Come Out Everyday and Make Magic!

By Stephanie DeFazio

One dream, one soul, one prize, one goal One golden glance of what should be.

-Queen, A Kind of Magic, 1986

We are all looking for a little more magic in our lives, right? I recently discovered this amazing song from Queen called A Kind of Magic, from the album of the same name that was released in 1986. It stirringly describes that deep longing inside to create magic and fulfill one’s dreams. It also seems to address how it’s a bit of a struggle wrestling with what you truly desire and what your own inner critic is trying to tell you, that constant battle that never seems to come to an end!

I participated in Amy Berenson’s workshop, Silencing Your Inner Critic, here at Creative Spirit about a month ago. It was an eye-opening experience to actually identify the inner critic that spends way too much time taunting our minds and preventing us from moving forward. Each participant had a different way of defining our own inner critic. Some compared it to a critical grandparent, or a mini version of themselves. I pictured mine to be a repulsive creature that actually looked a lot like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings films! Once we each had this mental picture of our inner critic, Amy lead us through a meditative exercise where we sent our inner critic on its way. I sent mine out on a boat and tossed it into the depths of the ocean.

Following this exercise, we were all asked to reflect on and describe, “The Real You.” I described the real me as joyful and boldly wrote down that this joy that I have cannot be taken away from me, regardless of what happens in my life. Everyday, I have to decide to choose joy over fear and negativity. By choosing joy, I can do anything and have anything I want in life.

Imagine what we could accomplish in our lives if we squashed that inner critic. We would be free, and live freely. We would have more self-love and love for others. We wouldn’t be afraid to take those next steps that would bring us closer to fulfilling our dreams.

We all had a discussion towards the end of the workshop, and so many special words of wisdom were shared that actually connected perfectly with Creative Spirit’s campaign to “Come Out Everyday.” One participant mentioned the empowering message of “coming out and showing up.” Just by simply doing that, we are taking a stand against our inner critic. Another added to that by saying that by showing up, “you’re making magic.” This is truly amazing. We can create that “magic” in our lives by simply showing up and taking those baby steps towards self-love and acceptance. Then, we can step back and watch the magic continue to unfold. Another participant mentioned the concept of, “Just do.” Making that choice to take the next steps forward will set the course for what’s to come.

One of my favorites, and admittedly, one that I subscribe to myself is, “Fake it till you make it!”. You're basically telling your inner critic it has no place and even in the midst of apprehension, you’re just going to keep going. You then gain a tremendous amount of confidence by not backing down and realize that you have all that you need, it just needs to be accessed.

Peyton was there as well and left us with this gem, literally: "It's our journey to find the diamonds." It’s not supposed to be easy, but once we find those diamonds, one by one, we discover and embrace who we are even more. We find the gems that make us who we are and become more authentic and vulnerable in the process. Now, that's what I call magic!

Is that bell ringing inside of your mind? Is there a flame burning inside? Are you hearing secret harmonies? (Haha, it’s magic!) I encourage each and every one of you to boldly go on your own journey of self-discovery. Here at Creative Spirit, there are so many opportunities to provide you with the stepping stones you need to move forward. This Summer, I have to admit, has the best lineup of incredibly empowering and fun classes to choose from.

So come out, be you, and make some magic!