“There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain:
Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder.
Keep rosemary by your garden gate.
Add pepper to your mashed potatoes.
Plant roses and lavender, for luck.
Fall in love whenever you can.”
– Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic
The biggest lie about Magic is simply this: that Magic isn’t real. That Magic is the stuff of make-believe and delusion and an overactive imagination. My favorite “put down,” of course, is the warning that you must have nothing to do with “magical thinking” – you must NOT believe that everything is connected nor that there are causal connections and patterns to be found in life.
What a sad day it must have been for these magic-phobes when they learned that Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy wasn’t “real.” They’d had a fast one pulled on them. That “truth” must have shaken them to their very core. So much so that it affected them to the point where they couldn’t conceive in any other type of Magic.
The biggest lie about Magic attempts to destroy the fact that Great Magic is delicious. It make us feel delight. It makes us feel good. It makes us feel safe. It makes us feel uncomfortable. It makes us feel wonder.
Great Magic makes us feel!
For the naysayers, Magic of all sorts is dangerous because, according to them, it makes you delusional, at best, or turns you into a con-artist, at worst. (Remember, these are the people who believed only to have that rug pulled out from under them so they then felt cheated by Life.)
Since the beginning, mankind has looked for the right rituals, the powerful symbols, the correct gestures, and even the proper words said in the proper order so that an enlightened few could visit the grace of God or the goodness of the Universe upon their tribe. In fact, many believe that Magic’s primary purpose is to harness (or at least allow you to manipulate) outside events (and perhaps people).
The problem with believing the biggest lie about Magic or in believing that only an enlightened few can wield Great Magic is that either belief keeps you from developing Real Magic for yourself. Buying into the biggest lie about Magic squeezes you down into a little person lost in a big world. It forces you to concede that you simply don’t have as much control as you might otherwise desire and . . . that you can’t do anything about it.
The Great Magicians of today know something about ignoring the great lie. They know the following:
1. Once you choose what you actually want, you have a direction in which to move. You can start seeing the interconnectedness of all things and use your own personal Magic (your confidence, your faith in yourself, and your passion) to participate in your own success.
2. Once you know why you’ve chosen a particular outcome, your passion takes over. Great Magicians are compelled to use Great Magic because of the feelings that are fueling their path forward.
3. Once you stop listening to the magic-phobes, your self-confidence takes over. There will always be those who say you shouldn’t believe in things, that you shouldn’t act in a certain way, and that you shouldn’t give in to your imagination.
4. Once you change your friends so that you have magical cheerleaders, the Magic becomes even more real. I’ve written before about changing your friends in order to change yourself. This is even more important when it comes to your choice to be a Magician. If you want to live the dream, you need to surround yourself with those who want to be part of that dream, as well. In this way, you begin to know that you are never alone.
5. Once you start doing Magic and stop simply thinking about Magic, Magic happens. When you start doing, you start treasuring. Your desired goal takes on a new and more precious value. It’s almost as if the sheer act of doing anything in furtherance of your dream reminds you that you’re alive. That’s when the Real Magic happens.
6. Once you take on the mindset of a magical warrior, you start living life out loud and boldly and honorably. This means you stop wasting precious moments thinking about what could be and start using those precious moments to define and redefine who you are. You become a master of your own dreams rather than a slave to the dreams of others (those “others” are usually the naysayers I mentioned before). You start acting immediately on your dreams because, to do otherwise, is a waste of your heartbeats. A magical warrior knows that Life has a funny way of throwing all of us curves. As I mention in my book, your task is to work Good Magic – Magic with Heart – so that you always deserve the greatest of success and the fullness of happiness.
The biggest lie in Magic tricks you into believing you are nothing great. The biggest lie in Magic works its own hocus-pocus by creating enough fear that you fall back into inaction.
Just remember this – when in doubt about your own personal Magic, look for the lie that you’re starting to believe.
One More Thing . . . would you like to learn more about living the life of a Magician? If so, then consider reading The Most Magical Secret – 4 Weeks to an Ecstatic Life. You can order my new book right now through Amazon >>> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692420010
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SCOTT GROSSBERG thinkingmagically.com 