Awaken Your Native Wisdom by Hiring an Angel

What do you get when you cross an obsession with self-improvement with an expert culture? People obsessed with expert opinions - and people who have lost their native wisdom! As a society we have become so accustomed to seeking expert opinions that we no longer know how to access our own intuition and knowing.

In ancient tribal times people didn't run to the medicine man or shaman for every ailment or life problem - they had spiritual tools for solving their own problems. They knew how to handle elemental energies of air, fire, water and earth to create healing, abundance, harmony in relationships and much more. They knew how to work with weather spirits, devas and other beings in the hierarchy. And they used their inner wisdom and guidance to make both everyday and major decisions.

The good news is that you have that very same wisdom and connection to higher powers and beings - all you have to do is awaken it. How? With practice, of course! No, we can't tell you how to do the equivalent of spiritual jumping jacks but we can give you exercises that will help you develop and exercise your spirit abilities.

Hire a Parking Angel
Ready to stop snoozing and start using your native wisdom? Try this little exercise of hiring a Parking Angel to help you find a parking spot in a busy lot.

1. Say out loud or in your mind, "I would like to a request a parking angel of sun yellow, grass green, and powder blue."

2. Wait a few moments until you feel a presence, or, if just wait a few moments. They don't take long to get there.

3. Say, "Parking angel of sun yellow, grass green, and powder blue, I would like to request your help in getting me a parking spot [specify where and when]. Thank you in advance for your help." When you receive that which you have asked for, then thank the angel again. It is VERY IMPORTANT to thank angels so they will be willing to help you later.

There are angels for EVERYTHING, from dealing with particular people to telling you how much salt to put on your food. You can ask their help in absolutely anything. Part of their job is to help us - they can't move on to the next level of their evolution unless they help us, and they can't help us unless we ask for help. So there are groups of angels just waiting, begging, for us to ask

Fun, right? Also, check out Everyday Magic, a weekly email course that offers you simple ways to awaken all of your magical, psychic and shamanic abilities!

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Thwack! The Magic of a Rubberband Around Your Wrist

"How do I stay present to the here and now during the day?"

This is the question a client recently asked me. She asked because she works a high-pressure job yet is a trained magical practitioner, and she has trouble bringing the two worlds together. She has difficulty bringing the quiet of her morning meditation and magic rituals into the high-stress environs of her work.

Walking both the magical and mundane paths at the same time is a difficulty many magical practitioners have. It can seem impossible to keep one foot in each world.

A Simple Magical Solution to Stay Present
One of the simplest solutions to this problem combines modern technology with an everyday object. All you need is a cell phone or pager and a rubber band. Set your cell phone or pager to buzz you at preset times during the day, perhaps every couple of hours, and wear the rubber band around your wrist. When your alarm goes off, simply snap the rubber band around your wrist.

As silly as this seems, it works to bring your attention back to the "here and now." This is because physical sensation always exists in the present, never the past or future. The rubber band snapping against your wrist gives you a physical sensation, and to experience that sensation you have to come back to present time.

Putting a Little More Magic Into the Ritual
When I suggested this simple solution to my client, she found it interesting but she wanted a ritual with a little more pizzazz to it, a little more magic. I understand that. I asked her if she had a specific spiritual guide or angel to whom she felt a specific attachment. She favored the angel Gabriel, so I suggested she create a ritual that included him.

She found a charming but subtle pendant representing the angel Gabriel, and she wears it on a necklace. When her phone buzzes her, instead of snapping a rubber band around her wrist, she reaches up and fingers the pendant, a gesture which looks natural and doesn't seem out of place, even in a boardroom. Lots of people fidget or have nervous habits, and when she reaches up to hold her pendant, it looks just like any other subconscious fidget. The ritual has worked, literally "like a charm," and brings her back to the here and now several times a day. She reports feeling more relaxed and at ease during the work day, and less tired at the end of the day.

