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.

Magic is a Verb!

The other day I told some people about my blog and referred to 'magic' as the action of bringing good things into one's life.  Today I was feeling kind of blah, therefore in need of magic, but hadn't decided on any action I could do.  Then I read an e-mail from Rick Hansen about 'taking in the good'.  That is when you focus on a good fact then bring it into your psyche by feeling good about the good fact.  That brought me to several good thoughts and I discovered that the appreciation of the magic around me, in opening up my being to it, had worked magic.  I was feeling pretty good.  Suddenly the thought occurred that 'magic' was both action and being, as is a verb.  I work as a tutor for Community College of Denver.  I prepare applicants to the practical nursing program for the TEAS (test of essential academic skills).  Therefore I often have to point out the functions of different parts of speech, including verbs.  I am now feeling delighted to have a bigger definition of magic.  It is the actions you do to bring good into your life.  Magic is also found when you go into a state of being, when you appreciate that which is around you.  Sometimes, before you are able to act you have to become free of the blahs.  Gratitude and appreciation is a wonderful way to free up your spirit.  So I suggest to all wise magicians: If you are feeling the blahs and don't know how to act to bring good energy into your life, don't act right now.  Pause and open up to the glory and good that is around you.  When Joey, our dog, wanted to go out just before daybreak, I was a bit put out at first, but as I sat in my office chair, waiting for him to come back inside, I saw the eastern sky start to get some color.  I realized Joey had given me a gift.  I really do love to watch the sun rise.  But I almost missed it this morning.  Magic is all around us if we let it in.  May you be able to act to bring magic into you life.  May you be able to be to let magic into your life.  May the spark be with you.

Put a Dusting of Magic on Your "Shoulds"

Magic is doing things to bring goodness and joy into your life.  Sometimes these things are not so much fun.  We often hear that you mustn't "should" on yourself, as a way of saying that it is not good to stress yourself.  This seems to catch us between a rock and a hard place. It seems to me that the only solution is magic.  First you must shake your magic wand at the "shoulds" and decide which one of the pressing tasks will actually bring goodness into your life.  The ones that are on your list because you are trying to please some demon, like keeping up with the neighbors, put to one side.  Then sprinkle a dusting of magic on the tasks that are good for you to do.  This can be done in many ways.  Use as much playful imagination as you can.  Do a royal gesture as you dub the task with a royal name.  Raise your eyebrow and arch your back as you begin.  Or label the task as your mission of the the day.  Put a flag by the mountain of dishes you must do, like the flag explorers raise when they claim a new land for their queen.  Imagine that you have finished the task and a victorious fanfare is being played.  Whatever you do, do not let stress conquer you.  In the past you may have avoided certain tasks because it stressed you to deal with them.  Then that procrastination caused other problems which led to more stress.  Now that you are a wise magician you can find a way to go forth in glory.  Do as you will, even when you should.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Taking a Break

Please do not think I am being stuck on the same idea by posting about 'taking a break' right after suggesting 'taking a step back'.  I am sure there are similarities but taking a step back may keep the project or problem in view. Getting a different perspective is one of the reasons to 'take a step back'. However, at times you need to take a small but complete break from your efforts.  I recently read advice from someone else who suggest things like brushing your teeth to get your mind off things.  That seemed bizarre to me at first but made me realize the magic in taking a break.  I tend to really get into what I am trying to solve or create.  At times I come up against a wall of frustration.  I don't know what the next good step should be.  Then I tend to feel depressed.  If I had taken a break a bit sooner I might have been able to prevent the poisoning of my project with that sense of depression.  I guess that the saying "quit while you are ahead" has some validity.  You can 'un-quit' when you need to, but maintaining the sense of excitement that helps the project along is important. I suggest to all wise magicians that you take a break from time to time to recharge your batteries.  If the project is  a valid expression of who you are, you will come back to it when the time is right. Remember the basic axiom, magic is well formed.  We may agonize as we work to create our magic but it is also acceptable for the working of magic to be smooth and flowing.  Our minds love to create and will give us the ideas we need more easily when we get in the 'magic zone' rather than tying ourselves up in knots.  I suggest that we take a break before the knots get too bad.  I also suggest that when the knots are there that connecting to friends, or even acquaintances, and going over what we are grateful for are two ways we can 'take a break' from stress, if we didn't take the break while we were on a roll. So here is to the enjoyment and peacefulness that magic can bring.  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.

