E101: Modern Magic: Spell Casting
E101: Modern Magic: Spell Casting
Today’s show isn’t about witches or wizards or magic potions, but rather the power of our own mortal words and even our own thoughts...
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[00:58] You see, whether we realize it or not, we are all under different spells. Yes, we are! Did you know that?
The spells I might be under will be different from yours, because you and I give different meanings to words. For example I might say “snake” and you might shutter, or wince, or perhaps squirm a little. Whereas I become more curious, more alert, and a bit excited by the word snake. This is because we live in our own realities. We have different experiences, stories, perceptions, and legends.
And now, more than ever, we live in a world where we are all under the spell that we, as individuals, are the most important beings on the planet. We believe that we are what matters. We are redefining POWER in this new world we live in and saying things like, “I am taking back my power.” Or “their words were powerful.”
It is in today’s day and age where our words have more “power” than ever before. SO MUCH so that we are “cancelling” people whenever they say something we disagree with. Not allowing them the chance to share their side, to explain their reasoning, or even giving them the opportunity to learn our perspective, our meanings, our perception. We hear their words, they’ve casted their spell, and if we don’t like it we block them completely.
That’s pretty powerful, wouldn’t you say?
Knowing that someone’s words, including our own words, have the power to send someone into shock or bring up a trauma is a very heavy knowing and responsibility. But that doesn’t mean we should be tip-toeing around with our words; mindful of them for sure, however not silenced.
[3:00] Instead of silencing ourselves, or cancelling another, we can take our journey inwards to our own personal power and deepen our emotional intelligence. Recognizing how words, languaging and spells – as I am calling them – affect us.
For example, I may not be negatively triggered by the word “snake” but believe you me, if we’re talking about any rodent on the planet I am not interested. Instead of reacting emotionally to this languaging, I can choose to respond instead.
A reaction might look like me quickly getting upset, projecting my fears and insecurities and shock onto the other person.
Where as a response could be a calm comment to say something along the lines of: I appreciate your enthusiasm in this conversation, however I really do not enjoy rodents and would very much prefer to change the conversation topic.
Now you might be laughing or rolling your eyes right now and that’s okay. This is information about how my words are affecting you right now. Maybe you’re nodding along – remember we have different realities, and not everyone will agree with us.
[4:25] Not everyone will share the same level of emotional intelligence, which means we have to be willing to be disliked. It’s true! Did that trigger you? Are you under the spell that you have to be liked by everyone?
Something to think about… the different kinds of spells we are under. The “not enough spell,” the blaming others spell, there are many spells out there!
When we are emotionally intelligent, we are able to manage our energy. We’re able to catch our reaction and transform it into a response.
And as a side note, if I’m talking about Emotional Intelligence and you’ve never heard this term before, read this BOOK: Emotional Intelligence. It is a MUST-READ for every human being on the planet. I highly recommend this book, I have read it and listened to it, and I’m sure I will re-read it again.
[5:30] Okay, coming back to managing energy. Every single thing we do is a negotiation of our power. Every thought, word spoken, every action taken. We give and take power each and every day. We give our power away when we yell at the person who cut us off in traffic. We take our power back when we honour our boundaries and stick to our core values.
Do you want to know the secret to being okay with being disliked? It’s having a set of values that we DO NOT COMPROMISE.
Core values. Our core values are our fundamental beliefs. When we are clear of these values, when we think, speak and act from these values we are honouring them. We are honouring ourselves. Be so clear on what those values are, so unshakable in them that no matter who or what comes at you, you have this strong foundation.
There is a great bonus episode with Sonia Grossi about core values and leadership.
[7:04] So far we have learned about spells, we have learned that we are Spell-Casters, and we are ALSO Shapeshifters.
We control our realities, we shape our own realities. And when we learn to manage our energies, we are also shape shifting. Pretty cool right! This information is all very cool, and all very important, and here’s what else we need to know: How to break spells.
You might think that the way to break a spell is to change your mindset, but this will only help you visualize it. The mindset is important, but it’s not as powerful as CHOOSING a different behaviour. You have to DO. We have to TAKE ACTION to break the spell.
