The Magic Of Facing The Niggles

We are told that we should be introspective. I suspect that could have a bunch of pitfalls. For one thing it is easy to focus on yourself when you are feeling insecure. It is easy for the self-talk to become a litany of our faults and failures. I can imagine someone sitting down to have some time of introspection and falling into a situation of 'paralysis by analysis', as well. But since magic sometimes comes to us in small delightful ways I suggest we not worry about being "introspective" as such. I suggest we just go about our daily lives in trust that magic is there for us in many ways. One way that the field of magic helps us is that we have small niggling thoughts about some situation we should face. Before the situation is a potential disaster the niggling thoughts come to us. That is the time to stop and confront them. Maybe we have almost noticed that our clothes are fitting a bit more tightly. Just a niggling little thought. If we spend all the energy it takes to ignore that niggle, if we go into denial, we will be moving towards a worsening of the situation. But if we become courageous enough to weigh or measure ourselves we have a good chance of getting on top of the situation before it gets out of hand. Then we have the good feeling that we did something good for ourselves, as well as the benefit of dealing with a potential problem before it became a big problem in reality. Or a bigger one. Niggles are hunches with a difference. Hunches can be one time things. Niggles will keep at us until we crack one way or another. So I suggest to all wise magicians that you name your niggles and treat them like the friends they are. May the spark be with you.

The Magic of the Alligator List

Life is not easy but we are equipped with many resources to help us survive and even live well. The fact that our brain is divided into different parts is one of those resources. We have the reptilian brain which sends us alerts to danger. Then we have the higher parts of the brain which can question and judge those alerts and make decisions as to how we should act on them, or if they should be ignored. However, it is easy to became like ostriches, putting our heads in the sand, and ignore danger. This is especially true if we think the danger is not an immediate threat. We tend to suppress the shadow side of our personalities, the part that admits problems are a big part of life. The fear and worry is just too much to deal with on a constant basis so we deny and suppress. But our inner wise magician has a way to get around that denial. It sends us dreams and humor so we will look to our own safety and well being. If we can look at things with the bit of comfort that dreams, humor or enchantment brings we are more able to put the paralysis of fear away from us and use reason to solve or deal with problems and danger before they are overwhelming. That is the magic. We are cushioned from fear and danger so we can deal with it without being paralyzed by it. For me, the alligator list is such a way of looking ahead to see what I have to face and deal with. I probably need to explain: People often refer to "the elephant or the gorilla in the room" to mean a situation that is being avoided and denied. However it does seem that the gorilla sits there and no one really deals with him. I decided to actually make do lists I call my alligator list so I would have some urgency about it. Alligators seem more dangerous that gorillas. On the list are things I had better deal with, or else I will be in trouble. I am using the cushion of humor when I do this. When I was teaching in Arizona, one day there was a cartoon in the teacher's lounge of a person standing among a lot of aggressive alligators in a pond. The caption was "It's hard to realize that your original intention was to drain the swamp when you are up to your a** in alligators." In such a case you do have to deal with the alligators, the most dangerous one first, before you can get about your original intention, or purpose. Accepting the urgency of certain things before they have overwhelmed you is the action of a wise magician. I am working to develop habits of a much more active lifestyle, both for health and to become more proactive in other ways. I know that if I don't do this the results could be very bad for me. So I suggest to all wise magicians that you find a place of comfort and look to your crystal ball. Gently muse on what you can do to make your life more magical and better. Do you have fees you can avoid by paying bills on time? Do you have health problems you can avoid by changes in life style? Do you have opportunities knocking at your door that you will regret ignoring? Stand out of the pond, bring some enchantment to your awareness and act to bring yourself a better life. May the spark be with you.

The Magic of The Dream

About eight months ago I began to seriously work towards something I had been saying I wanted to do for a couple of years. At first I didn't even have a clear concept of what I wanted to do. It was all a fog. I was just telling people I had to increase my income and my main resource was my ability with words. That was very unspecific. But I followed the dream in as many ways as I could. Over time things began to become more and more clear. I trusted that the dream was out there and would become clear in time. In the last month things have been manifesting to show me that I am on the right path. I finally began receiving paychecks as a tutor. Yesterday I received a certificate as a Life Coach. I will talk with the director of Colorado Free University in a couple of days about teaching a writing class there next Spring. I have the beginnings of a website Wordmaeven.com. In time my new life of living my dream will be full fledged. I managed to walk through the rocky fields of all the "shoulds" and realize that the "words" I wanted to push were whatever would bring magic into people's lives. Someone suggested that I offer stress management help to people. I came to understand that I would rather embrace stress, use it as a catalyst for something creative and then transcend it. I didn't want to 'manage' it or tell anyone else so to do. I am glad that even though I was in a cloud of ignorance, doubt and fear, I just kept on keeping on. I somehow knew that my inner wise magician would help me find the way. Then things started to come to me. Many opportunities seemed to appear. I don't expect it to be easy. But I do expect that the path is there to follow and that I can follow it, with the help of the field of magic that surrounds me. I suggest that following your dream or your bliss is a lot more real and possible that many people realize. I suggest that all wise magicians look to their dream, or dreams, and walk forth with majesty. May the spark be with you.

