Bringing Magic into a Creative Life
Like many people of the post-World War generations, I have been on somewhat of a spiritual quest my entire life. I've studied the major desert religions and those of the Far East, Native Americans, and Celtics, dabbled in the occult, astrology, and numerology, and come away with a belief structure melded of all. I've seen too many unexplainable things in this life not to believe there's something else out there, but at the same time, I live in an age where science and technology have provided rational answers to many things once believed to be magic. Still, who can argue with the blending of science fiction and fantasy in quantum physics?
What is Magic?
Since the beginning of time, man has looked to the heavens
and asked, “Why?” Why does the sun rise and set? Why do the seasons change? Why
are we here and where are we going? Religion through the ages has attempted to
answer these questions, but for many of us, the answers have fallen far short
because they all try to impose a rigid set of rules upon the arbitrarily
ordered chaos of the universe. You can no more harness all the wonders of Life
in a structured doctrine than you can control the weather.
Personally, I believe in magic. Magic is all around us. I'm
not speaking merely of the wonder of a baby's birth or the opening of a spring
blossom. I'm referring to Magic with a capital "M." The force that
creates and controls the UN's, as I like to call them. The Unknown, the Unseen,
and the Unexplained.
I've seen ghosts and witnessed phenomena than can't be
explained with rational arguments. I've experienced past lives and precognitive
dreams and the telepathic bond between mother and child. I've cast astrological
charts and saw the relationship between the stars, the planets, and the choices
we encounter in our lives. I've worked with people who have a true connection
to the world beyond our five senses. In short, I've seen too much NOT to
believe.
It's obvious I'm not the only one interested in the subject,
as witnessed by the overwhelming popularity of books and movies on the subject.
Most of us are attracted by the prospect that there is something out there
beyond our known reality, something mystical and divine. Something that perhaps
we can learn to use to find that same quality in our own lives.
We can get into all kinds of pros and cons about the use of
magic, the kinds of magic (both positive and negative), and so on and so on,
but for the purpose of this discussion, we're concentrating on magic as it pertains
to our own creativity.
Magic and the Creative Life
Magic is simply transformation, creating and bringing into
being. We are all capable of it. With practice, we can all direct and control
the forces in our lives, using them to accomplish our goals. Whether we do this
by altering our physical world or our spiritual self, it is this act of
transformation that allows us to grow and create.
In times past, transformation was the realm of the
alchemist, who, on the surface, concerned himself with the transformation of
physical matter, in this case, base metal into gold. But the true magic of
alchemy came not in changing the useless into the precious, but in the
transformation of the alchemist himself--the accession to a higher state of
consciousness. Whether we realize it or not, it is this same form of
transformation we strive for whenever we direct our energies creatively.
The act of creating, of harnessing the inspiration that
turns on that light bulb in your head, is a form of transforming the physical
into the spiritual. Creativity comes from the soul, that most wondrous and
misunderstood aspect of life. It resides in all of us, but few have learned to
tap into the well that makes them truly great at their craft. For some it comes
naturally, but for most of us, it takes work. Hard work. We must learn to reach
inside to touch that spark of the divine in each of us and transform it into a
physical representation of our innate creativity.
Meditation and the Magic of Transformation
The easiest way to get in touch with that inner source of
the divine is also one of the oldest: meditation. Meditation is nothing more
than clearing and quieting the conscious mind so that it will be receptive to
the subconscious. Now that sounds easy, right? Not always. In fact, unless
you've been shown how to do it right and have practiced it regularly, it can
seem more like an exercise in futility. No matter how hard we may try to clear
our minds, everyday problems and random thoughts seem to creep in, distracting
our best efforts. The trick is not to fight them, but rather to let go of them.
In the early 1970s I was fortunate to be living in Madrid
near a Transcendental Meditation (TM) retreat. At that time, thanks to
high-profile followers such as the Beatles, the Maharishi Mahesh Yoga was the
icon of the New Age movement, before there even was a New Age movement. When I
heard that he was going to be conducting classes at the Madrid center himself,
I immediately enrolled.
I have to admit to being skeptical at first. After all, TM
was being touted as the answer to everything from getting ahead in your job to
better health to finding spiritual enlightenment. How could anything be that
good? But I went with an open mind, which I have since learned is the greatest
tool we possess for success at any new endeavor we undertake.
