photo: dockedship on flickr
Remember the show Bewitched? Who was your favorite character?
Was it Endora, the campy, bee-atchy elder witch? Or Darren – the guy who was so cool, he had to be played by two different actors over the course of the series? Or how about Gladys Kravitz, the nosy next-door neighbor who was always catching an eyeful of mischief?
And then there’s Samantha, the star of the show.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be exactly like her. I can still remember walking down the street in small-town Ohio, making a plea to the Heavens that I could have Samantha’s powers.
Please please please please, I cried. I sent forth my intention with every ounce of energy I had. I even wiggled my nose.
And then I waited. And waited.
And waited.
But nothing happened.
Or so I thought.
Years later, I stumbled upon the philosophy of metaphysics. I learned that consciousness is creative. I learned that my thoughts and beliefs, conscious and unconscious, shape the world around me.
As I studied this philosophy, it reignited the passion of my youth.
I was already as powerful as Samantha, I just hadn’t realized it.
These days, I use my special magic powers all the time. Practices like gratitude, prayer, meditation, and visualization are some of the ways I bust out my special skills in my everyday life.
With the aid and inspiration of the Divine, of course.
photo: paul bica on flickr
Along these lines, I’d like to share a recent episode of my presto-chango powers.
Like all great magic tricks, it happened in the middle of the night.
A little while ago, I awoke with a really bad sore throat. You know the kind. It’s like your own mini Sahara Desert – parched and dry, with camels tromping all over it.
photo: Magic Nights Book on flickr
Okay, there were no camels involved, but the parched and dry thing was seriously happening.
One of my favorite ways to heal a sore throat is to gargle with salt water. It’s nature’s miracle cure and it works every time.
Except I was too lazy to get out of bed.
Not only that, Melissa was sleeping soundly next to me, and I knew that if I got up and gargled – the sink is right next to our bed – she’d wake up. She’d been having a hard time sleeping lately and I didn’t want to disrupt her.
So I came up with an idea.
I pretended I’d gotten up and gargled with salt water. I convinced myself it had already happened.
The fact that I was half-asleep helped in this respect, as it was easier to believe I’d gotten up, gargled, and come back to bed. I focused on how relaxed and happy my throat was in its post-gargled state.
I immediately started to feel better. Soon after, I fell back asleep.
photo: SashaW on flickr
When I awoke in the morning, my sore throat was gone.
Even though I’d created the magic shift, I could barely believe it. Usually when my throat goes Sahara on me, it’s the beginning of several days of discomfort. Sometimes the Sahara in my throat is accompanied by a Rain Forest in my nose.
This time, there was none of that. This time, I was Sahara and Rain Forest free.
Like magic.
photo: Barney Moss on flickr
I read a study lately about the power of suggestion.
A group of people who clean hotel rooms were divided into two groups. The first group was given a bunch of information about how their work was getting them in good physical shape. The other group was given no input on the matter. Both groups were then given physical examinations. After a set period of time, both groups were reexamined.
You know what’s coming, don’t you?!
Upon reexamination, the first group showed several signs of improved health, including lower blood pressure, weight loss and muscle gain. The second group had no change.
It was just like me and the Sahara.
photo: Gregory Moine on flickr
We’re all using the power of suggestion – i.e. our magic powers – all the time. But most of us are using them unconsciously.
Why not use our powers for good?
Why not make suggestions about our improved health, our improved finances, our improved relationships?
The alternative is a Sahara throat, a Sahara bank account and a Sahara love life.
Why live in a parched, dry land when you can live in paradise?
As I noted already, there are many structured ways to use the power of your mind, activities such as meditation and visualization.
But you can also go free-style!
Like me and my middle-of-the-night inspiration, a quick suggestion in a positive direction can turn everything around. All it takes is a few seconds of inspiration and belief.
Nose-wiggling is optional.
photo: thefuturistics on flickr
How have you used your magic powers for good? Do tell!
