This is really a continuation of my last blog article where I looked at why didn’t that spell work? I’ve been thinking further on why my magic does or doesn’t work at times, and these are some of my thoughts…
The new age community is all talking about flow at the moment. Everywhere you look on Internet articles and radio shows, talk of the days how to be in flow. When I studied NLP, my teacher always told me that you know when you’re on purpose or in flow because things come to you very easily. The goals that you set you achieve quickly and simply, the spells you cast come through with very little delay.
What does that mean? How do you achieve flow, and how do you know when you’re in it? Simply put flow is really a feeling you get - contentment, peace. Personally I prefer to think of flow as being purpose. If you’ve ever spent any time thinking about what your life‘s purpose is then finding flow is much easier to do.
Of course if you’re one of those people who are still grappling with what you want to be when you grow up (even if like me you’re in your late 40s) then that can feel like a hard thing to work out, but it’s a lot simpler than you might think. The easiest way to work out purpose is to think about what gives you joy in life? What tasks are you doing when you’re most at peace? Are someone who loves walking? Are you someone who loves swimming? Are you someone who loves creating things with your hands, Or baking? Finding your own sense of inner peace will direct you towards your purpose or flow. People often mistake purpose for their job, and it isn’t that. Your job may bring you closer to your purpose, but purpose is more abstract than how are you earn your money. By identifying what brings you joy, you can start to narrow down what your purpose in life is. And when you’re in purpose (or in flow) everything moves freely.
But what does this have to do with magic?
There are times when you’re thinking about particular spell working, but you have to conclude it’s best to just leave well alone. While magic can create miracles, it’s important to remember the caveat that Aleister Crowley gave in his definition of magic - that something has to have within its nature the ability to become the thing you want it to be. When you’re working magic in flow, it works much more easily than when you’re fighting the current. The chances are, if you’re thinking about why a particular spell did work, you were probably in flow when you cast it. It’s a bit like the idea of ‘don’t try and paddle upstream, just go where the river takes you’.
So does that mean in reality we are completely powerless in this universe? No, but you have to be sure you really want something to put all of that energy into making it happen. Currents of magic flow far more easily when we work in a spirit of cooperation not commanding.
In my tradition, when we call upon our ancestors, or the elemental powers, or different deities, we do it with respect, and not with an insistence that they carry out our will.
My NLP teacher was right, when you’re in flow or in purpose, the things that you want tend to just come to you with very little effort, and sometimes without even asking. It’s no surprise that the older we get, the less we try and bend the universe to our will.