Magic And Mirrors

I first saw an Illusionist when I was very young. It was wonderful. Even though my mother explained that many of the magic tricks were done with mirrors I still was awe-struck. At the tender age of five I had already decided that mirrors themselves were magic. My brother and I had a game in which we held small mirrors under our eyes so all we could see was the ceiling of whatever room we were in. Walking around (carefully) made us feel we were walking on the ceiling. That shift into another world was a lot of fun. Since that time I have noticed that in the lore of magic,( stories, spells, movies, and other references) mirrors often are mentioned. So of course I had to ask myself how a mirror could be used as a magic wand by the wise magician. The first thing that came to mind was the daily look in the mirror to see if one's hair is well combed or if one's wardrobe is free of any malfunctions. But it turns out that mirroring is a strong component of growth. Some therapists carefully mirror the client's statements back until the client actually listens to himself. Parents repeat the sounds a child makes to encourage development of speech. It also turns out that researchers in England and Italy refer to our mirror neuron system. What we see others do helps us learn to do or feel that same thing. So if there are changes you need to make put yourself in a place where you can see the good results of the actions you want to adopt. To become kinder it would be better to be around kind people than to listen to a sermon on kindness. When we journal we put down what we are trying to achieve, thus mirroring our efforts. Journaling is accepted as a great help in making changes and achieving our goals. So I suggest to the wise magician that you look for ways to see yourself as more successful, as moving towards desired goals in all the magical mirrors you can find. Friends who believe in you and will reflect your progress, your own visualization efforts, your journals, and the good examples set by others. May the spark be with you.

Planned Study and Magic

All magicians know that knowledge does not belong to them alone. They are happy to learn from each other. Since magic is meant to have an effect, to be ultimately practical, the learning from others should also have a purpose and be practical. Learning for learnings sake is good for brain exercise and to stave off alzheimer's disease. But otherwise learning is best done when it is seen to be relevant. So planned study can have great benefits. I have been reading up on 'how to write a novel' from several of my instruction books and I am delighted at what I have learned. I have also sought out things on the web (advice from successful writers). Several things I have learned will make my story or stories, much more interesting. Therefore I have seen how 'planned study' can be a tool or magic wand for me. But if I am involved in study or research and I am called to digress from the planned path and end up discovering something of value then the hunch to digress was the magic wand. Magic always has the goal of 'wonderfully better'. So if doing a bit of research, asking the experts or reading something, or following your curiosity will make your life wonderfully better, even in a small way, be sure to use that "magic wand". Reach out to the magic that surrounds you for energy and insight. Become powerful in your life. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Monitoring

When a magician casts a spell it is important to see if the spell works or not. Yet when we go back into ordinary life we resist checking on what we do. That doesn't do us any good. We need to monitor and review our daily life for satisfactions, successes and failures on a regular basis in order to build a better life. Some people resist this because they think they will be dwelling on their failures. If you learn from a mistake then that mistake is actually a success. I suggest you also include plans, dreams and aspirations as part of this monitoring program. Not only must you know how well you are meeting the needs of daily life, you also need to know if you are moving towards reaching your dreams. Don't leave those dreams in dreamland. There is an art to making dreams real. It is not an easy art. But monitoring your progress, and learning from mistakes, is an important part of developing this art. To draw this monitoring into the realm of magic you could do it in a special time, in a special place, in a special way. Perhaps you could review the day or week that has just passed in a candle lit room with incense and soft music. Perhaps you could start out by listing valuable lessons learned. That is a much better way of looking at mistakes rather than calling them failures. Learning from failures is much different from dwelling on them. You can go beyond failures if you learn from them. I have been reading over some of my early works to see how I can improve them and it has been quite a good lesson. The stories were imaginative but the flow of words did not sing in some of the children's picture book stories the way I wanted. Until I became conscious of the the importance of making story engaging I could not consistently put that in my stories. Now I have an awareness of a skill I need to develop. I was able to do it on a hit or miss basis before. But it wasn't really part of my skill set. Since I have learned how to monitor my writing in a better way I do believe I will become a better writer. As you learn your skills of magic learn to monitor your life in whatever realms you need. Financial, relationships, health, your craft. You are the magician and monitoring is one of your tools, or magic wands. Use your tools well. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Hard

