What Do You Want?

"What do you want?"

This is such a simple question and yet you might be surprised at how difficult it is to answer. You can answer the question at this very moment, of course. If you're walking around outside and the weather is cold, you could say, "I want a warm winter coat." You can also answer the question from a longer-term view. You could say, "I want to be in a happy relationship with my soul mate." At the same time, you might say, "I want to advance in my career."

Do you see how all three of these answers come from three different parts of yourself? The part that wants a warm coat is the physical side of you. The part that wants a happy relationship with a soul mate is the emotional side of you. The part that wants to advance in career position is the intellectual side of you.

If you take all three sides of you, you get three answers to a single question. Sometimes that's just fine. But at other times, the three goals contradict each other. For instance, career ambitions and ecstatic relationships often conflict with each other in terms of time and attention. You might be able to manifest a rapidly advancing career, but your soul mate might depart for greener pastures in the meantime.

But isn't this all so silly when we're talking about magic. Magic is, after all, magical, right? Magic is supposed to be able to accomplish more than what we can ourselves achieve. So by rights, magically we should be able to wear warm clothing, have a great career, and go home at night to a cuddly soul mate. Right?

Right, but (there's always a but, isn't there?) in most spiritual practices it is said that all goals must ultimately be sublimated to a single goal, else nothing will be achieved. Even in magic attention and intention must be focused in a laser-like fashion to create miraculous effects.

So how could you specify one goal that would help you achieve all the other goals? Well, there are lots of ways to go about it, magically and shamanically, but if you want a laughably simple method try this:

Stop your dislike.
Whatever it is in your life that you dislike, stop disliking it. You don't have to love it, you don't even have to like it. You just have to stop disliking it. Dislike has a way to stopping magic in your tracks because it drags your level of being down to such a low level that you can't see the miracles even as they occur.

There's really no substitute for experience and observation (the definition, by the way, of knowing in magic). So if you're game and you really want your life to change, do this for 40 days:

Stop disliking things.

Every time you find yourself disliking something, stop it. Put your attention on something else. Stop thinking about it. Don't touch that topic with your mind. Jog around the block. Do whatever you have to do to stop the dislike. You will amaze yourself and you will see the magic happen. But it's a 40 day commitment and that's a biggie because we soooooo enjoy our dislikes.

Are you up for it?


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Is Magic Real?

We get so many questions and emails about this that we thought it was time to post a reply!
In the Harry Potter movies we watch children play Quidditch on a broomstick and little wizards and witches casting quick spells here and there with their magic wands. In the movie, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” we watch martial arts heroes literally flying among the trees to fight. These days we’re flooded with all kinds of movies that bring magic into our lives. With all this new found interest in magic, most people are asking, “Is magic real?” What do you think? Is magic real and can you really have magic in your life?
Yes. Magic is very real and has existed as a precise science for thousands of years. Whether you call it magic, magick or majick, it is real. Every single person can learn to do magic. We were ALL born with the talents and abilities that empower us to do magic. The only reason that magic seems so, well, magical is that this society no longer teaches the art and science of magic. In the distant past, magical study was just as important as math, science or the arts. Even the miracles that Jesus performed were based on the use of magic. In fact, magic was and still is the birthright of EVERY planetary citizen.
Can you learn to do the kind of magic portrayed in the movies? Yes – and no. The movies are great at giving you a taste of what you can do with magic, but they aren’t very accurate. In the Harry Potter movies, for instance, the characters use their wands for every magical operation. In reality, you can only use the wand to handle air energies. Your wand would actually explode or catch fire if you tried to use it to throw firebolts and fireballs like the characters do in the movie.
So what can you actually do with magic? Quite a lot. Here’s a short list to get you started:

• Balance your energies for healing and manifestation
• Change old beliefs
• Defend yourself against physical and psychic attack
• Heal yourself and others
• Find hidden information and see possible futures
• Psychically communicate with other beings
• Create sacred space
• Find lost people and objects
• Manifest what you want and need in life

At the very basis of magic is the understanding of the four elements: Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Called elemental magic, these foundational elements are real. Air, Fire, Water and Earth are part of our natural everyday environment. What makes them magical is the understanding of how they operate not just on the physical level, but also at the levels of mind and Spirit.
For instance, while on the physical level Air is just the stuff we breathe, on the magical levels Air is the conduit of psychic communication, enlightenment, understanding, dreaming and more. If you want more of any of these things in your life, then you need more magical Air. How do you get more magical Air? Wear more Air colors, including white for communication and sky blue for enlightenment and understanding. To take this one step further, you could also take on more Air to make your body lighter. Take on enough Air and you’ll be able to levitate.
By just extending your understanding and use of the basic ingredients of nature, you are doing magic! Seen in this light, magic isn’t all smoke and mirrors, nor is it the result of Hollywood special effects. Magic is the result of truly understanding and working with the very elements that are all around you.
One final note: Many masters, including Wayne Dyer, have said, "You'll see it when you believe it." The same is true for magic. In other words, the suspension of disbelief and the willingness not to exercise contempt prior to investigation are requirements for magic to be “real.” Magic is all around us, and always is, but our ability to perceive and use the forces of magic depends on our willingness to be open. No one else can show it to you, only your direct experience and observation can “prove” or demonstrate to you that magic is real.
We’ve found that one of the simplest ways to experience magic (and your own magical abilities) is to work with clouds. Clouds respond to your intention, and you can easily move, shape and manipulate clouds from a great distance. And moving clouds that are suspended hundreds of feet above you is quite magical, isn’t it?
To start playing with clouds, send a blank email to info@shamanschool.com with CLOUDS in the subject line. We’ll email the instructions to you ASAP. Have fun!

