper level than when they are just making small talk.  But I think that we tend to chat with ourselves on a rather constant basis.  When we find ourselves dwelling on something overly much, the little chatty part of ourselves will often come in and point that out to us.   Me Chat helps us when we are at a standstill, it helps us when we have had a set back, it helps when we are trying to energize ourselves for productivity.  Me Chat is the tool I like to use to get centered and not go off the rails.  When I feel angry or irritated Me Chat helps me identify the problem I need to deal with--why am I irritated and how do I fix it?  I feel blocked, irritated, hunting for answers a lot.  But I don't like to ever feel hopeless.  My chatty self is with me on that.  So I ask questions and lightly chat back and forth, even acknowledging when I do feel hopeless.  Somehow talking things over with my inner self has been magical for me.  Ideas come pretty easily now and they are often a good solution for things.  So I say to all wise magicians that if you feel a need for magic you should talk it over with yourself.  Good things will come to you.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Waiting

Recently I was in a situation where I had some information that I really had to be careful about whether I passed it on or not.  It wasn't totally mine to give because of how the other person might take it if it came from me.  It was in matters of the heart.  I held on and held on, having faith that my friend had a good enough sense of self and would get at the truth of things by herself.  I was rewarded for my waiting.  I had faith in myself and my friend.  I was there for her when she needed to use me as a sounding board.  But it was hard.  Some of the time I was hurting because I was afraid she might be hurt and I wanted to turn to her for solace. Now that the light is coming through I can reflect on the whole situation and compare it to others.  I do believe there is magic in having faith.  It is good to believe that good is possible and that it is okay for it to manifest.  It is deadly when you can't believe that.  Sometimes, after a test, when the results are not yet known, a person will awfulize to the max.  That does no good.  The test taker may or may not have done well.  They can take comfort in knowing that they tried.  Also they can praise their self for being ready to deal with the results.  If they have to take the test again, they can do so and do better next time.  If they did well they can go on to the next step.  Life is frequently a collection of "hurry up and wait" moments.  If you have gone into your inner place of magic, if you know yourself and your values then waiting for the good is not so hard.  Because you are good, you are magic and you have acted on that, therefore you have done something to bring that into the world.  May the spark be with you.

Magically Finding Time

I believe that most of the time people confuse time with feeling at peace.  When they say "I don't have time for that right now"  they are really saying "I don't feel calm enough to focus on that right now".  If you go around in a state of being frazzled you will never have 'time' to do anything.  Then you will feel more frazzled because you are not getting anything done.  You will find yourself in a deadly loop of needing time but having no time.  The biggest thing in "finding time for things" is to learn how to 'have grace under fire' as they used to say.  This ability to keep a cool head comes more easily for some than for others, but it can be learned.  You can set up situations in which you have some minor distractions that are not enough to keep you from doing what you have assigned for yourself.  Then up the level of distractions and see if you can still learn to focus. This can do wonders for your ability.  I have heard that Japanese business students have to endure being shouted at by their teachers so they will learn to be calm when negotiating business deals in the world of cut throat business. It seems to work for them.
 Two other things can also help you use your emotional reactions to things in order to be more productive.  (1) Set priorities. When you feel that what you are doing is important you feel validated and that helps you stay on task and get things done.  In other words, use time wisely. (2) Break things down, find the parts of each task.  When you do this you are able to tell yourself you are wise and productive.  You are refusing to be overwhelmed and you are still getting things done.  I want to point out another facet of the "I don't have time for that right now" statement.  Sometimes a person is really saying "I think that is hogwash and I have no intention of being stupid enough to even consider it".  Perhaps you need to question yourself when you say you don't have time for something.  Perhaps it is actually something you should not try to have time for.  Something you should not even waste time on considering.I say to all wise magicians.  Reach out to find the time you really want and it just might be there for you. May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Working Harder

I doubt I could count how many times I have heard the saying, 'Work Smarter Not Harder'.  But I have noticed that the time some people spend trying to figure out how to work smarter takes so long that if they had been willing to work hard the task would have finished a long time ago.  Another point I want to make about working 'harder' is that some things just are hard.  Ornate or complex projects do take a lot of time and effort.  I was watching a special on television last week about animal homes.  Birds weave or assemble complex nests with only their beaks and claws.  Wasps, bees, and many more animals spend a lot of effort and time putting together homes that do the job a home needs to do.  These animals are smart enough to know that some things are hard but that you might as well hunker down and do the work that is needed.  I do know that humans can sometimes put a lot of stupid energy into things.  Drying every surface of every bit of stainless steel silverware is one such thing. Magical working harder means to be willing to put in the right kind of effort in the right kind of way.  That also means putting in as much time as is needed.  November is coming up and writers are often encouraged to put out massive efforts at writing a book in that month.  It is a reminder that in order to write a book you do have to sit down and hit those keys.  So I say to all wise magicians: Work as hard as you need to bring good things into your life.  May the spark be with you.