The Magic of Listening to the Inner Self

  In early July of this year (2016) I discovered I needed to undergo open heart surgery.  I knew from past experience that I had to prepare my body/mind for this.  I had undergone major surgery in 1999 and it seemed as if my body had been angry at the sudden jolt.  I developed arthritis in my knees so bad that I had trouble walking.  As if my path forward was harder to follow.  So in the few days I had to prepare for this surgery I did a lot of meditation.  Then one day I seemed to sense that my inner self had replied with the phrase "But this is OPEN heart surgery".  It seemed as if I was being told to open up my heart to others.  I took notice and broke out of my shell of fear and isolation.  I reached out to my family and friends and told them what I was about to undergo.  It was wonderful the way they drew around me with caring and support. It was also wonderful the way I received support and caring from the caregivers I encountered. I was in the hospital and rehab facilities for two months.  Healing would have been so much more difficult had I simply been dealing with the physical aspects of all this.  After the replacement of a leaky heart valve, among other things, I discovered my body/mind had a rage to heal.  I was extremely weak but every day I have been getting stronger in body and mind.  Previously my life had been crushing me and now I find that every day I am able to take on more challenges and find solutions for problems I had been running from.  This new openness to my self and others is a source of joy and energy.  The Wise Magician knows of the source of joy and energy in connection to others.  May this come to you.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic in the Message of Procrastination

The wise magician does not do everything with a save of the wand.  Living by whim can be tiring, even exhausting.  But to have a stable life one must question the wave of the wand.  Do magicians get goals?  I believe they must.  But then procrastination creeps in.  Procrastination is often spoken of as a sin.  But the wise magician knows that every cringe or 'aiyah' is simply a signal from the wise inner self.  It is a signal that something needs to change.  Perhaps there is a monster to be slain or a deluge to be stopped.  Procrastination comes through in different ways.  Perhaps you feel tired.  Or perhaps something that is not usually that wonderful seems to beckon and sparkle. When procrastination is recognized the wise magician will take out the magic wand and wave it until all the bits and pieces of the procrastination lays at your feet.  Now look at it.  It is not so overwhelming.  You can use your magic of analysis now.  What part of the planned task or goal were you not ready for?  Why?  What part did you need to do some more preparation for?  Do you need to get some training or help?  Did fear intrude?  Was there something to which you need to acclimate yourself?  Was it all just too new?
Where is the easiest place to start?  Can you make up some games to help you?  Do you think the goal is a step in the wrong direction after all?  Procrastination is a message, not a good way of life. Welcome the message procrastination has for you, interpret it and go on to a more magical life.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Just Enough Security

Have you ever felt fearful and full of anxiety?  Did you get over it?  There is a part of our personality, the  Wise Magician, that observes and learns as we go along.  When we are children we look to our parents as being a source of security and all powerful and loving.  At least that is the ideal.  Then we see their feet of clay.  Oh, horrors!  They are not perfect.  We rebel.  If we are lucky we go on to the next step and and realize that we had a good enough start in life to take over for ourselves.  We accept the imperfections and also accept the good and the glory. Maybe the only good is that we have something we know to avoid.  But that keeps us from being naive.  Confidence and inner security is, in the end, a learned skill.  It is ideal if we are immersed in a life of security and experiences that lead to great confidence.  But when we decide to become our own Wise Magician we can engineer many experiences that lead to a mindset of confidence and security.  Blow on your inner fire until a spark of magic ignites.  Learn to develop security and leave fearfulness behind.  There is a lot of fear mongering going on now in national politics.  Don't sucker in to it.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Musing

 I use the term musing in a specific way.  It is not just idly thinking about something.  It is exploring an idea for the purpose of becoming productive in regards to it.  I am a writer  and I believe in outlining.  But before outlining comes musing. Musing is a paper and pen thing and it can take several forms.  Always I start the top of my page with a title 'Muse on....(fill in idea here)'.  Then I start to encourage my ideas to become more fully developed.  One form for this is the I - Me Conversation.  I have written about this before, perhaps even in my blogs.  But I'd like to mention it again, if you will bear with me.  I says something about the idea, perhaps that it is poorly formed.  Me replies.  I makes a point.  Me may get more of an idea along the lines they are exploring. And so on.
When the conversation winds down I have a better idea about the way I want to proceed with my idea.  Sometimes I see that it is actually not an independent idea but a subset of another project I am already working on.
   Another form of musing, after I have put the title at the top of the page, is the write down all the points I can think of in regards to my topic.  Later I will order them, polish them and put them into an outline.  A third form of musing about a particular topic is to get it out on paper all the hesitation, anxiety, fear, worry, and questions I have in regard to that topic. If the idea is good it will not do to let anxiety sabotage it.  So it is good to face and deal with fears from the first.
   No matter what form my musing takes, it helps me get well formed about my ideas.  And remember, one of the main tenets of magic is: 'Magic is well formed'.  So try musing about you ideas to help make them real.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Interaction

