Window in the sky
makes me wonder:
What’s beyond?
Walking the same paths and sitting in the same spots rewards the soul. I love seeing new places, exploring and discovering things for the first time. But there is a richness, a sweetness, a deep satisfaction in revisiting, reflecting, reconnecting.
Do you have a magical place that feeds your soul? I’d love to hear about it.
I’m sitting on the dock of the lake, experiencing time. Enjoying the present. Feeling my world expand.
This timespace is a treasure. As is every time and space. But sometimes, it is hard to feel the gift of the moment. Perspective helps. Silence helps. Nature helps. So when possible, I give myself these gifts.
Whenever and wherever from you’re reading this, I hope you’ll share your treasure of the moment in the comments. Thank you for sharing this timespace with me.
Nature Magic heals. Flower Magic inspires. Beauty soothes my soul.
I am feeling grateful for my happy place. For time to walk. And time to sit. For cygnets and water lilies and red-winged blackbirds. For birds chirping and insects buzzing. For the sweet smell of the air.
Life is good.
I love quiet time. Time to listen to the wisdom of the world. My Sunday morning awareness follows. P
Past lives. Parallel universes. Psychic phenomena. To some, these are beliefs of the deluded and misguided. To others, they are inadequate descriptors of unseen forces at play on our planet and in the universe.
Reading is one of my favorite ways of expanding my awareness of what is, and what might be. While every book offers a unique perspective and the opportunity to learn, when I am yearning for a more intense awareness-expanding read, I seek books where the extraordinary and ordinary merge, weave, and intersect. That is also what I aim to write.
Fantasy, while a delightful escape, is described as being not scientifically feasible. There are many phenomena I am not prepared to discard as unfeasible. Science is a perpetual work in progress. New discoveries are made daily, and scientists build upon their understanding of physics, chemistry, and biology constantly.
In Visionary Fiction, growth in consciousness is the central theme of the story and drives the protagonist, and/or other important characters. The story often uses reincarnation, dreams, visions, paranormal events, psychic abilities, and other metaphysical plot devices. The emphasis is on our limitless human potential, where transformation and evolution are entirely possible.
Defining Magical Realism is trickier. According to Bruce Holland Rogers, Magical Realism is always serious and never escapist, because it is trying to convey the reality of one or several world-views that actually exist, or have existed. Yet more lighthearted books, such as those by Menna van Praag and Alice Hoffman also appear on magical realism lists. And the magnificent books of Elizabeth Cunningham also have elements that I consider magical realism.
As I search for real magic in the world, I continue to read in the genre of Magical Realism.
I’d love to expand both my reading list and my list of resources.What have you read that opened your mind to ideas that seem impossible? Please share in the comments box below.
I am also compliling a list of scientific sources that validate metaphysical phenomenon, including past lives, parallel universes, and psychic abilities. If these topics interest you, please stop by and contribute.
The wish not to believe
can influence as strongly as
the wish to believe.
~ Ian Stevenson, M.D.
This post is part of the Magic Realism Blog Hop. Over twenty blogs are taking part in the hop. Over three days (29th – 31st July 2016) these blogs will be posting about Magical Realism. Please take the time to click on the links below to visit them and remember that links to new posts will be added over the three days, so do come back to read more.
