Magical Practice: It Really is the Effort That Counts

Sometimes I get hate mail from people who use the magic rituals and exercises I propose. Here is what happens: they do the exercise, don't get the immediate result, and I get hate mail.

It's OK. I can live with it.

What people don't seem to get is that a magical practice is just that: a practice.

A practice means repetition, sweat, effort, and more repetition. All of that, which is by definition practice, comes before perfection.

Here's What You Don't Know About a Magical Practice
In a society based on instant gratification, discussions centered around words like "practice" and "repetition" tend to make people's eyes glaze over, especially the people who want to use magic to win the lottery, like yesterday.

But here's what you might not know about a magical practice: even when you get it "wrong" in your magical practice, you gain magical and spiritual force. In other words, just by doing a magic ritual, even if the ritual doesn't produce the intended result, you get something. A little bit of credit is added to your magical bank account, so that the next time you do a ritual, you have a better chance of producing the result you want.

The Consistency Exercise as a Magic Ritual
No magical practice demonstrates this better than the simple consistency exercise. In this exercise, you choose a simple act to do at the same time every day for 40 days. Any act will do. Suppose you choose to touch the tip of your nose with your right index finger at 1 PM every day. If you miss a day or your appointed time on any day, you start again at day 1.

For instance, let's say you do the exercise correctly, meaning you touch the tip of your nose with your right index finger at 1 PM every day for 8 days. On the 9th day, you get distracted and don't remember your exercise until 2 PM. No dice. You have to start the exercise over again at day 1.

This little magic ritual drives people absolutely nuts, especially if they never make it to day 40. It has taken some people up to a year to achieve their chosen act 40 days in a row. But the people who manage to stick with the exercise for a significant amount of time (even if they never make 40 days) notice something. They begin to notice that they have more magical force. Life flows a little better. Acts of power take a little less effort. Law of Attraction seems to happen more often.

In short, the practice of magic, even in the face of consistent failure, makes magic work a little smoother. In the practice of magic, it IS the effort that counts ... really. If you don't believe me, try the consistency exercise.

After all, how hard can it be to touch the tip of your nose every day for 40 days? Up for the challenge? It's kind of like "wax on, wax off" in the Karate Kid, don't you think?

For more magical rituals, check out our Daily Rituals and other ebooks and Kindle books.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Or, visit our website for more great resources.