The Magic Of Story

The wisdom of the past handed down to us about magic was done in the form or fairy tales or folk lore. Now days we might mistakenly believe that the purpose of such tales is for entertainment. Story by its very nature is much more than entertainment. But in order for us to understand the message it is well that it does entertain. Story is more than just a collection of events or facts. It is a telling of a problem, need or desire that needs to be solved or met. Then the person or people involved with that problem has to solve it. This is not done easily. There has to be some creativity and struggle involved. When the solution is reached life is better. It is not a story to say, "I was low on milk so I went to the store and bought some". The basic change in that narrative is the amount of milk before and after. But in a story there is change of circumstance and personality. If you realize that you need to go on a hero's quest and become the hero of your own life it will be easier if you can frame it in the shape of a story. A story has a beginning (a situation that needs to be changed) a middle (attempts to make the change with harder and harder obstacles cropping up) and then the hero or group manages to make the needed changes and the story comes to a satisfying end. To tell your own story do more than look at the need for change. Look at the reasons why the uncomfortable situation developed, the things that make change difficult. Also look for the ways help comes from outside. That is from the magic that surrounds you. Happy stories are ones where there is greater love and or satisfaction when the needed struggles have been undergone. Try to write a happy story for your self. Love and appreciate yourself for being willing to undertake the needed struggle. Become your own hero. May the spark be with you.

Why Flying Is Part Of Magic

To work magic we need to be able to imagine flight. Fairies and angels have wings. Think of all the times the idea of flight is mentioned when we talk about achieving our goals. We want our projects to take off. We want to transcend our problems. We want to fly by the seat of our pants when we talk about letting our intuition guide us. Flight can also be frightening as can success. In our past we may have been punished or discouraged from being experimental, successful, or showing our great gifts. They say that fear of falling is a basic fear. Sometimes we succeed at something in our dreams but old blockages come up and we dream of falling. I suggest that you use the imagery of flying to open up your mind to freedom from blockages and to new ideas. Let me guide you in this imagery. Get comfortable. Think of a small area in your life you would like to change. If this brings discomfort let your beautiful wings grow and fly above this area. Now soar a bit just for the joy of soaring. When you are ready you can fly near the place you placed your problem. Look at it, listen to it, wave a wing at it. Check it out from many different angles. If any ideas occur to you accept them. Is that truly a problem or does it fit in a bigger or different context? Do you need to simply pick it up and fly with it to a canyon and throw it away? By being able to look at this "problem" in different ways, including from a great distance, you may have lessened the feeling of pressure you had about it before. While you were soaring near the heavens you may have also seen other resources you could use to help you. Let your imagination take flight until you have discovered or invented several good solutions. Then choose the best and try it. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Counter Spells-Part Two

You may be developing, or have developed, skills at blocking the negative feelings that well up inside you to zap your energy and self esteem. I wrote about the power of 'tapping' on meridians or acupressure points to help with this. These feelings are often there because of wounds from the past. It is also good to develop skill at preventing those cutting words from impacting you in the present. Some people use anger and defensive methods to stop people from spouting their anti-magic, such as shouting them down or saying 'talk to the hand'. I would like to suggest a couple of other techniques, derailing and fogging. Fogging is when you fog up the speaker's thinking by confusing them. One example is to show that you don't take their 'stuff' seriously by looking at them and saying, 'You may be right'. When they can't get a raise out of you it takes the air out of their sails. Example: 'You will never be any good,' 'You may be right'. There really is nothing they can say and you can just walk away. Derailing also messes with the other person's thinking but in a more subtle way. People tend to operate in certain sensory modalities. A visual person will speak and think visually: I see how we should do this, I view this as something we should see eye to eye on. An aural person will speak in terms of hearing or sound. A kinesthetic person will operate in terms of feeling or movement. If you can do something to derail them or switch their channel while they are running on with the hurts or insults they will lose their train of thought. A common derailing movement is to wave your hands quickly in front of their eyes. Once I was a waitress at a hotel dining room where many of the patrons wanted to tell me things, not necessarily important things, at great length. I found that if I waved my hand in front of their eyes as I served them or took away their plate they would stop talking for a minute and I could move away to serve the next patron. They would be lost in the past and my hand movement, in the present time, broke their train of thought. Many times parents manage to stop a toddler's tantrums by a quick smile and hug. The surprise and switch is very effective. Distractions can be a very effective counter-spell. So if you have people in your life who are throwing barbs and arrows at you find ways to deal with it. You are too precious to be wounded. Strengthen your armor of self esteem and self love. Then find ways to keep the barbs from piercing you. You don't need to react with insults or anger. That can back fire on you. Find counter spells like a smile, a hug, fogging or derailing and use them wisely. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Counter Spells- Part One