   Magic does not happen in a vacuum or a sterile atmosphere.  The spark may go from the wise magician to an object of nature, or come from the natural entity to the wise magician.  Such may have happened when early people discovered the beneficial qualities of certain plants.  But a great magic can happen between people.  Think of how energized you feel when you are validated by a smile from a mentor or a thumbs up from a friend.  Even more, when true collaboration takes place and a problem is solved, a great spark of energy surrounds the group.  Often ideas will come in clusters because the magic of creativity has opened up minds.  Dialogue between minds, even dialogue between different aspects of your self, can make life richer.  So, wise magicians, I urge you to keep the interaction going.  Listen.  Respond.  Question.  Avoid close mindedness.  Slogans and labels are anathema to magic.  Remember, good magic- white magic- is all that is good for people and the world.  Black magic works against our good and our world.  Corruption is black. Apathy is black.
Love is blindingly white and gold.  Warm your world by encouraging interaction.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Expectation

   Many creative people get excited by their ideas and that high keeps them working until the idea is made real.  A writer will continue to pour out words even if fingers are cramping around the pen.  A painter will paint until the picture is done, even if eyes are bleary and the brush falls from stiff fingers. As the faint glimmer takes form the work feeds on itself and the energy is good.  This is the best scenario.  Idea.  Energy to keep going.  Finished creation.  But this is not always the reality.
   All people are creative, whether they label themselves so or not.  But all too often an idea comes to one.  Or a goal.  The excitement happens.  But there is a gap.  The goal or idea exists.  But the way forward is unclear.  Then the energy fizzles.  This is the more common scenario.  Idea-gap-fade...
  For decades I have been aware of that gap, painfully so.  Sometimes I have bridged it but all too often I have not.  I have discovered that many others have the same life experience.  But again I have hope that there is a way over this gap.  I am actually excited about this possibility.  In the last issue of O magazine, Oprah Winfrey's platform, I was reading her interview with Brendan Burchard.  He is the founder of The Experts Academy and author of several books about growth.  His latest is "The Motivation Manifesto".  In this interview, in one small sentence, he mentioned the power of expectation.  He didn't use the word 'power'.  But I will.  Expect something to continue, to turn out well and it is likely to.  That sense of expectation is like the tendril a climbing plant throws out.  It takes a while for it to find the support it will climb on but it keeps reaching out, learning as it goes, until the way becomes well established. This is a powerful idea for me.  A magical one.  I intend to make this my spark of magic mantra for reaching my goals. "Expect the way to open up."  I intend to replace the sense of hopelessness I have had at facing the GAP and learn to expect the way forward to be shown to me.  I hope all of you can also expect the way to open for you.  May the spark be with you.

The Magical Power of Consolation

At times your world may turn so grey that you think you can never catch a spark of magic again.  But I suggest to wise magicians that this is a signal to stop and ask a few question of yourself and the universe. Suppose you are just worried about another person's troubles and don't know what you can do to make it better for them.  Suppose all you can do is have faith in them and give them a hug or a pat on the back.  As you think about consoling your friend you may realize that you need a bit of consolation for yourself. The magic of consolation is that it buys a bit of time and it hooks into the belief that things actually can get better.
So go ahead and say to your inner child something like this: "There, there.  I know that skies are grey.  I know that you have lost a sense of sparkle.  I know that you have worries.  It is okay.  If you hang in there a bit you can praise yourself for hanging in there.  Won't that be a bit of magic when you can praise yourself?"
This might make you smile a bit at the way you have turned the tables on the inconsolable part of your character.  I don't deny that there is awful tragedy in life.  But they pass.  Love yourself and others and give support in coming through the storm back into the magical world of sunshine and flowers.  Be consolable. Give comfort.  It is deserved.  May the spark be with you.

