Surpassing Your Idols

Most everyone has someone in their life they look up to. Someone that they idolize. It may be in business, it may be a friend, it may be someone wise...

Part of the process of spiritual growth, or the growth of your self as a whole, is to constantly improve yourself and set your goals as high as possible. What this means is, that in any area in which you are passionate enough to have an idol, at some point in time you will surpass your idol.

When that happens, it can be a little painful, or a little disappointing. But it's also exhilarating! And when you get to the point that your old idols are no longer replaced by new ones, you may find that you idolize yourself!

So don't let the process upset you, and don't place your idols too high up on their pedestal. Keep in mind that what they are doing is possible for you too, and then rather than worship your idols, begin to compete with them. After all, the best way to grow is to compete with someone better than you.

Think about sports - baseball, basketball, soccer... The most potential for growth are the games where your opposing team is much better than you. So too, in business, spirituality, talents or skills, when you compete consistently with the best, you automatically improve yourself in leaps and bounds. Before long you find that those you idolized are now your peers.

And after that, possibly you will become their idols!

jonpeeoh (www.jonpeeoh.com) is a new web community devoted to raising consciousness, magick, and teaching others to take control of their powers as creators of their own reality.

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10 Fun Ways To Live An Enchanted Life Today!

I am often asked how I can live the way I do. Who pays me to be a real-life Merlin? It's not as if you can open the paper and read a want Ad for such a position. I live an enchanted life because I created it that way. Using the principles taught to me by the fey and my own stubborn refusal do anything else. You can too...

"Enchantment doesn't exist in wands and candles, it lives in your heart. Open your heart to the universe and magick will follow you wherever you go."

So without further delay here's how you can put a little enchantment into your day.

1. Give a surprise gift to someone you don't knowGo on, be the source of abundance to someone completely and totally unrelated to you. Why unrelated? Because then you truly won't expect anything in return and will give freely. It needn't be expensive, a magazine, second hand book, an unopened can of beans will do. Wrap it in nice paper, put a bow on it and leave it in a public place for someone, anyone to collect. Walk away with a smile on your face all day.

2. Tell someone who's imposing on you to sort it out for themselvesI love this one! This is a magnificent gift to yourself that truly keeps on giving. Your self-confidence and self-trust skyrockets, the other person gets the opportunity to be more resourceful and you've freed up at least a couple of minutes to spend however you wish. It's not hard just say “I have other priorities right now. I'm sorry but I can't help you with that.”

3. Tell God/Goddess/Guardian Angel/Guide offHad a bad day? Then why not have an almighty rant about it and be done with it. Get an egg timer and give yourself exactly 2 minutes to just rant on about how upset you are about it. I always find a "Dear God, I'm p*****d" letter to be of extremely good value. But hey you can write to anyone you like. When you're done delete that computer file, cut up the paper with a pair of scissors or otherwise destroy it and get on with being happy again.

4. Outsource your worryingWorrying is time consuming, drains your energy and pulls you down. So why do it? Worrying about things doesn't solve them it just makes you upset. The fey want you to know that they have a Magickal Worrying & Worse For Wear Department waiting, ready and able to take on your worries for you. They'll personally collect them from you, take them to a quiet place and put their own little heads to worrying about and solving your problems. You can get on with enjoying your day.

5. Keep a pocketful of happinessKeep a pocket book of things that make you smile. They could be pictures of things you like, jokes, letters from someone special or even just nice things you write to yourself. It doesn't matter it is as long it makes you smile. Carry this item with you everywhere you go and whenever you feel out of sorts get out your pocketful of happiness and top up again.

6. Remember the gateAll things come to us when we truly desire them. But when they don't come according to our schedule we tend to get upset and imagine they are not coming at all. The only true determinant of timing is how soon you can become aligned with what you are intending to create.

When the gate to what you want appears closed you just have to wait...because it always opens.