The biggest mystery of TM revolves around the mantra, the
series of syllables given to the novice to help him/her focus and clear the
mind. It is said that each individual's mantra is selected specifically for
them and that they are not to reveal it to anyone. Now, whether or not this is
true, I have no idea, since I've never revealed mine nor had anyone else's
revealed to me. But just the thought that I had a secret word all my own lent the entire process an air of mystery.
The thing is, you can choose any word or series of syllables
you want for your mantra, providing you believe in their ability to focus your
thoughts (and actually, in magic of any kind, belief is the most important
component). The process of meditation will be the same regardless of method or
mantra because it is, in its simplest form, self-hypnosis. There are plenty of
self-help books and classes around if you feel you need more hands-on help, but
the basic process is this:
Find a quiet place where you can relax without fear of being
disturbed. Sit down with your back supported and your feet on the floor. Laying
your hands in your lap palms up is said to be the best position for drawing in
the energies around you, but I suppose it's all a matter of preference. Close
your eyes and start to relax your body, starting with your feet and working
your way up your body. Visualize the tension leaving your muscles. When you
feel you are physically relaxed, start repeating your mantra or chosen word. If
it helps, you can say it out loud at first. The important thing is that you
focus on it, the sound of it, the feel of it. Let your mind encircle it until it
becomes the only sound you hear.
Now this is the point where the novice gets discouraged,
because no matter how hard you try, you can't keep those random thoughts from
popping into your mind. The answer to that is simple: don't fight them. Let
them come up, then picture them as bubbles rising to the surface and floating
away. It may take you three or four sessions to accomplish this, but like
anything else, practice will make it easier. Eventually you'll get to the point
where your mind has been cleared of everything but the sound of your mantra. At
this point, you should be repeating it only in your mind.
When you have reached this point (and as I said, it may take
you several sessions to get there), your breathing and heartbeat will start to
slow as your body becomes more relaxed. And here's another trap for the novice,
because your first reaction is going to be fear of suffocating. You may even
start to concentrate on your breathing. Like those random thoughts, don't fight
it, just let it go. It's a natural part of the process. One of the benefits of
meditation is that it slows your bodily functions, giving you the benefit of a
deep, relaxing sleep.
Eventually, after several sessions, you will attain the goal
of all practitioners of regular meditation: pure consciousness. You'll know
you're there when you experience a sensation of floating, that your mind has
suddenly expanded to encompass the universal whole. It's a difficult thing to
describe, but you'll know it once you experience it. And once you experience
it, you'll want to do it again and again, because each time you do, it gets
easier and more effective.
End your session by slowly allowing awareness of your
physical body to return. Keep your eyes closed until you feel you have
completely returned to your physical body. That may sound crazy, but anyone who
has ever experienced astral-tripping (where the consciousness leaves the
physical body, either during sleep or a meditative state) realizes how
dangerous awakening too soon can be for keeping the psyche and physical body in
sync.
Twenty minutes is the recommended time for a single session.
Many practitioners encourage two sessions a day, morning and late afternoon or
early evening. Right before bed is not recommended because the process of
meditation stimulates as well as relaxes the mind and may make it difficult to
sleep. Also, to take full advantage of the benefits of meditation, you should
channel that newfound energy and clarity into some form of creative endeavor.
Our Inherent Magic
We've all experienced moments of extreme clarity in our
daily lives. Athletes call it "being in the zone," and that's a
perfect metaphor for it. And like an athlete, when we can teach ourselves to
quiet the distractions of the conscious world and listen to the voice of the
divine within us, we can then visualize what we want to accomplish–whether that be creating
a work of art, writing a symphony, or winning a race–and make it happen. The power is ours to claim, we
have only to believe in ourselves to develop it.
"To embark upon the uncharted seas of selfhood, to reach out creatively to the potentials of life, and to select of these as our own reason permits requires that one be able to bear the anxieties intrinsic to a creative approach ... we find that a creative approach to life -- be it in the arts, sciences, or any other life context -- can evolve only when there is sufficient esteem for the self."
-- Lyall Watson, Supernatural
Suggested Reading
Interested in expanding your understanding of the magic around you? Check out some of the following books I've found to be inspirational.
I Ching, The Book of Change, translated and edited by John Blofeld
The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
The Golden Bough by J.G. Frazer
The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner
Man and His Symbols by Carl G. Jung
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl G. Jung
Saint Germain on Alchemy recorded by Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Chakra Therapy by Keith Sherwood
Positive Magic, Occult Self-Help by Marion Weinstein
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