The Magic Of Reception

When a person is welcomed or received into a group or a family there can be a bit of magic at work. If the reception is done well, done magically, the new member becomes a wonderful part of the group and makes the group better. A sort of synergy develops. But if the acknowledgement of the new comer is hesitant or alienating all kinds of problems can develop. An example is the way immigrants were encouraged to come to America before we were a nation. All the colonists were immigrants and without their values and energy our nation would never have happened. But today, if someone mentions immigrants there is often the unspoken questions about how they will fit into our society and whether they are legal or not. So consider how you welcome your children, your workers, your clients, your new members of your group. Do you empower them? Do you recognize how much they offer and that they possess an inner genius? Do you see them as a chance to help you grow and become more than you were? This is the magical way to receive. Blessings abound and it is wise to be open to those blessings. One way to welcome people, or even events, is to get to know the background from which they come. Be open to the stories. Share stories and become more human to each other. That can bring understanding and transcendence of strangeness. In the field of magic we are all equal and of value. So I suggest to all wise magicians that they look to what it is propitious to welcome into your life. By so doing you will also welcome blessings. May the spark be with you.

The Signs Of Magic

I have seen many videos and read articles about the Law Of Attraction. The essence of all these messages have been that the Universe will meet our desires if we are in tune and will make our desires known. This idea also can be gleaned from the Bible, and from Buddhism. I was once given a card with the words, nam myo ho renge kyo, on it. I was told that if I would chant this I would be putting myself in alignment so that the blessings that were meant for me would be able to come to me. I tried this for years and often amazingly good luck would happen to me. I think magic also works this way but it also works when you are not yet clear enough to make your desires known. Nor is magic about getting, as people sometimes fall into. It is good to have our desires met but not to approach it from a sense of poverty or need. I believe that trust and acceptance are part of being "in tune". Sometimes you will have something happen and realize that it was actually a stroke of luck because it cleared the way for other good things to fall into place.At times like that you didn't even know what to ask for, so you weren't asking, just being a bit dull or edgy. But then the magic happens and you recognize it. No matter what you like to call it, Magic, The Hand of God, The Law of Attraction, Providence, or Luck there is one thing all these have in common: It feels good. The sense of being at peace, at home, freedom or joy that comes when a problem is solved or a door is opened is one of the signs that magic has worked. Sometimes the magic is simply a more clear understanding of what you are trying to figure out. This happened to me recently. I am trying to craft and start a business (Wordmaeven) that will be public speaking, teaching, coaching. I was developing a marketing plan and deciding to whom I would reach out. Something wasn't right but I didn't know what. I asked for the spark of magic to guide me. When I realized that what I was doing would be boring to me I was able to redirect, change labels, names etc. Suddenly I felt happier and more excited about what I was doing. Rather that help people write their memoirs I realized that I wanted to help people CELEBRATE their life as part of what I was doing. So now, I call out to all wise magicians, celebrate your life. Recognize when magic comes. May the spark be with you.

The Magic of 'Beyond'

Many times in life all we can reach is that which is "good enough". But once in a while we can go beyond good enough to excellence, joy or transcendence. When a runner pushes beyond the resistance of aches and fatigue there comes the 'runner's high' which is the reward for going 'beyond'. I believe nature or the universe is set up so that "beyond" is highly rewarded. I also believe that if we never go into that higher state we will be punished. The steps we go through in our experience of a situation can be set out this way: Healing(this may just be from minor things such as boredom or it may be trauma), stability, success, celebration. As we adjust to each stage we eventually develop a drive to go on to the next stage. You may have heard of Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Human Needs. He points out that if our basic needs for safety, food, etc are not being met or are endangered it is very hard to focus on higher needs like planning for the future or creating a good society. So much of our ability to go "beyond" is influenced by our perceptions. If we believe we are in danger it is hard to push beyond our fear to get to a place of joy. But once we know how to gain safety for ourselves and know that not all fears are reasonable we are better able to go into a higher realm of experience. Pain and fear may actually be stimuli that help us reach out towards joy and transcendence. They are strong feelings and make us think about the need for change. But what do we do about 'the ordinary', about boredom, about constantly being in the mundane world? I believe that the wise magician will train himself or herself to notice when things are too gray. We can then challenge ourselves to go beyond that. We can reach out into the field of magic that surrounds us on a regular basis. We can reach out for excellence, for joy, happiness and great change. If you habitually ask yourself if you can go beyond where you are at the present it will do much to create a magical life. Give more, love more, do more. 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.