I love this Z. Happened to me once as a young woman working on the 36th floor of an office building in S.F. I would do my vocal exercises in the elevator. When people got on the elevator, I stopped singing but continued to do the exercises IN MY MIND! I cleared up a bad vocal habit I had been struggling with while doing the exercises only in my mind.
BTW, this post was exactly what I needed to read this morning. Been feeling powerless and resigned about a possible future scenario with my relationship. Time to turn around my thinking and create new possibilities! Thank you! xoxoxo
Hi Kayla,
Great to “see” you here again!
Wow – what I great story. I love this. I especially like that you shared this, because I do a similar thing when I’m preparing to give talks. As time has gone by, I’ve found that it’s more effective to practice my talks in my mind. That way, when it comes time to give the talk, the ideas are solidly in my head, but the practice of giving the talk feels fresh and spontaneous. Thank you for showing me another example of this technique.
As for your relationship, I too will imagine a bright and light-filled future as well! 🙂
XOZ
Hi Z, I use my powers to put light around things—myself, owies, my family, strangers who seem to need help, the car, the whole dang freeway, the schools, the west coast, etc. I also direct angels to help out, as they are not supposed to butt in uninvited (Gladys Kravitz!!!), but will help when asked. Thanks for the fun post.
Hi Jill,
Thank you for this addition to the magic skills toolbox. Putting light around things is a wonderful way to amplify the power of the Divine in our lives and the lives of others. I also love this technique because it counters the tendency to “outline” what we think should happen, as opposed to letting the Divine have Its way.
XOZ
Thank you Z for this Email, all the ones past, and all the ones to come. I look forward to reading ‘you’ and carrying you/your ideas around with me afterwards. What a wonderful writer/story teller you are! Blessings and many thank yous! ~L
Hi Laura!
Thank you for stopping by. As always, it makes me truly happy to hear that you are enjoying the blog and getting something out of it. I appreciate your appreciation. 🙂
XOZ
I so agree with Laura. These posts are beautiful combinations of wisdom, amusement, and storytelling — beautifully paced and structured, too.
(But, because you’re so much like me, Z, you might put pressure on yourself in the future as a result of my compliments, so just forget I said that. Haha. Or not.)
I concur – it’s all about the magic of our mental focus. One day recently, we had visitors coming over, but I preferred a quiet evening and envisioned that very thing. Lo and behold, they had another engagement at the last minute and we rescheduled for another time.
For small stuff, big stuff…this stuff works.
Hi Karen,
Ok, I will let in these wonderful words of appreciation, and I will focus solely on the positive way they make me feel, releasing any old, outmoded tendencies to put pressure on myself. I will simply bask in appreciation! 🙂
As for the stuff and the stuff, yes! It’s all about the stuff! And congratulations on your quiet evening at home. I know this stuff works, but I’m still so pleased and joyous when it does – both for myself and others. So thanks for yet another example and reminder!
XOZ
I have been trying to regain my spirituality and remember that things like you spoke of here can truly happen. I’d forgotten how powerful the mind can be.
When I was 18 I was diagnosed with severe thyroiditis and was told that while treatable, it was incurable. I had no money or medical coverage so I suffered through for many years on nothing but herbal remedies. eventually I decided I just didn’t want to be sick anymore. I focused on being healed. I was at my worst then, physically, but I held on. I actually cured myself. I no longer have any signs that I ever had a thyroid issue.
Sometimes I wonder how I can ever doubt that we can change ourselves and our lives through how and what we think. I guess sometimes the darkness of the world around us just seeps in too much. Thank you for this post and for helping me remember how powerful I, and any of us, can be.
Hi Briana!
Congratulations on healing yourself. I love hearing stories like this – it reminds me of how powerful we all are. And it really helps to have us remind each other of this. It’s my favorite thing about doing this blog – getting to share my experience and then getting to hear about other people’s experiences as well. So thanks for being part of the conversation! 🙂
XOZ