When I was young there was a TV show I loved about a witch married to a mortal, and this witch could cast all kinds of spells by wiggling her nose. It was called Bewitched, was great fun, and in it she was always using her spell-casting powers to solve the problem of the hour.
So when I began reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and he started talking about the spells we cast, I immediately thought of Bewitched. What I didn’t understand was what was the author talking about when he explained we cast spells every day. As I read on it started to make sense. His premise, every time we say something to someone, we have the power to cast a spell on that person’s outlook. We are much more powerful than we realize, sometimes with detrimental outcomes.
If, for instance, a well-meaning parent tells a child to “stop that racket” when the child is singing, the parent will cast a spell on the child (change the child’s perspective), and the child will then decide his voice is awful, and perhaps turn that perspective into negative self-reflection as well. Or if you tell a co-worker the job she did could certainly have been better, then if you have any influence with this person, the spell is cast and she can start to doubt her abilities and talents. The point: our comments can have lasting and influential impacts on people, often without our even realizing it.
Choose words wisely and think of the magic you can create simply by ensuring what you say enhances, empowers and motivates. Those are spells we all want to cast, and you don’t need to wave a wand or wiggle your nose, just be selective in what you say and how you say it.
