Magic: A Super Power (and how to harness it)

Artwork by Annelinde Tempelman

We are living in extraordinary times, where each day is filled with so much magic that it is palpable in the ether. More than ever, people are alive, whether excited or anxious on the inside, they are engaged in life and actively seeking answers, growth and healing. Momentum is also building on the outside, the pressure to change our ways is adding to this mix, pushing us to consciously make different choices.

This magic is intended, and an integral part of the divine plan for the greater good. It is now readily available in abundance and in many forms: resources, opportunities, synchronicities and assistance should we choose to operate from a higher consciousness within ourselves, our relationships and in our world at large. In a world where gurus are either dying or failing, magic is also awakened in us as direct divine guidance, intuitions, insights, visions and realisations that we receive. Esoteric teachings, psychological tools and spiritual practices are all both easily accessible and commonly accepted. 

But magic happens when we learn to get out of the way. For those of us who like to control situations and have things happen in our way, in our time, in order to feel safe, we are being challenged. Circumstances are transpiring against every cell of our being so that we can let go of the need to control. For magic is a super power beyond what we could imagine nor muster for ourselves: it is a benevolent force that is demanding to come through the core of each one of us.

The only way is to surrender to it. And for a culture that is not designed for surrendering, the easiest way is to switch to right brain activity: to jump right out of the rational mind and into the creative mind. Developing a creative habit such as drawing is an immediate and effective way of placing ourselves in the flow of right brain activity. Drawing is a natural human skill important in all walks of life; in fact, every child in every culture does it. We have all done it, and still do it to some degree when we hand write. It is a visual literacy that is valuable in itself, irrelevant of the outcome, for the magic is harnessed in the process.

Drawing has been recognised as a tool for healing and wellbeing as we drop into the state of mindfulness that is so nourishing for our system. It is also a way of engaging socially and culturally, it can be thought provoking, political even. The Big Draw is a social project, a small charity that  believes in “drawing to learn, not learning to draw”. Through drawing we learn so much about ourselves, our wishes, fears, hopes and triumphs. We meet our champions, even our villains and discover how to defeat them. It is a fast tracked, joyful way of excavating our buried dreams; we mourn the self we abandoned and this mourning process and the tears that come with it, prepare the ground for our future growth.

Drawing is also an effective method to manifest should we choose to engage our heart. For that is how we reclaim our right as creative beings to make of our lives, our work of art. Freeing our creativity is not necessarily for those of us who want to become artists or musicians or writers or film makers. It is for all of us who want to become more whole, to embody more of our humanness, to ignite our passion, to engage more of our consciousness in our lives, no matter what we choose to do for work or play. 

To attune our heart, a meditation practice becomes an essential ingredient to manifesting its desire. We meditate to discover our own identity, our rightful place in the scheme of the universe. Through meditation, we acknowledge and access our connection to an inner power source that has the ability to transform our outer world. This is how we invoke the wisdom, guidance and support of the divine. In other words, meditation gives us not only the light of insight but also the potency we need for expansive change, for transmutation. 

And drawing is the method we use for learning, exploring, entering the flow of the non-rational brain and for giving a physical form to our inspirations. It is the way to access Magic. The way to contribute to a better world. The way - ultimately - to be more free.

As Julia Cameron shares in The Artist’s Way:
“The heart of creativity is an experience of the mystical union; the heart of the mystical union is an experience of creativity…. You are seeking to forge a creative alliance, artist-to-artist with the Great Creator. Creativity is an experience - to my eye, a spiritual experience. It does not matter which way you think of it: creativity leading to spirituality or spirituality leading to creativity In fact, I do not make a distinction between the two.”

Considering re-creating yourself or an area of your life? You can work privately with Natalia via Skype or join her in a playful way within a creative, caring and encouraging circle in her “Spectacular Côte D’Azur Creative Journey”, mindfulness and travel sketching as a metaphor for life, with art tutor Catherine Moullé, 11 - 19 April 2020. 
Details on www.saffronrose.com.

To read this article in the New York Spirit magazine, click here.​