Dear Friends:
We have just passed the Fall Equinox, and we enter the magical month of October. As summer ends and the days begin to grow shorter, we gather in the harvest of our activities over the past few months, have a look at where we are in our lives, and consider what sort of changes we might wish to make for the future. Our guest author this month is George Parker. George is one of our faculty members and advisors at the Magic & Mystery School. When he is not working with us, he is a “Corporate Alchemist,†performing his magic across Europe in order to help companies transform themselves. Today he shares a bit of his wisdom about magic and transformation with us here:
As a magician, I have had numerous conversations about what is real and what isn’t real in my shows. To me, there is no hard black line that separates fact from fiction. Our brain doesn’t even distinguish tangible reality from fantasy. I will not tire you with the scientific background of this claim. Instead, I’ll illustrate it with a simple example. What happens to you when you THINK you lost your wallet? Adrenaline and cortisol (a stress hormone) are produced: very REAL substances. In turn, they will induce new, mostly panicky, thoughts. Of course, ninety-nine out of a hundred times, you have just misplaced your wallet; it’s not REALLY gone. The whole experience was produced by yourself.
From a magical point of view, the insight that our thoughts produce tangible reality and the other way around, is very useful. We can help restore the broken connection between imagination and tangible reality. We can help people to envision a future they want and make that image very real in their minds — only to stimulate them to connect that image to current reality. We can even invite them to time-travel and re-write their biography, only to end up with a better person today. My wife, Marja, and I recently did this exercise. She wanted to be a little bit more of an extravert. To do that, she traveled back in time (in her mind), and made up some new events that were much more supportive of the extravert personality trait she wanted to develop. She started to feel better immediately. For me, the most exciting part was her question: and who were YOU in my new timeline? This isn’t about denying or ignoring important events. It’s about what you do with them once you’ve processed them.
What do you love and hate about your past? How would you edit your processed past in order to end up with something you need today?
Aaaaahh, isn’t magic in its essence the wonderful art of transformation?!
I recently added two new Virtual Lessons from Jeff:
I’m currently working on another lecture from Jeff and a large collection of material from Eugene. You’ll be the first to know when it’s ready.
As I write this, Jeff McBride is on a plane flying back from Panama, where he has just wound up his month-long tour with The Illusionists in South America. He’ll be home just long enough to unpack and repack his bags before heading off to a very special weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. Our friend Ray Smerlin, of Smerlin Entertainment, has arranged a full on “McBride Magic Experience,†for Saturday and Sunday, preceded by two performances by Jeff on the stages at the city’s “First Friday celebration.Tickets for the show and lecture on Saturday and for Jeff’s workshop Sunday afternoon are going fast…so be sure and get yours now if you are in the Louisville area:
http://smerlinentertainment.com/Press/JeffMcBride1005.htm
October is a VERY full month here at the McBride Magic & Mystery School — and most of the events scheduled are nearly filled…but we do have one or two slots left for each one. So check out the schedule and make your reservations now for these and future classes and events:
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about any of our events… or about booking Jeff McBride for talks, performances or our “McBride Magic Experience.â€
Best wishes for a wonderful month of magic!
Sincerely,
Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com