What "Rubber Band" Works for You?
If you're a "down to basics" kind of person, using a rubber band will probably work really well for you. On the other, if you want something a little more special, a little more magical, consider choosing an animal totem or angel symbol to bring you back to the present.

Animal Totem Pendants
Angel and Animal Totem Figures


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Calling All Angels

Jayne Sieberry created this gradient song whose refrain is "Don't leave me alone!"  Yet we walk with angels, talk with angels, live with angels, but most of the time we are woefully unaware!

Conditions useful to know about angels:
1. There is an angelic code: One of the principle responsibilities that angels live by is to be of service to we humans, usually having been invoked, although there are times when angels apply their trade unannounced.

2. Angels have the ability to shape-shift, even appear as one of us, much like in the movie: "It's a Wonderful Life".

Working With Angels
Years ago I attended a workshop featuring working with angels.  For us disbelievers we were instructed to start simply by "hiring" parking place angels, as follows:
"I wish to summon a parking place angel who is stable, enthusiastic, powerful, clear, and swift--I need a shaded parking place close to the theater and I will be there in ten minutes--and I THANK YOU!" 

As I drive up to the theater, a car just backs out of my shaded spot--it's totally Magical!  I pull in and again give thanks to my angel!

Over the last thirty years I have been successfully using angels, Totem spirits, and Guides to handle all kinds of living situations.  It's fun, easy, and reliable.  Anyone can do this--all that is required is that we suspend disbelief! Acknowledging they exist is after all the first step in working with angels or any spirit being. Then it is a simple matter of letting them know specifically what you need and thanking them before their help and after. Gratitude is the "payment" we offer them for services rendered. It is important to give thanks just after voicing your request as well as after the task is accomplished. This sets up the energy of belief by showing you know the help will be given as well as creates a reciprocal exchange of energy.

Of course with any type of magical practice, the more you put into it, the more you will get back. Start being aware of anything you could ask for that would make your day go smoother and make the commitment to ask for help from an angel at least once a day. Then work your way up to more and more requests. The more you use angels, the more you will start to see all sorts of ways they can help you. Don't think any task is too small or unimportant to "bother" an angel with. I've seen people ask for angelic help with everything from being on time to an important meeting, to helping catch a runaway dog, to how much salt to put on their food. You can learn more about working with angels and other spirit beings in our Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Your Bare Hands Kindle book.

I will be doing a series of articles: "Touched by an angel"--"The value of a Magical Practice"--"Spellwork, simple, effective and fun"--"The ancient art of Witchcraft in modern times". So stay tuned for those.

Magically Yours:  G. Alan Joel

P.S.:  Should there be interest, another topic for investigation will be the Urban Shaman's abilities to make a difference in a troublesome world!

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The Magick of Laziness

You have probably heard of the old joke in which a British diplomat is sent to India. Upon arriving in India, this diplomat observes men just "lying about," sunning themselves, and generally being lazy. Shocked at this display of sheer laziness, the diplomat approaches one of the men lying in the sun. The diplomat asks, "Why are you wasting your life away just lazing in the sun?"

The Indian man, having been asked this question many times before, replies, "And how do you choose to spend your life?"

The diplomat bristles and says, "I intend to work very hard, accumulate a vast fortune so that I am independently wealthy."

"Once you have achieved your wealth, what will you do with your life?" asks the Indian.

The diplomat replies, "I will buy some sea side property and lie in the sun and relax, knowing that I have worked hard all my life and can rest easy."

The Indian man laughs so hard he can hardly gasp out his answer: "Silly man, why bother? I have not worked a single day in my life and am living your dream of lying about in the sun, resting easy with no regrets. Laziness has its benefits, no?"

So who is right: the British diplomat or the Indian man? The answer depends on how you view the world, and how you see your place in the world. If you require a lifetime of hard work before you feel that you "deserve" to rest easy, then pursuing a life of hard work (like the British diplomat) is the life for you.

But if you want to achieve your life goals with as little effort as possible, then studying the use of magick and the power of laziness in everyday life is the way to go.

