The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
The myrrh for the body’s burying.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Dear Friends:
If you know me well, you know I collect gold – and I love to give it away! Here are a few “golden nuggets” of magical wisdom to ponder as we move towards the new year.
I love giving gifts to my friends and family. (Shhh… and I occasionally get a gift for myself.) One of the reasons I hosted the first Mystery School 24 years ago is that I wanted to share the gifts of magic with my close friends… (and it was also a gift for myself!)
I invited the world’s foremost philosopher on the art of magic, Eugene Burger, to join us for a week at a magical retreat center. It was a exploration in “what magic could be in our lives”.
What we created that one weekend has evolved and grown over the last two decades into what is now called “The World’s Most Prestigious Magic School.” Tobias, Bryce and Abbi were all there! What our team created that weekend was a place for magicians to experience the deep mysteries of magic, and to encounter the best teachers in the world. A place to fill up on the magic of life… to be reawakened to the art of magic.
Quite simply put, you must have a magical experience before you can give a magical experience.
I want to learn form the best, so I ask the magic teacher that are tops in their fields to join us at Mystery School for a week. For the past 6 years, I have been hosting my friends and magic fans at Wonderground, and this year, I wanted to continue my studies in restaurant magic, so I called my friend Doc Eason.
Doc will be in Vegas for a special class and you are invited to join us for this special session called “Raise the Bar.”
Join us for a class this year in Las Vegas. We have Master Classes and classes on manipulation, restaurant magic, street magic, mentalism… and many more! Which class would be your favorite to attend? Explore our full schedule of classes at www.magicalwisdom.com.
We stream our magic classes 24 hours a day at mcbridemagic.tv.
Did you hear? Master Class is coming to Germany!My friend Gaston is really one of the great theatrical magicians in the world today. He is a great actor and a skilled conjurer. We are teaching a 3-day class in Germany together. This is a rare occasion opportunity to study the “theater of magic.”
For details, email Gaston:Â info@gastongaston.de
The biggest magic party in Las Vegas, and you are invited!
Once again, we have an amazing line up of guests from across the USA, including our capital of magic right here in Las Vegas. You can see the entire line up at www.vegaswonderground.com.
Abbi is home preparing for the holidays at The McBride House of Mystery. I am on tour a bit and home in time for our week at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, January 13-19. We hope to see all our friends from the Greater Los Angeles area then!
Wishing you all a most magical holiday season!
Jeff McBride and all the gang
at the Magic & Mystery School
Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.
— Hippocrates
Dear Friends:
Welcome to the holiday season! A time of year filled with much magic and special challenges for all of us. I think of it as “the dark time†of the year – probably because I have an inordinate fondness for sunshine, and there’s just not enough of it to go around for the next couple of months. In magic we must, however, learn to embrace both light and darkness, and to find ways of keeping our lives and our art in balance between the two.
Our guest author for this Museletter is Ricardo Rosencranz, our friend, colleague, and the man responsible for gaining us the ability to offer CME credit for our Magic & Medicine event. As a lover of magic, I find what Dr. Rosencranz has offered below to be a great reaffirmation and inspiration. I hope you will find it the same.
Ricardo T. Rosenkranz, M.D.
Sure, I love the magical arts. And I have dedicated a significant portion of my life to medicine. But connecting them together has never been about my interests or me. Magic and Medicine intertwined in my life just as the two snakes encircle the rod of Hermes. But for what purpose?
For as long as I can remember, I have longed for a life of beneficial service. Painting a smile on someone’s face and pouring measures of hope into someone’s cup have been my fantasies, then dreams, then quests. I am no different than many of my colleagues in Medicine who enter the profession for the self-same reasons.
Today, however, the life of a physician seems to drift away from that fundamental, ventral, central goal of mine. Productivity, technology, competence, efficiency, evidence and proficiency are the terms that define our professional lexicon. And yet, we long for the true meaning of what we do. I know this because nearly every physician I meet reflects on the existence of this malaise and senses that our boat has indeed veered away. Is it unexpected? Not really. Today’s winds, forcibly swirling around the ship, are the product of the engine of progress. We hunger for more knowledge, want to have a bigger impact in the health of others, and strive for excellence and precision. It seems that since the 17th Century, when the Scientific Method gave rise to the modern view of Medicine, we have been sailing at vertiginous speeds, eradicating illnesses right and left. But where are we going?
