Kim went on to say:

Ritual magic, witchcraft, deliberate creation, prayer, chanting, evoking, shamanism, meditation…these are only words that describe a state of being—a state of awareness. We get what we vibrate and the witch, the shaman, the devotee or the ‘regular Joe’ who hires a GoodVibe coach is practicing deliberately the art of vibration management. Without awareness, the practice goes on just as powerfully in everyone of us….but not deliberately.

I’m on board.

Which is why today I want to share a tip I picked up from Christopher Penczak’s Instant Magick. 

Unlike most books on witchcraft, this one doesn’t require herbs and moonlight and animal parts.

Penczak says while the physical tools have been an important part of traditional witchcraft, it’s not practical for the modern mystic to employ them, nor is it necessary.

He believes the key ingredients to a successful “spell” or potion (or to put in our terms, “manifesting”) are:

1. Altering consciousness
2. Focusing will
3. Directing energy

Those familiar with deliberate creation will likely find the second and third steps a natural part of their “spell-casting” or deliberate creation routine.  It’s the first step that got my attention.

(And I know this isn’t news to Kim, who has long reminded me of the benefits of meditation.)

Penczak says altering consciousness is often overlooked by modern practitioners:

“When we change our mindset, our relationship to the inner and outer worlds, we find that place within our consciousness, that inner still point where the mind is clear and focused, in alignment with or will, and our magick is most effective.”

He writes that our inner still point is the foundation of magic, and that when we are immersed in and distracted by cluttered thougts of daily life, we cannot find that still point to do our best magic.

The reason I share this is because it’s clear to me this is an opportunity to increase my creative powers, and I suspect it may be for some of you as well.

The good news is that “altering consciousness” is easy.  It simply means purposely shifting your brain wave state from beta to a lower state like alpha or theta. 

A couple of slow, deep breaths can get you started.  Developing meditation skills would be even better. 

But this post isn’t a primer on consciousness altering – just a suggestion to explore it if it’s not already part of your manifesting skill set.

If you’d like more information on developing the first step in Penczak’s formula, check out his book or share with us your favorite resources for enhancing the alpha state.

And if you have other great books on modern day magic and spells to share, I’d love to hear them!

I can’t bring myself to say “So mote it be” but I will say “Namaste.”  Thanks, everyone!