The Magic of Letting Go

The other day I was very ready to have something totally gone from my life. I thought about banishment for it. Then it occured to me that if I put in all the effort of banishment I would run the danger of still having ties to it. Then I considered 'releasing it". But that had other connations rather than just being gone and erased. At last I was able to simply put my hands, palm up, to the sky and bless it and let it go. I felt such a sense of freedom that I can't even recall, at the moment, what it was I let go.
When wise magicians work to manifest good things into their life they also let go. They put energy into letting it be known what it is they want and desire. Then they release it. They trust that it will come to them and get on with their life. They know that if they agitated and worried about their desire it could well push it further away from them. So bless and let go your troubles. Bless and let go your desires. Your troubles will stay away, or at least the anxiety you have been creating about them will be gone. Your desires will fly back to you on golden wings. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Assessment

It has been said 'You can't get where you are going until you know where you are.' This is true. It is important to take stock from time to time. Simple assessment is a tool to see what problems we have, what we want to get rid of and where we want to go. This is necessary in the magic working process. We do need to have a goal for working our spells. However, when we stop to do our assessment the wise magician will do more than focus on the problem or problems at hand. She or he will also focus on the joy, the glory and what they want to preserve or nurture in their life.
The way in which you approach your assessment is also important. Notice how you ask yourself the questions about what needs to change. The wise magician will look beyond the immediate irritation or fear to the most desired outcome. Assess what is currently the state of your life. Then admit to yourself what the glorious or magical life would be like. How would you express your loves? How would you express your gifts? What resources would you call on to grow into this magical life? If something is nagging at you or irritating you it may be a blessing in disguise. This is a chance to look at what you really want. You can admit to greater possibilities in you life. I am not advocating 'pie in the sky'. In reality we are all capable of doing a bit more than we do. We are also capable of accepting a bit more than we do. We receive blessings every day that we don't even realize have come to us. That is why it is a good thing to adopt the 'gratitude attitude'..to list daily the things for which we are grateful. So in a well formed magical assessment we can also assess the daily blessings and miracles we have coming our way. So look at your life. Assess it. Be thankful that you can clearly see the changes you want to make. Then reach out to the energy of the magic that surrounds you, for whatever help you need, and begin to work towards your goals. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Due Time or Proper Delay

When a spell is cast many expect immediate results. But that is not always the best way. You may have a goal in mind but you might not really be ready to be immersed in the fullness of achieving it. There must be a synchronization between what is wanted and what is achieved. A wise magician is willing for magic to be in the realm of the occult or hidden until the proper time for it to be manifest. We discover a purpose or goal. Then we work towards it. In doing so we grow, develop, even flower. Purposeful goals are much more than going to the grocery to buy a loaf of bread. They change us in due time. That is part of why 'instant wish gratification' has such a bad reputation. It deserves to be thought of as the less good way. Magic likes to be drawn out, to be appreciated. Magic also likes to reveal goals more fully as we become involved with achieving them. So if you have desires and wants, as we all do, add the extra zing that is magic by looking at these desires mindfully. Do you need clothing? You deserve well made, beautiful, magical clothing. Let magic help that clothing come to you in due time. Due time can arrive quickly or not so quickly. But it arrives as everything falls into place. So expect your needs and desires to be met. Work toward your goals. But I suggest that, as a wise magician, you set it up or expect to receive these benefits in due time. This is not greedy, grasping time. Nor is it always what you originally wanted. Sometimes it will be better. You deserve to have your needs met. I hope they will come to you 'in due time'. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Fathering