Seek Out the Sparkle

Sparkle is a very important part of magic.  Think of the stories and movies you have read and watched.  The good witches and wonderful fairies were all bright and sparkly.  There is a reason for this.  Sparkle is a part of the life force.  Sit back and contemplate any mundane object in front of you.  Now let the sparkle of that object come through.  You might perceive a richness in the color or texture of the object. Or you might be reminded of rich experiences that said object has given you.  I see a small web cam in front of me.  I have captured some pictures for my Wordmaeven page with it.  I am reminded of the large and exciting world of communicating with others.  A book may remind you of all the wonderful worlds you can enter by reading about them.  As I contemplate the objects in front of me I feel energized. Looking for the extra aura of things is a way to hook into more life energy.  Another aspect of "sparkle" is to bond you to things or people.  The throw I use to keep warm when I am watching TV on cold Winter nights offers me more than warmth.  I also like the tactile pleasure it gives and the rich color of it. I am bonded to it.  So I say to all wise magicians, 'Seek out the sparkle in yourself.'  You can look in the mirror and note your expressions as you tell a funny story.  You have adopted voice inflections, hand gestures, and figures of speech through the years.  This is part of your sparkle.  Appreciate your sparkle and feel free to develop more.  Your are a lively, magical being, a valuable part of the Universe.  Enjoy your place.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Standing Back

So many fairy tales and movies have the magician get into a hard spot then get out of it with a swoosh of a magic wand.  Our mind set can get narrow that way.  We can believe that every discomfort can be changed by the wave of a magic wand, by getting "Mommy or Daddy" to fix it, or by throwing money at it.  But if we don't stand back from the problem we may not even know what it is that needs to be changed, or solved. Standing back also brings about a shift in the time frame. The wise magician will realize that a decent problem needs a decent amount of time to be dealt with.  I say to all wise magicians, if you need a change take the time to decide what the best change would be.  Then stand back and decide what to do.  Stand back to gain confidence and clarity about working at what you want to have happen until you get it.  I have seen people need a change but they have a pattern of showing irritation too soon, then after the blow-up, settling back into acceptance of the way things were.  I have noticed that the people around them then didn't believe they really wanted that change, so they didn't continue to help them achieve it.  Step back, look at you life, see what changes you need, see what you can do and do it.  May the spark be with you.

Magic and Minor Phobias

Minor phobias may not even be on your radar.  You may avoid certain things just because you always have, you don't even know why.  I suggest to all wise magicians out there that you have yourselves an adventure.  Explore whether or not you have a couple, or a couple of dozen, phobias.  I recognize one I have, it is the filling out of forms.  Somehow I don't fit myself into little boxes, check here, very well.  A lot of things in life are gained by filling out the applications for them.  I have missed some opportunities by seeing the form, then feeling overwhelmed by looking at it, and putting it to one side.  Just for a while turns into, "Oh, oh, I forgot about it."  Discover a teeny phobia then devise a spell to deal with it.  Let your sensory self, and your sense of humor, conquer this "thing that blocks you from a better life". Here are a few phobias people may have: filling out forms, learning about political issues, going to a barber, shopping, washing dishes, going to a doctor, admitting mistakes, saying I don't know, saying that you want something, getting things taken care of for your car, writing thank you letters, being realistic about a budget, exercising, etc., etc.
You get the point, you are procrastinating and probably are missing out by doing so.  I remember a Political Theory class I took in college.  The author of one of our readings said "Laziness is pathology". He said that people were not naturally lazy and if it seemed like they were the social scientist needed to search out what was holding them back. Listen to you little nagging "shoulds".  Maybe they have validity. (Maybe they don't, too.)  You will only know if you examine them.  Make your decisions for your self.  Don't let your phobias do it.  You deserve a rich and full life.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Lemons

"Lemon Tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat" so the song goes.  I am sorry but I don't know who recorded it or wrote it.  I hope I am not breaking any laws by not citing more.  I love all things lemon and sometimes I delight in being handed a lemon by life because it gives me a chance to make lemonade.  Many creative projects or businesses have come out of a situation in which a person had a problem and then solved it by seeing it as an opportunity.  Right now that is what is going on in my life.  I am trying to develop workshops and sell information products based on how we use our inner dialogue and do, or do not, access the skill of critical thinking.  I had some trouble with a service provider and found myself delighting in analyzing all the things they were doing wrong.  Their client service was faulty and yet I wasn't angry, I just wanted to help them improve. They no longer serve me but I have learned a lot about  what quality in a service business is all about.  I also under stand what a worker might go through as well.  The dignity and pride of provider and client are both important.  So I say to all wise magicians: take your magic wand to your problems and see if you can get a bit of lemonade out of them.  I find I can usually get a dinner table joke or conversation out of my suffering.  That is something, I hope.  But magical solutions are also possible.  Look for your chance to see opportunity is all things.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Focusing on the Small

