I recently attended a workshop where the teacher set a glass decanter on the table and asked us to write a description of it, detailing exactly what we saw. I wrote about all the physical details of the object, the materials and construction, in full-force analytical brain.
Then she took us through an exercise to connect ourselves to guides, master teachers, and spirit, after which we were to look at the decanter and write a description again. This time I saw all the sparkling plays of light reflecting in and on it, which were dazzling to me. I saw every shape and turn and nuance. The stopper appeared to be floating. The entire object looked exquisitely beautiful to me.
The difference between the two descriptions was pretty astounding. So what had happened? The teacher had us connect into universal energy, wisdom, and love. And when we do that, we see things differently—with beauty and compassion. It’s like a veil is lifted and we see so much more, and so much more truth.
When we disconnect from the love, magic, and natural energy around us, our experience and our bodies respond in kind. Coming off a month of feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, I found myself sick and in pain this week. Yesterday I was wallowing in it, lying in bed glued to my phone, when I heard a strange noise from outside the bedroom. When I investigated, I found my cats excitedly batting a stuffed unicorn ornament around the kitchen floor. The ornament had been across the apartment in the TV room in an out-of-the-way place that I had never seen my cats go near. (These cats, by the way, have a million of their own toys.)
My cats being in such a frenzied, full-on play mode, tossing around my symbol for the magic of the universe definitely made me laugh. Their message of “get up off your phone and remember the joy and magic” shifted my perspective on my body and the day I was having.
It doesn’t really matter what the exercise was that made me see the magic decanter. We all have the ability to connect into the energy of the universe (love) because it’s within us. It’s why Reiki works the way it does and can boost our natural healing abilities, and why animals have so much wisdom—they’re connected to that energy all the time. We just need to practice at it—like through mediation, play, and gratitude.
And now what my daily practice looks like is a lively game of find-the-unicorn with my two furry teachers. 🦄❤️
It’s all about the magic. 🙌