A lot of adults have a good time watching Harry Potter movies so you may have noticed that each year Hogwarts school must have a teacher who instructs in 'Defense Against The Dark Arts'. In these classes the students are taught about counter spells to protect themselves from evil. In our own life there will be times when dark things, (anti-magic) such as stress, hopelessness and insults come at us. Counter spells to block or shield us are good tools to have. Sometimes we find ourselves telling someone "Don't go there." or putting up a hand or finger to stop them. But that doesn't always work. We need to have more than one 'interrupter' to use. Not only must we be able to interrupt the darkness that comes from without we must also be able to interrupt the darkness that comes from within. Today's post will focus on a counter spell that interrupts the darkness that wells up from within. Bad habits, dark moods and pain can be interrupted by a simple technique known as tapping. I have mentioned this before but I will go into more detail here. There are certain points or meridians that correspond to the ancient Chinese medicine points of acupressure. The ones most often mentioned in lessons about 'tapping' are: on the top front of the head, the inner point of the eyebrows,just under the nose,just under the lower lip, the outside of the hand, on the bone just under the middle of the eye, at the base of the throat on the collarbone, just inside the shoulder bone joint where it connects to the front ribs. There are other acupressure points and they can also be effective. At times I have had to interrupt dark moods or deep pain within myself and I have found it to be effective to tap on any point of the body that seems to call out. Tapping is what it sounds like, a tapping with the fingers. Usually you will find you are using the middle two fingers of either hand. As you tap you will speak a 'spell' something like this: 'Even though I have this problem (you can state the problem) I accept myself totally'. In cases of dealing with pain I have found it helpful to chant, 'even though I have this pain I accept healing'. As you work to make your life better you may have to push away or interrupt the bad. Reach out to the magic that surrounds you and learn how to do this. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of The Quest

If you have read fairy tales and such stories about magic you will have noticed that these stories tell about the hero going on a quest. In real life we also need to take on a life quest. Sadly many fail to do this adequately. We manage to meet many of our needs but get caught up in fear and seeking safety and don't move towards becoming our own hero. The hero takes on a quest and, as a result of this quest, grows and is able to contribute to the community. The wise magician will realize that failure to take on the hero's quest has a great cost. The failed hero doesn't meet his potential and the community doesn't get the benefits the hero would have brought back to them. When we are stuck in the failure to go on the quest we often move into addictions and other problems as we try to deal with the nagging awareness that we are failing ourselves. How can we identify our true quest and step up to this wonderful journey? One way to get an idea about it is to look at the talents and interests that we have let fall by the wayside. The soul speaks out through our creativity. If the old interests were meant to fall away new ones came to take their place. The soul never rests. It always has something to say. If you reach out for strength and energy to the magic that surrounds you there will be help for your quest. Magic will help you find ways to move forward. You need to stop spinning your wheels. Being stuck at the start of your journey has us running back and forth across the road like a chicken. We will try different moods and actions to stay stuck, swinging from (perhaps) depression to anger, or from brilliance to dependency. Only when we count the cost of staying stuck at the starting line will we realize the need of claiming our quest. But each person has a hero inside. Let your hero out. Chose your quest. You may have to travel along part of the road making discoveries to truly understand your gift. Don't hold back. You are special. Take some steps towards your quest. It will open up to you. The first step is to stop running back and forth across the road, going nowhere. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Conversation: Dialogue, Give and Take, Rock And Roll

Magic is that which is used to bring forth truth from the occult, or the hidden. Sometimes that truth has to be teased out by a series of back and forth sorties or runs. It is common for a relationship to have misunderstandings that get cleared up over time when the people engage in give and take, when questions are asked and answers are searched for. I often share experiences I have in my struggles to be a writer. I have been working on a book about a modern day teen boy. I had hit a snag and put the work away for several weeks. Yesterday I decided to have an imaginary conversation with him. The dialogue that ensued between me and my imaginary character actually worked some magic for my novel. I came to understand his character better and some plot points I had been struggling with fell into place. I couldn't figure out the plot very well before and now I have a good outline of it. When I approached my hero as if I really wanted to understand him magic happened. A deep conversation between two people or principles has to be between equals. The give and take cannot be between one side of power and the other side of weakness. Sometimes we have to have a conversation like that with ourselves, as well. We may be exhibiting a behavior that we don't like. Or have a problem that seems insurmountable. If we talk it over with ourselves with understanding the way will open up for needed changes and a gain in self-love. Equals shape and learn from each other. The worlds of the sacred and the mundane are not separate. If you have changes you need to make talk it over with yourself. Reach out to the magic that surrounds you for the energy to do this. You will be surprised at what will open up for you. Your life with rock and roll. May the spark be with you.

Magic Basics-Part Three- Focus on Function

Wands(any tool you use such as your mind) and spells(actions to focus the use of your wands) are meant to make changes for the better. If they are misused the result can range from nothing to disaster. It is important to be clear about the purpose of any tool. Leaders are meant to lead. Yet we sometimes elect people to be admired or receive attention and they make poor leaders. Shovels are meant to dig. Guns are meant to shoot bullets at a specific target. Food is meant to satisfy and nourish life. The substances we ingest that fatten us and bring ill health should not be considered food. If you do something or make something that you want to use to bring about a certain result it is wise to think about how that thing is likely to function. A letter that is meant to bring closeness will not function for that purpose very well if it is full of insults and confusion. Many times we need to create a tool or ritual to burn off our anger, disappointment or regret before we move towards the result we want. Anti-magic (what some call black magic) is caught up with the negative emotions, with lashing out. Negative emotions have a purpose. Their purpose is to alert us to the need for a change. They don't need to cloud our judgment or make us mis-cast our spells. Love binds people to us. Manipulation does not. When we are strong and sure is is easy to give out to the world our songs, our spells of goodness, our joy. Then we will receive magical benefits in return. Cause the changes you need in your life by using your wands and casting your spells as they are meant to be used. May the spark be with you.