Taking on hard things is the way to do great things. Just because something is hard doesn't mean it should be avoided. In August Newsweek reported on its ranking of different countries for quality of life. The US was ranked 11th. Ten other countries have better health, live longer, have better education and so on. The writer I first read who mentioned this was from The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman and it was run in today's Denver Post. Mr Friedman felt that we have slipped because too many of us are no longer willing to put forth hard effort. The wise magician knows that effort is vital in order to accomplish our desired goals. The way you take on hard things is with consistency of effort, preparation, willingness to take as long as it is needed to do the task, cooperation, and keeping your eye on the goal. Creativity also helps. Remember that hard things are made less painful when there is an air of magic about the effort. Work songs were developed to help people push those handcarts across the plains, to lay all those miles of railroad track, and many other jobs that got done as our country was becoming great. Songs, games, or whatever it takes to put a smile on your face or a lilt in your heart is part of the magic you can access to take on hard things. Don't be afraid of them. It is better to be afraid to run from them. Now I had better take my own advice and get busy on my re-write of Thimblewyck and some other writing tasks I have set myself. I hope you will have fun challenging your hard tasks as well. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of The Reality Check

Ego and self-esteem are really important to our lives. They give us energy to keep on keeping on. Our work, our life, is thus imbued with meaning. But reality will also come up alongside us and thump us on the head. We will, or should, see ways in which we have made smug assumptions and have not delivered the most truthful work. This reality check may come because we have grown, or because of something someone trusted has said to us, or because we are looking at our views or our work in a new way. An especially vulnerable time is when we have created something that is supposed to be an improvement on work by someone else. We may be thinking that we have done so much better. We may have made some improvements but we may have also left things undone. This happened to me. I was smug about writing a novel and sequels based on Andersen's Thumbelina. I came up with some fun ideas. But I didn't work to polish my writing enough. I'm having to do it now. It is good to step back from our creative darlings and say, "Well done!" then wait for awhile and say to ourselves, "You are great but look at your work to see if you can be greater". We can also be proud of ourselves when we have to throw out something we have done when we realize it is not our best work, or even worthy of being called our work at all. The reality check helps us do that.
I have been putting forth that magic is well formed. So the wise magician tries to put magic in his or her work. We deserve to do no less. So let reality give you a needed jolt so you can do magical work. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Incubation

Sometimes you need to get busy on a creative project and it just doesn't fly. A change in habits is one of the most creative projects you can engage in so include that along with writing a symphony, or painting a picture. The way it is supposed to work is: skill leads to action leads to good results. You know, or at least think, you have the skill. You have done everything you can to make the work flow. But somehow you aren't really ready. Even when you do all kinds of warm-ups. This is where incubation comes in. When you give your creative side, your inner self, your subconscious, your project with enough zing it will give it back to you fairly quickly in a way that will build a fire in your belly. The logical side of your brain will have been brought into the act as well. You have to hand it over to your inner self with authority, with a sense of 'I must do this and I want your help'. Don't be wimpy about it. Then go about your business, preparing and getting ready to start on your project. But when the need to get started grabs you, don't hesitate. Go for it. It has cooked long enough on your mental back burner and it's ready to go. I am in favor of schedules and being organized in one's work. But for the zing and flair to be there I think that incubation is important. Incubation is part of what brings magic into your life. Try it you might like it. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Risk

Risk is an interesting concept. When therapists or social workers refer to people who are liable to get in trouble or be victimized they refer to them as "at risk". In this context risk is a bad thing. For our purpose today let's add the modifier
'calculated'. a calculated risk can bring great rewards. Always clinging to safety and the known can be dangerous. Change and venturing into the unknown is actually important in life. The first grader doesn't know what school will be like. The new hire doesn't know what the job will entail. The new bride or groom doesn't really have a handle on marriage. But the willingness to risk is needed to take any of these new roles on. I suggest that you look at the things that make risk less risky. Good health, preparation, a support system, good equipment if equipment is needed, a good plan, a contingency plan, clear understanding of the goal,the willingness to learn as you go and the ability to take risks. People who count too much on the supposed payoff of the risk will be devastated if the risk doesn't work out. You can build up your ability to take risks by taking small steps or risks. For example a writer will tell the story,write it over and over until it pleases herself, then share it with friends, then get it critiqued by other writers before ever submitting it to a publisher. She will also research the publisher to make sure that is a good fit. A mountain climber will climb easy mountains first. A lover feels out the beloved and has faith in the strength of the relationship before proposing. A businessperson makes sure there is a market for what he or she wants to sell before they open a store. Risk energizes and opens doors. Calculated risks can pay off well. Reach out to the energy of the magic that surrounds you and see if good risks are suggested to you. Then prepare and take them. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of The Fortune Cookie

Sometimes I have read an acclaimed self help book, sat through a long sermon, or even received advice from a well meaning friend and felt like I had no clue about what I had just heard or read. Then other times I have heard an adage or read a fortune cookie and had an epiphany, experienced a strong "aha moment". I think human understanding is organized along lines to help us take care of our self, to help us be our own magician using the wand when we need it. That which we let be a key to understanding, no matter how few words are used, is that which we see as helpful. It also has to be meaningful. Personal is meaningful. When we put our minds to interpreting and understanding something it does become meaningful. That's why omens and spells are part of the lore of magic. So I suggest this exercise (customized to fit your life): Cast about for areas of change you would like to make. Find words that describe the change. Play with those words to gain a better understanding of the change and find out how you react to the ideas they embody. When you feel a zing connected to a short phrase you have created you know you have hooked into the energy of magic. I need to improve my health by exercise. A mantra I might use (I'll have to try it out for a few days) is 'move to groove'. See if you can find something that works for you. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Chipping

