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I
had some rather unusual experiences the last
couple of weeks, ones that have put magic in
the forefront of my consciousness, and ones
which have made an impression so lasting as
to negate the possibilty of a Houdini-like
escape from the thoughts which grip my mind
these days. I had people visiting here from
Israel for the last month, and as a result,
I did many things around LA that are not part
of my normal routine. Like going to Universal
Studios/CityWalk and going to Six Flags Magic
Mountain, neither of which I had visited in
at least 5 years. But in the magical way the
universe works, as is often the case, a couple
of things have happened as a result, things
which in the scheme of things have increased
my commitment to be mindful of myself and the
world that I live in, which ultimately, I guess,
is pretty cool...
My
Israeli friends, Yaniv and Pazit, wanted
to get juggling balls, and it occurred to
me as we were walking along the Universal
CityWalk that the magic store just might
have what they were looking for (it did)
It was the first time in years I had stepped
foot inside of such a store. When I was a
kid, I was really into studying magic tricks.
Basic stuff, with basic guide books, and
just as a hobby, never as anything I wanted
to pursue more seriously. But being on the
inside of the store, I felt a sense of the
wonderment that I felt as a little kid--surrounded
by objects that I knew would come to life
in the right hands, and create something,
that, well, is pretty accurately described
as Magic. I don't know what makes it so--maybe
the power of the potential--the power of
the mind--or maybe just that deep in our
hearts we all want to believe in magic being "real" and
here, in this place, magic was in its most
tangible form, surrounding you on all sides.
A store where illusions are bought with a
smile. A store that sells dreams. A store
that actually offers something that money
can't buy. It was a truly wonderful place
to be, if only for a few minutes.
Our
next big outing was to Magic Mountain. Now
I have been to Six Flags in NJ and the one
in Santa Clara, as well as Magic Mountain here
in LA once before. Amusement parks have always
been fun for me. Like a good little Saggittarian,
I have always gone on all the rollercoasters,
and usually loved every moment of it. Except
for that time in NJ when I went on Runaway
Train (I think--it's the one that goes frontwards
and backwards) four times in a row (no lines--end
of day thing), sitting in the very front and
very back cars-- but that was just asking for
trouble, and sure enough, it came int he form
of a splitting headache. But usually, a rollercoaster
gives off a special kind of thrill. So imagine
my surprise when this time, it didn't happen.
The magic was gone. And I'm still trying to
figure out why. |
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In
a physical sense, magic happens when I tap into the
magic of the pure white powder of a ski slope or the
enticing flow of the Pacific, while skating ocean/marina-side
(sex of course being a third instance that's thankfully
a given from the day I found my way into bed with my
one true love.) Why not anymore on a rollercoaster?
So I thought about it a while..and this is what I had
at the end of the day. I guess, for me now, my sense
of magic has evolved. The magic is about the flow and
the harmony, and less about the thrill--especially
a thrill over which I have no control. To be sure,
I still love speed, but there's a zen to a speed exchange
that you are a participant in that you just don't get
from a rollercoaster. So Six Flags, I think you just
made your last $$ off of me, nothing personal.
I
feel like Paula Cole in an alternate universe, Where
Has All The Magic Gone...di doo duh...
Imagine
my surprise when I turned on the TV the other night
and saw a promo for the Fox special Magicians Secrets
Revealed. And this was Part Two, the Sequel. Thankfully,
I missed part one in November, though just in case
I cared, they rebroadcast it back to back with part
2 anyway. I was instantly repulsed when I saw the ad,
and no I did not watch it, though to be sure as a little
kid I was dying to catch the magicians in the act,
so to speak. My first thought upon seeing the promo
was--is nothing in this world sacred any more? The
next day when I read the LA Times I noticed the the
professional magicians seemed to have their issues
with this show too--and the man who betrayed the ranks.
I mean, c'mon do we really need as a society to debunk
everything? Must we live in a world where children
never get the chance, even for a moment, to imagane
the possibility that flying reindeer might exist--somewhere?
Where is the mystery of life? The magic in having something
happen spontaneously. Having the unexpected suddenly
become real. I think that's what bugged me about the
rollercoasters. I felt like everything was so planned--where
is there room for true magic in a place where every
last detail has been thought and rethought? Must we
live in a world where Mickey sits on his throne at
the The Magic Kingdom and rules over Merchandising
at the Disney Store? Corporate entities thrive on planning.
Movies, CDs are so often assembled, in many instances
by committee, in a way that everyone thinks will allow
the entities to become wild successes. Then someone
like Jim Cameron comes along, and shows these shortsighted,
mindless people, in one huge-ass lesson, that true
magic comes in the form of a 200 million dollar chick
flick that nobody thought would make its money back,
but whose creator believed in it heart and soul. Time
and time again we are taught, that things work best
when we believe in our dreams, not when we subvert
them because of what we think society wants. But ,
though the voices keep the message constant, most of
the world never listens. Magic works best when it is
allowed to be free.
Many
of you know I read tarot cards, but what you may not
know is this. When I first got my cards, I needed to
find something to wrap them in, so as to keep them
protected--from being bent, or something spilling on
the box etc. My mother, as she so often does, used
my coming to her house as an oppotunity to relive the
good old days--and though I now live on the opposite
coast , she wasted no time in ignoring the 3,000 mile
journey I had taken, and set right to being my mother
and told me to go clean my room. My old room. Which
still has lots of stuff in it, even after "cleaning" it
several times over the last few years. (And will Mom,
until you move. Just face it already!) But in the process
of cleaning, I found an old magic set that I used to
play with when I was probably about 8 or 9 years old.
Some of the little plastic parts of all the magic tricks
were missing, of course, played with into oblivion,
but one of the things still in the box, that I hadn't
even remembered was there, was a hankerchief my grandfather
had given me to use for one of the tricks. He died
my senior year of high school. We were very close.
I have had psychic episodes where I've seen him since,
but that's for another story. As I picked up this hankerchief,
though, I realized, this was the only thing I had as
a tangible reminder of Grandpop, Grandpa, aka Sam,
one of the kindest and most honest people anyone who
met him ever knew. I decided that wrapping my cards
with that kind of protection would be just perfect.
In a way, Grandpop gave me a magic that transcends
time, and then, I believe, showed it to me again at
a time when I needed to recapture it and realize that
magic inhabits this world as an energy, though we too
often try to make it about things. True magic goes
on forever....and if you look hard enough in the clutter
that we call our lives, and get down to the simplest,
most basic things, chances are we will find exactly
what it is we were looking for in the first place.
All the television specials in the world will never
change the fact that every time I open my tarot cards,
I feel the magic that was my grandfather's gift to
me on this earth for the first 16 years of my life,
and for the rest of the time, in spirit. Grandpop will
always be with me, and even though he is no longer
alive, the magic he brought with him is the same. All
I have to do, is remember to notice it. And if I do,
not even the confines of death and earthly existence
can imprison the magic of the human spirit. Ride the
rollercoaster of human existence. Though there are
ups and downs, twists and turns, and a never-ending
track, there is also a flow to how the whole thing
works that is the power that keeps such a big piece
of machinery operating throughout time and space, a
magic that when tapped into can give you freedom, inspiration,
comfort, joy and love. Beats Six Flags or Disney any
day.
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