What is the Magick of Laziness?
If you are at all plugged into the digital age, then you know that our phones, tablets, beepers, and TV programs engage us endlessly. We never get to "unplug and turn off" unless we do so on purpose. In fact, most of us are trained to check email endlessly and chat at will. This is certainly not a magickal lifestyle, nor does it take advantage of the power of laziness.

But don't worry, even if you start living a magickal life of laziness, you don't have to ditch your digitals. You just have to adapt your relationship to those machines to make room for magick... and, of course, laziness.

So how do magick and laziness go together? Simple. Magick is the art of calling upon various beings in the Universal Hierarchy to do the heavy lifting in our lives. With a magickal practice, you cultivate and enhance relationships with these beings. The more you work with magickal beings, the more willing they are to help you. This all sounds pretty good, but a few people may wonder what all this "heavy lifting" by magickal beings will cost at the end of the day. This is a great question. Any interaction with magickal beings requires an even exchange of energy... so working with magickal beings will have an energetic cost.

The good news is that most universal beings who do the kind of work we seek need only appreciation and some recognition of the work being done. That is literally all they require in the energy exchange. For instance, there are many angels hanging around waiting for humans to ask them for their help. The energy exchange required by angels is simple: the expression of appreciation before and after the work is done, as well as a positive attitude. Angels can and do work with people who have a negative or "Doubting Thomas" attitude, but the results are rarely happy. Thanking angelic beings plus being open to the belief that magick and universal beings exist to help seems pretty simple, right? And yet these two simple factors (appreciation and faith) are like manna to angels. This type of energy feeds their souls, and also helps advance them to the next level of their spiritual path. The same simplicity applies when angels perform actions that seem like miracles in our eyes. What would take us days and weeks of work is nothing to an angel. An angel can do some pretty heavy lifting in the blink of an eye. This is because angels exist at a different level than we do (here on planet Earth), and manifesting what we desire is much simpler at the angelic level.

The Laziness Factor
Now that you understand the relationship between angels and humans (and this is just one of many possible relationships humans can have with magickal universal beings), you can probably see how the laziness factor fits in. If you have an impossible situation or task, don't try to do it by yourself. Hire an angel to help (learn how to work with angels by reading the article on working with Unemployed Angels) do all the work. You just specify the job at hand as accurately as possible.

After you have solicited the help of an angel, the next part is truly about the laziness factor. Once you have hired one or more angels, and have sent them on their merry way to work for you, your job becomes very simple. Your job is to be as lazy as the Indian man lying on the beach. With regard to the tasks you have assigned to the angels, you just have to keep your head down and stay out of the angels' way. Do not start "doing" anything that you have asked angels to do. This kind of interference creates double work for the angels. If you have other work to do, go do it. In other words, do whatever it takes to keep your grubby little hands out of the angelic pie. Read a book, lie in the sun, go do other work unrelated to the angelic tasks you have assigned. Be lazy. Really lazy. And have faith that angels will deliver what you have hired them to do.

Start Small
When you first begin working with angelic and other magickal beings, it's best to start small. Tasking angels with small assignments makes it easy to have faith that angels with deliver. Also small tasks matter less, so you will be less likely to want to interfere by "doing" what you have asked the angels to do (because you don't yet have enough faith that angels will deliver). For all of these reasons, we start most students with hiring parking angels. Parking angels are dedicated to reserving the best parking spots for you, whether at a crowded mall or at the county fair. Read up on Parking Angels to learn more, and start working with angels at this level. As you see angels performing miracle after miracle, feel free to ask for ever bigger favors. Just remember that the more heavy lifting you do, the lazier you have to be. Once you have hired an angel your job is to be lazy, to have faith, and to express your appreciation before, during, and after the work has been done. Simple and lazy, right? That's the way to leverage magickal laziness in your life!


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Magic 2013: Magic 2012 is Over... What Now?

In the past year we have discussed a great deal about magic 2012--in other words, the transition into the Age of Aquarius, the renewal of the Mayan calendar, the interval represented by the year 2012.

