The Wand Within
By Trina Keane
I was never enchanted by magicians as others seemed to be when I was growing up. I felt instinctively that we are far more magical beings with a much greater capacity to perform wondrous acts than the clever card or rabbit-out-of-hat-trick performances of a stage magician.
Over the years I’d been lucky enough to experience the truly magical - not least the angelic voice that told me I was about to meet the man I would marry and where to go in order to meet him!
As I grew older, I came to realise that we are the magic wand we seek, and by means of tapping into our higher sensory faculties such as our sense of knowing, intuition, imagination and creativity, we can connect with our personal power – our divine innate wisdom- to activate magical, synchronistic and serendipitous events every single day in our lives.
Living Magically Everyday
Today my coaching work involves helping women transform their lives - women in midlife and beyond whom I like to call the Wise & Ageless Goddesses. And in my Living Magically Everyday workshops and courses, I lay out some examples of the practices which help us stay in touch with our inner Wise Woman such as creating a sacred space or sanctuary, meditation, journalling, appreciation and gratitude, oracle cards, affirmation, vision boards, moon rituals and many others.
I consider these practices and rituals all part of a kind of magical toolbox available to all and it’s a joy to see many women making these new discoveries - often only coming to recognise an overlooked part of themselves, their inner essence or spirit, for the first time as they explore some of these wonders.
It is the realisation that it’s not only not silly, but essential that we schedule some magic every day, week and month that women can find enormously liberating and empowering. And very often this is the means by which new adventures may call or a growing desire may find space to flourish.
Ho’oponopono
One particular lady who came to me, had been suffering with many debilitating health issues and was very overwhelmed with a feeling of being unappreciated and overlooked within her large family. She had cared for her elderly parents more than any other member and her kindness had been taken for granted. Recently some of her old friends had arranged a reunion and she had been left out of the invitation. What left her feeling most powerless was that she felt if she complained, she would find herself further excluded.
She was really struggling to accept that, without the validation of others, she had any power at all. I was inspired to tell her about Ho’oponopono (pronounced HO Oh-Po–No-Po-No), the ancient Hawaiian practice which is a healing tool for supporting self love and balance. It is a practice of taking full responsibility for everything in your life – good and bad - and then surrendering any unhappy or negative circumstance to the divine for cleansing.
The process has four aspects and is very simple:
‘I’m sorry’
Acknowledging that everything in your life has come about by the choices and decisions you have made and that you are sorry for any circumstance that doesn’t serve you or others.
‘Please forgive me’
Asking for forgiveness for anything that you have knowingly or unknowingly done to yourself or others.
‘Thank you’
Expressing gratitude for the opportunity for growth in this experience.
‘I love you’
You pour unconditional love on yourself and on all that is. This transforms the low level vibrational energy attached to the issue and brings about a shift, allowing you to let go and let in divine energy.
To ‘cleanse’ yourself of any bad feelings and stuck energy, you chant the mantra repeatedly while sitting with your eyes closed, as a kind of meditation.
‘I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you.’
Then when you are ready, having forgiven and accepted forgiveness, you make a conscious choice to move on and release yourself from the ties to the wound or hurt feelings.
Miracles happen
My lovely, gentle client embraced this mantra wholeheartedly and meditated daily using it as a chant. Sometimes when she felt very unwell, she allowed a pre-recorded meditation (available online) recite the mantra for her and very quickly she experienced huge shifts. It was an entirely other woman I met when I saw her next, excited about the changes that were occurring in her relationships in herself and in her life.
‘I’m not looking out for the slights and hurtful comments’ she exclaimed. ‘And I want everyone to feel this sense of balance and calm. It’s not just for me.’ She went on to tell me, with real awe in her voice, that she had been receiving invitations to lunch from friends and family and offers of help with preparing meals and household chores during her bouts of illness which by the way, were becoming less prolonged. Until this point she had been left alone to cope with these episodes.
We are all Magicians!
Watching her face wreathed in smiles, listening to the lightness in her voice, I needed no other proof that we are never too old, too ill, or too closed-minded to discover that the only person we have control over is ourselves. Ultimately your life is your magic and whether we use wonderful, life altering tools from our toolbox such as Ho’oponopono, visualisation, affirmation, or any other method to effect needed change, the energy with which we make that magic, that sacred energy, is the powerful wand we each have within us.