[8:11] It’s so similar to The Law of Attraction and the Manifestation Formula. We talk a lot about manifesting on this podcast, so I will link to a few Manifestation episodes:
Bonus Episode: Tapping into the Unconscious Mind to Manifest Dreams and Avoid Burnout
Episode #83: 3 Magical Manifestation Magnifiers
Episode #56: The Beginner’s Guide to Manifesting
The Law of Attraction tells us that what we think in our minds, we can manifest into our realities. This is why our mindset is so important, are thoughts are indeed very powerful, however they alone cannot break spells
The Manifestation Formula is:
Thoughts = Feelings = Actions = Results
Many of us get stuck in the cycle of: thoughts feelings, thoughts feelings, thoughts feelings. Because we are so caught in our spell that our thoughts and feelings cannot beak us out of the spells we are under. Taking action however, choosing a different behaviour CAN.
It sounds quite simple, but the work itself is often more difficult. How do we change our behaviour?
[9:32] Here are three key tips:
Start small. I used to drive to work the same way every single day. There are many ways that I can drive to work, but for some reason I always went the same way. I did this so frequently that I actually would catch myself at work and not even remembering how I got here. Talk about not being present. It was one day where I found myself on autopilot that I decided I needed to change something very small in my routine. I decided to turn left at the stop sign instead of going straight. Crazily enough this was a lot more difficult than I imagined! I would catch myself driving through the stop sign and slapping my steering wheel with how annoyed I was that I couldn’t easily make this ONE simple behaviour change. Eventually I was able to make the change even to the point where now I sometimes go straight, and other times I DECIDE to turn left. It’s the power of my choosing my behaviour instead of being held under a spell. Simple example I know, but it’s important to start small.
Write down your plan. Put a physical pen to a physical piece of paper. There is power in writing things down, especially goals and dreams. Thinking of your goal is great, but when we write it down we are taking action in a physical way. Even if it has nothing to do with your goal. For example: I was under the spell that I couldn’t workout at home. Home workouts sucked and I really didn’t want to lift weights in the garage. FOR MONTHS this spell was casted on me. Over time my body and mind suffered from the lack of physical exercise. I was tired, slow, unmotivated, and I knew I need to change my behaviour and really break the spell. So I started by writing down my to-do list for the day and I added “home workout” onto the list. I wrote it down, I saw it there and then I started taking action on my to-do list. I even tried to trick myself to skip the workout but I didn’t. I made the choice to DO the workout and I did! Since then I’ve scheduled the workouts into my calendar twice a week. This week I couldn’t workout on Monday because of a sudden schedule change, so I moved it to Friday!
This is a big one: Identify triggers + replacement habits. Sometimes the spell we’re under is something we are doing but we want to stop doing. For example, I want to stop scrolling or checking my phone in bed. A trigger is when I forget to do my French lesson on my app and I bring my phone into the bedroom so I can do it there. A replacement is charging my phone in the bathroom, doing my French lesson before going to bed when I’m brushing my teeth instead. Another replacement could be putting a book beside my bed instead of my phone so that I read instead of scroll.
[14:17] The change of behaviour itself is very fast. The decision to change the behaviour takes a little longer. Why is this? Well it’s because we believe this in our reality. We believe the spell is true, we let the spell trick us into believing the limiting beliefs, the obstacles that keep us stuck under the spells. It’s up to us to channel our powers into breaking the spell by using the power to take-action.
It’s about using our power to make changes and using it to manage our energy so that we can develop our emotional intelligence, break out spells, and be mindful how we are also spell-casters.
Not all spells are bad though. Sometimes we can trick ourselves out of one belief so that we can bring ourselves to belief something else. Something more empowering.
As your take-away for this week’s episode I want to encourage you to bring more awareness into your thoughts, words, actions. And also pay attention to the words and actions of others. Save the judgement and rather use this all as information about how we are going around casting or breaking spells. Question the spells you are under. Question the spells other’s cast.
Happy spell casting and breaking!
If you’re interested in learning more about today’s topic, check out Caroline Myss
Podcast Host
Valerie LaVigne
Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!