A great work of sculpture is cut out of a block of marble one inspired chip at a time. It is the same with the work of art that is our life. If we keep on chipping, always trying to do it in a creative, purposeful manner we will eventually have a note worthy whole. It takes the energy and joy of magic to keep to our purpose. Don't let that chipping become mundane or it will be too easy to abandon it. Are you trying to become a more loving person? Keep chipping away at it, with love. Are you trying to nurture your ability to participate in group projects? Appreciate the energy of the group and contribute your own energy. Are you trying to write a book? That is done planning project after planning project then one word at a time. Keep the words coming. Including the conversations you have to have with yourself. Those are real opportunities to look for a way to put a bit of zing into things. When you are tired and find it hard to reach out for the energy of magic, just keep on chipping. That will get you through for a while until you can grab onto the "wow!" again. But try to feel a positive field surrounding you. Giving yourself a golden aura will help you continue to keep chipping away. Sharpen your chisels, or whatever tools you need. Playful ideas are also tools. Get the life you want, one chip at a time. May the spark be with you.

The Gift Of 'Oh Well'

I was thinking of some of the life lessons I have gained and I had the thought that there are people I know or used to know who would not approve of some of my enlightened attitudes. For a moment I was tempted to tone down or deny said attitudes even though I knew them to be valid. The magic that surrounds me gave me a gift at that moment. My craven self sensed a big "Oh well" in the air and I again had the courage to be my better self. I was kind of excited to realize I don't have to bear the burden of other peoples judgments. I am not responsible for their narrow minded or mistaken ideas. I don't have to accept them nor do I have to worry about changing them. My ideas and my crusades are my own. I do care what other people think and feel. I am, after all, a social being. Also, as a writer, the life blood of my stories is people's feelings and attitudes which lead to their actions. But I also care about my own ideas and understandings. It has taken me years to gain some of them. Until that moment I received the gift of "Oh well" I may have been trying to clothe myself in labels more than I realized. But when I do that I deny myself the freedom to see the errors that are made even in the best of groups. Labels and slogans can be helpful but they can also interfere with thought. A magician values profound understanding. Let the magic that surrounds you encourage you to gain your own deep understanding of all that you turn to. May the spark be with you.

Don't Grow Up, Play Up

I've been siting here reviewing the responsible things I need to do tomorrow. I didn't have a lot of enthusiastic feelings to help me until I saw this title "Don't Grow Up, Play Up' on my blog idea list. Suddenly I remembered times in my life before I was mobility impaired and the fun of dancing and doing sports flooded my memory. I remembered the hard work I would put into perfecting some of the moves. I also remembered that it was worth it. I held onto those memories and moved them over into a visualization of doing needed garden work tomorrow morning. I now think I will be able to get all my squash and tomato plants watered in the morning and enjoy it. When I was a kid it was fun to ride in a car (actually I still find that kind of fun). But the point is that if I put some kid-like enthusiasm into it I'll probably get out and get a new, much needed, cell phone battery before the day gets too old. I wonder if I can find a way to make paying bills fun? There's money in the account, I just don't like paper work. I like to draw but I don't think I could bring myself to draw on the checks. Perhaps I can figure something out. Perhaps I will have to move back three spaces in the game of "Doing" if I fail to get a certain number of things done that are on my short do list. Fun is a great energizer. I think appealing to the senses makes things fun. Perhaps that is why color and texture and shine are all important aspects of the costumes we see on pictures and figurines of wizards and magicians. Magic works better when it is fun. So, reach out to the magic that is around you to get energy to do what you need to do. As I now say, "A magician's gotta do what a magician's gotta do." May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Review