Traditionally the father is the figure that makes it safe for the child in the world and then helps the child transition to take his or her place in the world. Today is Father's Day, June 19, 2011. I think many would say that the world needs more fathers. Each wise magician can take on part of this task. What can you do to make the world safe for yourself or others? If you reflect on this concept many ideas are sure to occur, from politics, to social activities, to encouraging green living. Can you act as your own father and find a more nurturing life style for yourself? Or in acting as your own father, can you become more powerful in your world? Can you create situations in which you can act with more effect and power? Can you make your voice be heard in better ways? Reach out to the magic that surround you for wisdom and energy. Then invoke the father power in yourself, even if you are a woman. If you have decided to father yourself or someone else, take on the challenge of looking at the situation in which you or they live. What needs to be done to create a more effective member of the world? Knowledge, confidence and wisdom are character traits that can be nurtured and developed. Do your part for education, self-esteem and introspection. This can be a wonderful world. Be a wise magician and work your magic to make it so. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Organization

Some people may have trouble with this title. Let me explain why I chose it. I know that we often think of the right hemisphere as the magical side of the brain and that the left side is the logical or organizational side. However, both sides need to work together for true magic to happen. If you still don't like the term 'organization' what about 'making right'? Things need to be where we can find them and where they please us. We can find things if they are in neat piles. But for them to feel 'magical' there needs to be an aesthetic feel to the way things are stored. That's why baskets, shelves and containers are so often made to be pleasing. Don't organize, make things 'right'. So I probably should have titled this blog 'Organization and Magic'. What do you think? When you go to organize things let your magical self participate. Look to make things retrievable, pleasant, interesting and sensible as well as just out of the way. Put magic in all parts of your life. Put the zing, the charm, the rightness of how you arrange and create things. Food tastes better. Clothes are more fun to wear. Organize you life in such a way that it is a smooth and workable existence. Then you have more energy to also make it transcendent and meaningful. Put your style on things. That is your magic. May the spark be with you.

The Magic of the Circle

Many times we may come across, in our reading of fairy tales, the drawing of a circle by a wizard or sorcerer. How can we apply this ancient practice to our modern lives? Many ideas occur. When we look around us to see what we can show gratitude for or what we need to change we tend to cast our attention outward in a circle. Squares have unhandy corners for personal attention. When we say we are 'boxed' in we are not saying that in a good way. But when we are encircled it is usually by a family's love or by our successes. One of the magical things we can bring into our life is a good circle of friends. These friends will support us, guide us, enlighten us and entertain us. Sometimes two people can be in dialog and the communication is so rich that it feels like being in a magic circle. Another use of the circle is to mark what is within and without the circle. You may have a lot of stressful things on your mind. Draw a circle to decide which of those things are allowed to have your attention and effort and which must be relegated to some other time or place or even the land of never never. When you are trying to solve a problem you can visualize yourself circling around it, looking for the weak (parts you can easily do) parts of your opponent. Like a predator you can circle around, taking out a chunk here and there until the problem is totally at your mercy. There are all kinds of uses for the idea of the circle. Magic encircles you. Reach out to that energy to improve your life. May the spark be with you.

When Magic Seems Fleeting

At times the magic we create or experience seems to leave us too quickly. Or a brilliant solution to a problems fades away before we really can grasp it. It is important at these times to not tighten up. Don't lose faith that magic is always there. Most of the time the desired idea will come back to you if you will become very calm and simply wait for it. If it doesn't come in due time, call up another idea. The energy of magic is always there to be tapped into. If one thing doesn't work, something else will. Perhaps the first idea was not what you really needed. There are some strategies used in brain storming sessions in business that you can use. Try turning the problem or current idea around or over or upside down. Try linking two very different products or ideas together. Try looking at the opposite of the idea. Try supposing that the idea you liked is really a bad idea and that if you use it there will be dire results. The more you free up your mind to play, the more you will achieve magical results. Magic may be fleeting at times. But it is also a constant in life. Play with it. Enjoy it. Let it help you. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Modeling

