The Magic of Basic Things

There are two neuroscientists, Drs. Tanzai and Chopra, who are writing and speaking to us a lot lately about mindfulness.  They teach the importance of meditation, among other things.  It is amazing but when you get right down to it, what they are teaching is just the basic thing of being still and breathing.  There are many times in life when it is important to make sure the little basic things are right.  Like closing the door against the cold.  Like making sure your car is in the right gear.  Like making sure your have shoes on before you go out in the snow.  It seems that a lot of magic can be drawn to us by simply looking at and focusing on what is right in front of our face.  In fact, the panic we feel when we are in need of flow and zing, or magic, often comes from having our focus split off in unproductive ways.  So I say to all wise magicians out there, look for the basic and simple.  Endow it with magic and see if joy doesn't come to you. The simple technique of taking a good fact and giving it a good feeling which you then internalize is one way of doing this.  As I write this I can look out at the sunrise that is just starting.  Just a basic everyday thing.  But so profound and wonderful.  Allow awareness of basic things to come to you and enjoy the magic that will come with this awareness.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of I Will

I am. I can. I will. The time will come for a wise magician when he comes out of the fog and confusion induced by fearfulness and he is ready to go forward with a purposeful life. Then it is easy to say 'I will." and work for worthy goals. These goals will have integrity and not be full of wishes to put down other groups or people or to deny anything to anybody. The question is how to arrive at that state of clarity. A lot of soul searching is probably the key. Knowing what you value and want to have in your ideal world tells you what is worth working for. You can go back over your life and look at patterns, successes and failures. You may find that what you thought of as failures were really valuable learning situations. When your stomach loosens up and your heart feels at peace you have discovered what you need to know to start on this journey. If you can not yet articulate it try talking with different friends. That will help to make your goal a little more well-formed. Being true to yourself and following your bliss are not different things. Sometimes people think of 'following your bliss' as a way to become wealthy and can't seem to find the right connection to get on that path. Wealth is a relative term. Money is necessary and nice but feeling at peace and true to oneself is greater than mere wealth. So reach out to discover your deeper self. That will bring the realm of magic forward to help you. May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Work and Play

Both work and play are mindful, purposeful activities. Or should be. When you engage in either you are in the present and being an important part of your community. Both can bring joy and satisfaction. You are engaged in making your will manifest. But when you are letting your mind dance around like a sick grasshopper, clutching at pleasure that isn't there or adding needless worries or resentments to your imagination you are neither at work or play. You are nowhere, in the dark limbo of self-caused pain. To get away from the 'grasshopper' mind is not easy for some.
But it is needed. Some of the things that will trigger the 'grasshopper mind' is letting yourself consider questions that are worded wrong. Such as 'What is the purpose of life?' Well--life tries to keep living. As to 'purpose' one would better ask, 'What purpose do I give to my life?'
Do you see the difference? At times work may be hard to find in the conventional sense. We hear constantly about the unemployment rate. That kind of work is the kind where you want somebody to tell you what to do. Even if you don't have a conventional job you can find purposeful activities. Don't sit around and let worries and dark thoughts eat at your mind. If you have worries make it your job to face them and deal with them. It can be done. You may have to get a little help from your friends. There we come back to play. Play is wonderful and gains friends for you. So make your life magical for yourself by putting as much work and play into it as will fit. May the spark be with you.