Currents create winds and winds beget storms. Today, I would venture that we are adrift because we believe more in ship than sailor, more in GPS than captain, more in engine than ingenuity. The noise of the motor is so loud that it drowns out the voices of the most important ones, the oft forgotten reluctant passengers of this ship: the patients. Even the great William Osler, father of modern medicine said, “He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.”
That is where I have found the second snake of this caduceus I might call my life’s paradigm. I would like to think that she saw what was missing in my “Aesculapian Staff†and methodically embedded herself into my self-awareness. Her name is Magic, and she is teaching me to better understand the world of healing. Every night she reads to me from the books of Burger, McBride, Maven, Neale, and Hass, among others. She lifts a mirror towards my audience allowing me to see my patients’ hearts while my reflection sheds a painted smile. And it is through her that I have come to understand that which I already knew, yet needed to experience from the other side of the sail.
Today’s Medicine, while breathtaking, needs a course correction. Medicine needs to pay heed to the balance of science and humanities. But this is not the only realm caught up in the storm of reductionism and practicality. It seems today that all educational endeavors are challenged by this concept. Recently, the presidents of Stanford University and Michigan (a computer scientist and a biochemist) published the following in the Washington Post:
“The humanities — history, literature, languages, art, philosophy — and the social sciences focus on the lasting challenges relevant to all of us: creating lives of purpose and meaning, appreciating diversity and complexity, communicating effectively with others and overcoming adversity. Ultimately, our ability to work meaningfully with others will determine the success of our enterprises, and that ability is honed through the humanities and social sciences.”
In the world of the Caduceus, I firmly believe that technology, technique, synthesis, evidence, and method need to embrace with art, grace, empathy, reasoning, understanding, and love. To me, this is the challenge of my generation.
That is why I chose to merge these two realms of mine. That is why I love to teach young medical students who hold neither preconception nor predisposition. Because I believe in transformation and empowerment, I never tire of sharing what Medicine and Magic can say to each other.
And when the Caduceus is planted in terra firma, when complementary snakes dance upon its solid staff allowing the inner eye to really learn and see the truth, the wings shall overtake the sky, embracing all with care and compassion. Now that’s a journey of a lifetime.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.â€
— Plutarch
I hear lots of them… mostly from folks that are stuck in jobs they hate.
“I’m too old to begin a new career”
“What if I fail?”
“I don’t have the time or resources to do this!”
Many great artists had financial challenges or started late in life!
See http://tinyurl.com/ydckbyt
But, many great artists had a mentor! And a mentor is worth more than gold! A mentor reignites our creativity and passion, and lights the way for us when we feel lost.
This is a question I often ask our students at our classes. Who do you consider your coach, your inspiration? Just like in STAR WARS… the hero needs a mentor; one to bring out that hidden treasure inside.
Sometimes it takes a very special teacher to “bring out the gold” in you. Think back over your school years… who was your favorite teacher and why? Many of MY mentors, guides and teachers weren’t “school teachers,†they were people I admired. I put energy into contacting them and meeting with them… and then a friendship began.
I’ve been with Tobias and Eugene over 20 years!
When I perform my “sorcerer’s apprentice” coin routine, I often have a strong impact on my onstage “apprentice,†and also on his family. After the show, the parents frequently tell me about how shy their kid was, and that they never seen him perform like that! My message is one of empowerment. The audience feels this and knows that it is more than a trick. This the REAL MAGIC!
My performance and my teaching is all about “finding the treasures that are hidden inside of you!â€Â It takes a mentor to help you learn the process. then it is YOUR turn to mentor others!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTyYJInSRWQ
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.â€
― Benjamin Franklin
One of Abbi’s early music mentors was her piano teacher, Mr. Charles Rose. When she started playing, at four years old, Mr. Rose had the right combination of talent, patience and creativity to get her involved and keep her motivated…. Now, Abbi’s music is a big part of what motivates many to become their highest visions. She recently finished her third solo project, called The Family of Fire. Take a listen, and let us know what you think:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/abigailspinnermcbride2
Some people never find a mentor…why?..they do not look! But, there are steps to consider if you do want to find a mentor… Adam Toren is an entrepreneur, mentor, investor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com. Adam says, “Although few entrepreneurs are fortunate enough to have a keen mentor in the family, it is possible to find one or two. Here are eight tips to getting the right mentor – or group of mentors – for you:
Read more from Adam here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222694#ixzz2kB6havx1
Abbi and I love to read the poems of Jalaluddin Rumi…his poetry inspires us. Though he died hundreds of years ago., his words still mentor millions!
