Magic | Thoughts on the Way

The magic is all around you..

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For me, magic is the otherworldliness that runs through the Universe, the sense that anything could happen, the sense that if we peel back the layers of the ordinary, we will discover something truly miraculous at the core of existence. At one level, it is completely alien, supernatural, out of the ordinary, unbelievable. And at another, truer, level, it is absolute normality… the miraculous is simply ‘how things are’.

The more we explore the universe, the weirder things get, the stranger, the more amazing…

Did you know that if two electrons occupy the same space they become entangled… and if you separate them, by many many miles, a change in one affects the other? Did you know that if you cool something down to absolute zero, the point at which nothing moves, there is still a mysterious energy, the zero point field, that seems to be everywhere and nowhere – at the same time? Did you know that some scientific experiments at the quantum level change depending on what the experimenter expects to happen?

There are strange and remarkable things in this world, and for me the more I expect the miraculous, the more I expect to be surprised by this wonderful and amazing planet, this strange and beautiful universe. Albert Einstein himself said:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The more I look for miracles, for coincidence, for things to happen that I did not expect… the more they do. The more I relax into trusting that everything is going to be OK – then the more I find that it is. The more I simply let go and stop forcing things… the more delightful and wonderful and unexpected beauty appears in my life. The more I am thankful for the miracles that I already have… the more miracles happen.

The more aware we become, the more we learn to listen, the more we pay attention to the miracle in every moment, the more grateful for each and every single moment, the more we see the magic in a raindrop, in a spider’s web, in a child’s hand, in a touch, in a kiss, in a cloud scudding across the sky.. then the more magic rushes to meet us.

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Humour and stuff Magic

The time is NOW….

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One of my favourite quotes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is found in ‘The Thief of Time’. It explains . .

“The first words read by seekers of enlightenment in the secret, gong-banging, yeti-haunted valleys near the hub of the world are read when they look into the Life of Wen the Eternally Surprised. The first question they ask is: “Why was he eternally surprised?”

And they are told: “Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, re-created anew. Therefore, he understood, there is, in truth, no Past, only a memory of the Past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.”

Sometimes we forget, as human beings, that the only moment that we can really enjoy is NOW. NOW is the only thing that really exists. The past is simply a patchwork of recollections, increasingly dimmed by the passing of time. The future is an assembly of conjectures, hypotheses, projections, hopes and fears. All we really have that we can do anything with… is NOW.

And NOW is the only point at which we have power. It is the fulcrum on which the earth moves, on which the lever pivots. The past has happened. Get over it. The future is yet to be. Look forward to it, but do not depend on it.

Immerse yourself in it. Enjoy it. Use it. Savour every single moment of it. Be surprised. Be delighted. Because NOW is the only place that you really exist.

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Destiny Dreams Magic Potential

It’s Stardust….

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Sometimes, someone says something that’s worth reflecting on. Author Neil Gaiman often says something that’s worth reflecting on. Neil is the author of lots of wonderful books, including Stardust and American Gods, as well as the amazingly evocative, spooky and thoughtful Sandman comic books.

I’m particularly fond of The Graveyard Book (from which todays quote comes – this may in fact be my favourite quote ever) and I also loved his address to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.. worth reading the whole thing.. but here’s what I took away from it…

First of all: When you start out you have no idea what you are doing. Don’t let that be an excuse for not starting. As Morpheus observed of Neo in ‘The Matrix’:

“Everyone falls the first time. If you never know failure, how can you know success?”

But get going. Make things happen. Some of them will work. Do more of that. Some of them won’t. Learn from those.

Secondly, If you have an idea of what you want to achieve, what you were put here to do, then just go and do that. Don’t deny the call in your soul. Don’t say ‘I couldn’t possibly do that’ or ‘no-one can make money from that’. You’re going to be miserable unless you give free reign to the call of your inner truth.

