Ordinary Magic - What is it?
What is Ordinary Magic?
Last week for our ‘Earth’ session, the poet Joy Waller joined us as a VIP guest. I was thrilled she agreed to join as she is a leading artistic light in Tokyo. On Sunday night I attended the launch of her latest poetry tome, ‘Light Ways’ and it was a night of wild artful performance and reflection on the posthumous work of John Francis Cross.
Ahead of the event start she came up to me and said you will not believe this although, of course we both knew that I would believe it.
Because this is how we live.
One of the writing prompts from last week’s Earth session was to dream up an animal that represents your writer. Joy had initially chose the crow, then had dreamed up the vulture instead. She had been telling our mutual friend and fellow poet/ordinary magician Duncan about her choice and her literary vulture encounter when he reached into his bag of magic props (he really does carry a sack or two of dream items around with him) and…
“The news caramelised her worst fears”
Joy’s instagram is here
This my friends, is the Ordinary Magic.
It started out as creative writing around ordinary objects (Cup, Door, Chair…) and finding the magic in the mundane (it’s always there)
I find that when you surround yourself with magic-steeped people, doing mystical things, and wait and watch the gathering of the fates - it will deliver back sometimes in the gentlest and sometimes the most surprising ways. These coincidences, while never mundane are always a delight. As my dear Grief Circle partner, Gretchen puts it ‘Let it be huge’. What better way to marry the Science, Psychology and Spirit than make a simple delightful coincidence mean magic.
My self-coaching involves putting myself in the way of this ordinary magic as abundantly as possible, and getting out of the way of restriction. Toward freedom, ease and responsibility, through good food, great clients, local engagement, yoga, the beach, nature, tending plants, resting, sleeping, restreats, coaching, listening to good content, watching the hills and the bamboo swaying therein, gazing at the moon (she’s at my left shoulder and I’m typing this from my front yard looking into the hills and the sky), skywatch, podcasts, a sporadic reading habit, sartorial interests, keeping up with science and research, which is its own magic, limiting news intake and constantly, forever leaning into my wellbeing. Love, good friends, great conversations, therapy and ever increasing boundaries. Real boundaries. Telling the truth. Celebrating. Gathering.
And sobriety. Forever sobriety.
And writing. Creative writing. Narrative writing. Journaling. Writing essays. Blogposts. A cast of characters dreamed up by my own imagination and a little help from my sempai and mentors. Together with my clients we look for the things that are getting in their way, actually psychologically or in theri spirit and we fully invite, embrace and work with those things so we can get out of our own ways and move forward!
I believe that writing is Ordinary Magic. All of it. One minute it isn’t there, the next, your thoughts have shape and form. Writers, thinkers, plucking ideas out of the air then putting them on paper or giving them digital life. Instigation of the magic can happen anywhere. A chair can bring a loved one, and grief, back to life for an instance. A scent on the air can bring back a flood of childhood holiday memories. A cup can hold stories, as well as all the mythology of tea and coffee. This, my friends is the Ordinary Magic. Making magic from the mundane.
PSSSST I’m having another retreat at the end of August - it can be used as a writerly retreat or a recharge, or you can just soak up the coaching with Sarah and movement practices with Angela Pettas. It’s going to be sublime hot summer love and serious business energy. Tickets are selling and you can sign up NOW! I LOVE these Saunter and Frolic retreats.