Magic is often brought in to our life to dress up the small things. But sometimes we need to make a really big change. We need to think and act on a grand scale. That is not easy for everybody. I, myself, fight shyness at times. But I do know that the field of Neurolingistic Programing has a lot to offer about learning new things. They talk about modeling as a good way to learn. Modeling is one way to pick up new behaviors and knowledge. You find another person who knows what you need to know and you copy what they do, basically. Some of the people in my writer's group are much better at reaching out to publishers than I am. But being around them has broken down some of my barriers. Parents know the importance of modeling, they see the way their children copy them. But adults can also learn from modeling. Don't be afraid to use this technique to work magic in your life. Find a way to be around people that have the success you want to have and before you know it, you will be learning from them without even much of a struggle. That might be why television and movies are so popular. People like to see new ways of doing things, perhaps things they would like to do. So, go ahead and dream or think on a grand scale. Then if the new ideas call to you reach out for them you will find many ways of working towards these new goals. Modeling could very well be one of your strategies. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Suspending Judgement

I last posted about the magic of patience. Suspending judgement is similar but different. Patience is necessary when you have a goal in mind but haven't achieved it or received it. Suspension of judgement can be useful at any time. It is the refusal to overreact. We have a part of our brain called the amygdala. It is part of the brain stem. It sends out fear signals to keep us alert. But not all those signals are valid warnings. We need to get in the habit of monitoring our thoughts so we can encourage the creative and productive ones. When the overly judgmental or fear induced thoughts come at us we can suspend judgment long enough to see if we want to accept them. Magic will not work is we have judged that it will not. Magic is mysterious and wonderful. But if we fear that part of our mind, the right brain, it will not be easy to manifest the blessing of magic in our life. Perhaps the people you see that you have judged as rejects are simply having a bad day and are really wonderful. Perhaps the suggestion someone has given you is the ideal solution to one of your problems and you didn't give it a chance. Do not go about your day rushing to judgement. It will deprive you of some of the glory, joy and magic you deserve. One of the problems of being judgmental is that you will tend to give up on solving problems, or doing magic, too easily. So reach out to the magic that surrounds you, with full acceptance of its glory and your power, and bring something good into your life. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Patience

To have patience you must be able to believe in a positive outcome. Since the wise magician has a mindset that they will bring about a positive outcome it would seem that patience is natural to the wise magician. But just in case you are as human as everybody else I will help you examine a few things you might consider about patience. The first thing, of course, is the ability to put aside the needless fears that want to intrude. Fear, in many forms, likes to sneak in where ever it can. If you run from it it gets stronger. Challenge it. If you are getting tired that might be one of the forms fear has taken. Procrastination, getting fog headed, having an urge to be distracted, getting with people who will discourage you from working towards your goals are all manifestations of fear. Sometimes all you fear is change. Even so the smallest fear can hold you back. A second thing about patience is to fill the time purposefully. If you are waiting for Christmas it might be well to buy presents, wrap them and send out cards. Prepare for the achievement of the desire. A third thing you can do to help yourself with the development of patience is to make the goal seem more real. Do affirmations, visualizations and plans for how you will enjoy what you are manifesting for yourself. A fourth thing that will help you have patience is to break up the time into chunks. It is easier to get through a day than a week. After you have patiently passed one day you can then take on another. Fifth, be creative about your waiting. Find ways to make games of it, or find humor to help you pass the time. Creativity is a special realm of magic. So reach out to the magic that surrounds you and accpt that good things will come to you. May the spark be with you.

