“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe

Let’s be realistic, none of us has as much time or energy as we would like to devote to our spiritual practice. Okay MOST of us don’t. We live our lives racing from one busy task to the next, tending to others, pets, children, our jobs, our homes, and the myriad other jangled edges that fill our days. We cannot all live in monastic solitude, much as we may wish in our “Calgon take me away!” moments of stress-induced hysteria. It can be difficult to carve time for ourselves and our spiritual practice, yet it is generally the first thing that gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Am I right?

However, it becomes rapidly imperative to replenish that divine and mysterious well of energy within when we are constantly drawing out of it. If we don’t, we will simply run out of gas one day and screech to a grinding halt, dropping from exhaustion. Then things can really get ugly.

What we need then, is an intervention. We need a new perspective in the way we look at, and practice, our spirituality. Something practical. Something that takes just enough time, and nothing more, to refill and renew our golden chalice. Something we can incorporate and weave into our daily life. Something magical.

“Ritual is routine infused with mindfulness. It is habit made holy.” Kent Nerburn

A spiritual path is a living thing and living things grow, evolve and change. Sometimes we fear changing something as fundamental as our spiritual practice, but we must be brave. We must allow ourselves the freedom to expand, revise and discover our own spiritual truth. For me, and maybe for you too, it became necessary that I find a way to bring my spirituality into ordinary moments; more than that, to make my ordinary moments (and every other moment in between) an act of living prayer and connection to divine source. Because let’s face it, my meditation, prayer, ritual and retreats suddenly became a group sport that included cats, dogs, kids and husbands.

Enter Practical Magic(k)*. Yes, yes, there was that book and that movie, and honestly, there’s definitely going to be a bit of Gillian and Sally up in here, especially when I get to my soaps, lotions, potions and brews. Practical magic for ME, though,  is the conscious and mindful integration of my spiritual beliefs and ancestry into my REAL, daily life. It is turning the mindless and mundane into magical moments of hidden beauty and divine reverence. Sometimes it will be ugly and messy, but I guarantee that it will always be authentic and real if you believe.
Do you believe in magic?
I hope you can find some inspiration here.

Blessings and remember to always take it with a grain of salt…literally! xoxo

*One and one note only on the use of ‘k’ in the word magic. Way back when, Crowley designated that true, energetic magic used with divine intent should be given the ‘k’ moniker to differentiate it from parlor trick magicians. Over many years, and many erstwhile, eager young and rebellious teenagers experimenting with witchcraft, the letter has become an overused eyesore to a good portion of practitioners, myself included. I have chosen to intend that my magic does not need a ‘k’ or any other delineation to mean exactly what I say. You can use it or not as is your belief structure and your pleasure. Please understand for the purposes of this blog,  I know the history, I know the usage, I know the intention, and I choose to drop the k.