So often we are told to look at the big picture, or to go beyond the big picture and think outside of the box.  That is often good advice.  But I say to all wise magicians, "What next?"  Part of setting goals is so decide on an action plan.  Plans involve steps.  Each step is a small part of the big whole.  Learn to take the step after the big picture and hone in on the small picture.  The left brain is thought to be out of the realm of magic but I believe that left and right brain work together to bring good things into your life.  Imbue those small steps, which might be tedious, with joy because of the reward they will eventually help us bring.  Pat yourself on the back for getting started.  Look for the small key that will unlock the door you need to enter. Search out the small limb that you can pull out of the log jamb to send those logs on down the river.  The center of a target is small.  Chipping away at your anxieties and blocks can be small victory by small victory.  When you bring your sense of joy or well being to small steps, small tasks, or small accomplishments, all these small things become glorious big things.  A small insight can unlock a door to a bigger world.  Don't get stuck on the small, but focus on it as a way to bring more magic into your life.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Filling Your Heart

The picture I often get from movies and Fairy Tales is that magic is for desperate times.  There is trouble or danger and out comes the magic wand.  This makes for good story telling but it skews a full understanding of magic.  Remember, magic is well formed.  That means that magic has a place in life when life is not on a desperate plane.  In fact, taking time to take in the good, to notice the wonderful things around us, to see the magical world we live in, will cause there to be less times of desperation.  If you have a hole in your heart from not feeling loved you may act in ways that are not good for you. Perhaps you will become greedy and try to amass things.  Perhaps you will do silly or stupid things to try to buy friends.  Instead you can do as Dr. Rick Hanson, author of "Buddha's Brain", and "Hardwiring Happiness", suggests and take in the good.  He teaches us to find a good fact, feel it, absorb it, maybe enrich it and let it become an inner resource for us.  We can notice that people speak to us in a friendly way and take that in.  When family members or loved ones give us attention we can take that in as a resource for feeling loved.  So I say to all wise magicians, it is a good idea to fill your inner resource bank before it gets empty. You are able.  You are lovable. Just the fact that you are aware of human needs shows that you have a sense of caring so turn that towards yourself.  Fill your heart with joy, comfort, satisfaction, love, or whatever you need.  Then times of desperation will not seem so bad.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Allowing

So often we think of magic as that which saves us from a problem.  In the Disney film, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Mickey was tired of carrying all those heavy buckets of water.  That was why he bewitched the brooms to do it for him.  Of course that caused him even more trouble. The moral is that reactive magic can get out of control, or not be right for the job.  I think of magic as whatever we do to make our life better.  So we don't want disruption. We are looking for calmness and healing.  Good is the baseline.  Disease and tension are the anomaly. But we may not always see the good.  We do have things come into our life that cause tension, fear and worry.  If that happens often enough we tend to see the dark, to be anxious, more often than not.  Then the stress tension, cortisol, meant to give us energy to fight or flee, becomes toxic to us.  It is in our body more than we need and doesn't get burned off.  Dr. Rick Hansen has just released a new book, "Hardwiring Happiness".  It is an excellent book and easy to read.  He points out that every moment of calmness and having a feeling of well being allows the body to heal. I say to all wise magicians out there that one of the things that can bring about a feeling of well being is to allow an awareness of goodness to come over you.  Look out the window and see colors, movement, nature.  Allow the experience of goodness.  Let beauty and the fun of others surprise you.  Constantly allow all the wonder of the world to overcome you.  The world that was, is, and will be is full of joy and delight.  It is full of love and safety if you will allow awareness of that to sink in.  Allow magic and good to come to you. May the spark be with you.

Your Personal Magic Hat

When you have a hat on your head it is not easy to hang you head down.  There is something about a hat that makes you stand out.  I just looked at Google Images for Ascot hats.  Everyone who feels upper class enough to go to the races at Ascot wears a hat.  Some look very expensive and proper.  Silk top hats and all.  But even the men had some pretty wild hats.  It seems that an air of carnival is in the air. Some of the women's hats seem to be balancing acts.  One would certainly have to hold one's head high and proud to wear a hat like that.  So I suggest to all wise magicians that you get a hat.  It doesn't have to be real.  But a sorcerer's hat would be fun to have, wouldn't it?  What I am suggesting that you design a headpiece that is a symbol of all the wonderful, magical things you are and to which you aspire.  I have been doing some art therapy sessions at a shelter for homeless women.  This week we are going to make tiny hats to symbolize our Shom, or shoulder mom, the wise loving part of our self that encourages us to keep up the good fight.
Everyone could use a magical hat.  Think out one for yourself and wear it magically.  May the spark be with you.

