Spiritual Magic
By Stephen Thomson
There will always be a fascination with magic as long as glamorous myths of heroic men, fair maidens and good triumphing over evil exists. Every child passes some part of each day fantasizing about ideas like great acts of bravery or experiencing deep love that is beyond believability. As we move into adulthood our dreams take on an 'only if' texture concerning how things could be. The 'could be' includes our perspective of the perfect family, fabulous wealth, a great body, and never growing old. There are movies and a whole range of new and classical literature to support the super hero/heroine idea, but for most of us, the belief that power of such a magnitude exists within us is far beyond what we can conceive. The idea of self-Mastery becomes clouded and seems to fall even further from our reach with the demands of daily living.
For the majority of people, the idea that everyone has the ability to perform magic and that it truly exists is far removed from the range of possibility and reality of everyday life. In truth, this innate ability exists within all of us. In fact, the majority of children's storybook descriptions are of the most fundamental and powerful spiritual practices. The basic principles are presented in a most fantastic way that would throw anyone off the path from associating any of the concepts or ideas as having any basis in reality. Moreover, in this way, a personification of the God forces within each of us has become a part of the consciousness of all humankind. Yet few of us seek out or are taught the methods for controlling the forces of nature.
At some point or another all of us have wished for the Merlin ability to conjure up specific circumstances, or to create a situation that would save the day and create the right circumstances. With a wand or the blink of an eye, we would find the perfect solution for any problem or situation facing us. Think of being able to experience the fullest extent of our ability or have most of the things we desire. Each of us hold this power and can experience the same effects through the combined resources of the physical body, the psychic senses and the added belief in universal energy that abounds to support every aspect of life. Spiritual magic is about formulating and determining intent for God and ourselves and from there fully concentrating our energy on creating what we want in our lives. For most of us, the biggest obstacles arise in trying to determine what we want, feel we are entitled to, and believe we can accomplish.
Spiritual magic is a process of transforming our consciousness through the teachings we study and the practices we undertake. Our soul-based intention is to evolve beyond the limitations we placed on ourselves through numerous incarnations. We want to gain control and Mastery over the human parts of us. These emotional responses rob us of our peace and destroy the harmony we can achieve through our spiritual practices. We are looking to become Masters over our lower-self, thereby setting ourselves free to achieve the highest levels of self-Mastery. In this place of advancement, we transform our lower nature and emotional responses in life to a place where we are no longer susceptible to the drives of the five physical senses. In time, we become Masters of our own life, ruling over the emotional, physical and mental parts of us that are not always acting in alignment with our higher-self.
There is a good deal written these days about how to achieve the desires we hold in life and achieve our goals. So much is focused on the material part of life. Perhaps that is where we are at this time in the evolution of humankind. Our goal rests in our ability to continually release the needs of the physical world and our senses. As we become more connected with the idea of the creative nature of God, attune, and harmonize with the energy we feel represents our higher good, then fear and worry begin to disappear. The unhappiness we experience in life comes from our material desires. Once satisfied, they are immediately replaced with another newer, bigger or shinier version.
This is not to suggest that our material concerns are to be overlooked. What we desire, the emphasis we place on things is a reflection of our karma and most importantly the content of our path to higher-knowledge. As we continue to engage in earthly pursuits, our spiritual path goes unattended if we are not careful. We can look to our material desires as the root cause and basis for our level of spiritual unfolding. It is a perfect formula. Our focus on material riches is directly reflected in the expansion of our higher-self.
This is perhaps the most important step of spiritual magic — coming to know what we want and what is important to us. There are so many limitations we must first break through in our own consciousness in order to know what we truly want. Our senses are barraged each day by the thoughts and behavior of others, beginning with our parents. It can take us a long time to fully discover our uniqueness, separate and apart from anyone else. This is not about the demands and expectations projected on us by others and the world around us. Rather, gaining a sense of ourselves based upon study, experimentation and first-hand knowing. It can even be said the definition of spiritual magic is the continual unfolding of our consciousness when we achieve an advanced state of consciousness where we know our truth and the truth about the universe.
The essence of spiritual magic is the ability to transform and grow, but most importantly control our thinking. As we start to become aware of the impact of our thinking in our lives, we can readily see that what we are creating is directly related to our habitual thought patterns. Once awareness becomes a part of our lives and we create an objective voice within our minds, we can begin to change the way we think and refocus our lives. No longer a slave to the demands of the physical senses, we move up the ladder of consciousness opening the door to being able to live in harmony with all of life.