You have probably noticed that 2012 is over... so what now? Simple, we move on to magic 2013. Magic 2013 is all about a different kind of magic, and very different from magic 2012. Before we dive in, though, let's take a quick look at the past year.

Magic 2012: A Recap
Magic 2012 is probably best described, in magical terms, as an interval. For those of you who are familiar with music or the piano keyboard, an interval is very much like the half-step between two white keys. For those not familiar with the piano keyboard, don't worry. We will explain.

Magically, an interval is a pause in the octave of time. Within this pause, much happens magically. First, it is a time of massive change (and the chaos that can often accompany such a large change). In the Tarot, this is represented by the Tower card. In terms of world change, 2012 represented the first world change in which the planet itself did not bear the effects of the change. In previous world changes, the planet suffered from Wind, Fire, Water and other massive elemental pressures. Entire species were wiped out during such changes, and poles often shifted, with North and South poles changing places. You can imagine the chaos.

The year 2012 was the first world change in which humans were the ones to bear the effects of the world change that is the inevitable result of one age ending and another beginning. Humans elected, a long time ago, to shoulder the burden as a race. In effect, we humans agreed to become a Universal "experiment" to see whether we could use this world change to evolve as a species and avoid being wiped out (as were so many species in past world changes).

Many beings from other planetary systems in the Universe were curious about the results of this experiment and came to bear witness. Some have been walking among us for a few years or a few decades. Others chose not to incarnate and are simply watching from afar.

Magic 2012: What About You?
So that is the historical perspective of magic 2012. But what about you personally? How did you handle the magic of 2012, and how did you use it?

On a personal level, magic 2012 was about seeing, exploring, and moving through our blind spots. The interval presented the perfect opportunity to make big changes in our lives. The process would have been chaotic, fraught with high emotions, and more than a little scary. But if you DID choose to make major life changes in 2012, you will find 2013 to be a major breeze!

The funny aspect of making changes in 2012 is that while it would have had major benefits for you in the coming years (2013 included), it probably looked to outsiders that you were having the worst year ever. The people we witnessed making the biggest changes and advances in their Spirit paths suffered calamities on all levels: physical, financial, emotional, and mental.

But--and this is huge--these same people also found that the calamities caused them to ask for help from all kinds of sources. The result? These people were literally buried by an avalanche of help. Angels, Spirit guides, helpful people from unexpected quarters, totems, and even some of those observers from other planetary systems all stepped up and gave help, assistance, guidance, information, clarity, and so much more. The affected people were surprised, overwhelmed, grateful, and amazed. And they built some very crucial relationships with allies on many levels.

If you were one of the people who elected to make major life changes in 2012, then you know exactly what we mean. Now, let's move on to magic 2013.

Magic 2013... What Now?
So 2013 is definitely upon us and moving at the speed of light. In case you have not noticed, time has sped up since the change in 2012. Everything is faster in this new age. You ask, and the Universe delivers--right now! So be careful how you think and for what you ask. Karma is also the other factor that has sped up. Remember that Beatles' song about "Instant Karma"? We are now living in the age of instant karma. So do try to keep your side of the street clean! You will definitely know if you have failed to do so!

What is happening to those who made major changes in 2012? We said above that life is a breeze for those people... and it is, compared to the rest of the world, that is. Those efforts made at life changes will definitely bring major benefits. However, life will continue to be inconvenient and "stuff" will still happen. The difference is that there is plenty of Universal help and support out there--you just have to ask. In addition, any magic done in 2013 will be greatly amplified and powerful. If life presents you with situations that seems crazy and impossible, look to allies and magic this year as powerful forms of recourse and adjustment.

What is happening to those who chose NOT to take advantage of the 2012 interval? It varies. For those who just want to live mechanical life as always, nothing much will change. Life may get a little more inconvenient, but since they are not really participating in the great experiment of humanity, nothing much changes for them. For those who are conscious and cultivating, change is still possible in 2013... it will just be more difficult and more painful. Part of the reason is that time has sped up in 2013, so the Universe is less forgiving, in a way, of errors in judgment. In actuality, it just means that karma comes around faster than before (not that the Universe is punishing anyone!).

