Secrets of magic: mood follows action

There is a very handy truth that says: “Mood follows action”. Now during winter here in sunny South Africa, it may be darker and colder than usual and the mind may be less inclined to action. The inclination may be toward hibernating or conserving energy. However, it may also lead to a degree of mental inertia or less inspired moods. It is at times like this when my secret is to “fake it ‘til I make it”.

If the mind is less motivated due to the scarcity of inspiring stimulus, like sunshine and warmth, then to avoid falling into lethargy or moodiness, I act as if I’m inspired. Since mood follows action, all it takes is for me to move the body as if I was inspired, and naturally the mood follows suit.

We can’t always wait for an inspired mood. Success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. When the conditions do not invoke inspiration, then I simply mechanically get the wheels turning. By going through the motions, even if they are without direction or determination, the mere process of acting, of revving the engine, perhaps spinning the wheels while standing in one place, will push the mind into gear.

The mind, after all, is like a faithful dog. If left to its own devices it may cause some mischief, like a dog who may be devoted to you, but if left alone too long may end up chewing up the furniture or digging up the garden. The dog is simply acting out its nature. There is no malice necessarily. Despite training, the mind, like a dog, may veer off into less than exemplary behavior or moods.

This is when we gently take the reigns and steer the mind, by using the intelligence, in the favored direction. By imitating a degree of inspiration and motivation, the mind will act like a dog and jump into the very mood that you are physically imitating. The mind may not even be aware that you are faking it. It will simply presume that you are actually in that mood because the mood really does follow the action of the body.

Usually inner resistance comes from having some doubts. And when in doubt about something, it’s often best to do nothing. As for inspiration, some say it comes from a state of receptivity. By going back into a calm and receptive state of mind, we can access a state of being which is free from overall doubt and the lethargy or inertia which it brings. If we identify with the mind, in its less than optimal moods, we may become overwhelmed by it. But if we remember that we are not the mind and that the mind is our servant, like our pet dog, then we can simply observe the mind and decide to show it the way.

Under the dictates of the intelligence, we can act out the mood we wish to feel and the mind will follow our lead. Sometimes going back into a still and receptive state is not the solution, especially when the problem is inertia or lethargy. This is when action is required. Here doing something to mechanically induce the desired mood, simply by faking it, really works. Also, if we remember our past inspired states, and meditate on them for a moment, we can relive them, or revive those moods.

It’s much like praying for inspiration or meditating on tapping in to the unlimited reservoir of inspiration that is available. There is available to us all the creative inspiration and motivation that we could wish for. We simply need to remember that and perhaps revive our faith in this truth, as known by the intelligence, and we can bring the mind around once more. Faith is the foundation, built with intelligence, knowledge and experience. Then action – real of fake – and the outcome is an obedient and compliant mind which plays along, leading to the real thing.

This is how the goal is achieved. It takes a team effort among all the parts of your self – mind, intelligence and ego. Ego means the sense of “I” or self. In this way we pull ourselves together and act in unison, harnessing both hemispheres of the brain for example. In this way we are actually manufacturing a degree of magic. Inspiration may sometimes be there, but most of the time we need to manufacture it.

Magic, generally speaking, causes results in the outer world that are in concurrence with the desires of the inner world. And the tools for that magic to happen are primarily the mind and the emotional potency we can add to our efforts of focus or intention. As electromagnetic beings in an electric universe, we can generate a charge by powering up our emotional focus upon our desired goal. Keep the goal in mind and put an emotional charge into it and you will be able to attract your desired result accordingly. You are the magician and the world is at your fingertips. There you have it.

If you want to read more of my specifically esoteric or consciousness blog posts, then check out my alternative profile @julescape, where I have more deep insights into the nature of consciousness, mind and of course spirit.

(image pixabay)