''A man is but the product of his thoughts - what he thinks, he becomes.'' - Mahatma Gandhi
Power of the Mind:
In magical practice thought and emotion can play a large role in what we do. They are fuel for the spells we weave and the rituals we perform. It is our intent, will, emotions, energy, thoughts, etc. that help make our spellwork a success. We combine these and send them out into the universe to bring about a desired outcome.
There is scientific and psychological/sociological backing to this; the self-fulfilling prophecy, for example. Now, this may seem odd to bring up here, but it correlates to something we will be discussing later on. So, with that in mind, what exactly is the self-fulfilling prophecy? A sociologist - Robert Merton- coined the term in 1948 and defined it as:
''A false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come true.''
Merton also used an idea, first called the Thomas Theorem (named after the original author of the idea, W.I. Thomas) to help explain this concept. It states:
''If you believe things are real, they are real in consequences.''
This, put simply, means that our beliefs and thought patterns have a subconscious influence on our behavior. If we believe something bad will happen, we look for things to confirm this belief, going so far as to ignore any positive signs, feedback, situations, etc. Negative thought creates negative manifestations, be they real or imagined. Whereas, positive thought creates positive manifestations.
Thought and Magic:
Magic is a perfect example of this, both when discussing spellwork and when referring to the creation and manifestation of thought constructs. This is where the self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play. I see quite a few new members mentioning doubt in their abilities in regards to spells. They worry that the spell either has not worked or will not work and, in so doing, set themselves up for failure.
Quite simply, if you believe that what you're doing will fail, then it will. When working with magic, belief in what you are doing, belief in yourself, and belief in your abilities are key. When casting a spell or performing a ritual you must believe and visualize that what you are doing will bring about a desired change.
For example, if you are casting a spell for protection you must feel and believe that the spell will work, both while you're casting it and after you've finished with the casting of the spell. Also keep in mind that a spell will not work as soon as you cast it. The spell may take a few days or even weeks before you finally see any results. Patience and confidence in yourself are key.
If you are unsure of your abilities, and still doubting yourself, try making a list of negative thoughts and then creating a list of positive affirmations to counteract them. This is a common tool used by psychologists to help their patients change their negative thought patterns into positive ones. By doing so, and doing daily affirmations of the positive thoughts, it can help them change their thought patterns, behaviors, etc to match them.
So when we are referring to magic, how can this be done?
Example of Negative Thoughts in Magic:
- My spells wont work.
- I can't practice magic.
- I won't succeed.
Positive Affirmations to Counteract them:
- My spells will work.
- I can successfully practice magic.
- I will succeed.
Now, removing doubt is not something that is done in a day and it can take time to find the confidence in ourselves and see positive change, be it in regards to our works of magic or our daily lives. So, write down the things you're good at, and things you know you do well. Use them as a stepping stone to help you gain and expand your positive thinking and confidence to other areas of your magical practices. Baby steps to success, if you will.
Thought and Curses:
This is something else that we see pop up quite often here. Yes, curses do happen, but real cases of them tend to be quite rare. More often than not, its that old self-fulfilling prophecy showing up to ruin our day. We think we have been cursed so we look for signs and situations that make that thought true. Our car broke down. We were late for work. We lost our wallet. We tripped over our own feet and fell face first into the parking lot at school or work. We must be cursed! Or, were having a bad day or week and things will turn around for us very soon.
Now, if these things keep bothering you and you really do think someone has cursed you, there are a few things you can do to remove that negativity from yourself. Banish, cleanse, and protect. You can also send the energy bouncing back to its source, if you feel the need to do so. We will not cover this here, however, as it would take away from our current topic.
Placebos:
Before we move onto how thoughts create physical and energy manifestations, I would also like to discuss the Placebo Effect, because I feel it can also play a part in some of the situations we see brought up quite often here on the site. The placebo effect is behavioral or other perceived changes that are the result of your expectations of change, as opposed to any actual changes themselves.
This is more in regards to spells of changing genetics, the body, etc. You cast a spell and want it to work so badly that you trick yourself into believing it has. Magic can do many things, but it adheres to natural law, and thus cannot go against it. This means, no sprouting wings, no turning into mermaids, and no turning into Avatar: The Last Airbender. No matter how positive your thoughts are when working such magic, no actual changes will occur. Any changes you think you see are all brought on by the placebo effect.
Some reading this might say, ''Well, Mis, couldn't that be said about all works of magic?'' In theory, yes. Some could argue that the placebo effect and self-fulfilling prophecy could describe all works of magic and the end results. However, given how many people, cultures, and groups have stories and accounts of their experiences with magic and spellwork I am more inclined to believe that magic, real magic, is an area that science has yet to properly document and verify.
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Manifestations of Emotion & Thought:
Now, aside from what we have covered above, thoughts and emotions can also cause manifestations of other kinds. Sometimes we put so much emotion and energy into our thoughts and fears that they then become projections and manifestations of our negativity. In most cases, this is done unconsciously, by no fault of our own. We essentially create our own demons, in a way. We feed the beast and it manifests and becomes an extension of what we think and feel.
To clarify, these aren't thoughtforms that I am referring to with this (which we will cover later), but more a residual manifestation (such as in residual haunting cases) where the emotions and thoughts are so strong that they leave a mark on the surrounding area. More, a stain if you will. These (when referring to the manifestations of our thought) can be corrected with cleansing, banishing, and warding. We remove the negative from our space and work on creating a positive, healthy environment through positive action and thought.
Allow me to further explain this. I once had a case (the individuals identity will be kept confidential) where a woman thought her house was haunted. She was plagued by oppressive feelings, thoughts, and just an overall sense of heaviness whenever she was at her home. She had no idea where this was all coming from, and thus assumed she had to have a spirit infestation.
Several investigations of her home were done, with no luck. No spiritual energy or entities were picked up on and no evidence of a haunting was found. The issue was not spirits, but the woman herself.
She had issues with alcohol abuse and several other domestic related issues, which we will not go into. This, coupled with other factors, made her so negative that her energy, thoughts and emotions had left a mark on her home. Essentially, she was living in a cloud of her own negativity.
We did a proper cleansing, banishing, and followed it up with wardings to give her peace of mind. However, for anything to be done, or for her to see any real results, she needed to work on issues herself. She needed to change her lifestyle, patterns of thought, and work to create a more positive environment for herself in order for the energy and vibrations of her home to change and allow her to find a sense of relief from what she'd been experiencing.
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I will leave you with this as a final thought.
Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny. - Mahatma Gandhi
Resources & Further Reading:
Mind Power - The Power of Thoughts.SuccessConsciousness.com, www.successconsciousness.com/index_000086.htm.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Psychology: 10 Examples and Definition ( PDF).Positive Psychology Program - Your One-Stop PP Resource!, 24 Aug. 2018, positivepsychologyprogram.com/self-fulfilling-prophecy/.
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.University Discoveries RSS, university-discoveries.com/the-self-fulfilling-prophecy.
Barlow, David H, and V Mark Durand. Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. 5th ed., Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009.
Thought Power - Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.Mind Power from Mind Your Reality, www.mind-your-reality.com/thought_power.html.
Using Self-Fulfilling Prophecies to Your Advantage.Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-writers/201210/using-self-fulfilling-prophecies-your-advantage.