If you have chosen to be spiritually conscious and find yourself coming up against some major barriers in your life, should you still attempt to make major changes in yourself and your life in 2013? Absolutely. Time is only going to keep speeding up and karma is going to keep coming around faster and faster. As inconvenient and painful as changing in 2013 may be (as compared to 2012) the benefits will still be useful.

Our advice? Ask for Universal help (angels, totems, Spirit guides) as much as possible. Look for signs of positive change and guidance everywhere (where you least expect). Do as much magic on a daily basis as possible, since we are moving out of the material world and into a much more energy-based magical world. And when life gets inconvenient and painful, practice acceptance as much as possible, realizing that this is simply the price to pay into change. The results will be definitely worth it -- hundreds of times over!



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Unemployed Angels – Will Work for Gratitude!

The news is full of stories on the increased unemployment rate in the United States. Predictions of how long until recovery, people filing bankruptcy, unemployment benefit reform, Americans unable to make mortgage payments and losing their homes, the Department of Labor still reporting an unemployment rate of over 9% nationwide. In these difficult times for the human race, there is another group of unemployed who go unnoticed by the news media. Angels. Angels are also finding themselves hanging around in unemployment lines as fewer and fewer people are employing them for help.

It is so easy for humans to get caught up in their busy lives, their woes, stresses and problems and completely forget, if indeed they ever knew, that these valuable resources are available virtually free of charge. There are angels whose expertise range in everything from travel to communication to health. So many things that are everyday irritants can be turned over to angels.

Running late for an appointment and want to make sure you have a parking place waiting for you? Ask an angel to go ahead and save one for you. Taking a driving trip and want to make sure you arrive safely and on time? Hire a Travel Angel. Dreading talking to your spouse or boss over a misunderstanding? Hire a Communications Angel to pave the way and accompany you. Not sleeping well? Hire a Sleep Angel specialist. Taken on too heavy of a workload and don't know how you can possibly get it all done in time? Hire a Work Angel.

Angels have so many more resources than humans and it is really a lot of fun to see how they go about solving our problems and making our lives easier. Help may come in the form of a person who shows up offering to do just what we need done. It may be in the form of new ideas that suddenly come to us on how to re-prioritize a busy schedule. It could be in the form of discovering a new tea or herbal substance that relaxes one before going to bed. It may be that we won't know the form, only the results that caused one person to leave the parking spot in front of the doctor's office just as we pulled in or why our surly boss was suddenly open and truly able to listen to our explanations.

Helping humans is the work of angels. It is their purpose. Here's the catch though. They have to be asked. They will not interfere and go where they are not bid. You must ask them for help and tell them exactly what you want help with. Then there is the payment. Angels work for gratitude. You must thank them and I find it is best to do so in advance. That shows not only your gratitude, but also your faith and belief that they will do a good job for you. It also prevents your forgetting to thank them later, when the job is finished and you go on your way.

So how do you ask an Angel for help? Decide what you need and in a strong voice say, "I'd like to hire an angel." If you know the specialty you need, include that. Then describe what you need. Don't describe what you don't need, put it in terms of what you do need. "I need to get to my doctor's appointment on time, safely and with serenity and I would like a parking space close to the front office door." Don't get caught up in details of how to make this happen, that's the angel's job and really if you could do it yourself then you wouldn't need to be asking for help. Don't set too many parameters on your request either. Give the angel room to have fun and creativity with their assignment and to use their judgment on the best way to accomplish your request. They can see a larger picture and know the best way to serve you without inconveniencing others.

There are thousands of these highly skilled entities just waiting for you to ask them for help. Give it a try and I think you will be pleased and possibly amazed at the results. All it will cost you is some gratitude – it's a deal you can't beat. So give an angel a break and hire one today.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronalmog/2352563406/