7. Escape the crazy maze, one inch at a timeOn average we spend around 80% of our time attending to needful things, must-do's and other onerous tasks. All the while we wish we could be living a different life or getting on with being a Merlin. I hear you, I've been there. The way out of the crazy maze we call “normal life”is to take one step everyday towards the new life you intend for yourself. It doesn't have to be a huge leap, or even a dash for the finish line. If our lives only currently permit an inch in the right direction today then that's the step we take today! An inch out of the crazy maze today allows us to make a mile tomorrow.

8. Refuse to grow upDid you know that when most people tell you to “grow up” what they are really saying is “I can't handle your reality, come down and live in mine.” No thanks! Life doesn't have to be and isn't intended to be the incredibly intense and serious drama we turn it into. Yes be responsible for your life and your commitments but don't lose your childlike ability to dream about and create enchantment.

Whatever enchantment you feel in your heart is there because the universe intends for you to live it. And if something as big and powerful as the universe wants to give it to you, who are you to deny it?

9. Don't wrestle with dilemmas, they're bigger than youYour mind is an energy magnet. The more excited it gets the more energy it attracts, but what kind of energy is it attracting? Thoughts that make you feel anxious, uneasy and helpless attract big hairy monsters known as dilemmas. They're bullies and they'll beat you down every time. Thoughts that make you laugh, feel ecstatic and blush attract lovely muses that sing you to sleep at night and also just happen to carry dilemma repellant. When you've got a problem to solve watch your energy, is your mind attracting the muses or the dilemma's? If it's the latter you'd better call in the Magickal Worry & Worse For Wear Department so they can fed-ex you the perfect solution asap.

10. Get addicted to happinessIt's sadly true that most of us for a great portion of our lives are addicted to negativity. For some reason we just don't feel right unless there's a major drama going on. Sure we can take happiness in small doses but too much and we start worrying about when it's all going to end. And then sure enough something “bad” happens. But help is available, you can become addicted to happiness and all it takes is a willingness to experience a little more happiness every single day. Before long you'll be able to tolerate happiness on a regular basis.

Start a happiness tolerance calendar to see how many days you can be happy without worrying about when it's going to end. Then you can begin increasing your ability to receive more happiness.

Claire Hunt is a modern day Merlin, Merlin's mentor and founder of the online Merlin community. To find out how you can become a real-life Merlin or live an enchanted life visit us at http://www.merlinsouls.com

For more great advice from the fey & fun Merlin practices get a FREE subscription to Lucid Dreams - the Merlin's newsletter Subscribe now!

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The Challenge of Mind

"Wizardry is the type of magic that is intellectually based, drawing on elements not identifiable by modern science, to perform various magical effects."
--"Cerberus" Master Wizard of the Hall of Legions
So, you have an interest in Wizardry, eh? Before we get into the real essence of Wizardry, let me make sure that you understand what it is all about. Wizardry is more focused on magic as science as opposed to magic as religion. Wizardry is based around logic more than faith. To have this explained further, please read on.
Wizardry basically has three rules that can quantify how to make spells and magic work for you. I shall tell the rule, and then explain it.
1. One cannot learn and focus on the parts of magic, but forget the whole.
2. The magic comes from knowledge of the principles of its use, and in the user's knowing of how magic affects the environment.
3. Magic comes from the combined effort of your heart and mind. Simple.

