Most of us have heard the old adage of how some people see the cup half full and others, half-empty. I have taken it a step further: some of us have to make our own cup. You see there is a way to look at life or rather how life treats you. One person can be an optimistlife has treated them well or at least fairly. There are others (pessimists) that life seems to have passed by or worse yet, dumped on. There are some people who, other than the grief from the inevitable loss of a loved one, live uncompromised lives. Yet, we all know people who, no matter how hard they try, they have a rough ride just getting through life with their heads held high. For these, life is difficult indeed.
Some people seem to gain opportunity just by being in the right place at the right time. Others must work hard, plan strategic moves and learn to know when to take that leap, leave the familiar and expand into a new area. I think most of us have the latter scenario as our journey. The problem is, we often fall short somewhere between planning and knowing when to take that ‘leap.’ Most of us prefer the comfortable. The comfortable does not have to be pleasant. It is what is known and familiar. Why else is it so hard for people to decide to move or relocate for a job? It is because change is difficult and frightening.
It is when life holds nothing exciting or enchanting, when we are in a rut we cannot climb out of that it becomes time to make a new cup. Making a new cup is not easy. We only know the cup we had and what was in it. If we truly do not like the old cup or what we were drinking from it, we have to look at ourselves and see how did we brew that drink that made it so bitter? We need to think about what kind cup do we want now? What kind of new drink could we possibly make and how the heck do we start making a cup? Do we pour out the old drink altogether, do we throw out the cup? They both had their purpose for a long time. Do we want to really part with them?
These may all seem like rhetorical questions but they are not. To bring about change takes conscious effort. After all, we lived in our rut, with our rut and perpetuated (re-created) our rut probably for a long time. We probably had all the reason in world to be in our rut to begin with. Our life path may have been extremely difficult or deprived, giving us every reason in the world to feel justified in having the fears we have and remaining with the familiar, even if uncomfortable. But, you know what? Changing is even more uncomfortable, especially if you begin from the standing point of no faith or trust. If you are starting at this standing point, you have to decided whether or not you are going to take a “leap” of the faith you do not yet have. You’re not sure what you believe in anymore, you just hope there is something to believe in because you surely do not believe in yourself. You reflect on your life and decide you really cannot stand another day, week or year of the same old routine so, you decide to work on changing. The beauty of this first decision, is that you do not have to change anything about your environment. You don’t have to quit your job, you don’t have to relocate. You simply have to begin with your own package. You are the cup that is to be. You are going to fashion it and decide the stuff that will go into this new vessel.
Congratulations! When you decided to work on change, you embarked on the majickal journey of thought transformation. The beauty of majickal thought is that you do not have to be a Wiccan or witch. You do not have to be a shaman or priest. You can use the thought principles that go into casting spells or doing ‘work’ and apply them to yourself on a very personal level. The key to right thinking (or contemplation) is to be sure no one is harmed by your goal, that you improve yourself at the cost of no one else (do not demean someone in order to feel more powerful) and to be very, VERY FOCUSED.
As you think, see what it is you want, taste what it is you want and wait. Some people sit quietly and imagine VIVIDLY their desire, some people will write it down. By the way, writing something down then burning it, seals the idea completely. Anonymous groups use this exercise very successfully to purge anger, rage or sorrow.Another thing you could do is take a dried twig you have found and, as you think of what it is you want to change about yourself, strip the bark off, pouring the energy of your desired outcome into every movement. Always keep the picture and feeling in your mind and body. This is not easy to do but with practice, it can be done. I was in a nowhere job once for far too long. I was highly skilled but grossly underpaid in the social services field. I needed a better paying job but how could one command a higher paying job when your current salary was so LOW? I was not naive. No matter what one knew, in order to demand a high salary you at least had to be making a salary that demonstrated your worth. I was just beginning to discover my spiritual path and so, I cast a simple spell using a twig, some cotton thread and a few pebbles. I had a small daughter to support and I was not making it financially. I had not yet met my second husband, so I was on my own completely. Despite my fears and desperation, I reached a state of mind in which I could see and taste a new position with more money. I worked feverishly to complete my work before I lost the concentration.
When I completed it, I went to a nearby park, flung the twig with the rocks attached to it by the thread high up into a tree. I left cornmeal at the base of the tree and thanked it for its assistance. Within three months, a friend of mine told me about a totally new position with her agency. I called, made an appointment to interview and although the competition was rather stiff, I got the position and had a $25,000 jump in salary! I have helped others find jobs, collect money due them from people, obtain benefits they were rightly entitled to and meet a soul mate. Now, by meeting a soul mate I mean the right person for them, ahead of a timetable, someone they would have met eventually. This is different from targeting a particular person and deciding he or she is the one for you and doing something to make them desire you. This is wrong! I am talking about a ‘generic’ request to meet a soul mate if that person is destined to meet you in this lifetime. You must, of course, accept the possibility that you are not supposed to meet in this lifetime. This is where acceptance is so important. We must all be willing to accept those karmic areas that may be fixed. We just can’t always know what they are. In thinking properly, and depending on our skill, it is possible to push a timetable up quite a bit. This is why I do not believe in things being fixed. Since we do not know, for the most part, what is and is not fixed, why should we sit on the sidelines deciding this is karma and that is karma? Too many people use karma as an excuse to give up, sit around and feel sorry for themselves. The end-result will be reliving similar-lifetimes until they “get it.”
Remember, Jewish people believe each life is a blank slate, that no soul has a recollection of it’s previous knowledge. I say, if we allow ourselves to be touched by our own spirit power that is programmed to get us going rather than rationalizing effort away, we can gain or regain previous knowledge. We must be open minded enough to watch, listen and feel!
Keep in mind that what we wish to accomplish after mastering rethinking is the bringing about of change in our lives with the creation of “ripples” in space and time. How quickly something is achieved depends not just on our focusing skills but also on how many years we contributed to the circumstance we wish to change. How many times and for how long did we tell ourselves it could not be done, hence closing ourselves off to opportunities by not just being blind to them but actually preventing them from coming our way?
Let’s look at an example of attracting that which you want. Go to a party and look around. Invariably the person having the most fun will be the person who is dressed neatly, appears to have made an effort in the area of grooming, smiles easily and in general emits an openness to meeting people. Now look for the ‘wallflower’. Wallflowers are not born. They are made. The wallflower will stand to the side and appear as if, not expecting to have a good time, no effort was made into appearance. This goes for men or women. Does a wallflower seem approachable? Probably not. Insecurity is projected as loudly as a scream. So wallflowers in actuality, bring about their own anticipated outcome.
Do an experiment like the one I did. I went to a club, neatly dressed but deliberately slouched in a remote area of the club. Who would have known I am an excellent dancer? No one. I deliberately did not project that I was. A week later, I went back. I deliberately dressed more casually (jeans and sneakers) and positioned myself close to the dance floor. I wore very little make up but, projected that I was light on my feet. I did not miss a dance the whole evening! People saw what I wanted them to see.
So, not only does how we think affect how we see ourselves but how others see us as well. If this is true than it can also be said that as we think we are, we are. But, we can also become that which we see ourselves becoming.
Call it a Eureka moment. Call it a point in time in which you say “enough is enough” or you bow down on your knees and beg your God to have mercy and help you. You have become in touch with something greater than you and your circumstances. You have found your spirit power! Whether you seize it for your self or the Creator says “Here. I was wondering how long you were going to take”- you have now created a “ripple” in your destiny. You have created a possibility for something that wasn’t there before.
Change.