Introduction to the Blog Hop – Magic Realism Books Blog
My Imaginary Autobiography by Leslie Tate
Storytelling, Dreams and Magic by Malcolm Campbell — Highly Recommended
Czech Magic Realism on Adventures in the Czech Republic
From Magic to Angels by Katerina West
A Magic-Realist Poem onZoe Brooks Books
Magic is the World and It is Ordinary by Leigh Podgorski
Magical Realism – why do we love magic so much by Rachel Dacus
A Survey of Reasonable Ghosts by Robin Gregory — Highly Recommended
The Magic in Magic Realism by Lily Iona MacLenzie
We Wizards Who Write Magic by Joel Hirst — Highly Recommended
Magic Realism & the Holocaust by Helen Maryless Shankman — Highly Recommended
On Magical Realism by Justin Meckes
Dance Between Worlds by Bianca Gubalke
Mortality and Eternity in Writing by Evie Woolmore
Northern Exposure – all things mystical in the 49th state by Cadell Blackstock
Magic Realism Writers From Around The World by Zoe Brooks
Magic at the Time of Conventions by Stephen Weinstock
El Funcionario Fantasma: a Montage by Joel Seath
Notes from the Field and a Prompt by Heather Fowler
Magic Realism in Russia by Zoe Brooks
Sources
What is Magical Realism, Really? Bruce Holland Rogers
Related Pages and Posts on this site
Words that flowed
from Divine Inspiration.
Tidbits gathered
with painstaking research.
Sentences strung together
rearranged, rewritten,
reconsidered a hundred times.
Questioned. Criticized. Corrected.
Changes suggested.
“Give me more!” — when I think
I’ve given all I have to give.
New awareness!
Scope expansion.
Inspiration.
Reaching farther back.
Writing deeper in.
Again.
I recently discovered that shelfies are a thing. Some definitions say that a shelfie is a picture of your bookshelf. A recent Mashable article described them as a photo of yourself with your bookshelf — book spines legible.
Shelfies must be the best trend ever. Tweet me your shelfie? @weavinggold Or, share a link to your Goodreads favorites page in the comments. I’d love to take a peak at your bookshelf. #RevealYourself
Some of my favorites live on my Kindle.
Books and stories open worlds. I love discovering new ideas through biographies, factual and scientific reading, and through fiction. Recently, I’ve been particularly enjoying books categorized as magical realism — serious magic, presented as real. I love contemplating, What if . . .
In celebration a favorite author‘s book release this week (The Witches of Cambridge), I am sharing quotes from Menna van Praag’s previous book, Dress Shop of Dreams, the story of a woman whose gowns have the power to free a woman’s deepest desires.
Walt loves Etta’s granddaughter, and owns the bookshop next to Etta’s dress shop. He also, secretly, reads stories on the radio. He doesn’t realize the impact his voice has on his listeners.
Etta said, “Most people think the world we live in is mundane, but you remind us that it’s magical. You wrap reality in the wonder and joy of fiction, until it infuses us and becomes true.”
“Well, I . . .” Walt falters.
Etta smiles. “You’re one of life’s magicians. You simply haven’t realized it yet.”
Though Walt respects Etta, he can’t quite believe her, so Etta continues:
Unfortunately most magicians are immune to their own magic. We see behind the veil, we live inside the nuts and bolts, the element of surprise is lost on us. But we can help each other.
Do you read magical books or blogs? Encounter magical people? I’d love to hear about them. We can help each other.
This post is inspired by
Silver Threading #WQW Writer’s Quote Wednesday
Ronowan Writes #BeWoW Be Wonderful on Wednesday; Be Writing on Wednesday
Image: Mary Magdalene by Luca Signorelli, 1500
I love Maeve — and her incredible voice — in Elizabeth Cunningham’s four-book series, The Maeve Chronicles, a series of award-winning novels featuring the feisty Celtic Magdalen who is no one’s disciple.
EliznMaeve inspire me as I sift through layers of truth, always searching, and allowing my story to take on a life of its own.
Inspired by #BeWow and Writer’s Quote Wednesday
I stumbled onto Ronowan’s Haiku Challenge and dipped my toe into the WordPress writers’ community. Clicking and reading, I discovered great writers and fun challenges. The above is in response to the magnificently named Sometimes Stellar Storyteller’s Six-Word Story Challenge. It is inspired by a scene in the second volume of The Weaving Gold Chronicles (my WIP), wherein Talitha is learning to create creatures, plants, and crystals.
Reading the replies is illuminating. As I learn how other writers transmit emotion in three lines or tell a story in a few words, my writing improves.
Weaving Gold 