Raw Power and Dark Energies

The world of the Sorcerer is one which is wreathed in the mystic fires of the future. Having the same cunning and foresight as a Wizard, Sorcerers attempt to change their world through a slightly different means. While the Wizard tends towards "good" magics, and a defensive position, the Sorcerer tends to have an affinity for the "evil" magics and an aggressive mannerism. This does not imply that they are evil, per se, but it does show that they have a different approach tactic.
Sorcerers use the aggressive magics because they desire to take a pro-active role in the shaping of their future, or the future of their target. They use things that, by the definition of "White" and "Black" magic which is used in The Library of Knowledge, classify as black magics to shape things around them. The idea is similar to the famous analogy used in the magical community concerning psychic warfare: To participate in psychic warfare, one may either attack all of their enemies, or they may shield themselves. Both approaches accomplish the same goal -- the safety of the magician's target (even if it is themself). These approaches bear the same differences as Wizardry and Sorcery. The Wizard would adamantly defend themself, never becoming too concerned with whoever might be wasting their time attacking. The Sorcerer, conversely, would be the one counter-attacking their enemies, making no effort to adapt themselves to the enviroment, but rather adapting their environment to themselves. To this end, it is often useful for the Sorcerer to utilize an array of skills. These skills include scrying, enchanting, conjuring, and heavy reliance on the art of Magecraft.

Mind Over Matter

The art of subtle domination of the environment and one's surroundings is summed most perfectly in the art of Magecraft. The Mage is a highly intelligent, peaceful, mentally focussed individual who seeks the purest forms of control over themself, their surroundings, the people they meet, and the beings they come into contact with(A Mage must be peaceful, as an angry, vengeful, confused or otherwise highly emotional person cannot properly concentrate). Everything aspect of life that concerns a Mage from day to day is domineered so that the Mage is always in total control. Magecraft, as a whole art, consists essentially of three hubs: Psychism, Natural Magic, and Temporal Magic.

The Touch of Life

In advanced healing we try to step beyond the the normal cantrips, chants and spells to reach the true mechanics and skill involved in the art of healing. We also attempt to learn how to avoid sacrificing our own energy or aura to heal another. I will explain both the methodology and processes of healing, as well as some of the abilities one can use in this art.
No matter what view one takes on healing most agree that the outer etheric/auric or simply put "non-physical" body takes injury along with the physical body too. It's believed that when physical damage is incurred, the etheric body becomes misaligned and small fissures begin to open up. These etheric wounds heal much slower and sometimes not at all (often the cause of chronic or reoccurring pain). This is the Healer's purpose: to realign and bring harmony to this etheric damage so the physical body can heal more efficiently. This can be done through a number of methods including (what I've termed) Auric Transference and the more refined art of Auric Healing.

The Four Great Powers

Fire: Like a magical magnifying glass, the Elemental magician focuses all the loose fire magic floating about into one unified beam of energy. The result of this is a marked increase of heat. Perhaps the object targetted by a weaker Elemental magician will not instantly burst into flames (if combustible), but it will at least acquire a distinctly higher temperature than it should have. A "trick-of-the-trade" in using fire energy is to withhold as much as you can, and then release as much as possible all at once in a concentrated burst-stream.
Air: Air is typically the most used element because of its highly versatile nature. Air can be soft and slow to cool down a tired magician, and conversely it can be raging and concentrated to destroy structures, deflect projectiles or to relocate object forcibly. Air is most often used to make life easier, not as a destructive force. It can be used to cool (or warm, I suppose, depending on the temperature of the air in question) something, to hinder anything airborne, or to create mini-twisters.
Earth: Earth Elemental magic is very odd. The manifestations are extremely varied and radically alter whatever they affect. Earth can be used, in its most powerful form, to cause earthquakes, and in lesser forms to cause ground to cave in, to form spikes, to become uncooperative to an adversary, and virtually anything else a caster can imagine. The trick to using Earth is to combine it with another element. Earth and Wind equals a sandstorm; Earth and Water equals quicksand or mud. Earth and Fire equals hardened clay (which
can be pre-shaped). The drawback of Earth, however is that it is extremely rare to find an Elemental magician who has anything more than passing control of it.
Water: Water is the quietest of the elements, though no less powerful. It can be used to turn dirt into quicksand, to cause whirlpools, to feed dying plantlife, or to kill over-thriving plantlife through deprivation, to cause rain, or even a local flood. Water, though often called "The Element of Life", is also quite capable of ending life if present in inappropriate amounts. Lastly, Water is also used to quench fires.