Living in the magical.

     You know, the whole vampire/zombie/Harry Potter craze just says one thing: people are enthralled with the idea of being able to live beyond ordinary human experience. And do you know why. Because people can live beyond ordinary human experience. But you're not going to find out how from Harry Potter. Oh no.
     Harry Potter and all the other fantasy characters that are so obsessing the masses are just symbols for the real magical world that exists. They are lazy substitutes for the reality. They're like when people go to casinos or gambling boats. They go because their real lives lack risk, and they get at least some kind of risk, some sense of being alive, by gambling.
     And in the same way people get hints of the real magical world through Harry Potter et. al. But why live in a world of make-believe (and make no mistake— in terms of the real magical world, those people pursuing vampires etc. are simply wasting their time) when you can live in the world of real magic.
     Ah, now the important question: how do you live in the world of real magic?
     Well, I believe you already have a pretty good idea. And just like in life in general: the way that is genuine is the hard way.
     Sure, you may get short-lived thrills from Harry Potter or Twilight or whatever, but reading a book or watching a movie isn't going to get you to the real deal.
     So what is? Hard work. Yep, hard work. And, believe me, that will send most people running for cover.
     I once lost 60 pounds. I remember being at a wedding where I saw a lot of people I hadn't seen for a while. Person after person after person after person came up to me and asked me how I lost the weight. The split-second I told them that I got a calorie guide and watched my calories and gave up sugar and exercised, people's faces just fell and their interest vanished. Instantly.
     It was fascinating to observe after a while. And I realized that people wanted quick, easy fixes. They wanted "LOSE ALL THE WEIGHT YOU WANT BY EATING ALL YOU WANT." Or "LOSE WEIGHT BY HYPNOSIS." Or by taking the latest pill or whatever.
     But lose weight by hard work: NEVER!
     You can live in the magical by hard work.
     What to do?
      Live consciously.
     Oh, that's easy you say. I am living consciously. Are you? It's not that easy, friend. When we truly open up to who we really are, we will be astonished, and often disappointingly shocked, at what we find. And when you do open up, there is still the temptation to bail.
     From The Inner World of Choice by Frances G.Wickes:

We ask for consciousness but resist its coming lest it involve us in a task we do not desire.

     How about the scenario at the wedding? Sound like it fits it, doesn't it? People really "wanted" to know how I lost the weight. (And honestly, they seemed to be totally genuine and enthusiastic about wanting to know. But did they really want to know? Of course not.)
     So, be open to who you are. Study your dreams for what is going on in your unconscious. Make a conscious effort to live more consciously in your waking life. I like psychologist Nathaniel Branden's sentence stems as one tool for living consciously. 'If I were to bring five percent more consciousness to my job...' And you fill in the blank with whatever comes to mind. Just write out the endings. 'If I were to bring five percent more consciousness to my relationships...' (These are just examples. If you want to pursue this in depth pick up a copy of The Art of Living Consciously by Nathaniel Branden.)
     Take risks. Push yourself. That's where you discover who you really are too. And the thing is, the more and more you discover who you really are, the more magical you become. Because HUMAN BEINGS ARE MAGICAL. It's our natural state. But we've lost touch with it. But by hard work we can get back in touch. And living magically doesn't come in one fell swoop. (And really that's good news because you don't have to plod along for twenty years before you see results.)
     Seek out the spiritual. No set way to do this. But if you do seek the spiritual, earnestly, I believe you will be led into the avenues that will deepen and grow you into more of the magical person you really are.
     Commit yourself to what's great in life. Aim high. If you wallow in the mud with the pigs, that's as far as you're going to get in life. Hang with the people that challenge you. The people that are living more of a magical life. Pick their brains. How did they do it? And then really listen. (Don't tune them out like the people at the wedding asking about weight loss.)
     Give life all you've got. I know I've mentioned it before in this blog, but you can break through to a sustained magical life once you've gone beyond your natural strength and have given everything you've got to give. And I mean given mentally, physically, spiritually. Max out. 150% every day. You should be falling into bed at night like a dead person.
     Don't wait. Don't wait for anybody or anything. Live your life NOW. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:

No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that everyday is Doomsday.

     Today is it, friend! No getting after it tomorrow. Be after it today. The world ends today. It's Doomsday. There's a song by Jethro Tull called "Sweet Dream" and one of the lyrics is:

Live the rest of your life in a day.

     Be kind. Help others. Give. I'm not talking in any specific way. If you live flat-out, Life is going to present these opportunities to you. What I'm saying is when they come, take them. If you live your life for others, power floods into your life. There's a saying: 'If the "why" is big enough, any "how" is possible.' Living for others compounds exponentially your "why."
     Hey, why not live in the magical. I'm not ashamed to say that's my goal. There's no reason it can't be yours either. (We can live there together.)