We have to remember we are not alone in creating what we want in our lives. The universal energy and Cosmic Masters have input over what we are doing or trying to manifest. For example, if something is purely selfish and does not serve the higher good of all humankind, our requests will go unanswered. The reason so many people think their prayers, petitions or intentions go unnoticed is because of the filtering and editing process that is automatically completed by the Universe. Most of the time our wishes are granted but with a minor change. Since we do not get an exact duplicate to what we requested, hope is lost and belief is shaken. Sometimes it takes an objective view to realize we have been blessed by a petition being granted. Furthermore, there can be karmic implications to what we are trying to create. Although this is a hard element to identify and can feel speculative, it is a factor in our ability to manifest our thoughts. This may even include something being stopped because of other energy it would create that we are unaware.
How do we achieve spiritual magic in our lives? The first step along the way is to establish strong practices that support our work. This can include prayer, meditation and studying the teachings of the Great Masters who have lived on the earth. With this knowledge as a backdrop, an invisible and loving hand becomes present in our lives and slowly we begin to be guided to the deeper parts of which we are and come to know our true soul nature. Then to transform our ways of thinking and behaving to live in accordance with these teachings, requires a tremendous amount of discipline. The last piece happens as we pass through the school of earth life. We are not perfect and the work we are doing will continue until we have learned and accomplished what we came into this life to achieve. Then our lives are over.
There is also the issue of intentional thinking. Our thoughts have a magnetic quality that create energy and become the basis for the content of our everyday life. If we are monitoring our thinking and discipline ourselves to think in certain ways, dismissing what is not in harmony with the direction we wish to take our lives in, then we are the alchemist. This is especially difficult when we have no prior experience along the lines of certain ways of thinking, or role models on which to pattern our thinking. It takes a lot of discipline to not let our thoughts slip in to the rut of our easy ways of thinking, which are not always the best for us.
In the end, we come to understand there really is no magic. Self-Mastery is the combination of right living, combined with knowledge of Cosmic Law and a deep connection with God.
Your questions and comments are always welcome. To contact me, visit my website, www.Stephenthomson.net or email me at steve@stephenthomson.net.
This is an excerpt from another new book by Stephen Thomson, co-authored with Michael Guarino, entitled Evolving Consciousness: A Dialog Between Two Initiates, now available on Amazon.com. He also recently published Essays on Attaining Spiritual Self-Mastery, a compilation of the articles that have appeared over the last few years in The Spirit of Ma'at Magazine.
Steve's book, The Secret Key is available through the Spirit of Ma'at Bookstore. His new book entitled, Essays on Spiritual Self-Mastery is now available on Amazon.com.
We are happy to announce the publication of Stephen Thomson's latest book: "ESSAYS ON SPIRITUAL SELF-MASTERY"
"The words that weave the fabric of this book come from a series of articles that Steve Thomson wrote for the Spirit of Ma'at Magazine over a period of five years. They reflect a body of experience that comes from a lifetime of seeking. Between the lines, you will catch a glimpse of a man who has reclaimed enough of his own divinity to own the authority to write about what it means to connect with it. And if you hear the voice of the benevolent teacher, be grateful that Stephen took the time to speak from his heart — because ever since inner development became a commodity it's become much harder for the seeker to tell the difference between truth and lies. What you will find here is a truthful sharing of what it means to be a spiritual being having a human experience. Every single one of these essays is a safe haven for anyone who wants to be certain they are being guided by someone who knows."
Cal Garrison
Editor in Chief at the Spirit of Ma'at
(Excerpted from the back cover notes)
Those of you who wish to order a copy of "Essays on Spiritual Self-Mastery" will find it on www.amazon.com and at: www.stephenthomson.net.
About Stephen Thomson
Steve Thomson is a writer, teacher, and psychic, well known throughout the United States. He leads workshops about metaphysical practices, including meditation, expansion of the psychic senses, the Tarot, and the Kabala. Steve has been a member of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC for over 20 years and a student of Paramahansa Yogananda's, Self-Realization Fellowship for over 10 years. His book entitled The Secret Key is available through our website. Steve other book, Essays on Attaining Spiritual Self-Mastery — A Book for Meditation, Prayer and Journaling, and a new book he co-authored with Michael Guarino, Evolving Consciousness — A Dialog Between Two Initiates, are available on Amazon.com. He is currently working on a new book entitled Discovering Your Spiritual Truth — A Primer for the Path.
You may write Steven personally at Steve@stephenthomson.net
or visit his website: www.stephenthomson.net
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