Discover And Unleash Your Power
	Magical Tip #1: Begin With Desire <  Previous Contents Next  >

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” - Oprah Winfrey

Every sorcerer’s thought of a spell springs from a desired outcome, no matter how simple or complex the spell needed may be.

So determine first what you want and how much you want it. How important is it to you? How great is your need of it? How immediate? These are the questions you need to ask yourself in thinking creatively.

It could be a simple desire like a sudden craving for chocolate or a bigger desire like a higher-paying job or an ideal partner.

Desire adds energy to your thoughts. The greater your desire to make something happen, the greater the chances of it happening.

Of course, for an immediate desire like the craving for chocolate, brief yet intense energy is needed. For desires which may not materialize immediately, like the higher-paying job or the ideal partner, more frequent and still intense energy is needed.

Determining your level of desire for a particular outcome is crucial, particularly for thoughts that may take longer to manifest. If it is not something you truly want, making it happen will be difficult.

A good exercise in determining what you want and your level of desire is what I call the “magic wand exercise.” In this exercise, think of yourself as holding a magic wand through which you can be, do, or have anything you want. Your magic has unlimited potential to do anything. Write down anything that comes to your mind. Cast away all doubts that may come to your mind while you are writing. Let your creativity, your imagination guide you. Remember, you are holding a magic wand that can let you do anything!

Do this exercise all in one sitting to sustain momentum but take your time as needed.

After you have written down your wants, classify each according to how much you want it. Classify each item as “very essential,” “moderately important,” and “nice to have.” This will help you to put your wants in perspective and to focus and not be frustrated from trying to do too much. You may, for example, choose to focus on the “very essential” items in your list first.

Now that you have determined what you want and classified them according to how much you want them, you may put these further to the test to find out if you really want them.

Generally, a desire manifested should make you feel happy and in harmony with your surroundings. If it creates unease and discord in your mind, step back and examine what could be the cause.

In “testing” your wants, especially big, life-changing dreams, ask yourself the following questions:

• 1. Do I really, really want this? Even after classifying your wants by levels of importance, it will help to ask this question, particularly on the items you labeled as “very essential.”

Just how passionate are you about your dream? How much thought, action or any other kind of energy are you willing to give in order to achieve it? Think hard about your answers. Though passion may not be everything there is in achieving your dream, it is arguably what gives it the most fuel. It may very well be the one thing that can keep you going should you experience hardships along the way.

If you get the impulse to have or do something big, give it some time first before you decide whether to pursue it or not. After some time, you will be able to recognize if you really want it or if it is just a passing fancy.

• 2. How will my life change once I get this? Will the consequences be all good for you? Or will some of them be not so good? Would you have to give up something for that dream? For example, if you plan to move to your dream house in a different city from where you are currently living, you will no longer be able to regularly see the neighbors who have become your close friends. Think about your routine and activities that may change when you move. Are you ready for these?

• 3. Is my dream aligned with my values? As previously mentioned, generally, when you reach your dream, you should be feeling happy and in harmony with your surroundings.

However, if your dream goes against your value system, you may feel ill at ease and not be completely happy once you attain it.

When you do not feel particularly comfortable with something you hope to achieve, go back to your motivations. Why did you want that thing in the first place? What was the value behind it? Looking at your hierarchy of values, does it violate any higher value you hold?

After examining your motivations, you can now look at your desired outcome. In it, do you see anything happening that compromises or can compromise your values?

If you answered yes to any or both of these questions, re-examine your dream again. It may just not be worth it.

• 4. Does it feel right? Let your inner voice, your intuition, guide you. Get in touch with your feelings. If the dream is right, you will feel it. If it does not feel right, stop and try to find out why.

These questions may also be asked in the course of achieving your dreams as your feelings and circumstances may change along the way. The important thing is to stop when things don’t feel right and give up the dream, if necessary. But if you find yourself on the right track, just keep going!

Now you have learned the first thing that gives energy and power to your thoughts, which is desire. The next magical tips will increase the power of your thoughts even more.