Hidden gold
“You sit here for days saying,
This is strange business.
You’re the strange business.
You have the energy of the sun in you,
but you keep knotting it up at the base of your spine.
You’re some weird kind of gold
that wants to stay melted in the furnace,
so you won’t have to become coins.”
— Rumi
I’ll be taking one of my favorite collections of Rumi’s poetry, called Open Secret when I leave for Bulgaria in a few days. I’ll be in touch when I get home!
Keep your furnace blazing my friends!
Jeff and Abbi
If you want to be filled with the fire of inspiration and creativity…we have new classes coming up
www.magicalwisdom.com
WONDERGROUND is coming up Thursday Nov. 21, we have the full line up here!
www.vegaswonderground.com
“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy – because we will always want to have something else or something more.”
—Brother David Steindl-Rast
Greetings friends,
Abbi here, in the House of Mystery, feeling particularly grateful today. Jeff has recently returned home from China, where he was the first magician to receive a standing ovation from the Beijing Magic Convention in their entire history. I am grateful he is home, safe, healthy and well.
As we move toward our official one day of the year to remember gratitude, I was reflecting on the different kinds of gratitude I’ve been aware of recently.
Jeff scares Abbi with one of his many faces
This form of thankfulness stems from expectation; it’s insincere and inauthentic – (“oh, gee, thanks; you shouldn’t have…”). This false gratitude may arise within us when we feel like someone is expecting our expression of gratitude and will be offended (or worse) if they don’t receive it. I remember once, as a little girl, my father’s mother, Muriel, had sent me a small gift for my sixth birthday, which, for some reason, I didn’t properly acknowledge. When I saw her, a couple of months later, she came up to me and said, “Abbi, I have a bone to pick with you. I sent you a gift, and you didn’t send me a thank-you note.” I felt terrible, and muttered, “thanks, Grandma.” Gratitude, when demanded, loses its sweetness. Feeling like one must be grateful is an excellent way to lose any real gratitude. For me, if I find myself doing something I don’t want to do, in hopes that someone will give me their gratitude in response, that’s the time for me to stop, breathe, and remember that if I can’t do something with a willing spirit and a glad heart, it’s probably better that I not do it at all.
“It’s a troublesome world. All the people who’re in it are troubled with troubles almost every minute. You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot,for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not.”
— Dr. Seuss
This type of appreciation appears when we think about the things that didn’t happen, or that we don’t have, and are honestly thankful for them. For instance, I’m very deeply grateful that I don’t have to spend eight hours a day under fluorescent lights, on my feet, in a job I hate. I’m grateful that I don’t have a house filled with empty beer cans and a blaring television. You get the picture – there are lots of things to have reverse gratitude for, but this way of seeing things can easily lead into judgmental thinking, so use sparingly, with caution.
Giving thanks for the gifts we receive
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
—Albert Schweitzer
True gratitude arises when we are aware of the gifts in our lives and allow ourselves to experience a feeling of thankfulness, from the heart. There are so many gifts: the fact that we live on a planet perfectly positioned so that we receive just the right amount of sunlight to make all things grow, with an ideal atmosphere for breathing, and pure water to drink – to our health and well-being of body, mind and spirit, – to our relationships with family and friends. Once we open the door to gratitude, the list expands.
So much gratitude
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
—Winston Churchill
Jeff and I are deeply grateful for each one of you reading this. Whether you have seen us perform in a show, attended a lecture, participated in our virtual magic school, or have studied with us here in Las Vegas, we are grateful to have you in our magical circle, and thankful that our paths have crossed. It’s been said that gratitude opens the door for grace to come in, and that what we focus on is what increases. As we move closer to the end of the year, let us remember to tune into what we can be grateful for, so that more gifts, more creativity, more blessings may flow to us and through us.