P.S. Check out the comprehensive Basic Magic Class -- for those with serious interest only!

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Getting from "No" to "Know" Magically

Are things not going your way? Are there too many doors slamming shut and too many people telling you "No"? Then you need a little magic to help you get from "No" to "Know."

See if this helps. Whatever is happening right now is just the manifestation of your thoughts and feelings from the past. In other words, your current reality isn't the result of anything you are thinking and feeling now.

So if things are going all wrong right now, just chalk it up to negative thoughts and feelings you experienced in the past. It has nothing to do with now.

So what do you do? Well, here's some great advice from Abraham-Hicks:
"Never face reality unless your reality is just the way you want it to be."

In other words, if your current reality isn't all that you want it to be, then just ignore it. Blow it off. Magically, it's called the "art of selective attention." Don't bother doing the mature thing and facing your reality.

Instead, put your energies toward this little mantra, also from Abraham-Hicks:

"Today, no matter where I'm going, no matter what I am doing, and no matter who I'm doing it with -- it is my dominant intent to look for that which I'm wanting to see. I'm wanting to find thoughts and words and actions that feel good while I'm finding them. For in doing so, I am, in the moment, practicing the art of allowing all that I've been telling the Universe I'm wanting, for all of the days of my existence."

In short, when you see something you don't like, do the ostrich thing and ignore it. When you see something that lines up with what you want, give it your full attention. Love it, enjoy it, ham it up. You get the picture, right?

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Can I Buy Your Magic Bus?

"I don't want to cause no fuss (Whoa, the Magic Bus)
But can I buy your Magic Bus? (Whoa, the Magic Bus) Nooooooooo!" --The Who

Members of the rock band The Who apparently couldn't buy the magic bus "that takes me to you," even though they dedicated a whole song to it.

I've never bought a magic bus, either, but the last two decades of teaching magic and shamanism have been a heck of a magical ride. These days, a lot of people are looking for that ticket to ride the magic bus.

Well guess what? Here's your ticket to ride. Yup, the top 10 things you can do today to catch a ride on the magic bus. Click on each link to get the directions you need to work some magical mojo!

10. Hire an angel

9. Light and bless a sun candle

8. Meditate with your cat, dog, fish, lizard …

7. Throw your troubles away

6. Make space for sacred space

5. Get psychic with water

4. Know thyself with some self-tests

3. Trade in your negative vibes and get happy

2. Find your Spirit guide

1. Not For Muggles or Wimps: Hop a ride on the ultimate Magic Bus with Basic Magic

Enjoy!

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How To Control People Without Controlling People

If you've bumped up against the facts of life a few times, you've probably discovered that you can't really control people, places, or things. You may have even discovered that there is a spiritual principle that says you can't control other people. This can be irritating since other people are unpredictable, messy, and certainly don't act the way you want them to, right?

If you're frustrated by the fact that you can't control other people, you'll be pleased to discover that there is a spiritual loophole to that principle. The loophole is that while we can't necessarily control other people, we can control how they show up in our lives.

We can't reach out and create in anyone's life, but we can control many aspects of what appears in our lives. Consider this: everything that comes in contact with you (including other people) is part of your sacred space, and as a Spirit you have the right to control what happens in your sacred space.

The key, then, is to intentionally direct what appears in your sacred space. One of the easiest ways to use your intention is create "future memories." To create future memories, imagine yourself in the future encountering a particular person, especially a person you dread seeing. Now imagine the encounter exactly as you want it to happen.

The more detailed your imagining, the more effect it will have on the actual encounter. How will the person react? What will she say? What will you do? How will you feel? Color your future memory with as much feeling and specific details as possible. If at first your mind wants to imagine the encounter negatively, keep replaying the encounter over and over until you can create the scenario you want.

Then, wait to be surprised at what happens in your next encounter with this person. It might not be exactly as you imagined, but the tone and outcome are likely to match very closely. It's amazingly pleasing when that happens!

So control freaks, start your engines. This is one place you can control people without breaking any universal laws!

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