Ideas About Ritual

Ritual can be a magical tool or it can be a deadening activity which insulates us from truly being alive.  When magic comes into our life by invitation we participate in the world more fully.  Simple things can become richer and give us comfort and freedom from stress.  Think about the difference between "dining" and "grabbing a bite".  It could be the same food, but the experience will be vastly different.  I believe that rituals can also be developed  that comfort us and get us ready to face difficult tasks.  One of my friends recently told me how she makes sure she has beautiful stamps with hearts or flowers on them when she is paying bills.  Then she sends the payments out with gratitude for having enough money to pay the bills and for the products and services she enjoyed that caused the bills.  She claims this ritual has drawn abundance to her.
Since I see a lot of abundance in her life I believe she may be right.
Ritual can be an aspect of planning and being in charge of our life.  By being self-directed, by looking to the future and creatively making decisions that bring a better life to us we are working magic.  The way we celebrate this, the rituals we develop to affirm that this is our mind set, support us in doing this magic.  Choose colors, choose symbols, choose times for your activities that support you in celebrating and living a fuller life.  These rituals can be simple.  When I feel anxiety I thank my inner self  by being open to the need for a better life.  This helps me claim my power and affirms that I am not helpless before the feeling of anxiety.  I suggest to all wise magicians that you add a ritual or two of celebration to your life.  May the spark be with you. 

The Magic of Mental Housekeeping

As is the case most days, I woke up early this morning wanting to get busy right away on one of my projects.  But I wasn't awake enough to prioritize and focus my energy.  I stumbled into my office and putzed around with e-mail, downloaded some pictures from my camera and gave up.  I thought to myself that a good bit of magic I could do would be to wake myself up.  But I didn't.  I wandered back to bed, told my inner self to give me some ideas later, and zonked out until the sky was fully light and then some.  But the idea of how we can direct our focus stayed on my mind.  Naturally I noticed a post on Facebook when I opened it up later about how the civil rights and liberties of Gays and other minorities are deteriorating since the financial problems of 2008 hit our nation.  Fearful people are reacting, looking for scapegoats, and afraid to be as tolerant as they once were. Certain religious and political leaders are feeding on this fear for their own ends.  I thought of how good it would be if these fearful people could stop and challenge their fears.  How wonderful it would be for them and our nation if they could realize the power and resources they had within themselves to make their life better.  To bring a bit of magic into their life. But from my own slow start this morning I know how hard it is to direct your focus at times.  I've even been trained for it and I still don't do it.  But I still want to suggest to all wise magicians: If you feel fearful, lazy, blah, discouraged, please get out of the storm for a moment and look to the energy of magic that surrounds you.  You can do at least one little thing to make you life better right away.  Maybe just the act of saying you can take greater charge of your life, your actions, your moods and attitudes will give you a lift.  You can you know. So bring order to your thoughts.Make your life better.  May the spark be with you.