The Importance of Gratitude To The Wise Magician

Learning takes a while to process. If we have created something wonderful it will take a while to understand that it is truly in our life and to know how we drew it there. If emotion is connected with a learning that learning is more powerful, complete and long lasting. Gratitude is a strong and positive emotion. Therefore, it would be good to practice gratitude constantly. Connect that feeling with your awareness of what has just manifested. As you practice gratitude for life's goodness you will see more and more of it manifest. You inner self has drawn all that to you. Even if you don't consciously know how these things came to be, your inner self does and the emotion of gratitude will help it remember how to do so again. Sometimes we only play lip service to gratitude. But it is better to actually let a warm strong feeling bathe you. Even, if you want to, give a good strong exclamation as you accept the gift you have been given. Be grateful for the gift and for the ability to draw it to you. Magic is experiential. What you think about is what you will experience. If you focus on your blessings you will have less time to create fears.
Reach out to the realm of magic that surrounds you and bring goodness into your life then lock that goodness by feeling gratitude. May the spark be with you.

Magic Likes To Be Drawn Out

Magic is often referred to as the study of the occult, or hidden. By being occult magic is less likely to be tarnished. If you desire to have some magic in your life you must be willing to call it forth and/or appreciate it when it comes, or is manifest. Every morning there is a beautiful sunrise that can be seen out my office door. But if I don't bother to see it it is not in my life. It is the same with friendships you don't nurture and goals you don't try to achieve. If you want those special things in your life you must make a home for them. The wise magician believes in possibilities and opens doors. But too many people fail to open their hands and hearts to receive. They say that good couldn't happen to them, that good doesn't exist, or that it is too much trouble to work for it. How foolish. Once magic starts to be drawn to you there is a power that continues that draw. This is not the exact quote from Goethe but he says, "If you can think a thing begin it, for effort has a magic and power in it." Do reach out for the little bit of extra zing that will make your life better. You deserve it and it wants to come to you.
Be clear about what you want and draw it to you. Ask for it, work for it, make a home for it. Goodness will come your way. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of The Soul

Soul is a term that means different things to different people. So I must start off by telling you what soul means to me. It is that part of your inner self that is always trying to guide you to something transcendent, something better. Once, a long time ago, I sampled a certain substance. I thought to myself, "How smart this makes me feel." It was my soul that came on strong and gave me the thought, "But I am smart. I don't need something else to make me feel that way." I was never tempted to try anything like that again. The inner strength that our ancestors showed in coming to America, crossing the plains, building railroads and cities was not easy. It demanded a lot of inner resources, of faith in their ability to solve problems. There is magic in turning to yourself and your community to solve problems. They get solved. Whether the problem is a matter to be dealt with on a personal, community or national level the wise magician believes that a good outcome is possible and should be searched out. We have to option of operating from love or fear. If we love our fellow man we will try to help them. If we fear them we will try to protect ourselves from them and control them. Money is often used to influence fear based outcomes, as in when large sums are thrown into the political arena to give certain groups power (and tax breaks). If you become aware of your inner resources you are more able to stop running around mindlessly and begin to build a satisfying and purposeful life. Every one has strong resources. Not everyone knows that or has learned how to use them. The field of magic that surrounds you is there to help you discover and use your resources. Reach out. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Faith

Faith that things will work out as wanted is essential to the wise magician. You must first become clear about your desire or will. Then you take action to cause the results you want. If you lack faith you will fail to follow through or you will get in the way of the success you have coming by over-correcting or changing your mind too often. Often a feeling of insecurity or unworthiness will interfere with having the necessary faith to work towards a goal, or to wait for the results that are trying to come to you. At times like that you may have to experiment with your attitudes. Perhaps you can say "even though I may not deserve these good results, I do believe in magic and I will wait to see what happens. If I have been thorough in my attempts to cause good results and have had nothing come to me, I am free to try something else." You have to do what you can to keep those sabotaging fears out of the way. If you can't have faith in yourself, try having faith in magic. It surrounds you and you have seen flashes of it in your life from time to time. Have faith that you can bring about what you want one more time at least. A component of faith is the willingness to let the needed time pass that it will take for your desires to manifest. Patience and faith go hand in hand. Because we have the capacity to be happy it must mean that we are meant to have happiness. So call the good life to you. Become clear about what you want, believe that you can cause it, take action then have faith. May the spark be with you.