If Not Magic, Then Math

If you think of magic as a sudden burst of goodness and assurance of benefits, then you know of the times when magic does not seem close at hand.  But wise magicians know there are many ways to work magic.  The wise magician also knows that magic is always near, it is just a matter of finding the way to call it forth.  I have found that when you can't call forth that burst of joy, that fun of magic, you can resort to a more plodding way to work up to your joy.  Count the good things around you.  Surely there are interesting colors or patterns in your field of vision.  There may be at least three things that you are grateful for.  Be thankful for the air your breathe.  I believe the ancient magicians knew that you may have to prepare the way for magic.  That is why numbers are often associated with spells.  Count the small little steps you took to get ready to deal with a problem.  Even getting the courage to face an issue is worthy of a count.  Count your progress, your good memories, the ways you have worked magic in the past.  Add on the ideas that are probably now coming forth.  Subtract any urges you have towards negativity.  Divide your time between hope and confidence.  Multiply the benefits you will bring into your life and the whole world by your willingness to go for the good.  Play with numbers until you can wave a wand or your hand and bring forth magic.  May the spark be with you.

Magic is in the Moment

Monsters are big.  Even the monsters that hide in your closet or under your bed are big.  Magic bullets that can wipe out those monsters are small, but very powerful.  All too often, when we are feeling that sense of being blocked, or having a bad case of the blahs, of wanting a change right now, it is because we are trying to think big in the wrong way.  We aren't looking at the "big picture" but looking at the "big worry".  One thing to do, at that moment, is to get in the moment.  There is magic in centering.  Breathe in, shift, breathe out.  Do this several times.  Tune into your senses.  Sometimes you have to talk to yourself to get in your senses.  Say to yourself what you are sensing with your ears, then with your eyes, then with your sense of position and so on. When you can go away from the words to just your senses you will feel relaxed and centered.  That is where the possibilities, the magic, are abiding.  One time I was driving on a winter road and ice caught my wheel.  This was on the side of a mountain above a reservoir.  I was blessed by time slowing down to molasses pouring from a jar left outside on a cold day.  I had plenty of time to get back in control of my vehicle.  My focus narrowed and I was not on the dangerous dirt road I had been on.  It was just me and my friend, my car.  I don't say to all you wise magicians out there that you should ignore the big picture.  That is a necessary focus at times.  But it is an initial focus.  Then you get in the moment and small miracle by small miracle you work your magic to make life better.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Talking to Your Plants

On the surface you might say that talking to your plants is not magic but simply breathing out carbon dioxide, which plants breathe in, and taking in oxygen, which plants breathe out.  It is so much more.  When you talk to your plants you tend to voice your inner thoughts, which gives you direction for the actions you will take to work magic, or bring better things into your life.  Plus, being aware of plants makes you aware of your place in the cosmos.  You are not alone, but part of the web of life. Dialogue with your plants, the loving ears that are always there for you, is dialogue with your inner self.  This brings balance and wisdom to your life.  Remember, magic is well formed.  Talking things over with yourself is one way to discover how to form things in a good way.  So I say to all wise magicians out there,  find a plant to talk to or a tree to hug.  The life force they carry will energize you and help make your magic more well formed.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Cross Training

"Cross Training" is a term from sports but it has handy applications for ordinary, or perhaps magical, life.  Cross training is when a skill you develop in one sport can be used in another sport. For working magic in your life you can take the skill of the aura or feeling that fits with one activity and take that aura to another activity.  For example, being lonely makes it hard for me to work by myself.  I'm just a little bit more enthusiastic about life when I'm around people I like.  So I soak up this enjoyment when I am around my favorite people.  It is a skill to be able to enjoy other people.  Then I bring this skill from the social game and let this golden aura help my solitary writing game.  I say to all wise magicians, look for things in one area of your life that help you function at a high level.  Then see if you can transfer that to another part to help you function in that other aspect.  Let's use magic in any way we can to win at this game of life.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic You Keep is the Magic You Grab

Being willing to reach out to make change is a form of working magic.  Action is a type of magic wand. Dreams and hope are good.  But to stand up and say, 'I am, I can, I will, I deserve it.' is what brings about the needed changes. Real magic doesn't live in a fairy tale world.  Ordinary people can bring about extra-ordinary change. But there are strong barriers.  Big lies are told to us and it is comfortable to believe them.  It takes courage, and a willingness to work magic, to question the lies.  We may not know they are lies.  But if you get in the habit of healthy doubt you will learn to have a sense of lies versus truth.  Lies often are told in an effort for the evil sorcerers to keep their power.  Denial of climate change is one such lie.  Right to work is another.  As if having good working conditions in a factory were a bad thing. Doubt every slogan and label that comes your way until you have checked it out.  Thinking, logically and critically, is the ultimate magic wand.  So I say to all wise magicians, go ahead and overcome your conditioning.  Bit by bit see what you can do to make this world a better place. Magic abounds.  May the spark be with you.