As you know I love to do research, especially about the history of ideas. Tonight I was reading about paganism and attitudes about it. Magic was defined by the author as basically the search for maturity. All the spells, amulets, talismans and charms of the ancients, she said, were to give strength and courage to the person trying to develop enough discipline to be in charge of their own life. I have known that way down inside myself, but being a magician sounds better, to me, than being a grown up. So, what is one of the tools we can use as we go along our path to being an effective magician. I believe we have to be aware of and keep track of what we are learning. Every epiphany, insight or magical discovery has a charge of excitement when we first meet it. But it can become obscure and forgotten when the next discovery comes along. It is easy to make big plans. It is not so easy to put those plans into action. Often it is because we forget about them. We need to review our personal goals and monitor how well we are doing in our drive to achieve them. Are we becoming the magician we want to be? I suggest that one way to make review of growth effective is to make it enjoyable. Endow it with magic. An example I can think of is to visualize a magnificent trophy case. In it we have a display of awards, certificates and trophies. These trophies are ones we have earned for changes we have made in our character, or thinking skills we have gained. I would have a small but delicate display of earrings. This display is to remind me that I am proud that I have gained control of my tongue, to some extent. At first I would have to bite it(my tongue) to the extent that I imagined I had put holes in it that would hold fine jeweled earrings. Someone else might find themselves singing a song about their skills to the tune of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.""One big thing that I can do is speak right up straight and true. I add one on and pass it around...a second thing that's right for me..." You get the idea. Make a pleasant way to review what you can do, what you are learning to do and what you want to learn to do. The magic that surrounds you will give you the energy to do whatever you need to do in this realm. The magical result is that your achievements and improved life will go along more smoothly. May the spark be with you.

Your Personal Spells

To achieve peace and tranquility is a wonderful thing. To be able to do it as needed is a great practical achievement. When you are at peace your mind will move to higher levels of development. I have even read that when you are in a state of tranquility the brain will form new synapses, thus becoming a more effective brain. Physical health comes from being calm as well. The stress induced problems with cortisol and blood pressure will ease. In addition tranquility feels good. Therefore, I suggest that the wise magician develop ways to easily go to a tranquil place in your mind, that mini-vacations become part of your bag of tricks. If you wonder how to do this I would suggest that the first step is to discover your personal send offs. Are you more likely to relax when you feel, hear or see certain things? Your mode of perception matters. I love scenery but I can't enjoy it if I am too hot or cold, or if I am hearing disagreeable sounds. Self knowledge comes first. Then establish rituals that are right for you. Candles around a bathtub are definitely not my thing but they work for many. My mother had a ritual of watching the sun go down from the back step that healed and energized her. I believe that putting my thoughts together for my blog is a ritual that brings me a sense of peace.
The point is to gather up a variety of ways you can bring peacefulness to yourself before you need them. Then let yourself feel a sense of satisfaction that you have done so. Turn a good fact into a good feeling. That also becomes part of your collection of personal resources. I have a special place I once went to on vacation, one little spot, that I can see in my imagination easily. This spot is reserved for a special purpose, to get inspiration. I have other rituals for solving creative problems and so on. Reach out to the magic that surrounds you and develop you own personal ways to gain tranquility. It will help to have those ways when they are needed. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Owning Your Power

Everyone has the power to decide who they are. If someone makes a wrong or unjust criticism and you let it devastate you, you are giving up your power. Everyone has the power to exercise their right to take care of themselves. I once knew a woman who would rarely go to the bathroom when she had guests, no matter how long they stayed, nor would she suggest they go home. She excused her surrender of her own power by saying she hated to be hateful. Few people would go as far as she did but many do give up their power over themselves in many subtle ways without realizing it. If you take a more satisfying job but let others criticize anything about your choice you have given up your power. You could have not told them about the change or you could have stood up to their criticism. If you constantly procrastinate making changes for the better in your life you are giving up your power to have a better life. If you have tools or skills to manage you moods but turn to artificial means or methods you are giving up your power. If you are afraid of your power you may find it easy to give it up. Let the magic that surrounds you help you recognize that you do have power and that it is a glorious attribute. Enjoy and use the power over your life. May the spark be with you.

Miracles Abound

Look around you at all of the things that are more than necessary. Color perception is to help us judge depth. But look at the way colors blend or contrast with each other to add fun to our wardrobe. Or the ways we respond to different colors emotionally. Sounds can be warnings, communication, a help us find direction. Yet music is much, much more than that. Food needs to taste good enough that we will gain the nutrition we need for life. But think about favorite pies, delicious blending of flavors in a home cooked meal, the aroma of cookies just out of the oven. All of these extras call us to joy and appreciation of life. Now think beyond your sensory appreciation of a situation and appreciate different processes that present themselves to you. I am blessed in being able to watch several adults who have decided to change themselves and their lives for the better. They are not in therapy, they have just decided they can become fuller individuals. Watching the change has been fascinating, truly miraculous. To appreciate the process of a creation adds new dimensions. The tulips are starting to show above ground now. I am reminded that all of the plant world gives us gifts of being able to watch the changes they present. Miracles happen. Magic happens. It is more than fun, or even delight to perceive and appreciate what we can. If you open up to all these wonders and realize you are part of all that is, you will lose a lot of your fears and insecurities. Seeing the miracle in another will help you connect to them in a natural yet magical way. Let a spark of magic into your life to open you up to the daily miracles that abound.