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The Everyday Sacred--transcending "the illusion of mundane"

We are perfectly free to think of our everyday life as mundane and label only those moments in which we are doing something out of the ordinary as magical, but that would be based on an illusion. I call it "the illusion of mundane." It's quite a pervasive illusion in our current cultural climate, and it's one that we're all bound to be seduced by now and again (like when we're washing the dishes or standing in line at the DMV), but it's still an illusion. In truth, there is no such thing as mundane: this life experience is completely and utterly wondrous. What's more, it's mysterious, magical, magnificent, astonishing, and transcendent. Yes, we will forget that sometimes, but that doesn't mean that it's not always true.

In essence, this is the heart of my spiritual path: to recognize the magic in everything and to express and channel the power contained within this recognition as much as possible, all the time. This means that not just our obvious magical workings, but also everything we do - no matter how habitual or commonplace - is an opportunity to celebrate the Great Holy Mystery, to express our power to create positive change, and to honor the enchantment in each moment and in everything.

Clean the House to Clear the Way

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Every time you clean the house - or even every time you clean any part of the house - you can do so with an intention. For example, let's say you want to make some new friends. Before you clean the kitchen, you can think, "I'm cleaning the kitchen with the intention to create space for new friends to come into my life." Then you can put on some fun music, light a stick of cinnamon incense (or something warm and cozy feeling), and clean. As you wipe the counter you can think, "I'm clearing the way for new friends," and as you clean the stove you can think, "The shinier this stove gets, the more irresistibly I will draw wonderful new friends into my life experience."

Or you can be less specific and simply clean with the deep inner knowing that the cleaner your house is, the more easily and swiftly blessings of all varieties will come flowing into your life in abundance.

The Inner Speed Limit

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A challenging symptom of our current cultural climate is that we can feel drawn into the mindset of multitasking and rushing around so much that we lose sight of the joy and inspiration that is our natural state. Sometimes when I notice myself slipping into this, I can take a step back and also notice that it's not even helping me to move faster anyway! I try to wash the dishes faster, and then I break a dish and have to clean it up - or I'm so distracted by what I'm supposed to do in an hour that I forget important parts of the task I'm doing in the present and have to go back and do the task all over again. Then I get so rushy and buzzy that my body gets out of sync with my mind, and I begin to feel discomfort in my belly and heart. And what's even worse is that I'm not even enjoying my beautiful life experience! The precious moment is slipping by me unnoticed, until it's literally gone forever, never to be retrieved!

A wonderful way I've found to remind myself to get back on track is to think of minding my "inner speed limit." This is a concept I learned from the wonderful book Open Heart, Open Mind by Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Rinpoche defines the inner speed limit as "a comfortable margin of activity that allows us to complete the tasks with which we're faced on a daily basis without receiving a mental, emotional, or physical speeding ticket." So the inner speed limit isn't about doing less or about doing things at a snail's pace, it's about doing what we're doing without getting ahead of ourselves. We're going to do it anyway, so why not do it with love and our full presence of mind? It's a simple, profound concept that brings such nourishment and joy to every moment.

Devotional Self-Care

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Many of us were subtly or overtly raised with the idea that the physical body (and even the whole physical world) is somehow bad, dirty, and wrong. And even if we had very open-minded parents, we were still raised - and live - in a culture with a long philosophical tradition of shunning the realm of the body and the senses. But when you consider that everything is connected - that there is no separation between form and spirit, and that the entire physical world constantly reflects and interacts with the nonphysical - the concept of the intellect and spirit being morally superior to the body appears to possess some serious flaws. In addition to being illogical, it teaches us to distrust our sexuality and to dislike our very physical presence! Because the realm of the physical is so inherent to our very identities, as well as the survival of our species, this in turn contributes to violence and mental illness, and even lends itself to the cruel and unthinking destruction of our beautiful and life-giving earthly environment.

I mention this because when I noticed the seeds of these body-negating beliefs within my own consciousness and purposely released them in favor of honoring my body as the sacred vessel it is, I experienced a massive amount of healing and an enormous inflow of personal power. That's why I suggest that, as a part of your everyday magical path, you express great devotion toward your own body. Bathe it, care for it, and clothe it lovingly. Take the time to find the products that best nourish your skin and hair, and adorn yourself in the colors, textures, and patterns that feel best to you and fuel your personal power. You are a sacred being, after all; every single day, honor your physical body in the same way you might burn incense at a divine altar. Each time you do so, you'll come more and more deeply into alignment with your intuition, your magical power, Mother Earth, and All That Is.

This is an excerpt from my BRAND new book, Holistic Energy Magic.

Enter to win one of three signed copies here.

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dandelion image: flickr/Hiroyuki Takeda

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Tess Whitehurst is the award-winning author of a number of books, including The Magic of Flowers and Holistic Energy Magic. She's also a feng shui consultant and a worldwide intuitive counselor. She lives in Boulder, CO. Visit her and sign up for her free monthly newsletter at tesswhitehurst.com.

Comments

  • BlondieWitch
    BlondieWitch Friday, 10 April 2015

    What a fabulous article! Magic should be a part of everything we do, for we live in a magical world! Have a freaky fantastic weekend! NamAste, BlondieWitch

  • Tess Whitehurst
    Tess Whitehurst Saturday, 11 April 2015

    Thank you so much, BlondieWitch! You have a great weekend too. :)

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