I’ve always been drawn to magic.
Of course, the sort of magic I used to consider “real” magic was the extraordinary sort: The miracles of Jesus. The powers of Merlin. The might of Superman. An implicit, ironic assumption is that “real” magic doesn’t really exist. That, of course, is why it’s called “magic.”
Right?
Then I learned how to lucid dream. In these dreams, I found that even the most mundane things gave me cause for joy. Bending down and feeling pavement beneath my hand, and knowing that the sensation came from me! From my own mind! The feeling of that simple texture represented my own power to create the reality I inhabited — the supreme power. I could fly. I could walk through walls. I could stop time. If it was dark, I could make the sun rise with a gesture of my hand.
How could reality compete? I wanted to spend all of my time in my dreams. But dreams, alas, are only dreams; there was no way to bring that kind of power, that kind of meaning, into waking life.
Slowly, though, I started encountering individuals who possessed something like magical abilities. People like my San Francisco wing chun kung fu teacher Kenneth Chung, whose sensitivity and ability to easily penetrate my defenses seemed nothing short of supernatural. Or Tom Brown, Jr., who could track mice across gravel and follow human prints across pavement. Or Robert Bruce, who has been seeing auras and travelling out-of-body all his life. Their feats and stories inspired me and filled me with awe. And why? Because they demonstrated tremendous command in their worlds, because their abilities gave them power over others.
I pursued some of this magic. I learned a bit of wing chun, a bit about tracking, a bit about astral projection. I had a few interesting experiences. They whetted my appetite for more powerful ones.
That, of course, is the trap of the sensation junkie. And I realized it, after awhile. And eventually I also realized that it led to a dead end, that no matter how “spiritual” the experience, the sensation junkie merely craves more sensations, to fill the emptiness within the self. There had to be a more effective way, a direct way to banish that emptiness rather than merely fill it.
I realized then the wisdom in the spiritual path. If I can’t fill myself through cultivating power and excitement through external activities, then the only alternative is to fill myself with excitement and power through experiencing the world as it is.
This is the magic of the mundane. It’s the opposite of what some term “black magic,” the use of supernatural abilities to transform the world in order to fulfill selfish desires. It is, instead, High Magic, the path of transforming the self in order to experience and express the Divine in everyday life.
Some of my most memorable experiences would have seemed completely uninteresting to an observer. A slow walk in a parking lot. Moved to tears by the beautiful pastel blue of a beach chair. Enjoying the silence of a mind in meditation.
More and more, I see the significance in the seemingly insignificant, and the value of developing such perceptions. Looking back at those masters of their respective arts, I realized that what they really demonstrated was a well-honed ability to perceive the infinite meaning encoded in infinitesimal details, that the primary difference between them and me was the ability to perceive that meaning, which preceded the ability to use it. But underlying their power was the simple understanding that meaning exists everywhere. And anyone, anytime, anywhere, can access it, by opening to it.
I still want to follow the magicians. But now I’m beginning to awaken to the magic in my own experience, how the simple act of being mindful, and the path of growth and purification, can lead me to the joy of being alive.
[...] The general theme of this blog is “Discovering the magic and the meaning in the mundane.” It reflects my desire, and constant effort, to make sense and discover the deeper significance of the seemingly trivial and insignificant things in my life, things like browsing the Internet, mowing the lawn, and driving in traffic, as well as larger issues such as engaging violence and exploring health. [...]
[...] For a while, this blog’s one-line description (at the upper left corner of the page) has been, “Discovering the magic and the meaning in the mundane.” [...]