Thirdly, you’re going to have to deal with the problems of failure. Get used to it. Even when you’ve got experience, you’re going to fail sometimes. But now they’re not beginner’s error. They are real up front slap bang ‘should have known better’ and ‘I feel stupid’ failures. Deal with it. Dust off your pride. Move on.

Fourthly, I hope you’ll make mistakes. Welcome them. Value them. Learn from them. Use them. Remember Post It Notes? That came out of a project that was a huge failure. They invented an apparently useless non stick sticky glue. Yet someone saw the possibility of a non-sticky glue and made 3m a fortune. The history books are littered with things that worked out but that started out in abject failure. Take heart. Sometimes your failures are your greatest successes.

Fifthly, while you are at it, do your thing. Do the stuff that only you can do. We don’t want another version of someone else. We want you. YOU. Uniquely, wonderfully, powerfully you. Only you can bring your unique gift to the party – and the universe is waiting with bated breath for you to do it.

Sixthly. Stuff happens. Serendipity brings things together. Surprises will surprise you. Watch out for them. There is a huge amount of magic going on in the world. I agree with whoever said

“A coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous”

Pay attention. That song, that movie, that poster, that person you sit next to on the bus, the world is full of coincidences. Learn to spot them.

Seventhly. Make up your own rules. You think there’s a rule book for life. You think there’s some cosmic Santa Claus checking his list? As Neale Donald Walsch records God as saying to him in “Conversations with God”

“There’s only what works and what doesn’t, given what you are trying to achieve”

The greatest things that got done got done by people who decided to ignore the rule book and do it differently. I love this from DiscWorld:

Tiffany: “I thought there were rules?”

Granny Weatherwax “Oh? Really? Did you sign anything? Did you take any kind of oath? No? Then they weren’t your rules.”

The last word goes to Neil:

“And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes.

Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.”

For Neil’s full address to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia – go HERE

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Magic Stories

Listen to your story

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Story is incredibly important in our lives. They create a magical world of possibility and of truth, of wisdom and of dreams. We listen to our parents and our teachers tell us stories and thrill to the scenes that open up for us – moments where anything is possible, where our dreams are real, where there are real heroes and knights, fairies and wizards, where we can believe in a talking cat or a fire breathing dragon.

Stories are a way that wisdom is communicated from generation to generation – whether those are the children’s stories that we learn tucked up in bed, or the tales that are woven from cinema and TV screens.

But stories are more than that, too. Stories resonate deep inside us. The success of the Harry Potter books was down to a deep understanding that magic should be real, that we can do amazing things, that even the most ordinary amongst us is capable of something extraordinary – and, of course, there’s no such thing as an ordinary person!

You’ll have to excuse the Doctor Who quotes, by the way… Doctor Who was a huge part of my world when i was growing up. It seemed that anything was possible, and that here was someone that could control time and space…. and that caught echoes inside me, and I folded that away with the other stories that spoke to me.

For each of us there are stories and mythologies that speak to us, particularly when we’re younger. Stories of magic, stories of heroes, stories of explorers and of kings and rulers, of wizards and wise men. Those stories hold keys to who we are – particularly the stories we loved as children, because when we’re young we haven’t been told what the world must be like – we’re more in touch with our intrinsic purpose, our reason for being here. Think back to those stories, if you will… you will find a true connection to what your heart longs for.

And don’t discount the stories that you hear now you’re all grown up.. those stories still find a way to speak to you deep in the core of your being. For sure, they may be saccharine coated or even hidden in darker tales, but the secrets are still there.

Take some time and consider the stories you’ve loved – you won’t have to think hard – and listen for the message inside. And maybe take a moment to reconnect to the magic that was oh so real when you were younger… because perhaps that magic is more real than you think….and maybe anything is possible.

PS if you’re interested in learning more about the power of myth and story and understanding how heroic archetypes play out in your life even today, then subscribe to my series ‘Pathway to Power’ HERE – you’ll get a subscription to my ‘Walking With Heroes’ program which goes into the power of myth and the Hero’s Journey in an inspiring 3 month series!

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