I created this blog just before I left on a 6-month travel sabbatical two years ago. At that point in my life, I was suffering from chronic back pain and depression. I felt trapped in my life, cursed with low energy, and I wanted to find a way out of that feeling. Therapy and medication had been helping with these things, but I felt something was missing on a deeper level: magic, mojo, meaning.
As a child on long hikes, I would daydream about being an adventurer, a wizard or knight, travelling along dangerous, wild paths throwing fireballs at the various monsters that might approach. I imagined quests that truly mattered to the fate of the world, and amazing powers that could be at my disposal.
Perhaps, in reapproaching the world with this sense of wonder, I could find some meaning for my existence. So, I decided I would open myself to the spiritual and magical. In fact, I would write about my travel experiences, but would add fictional, magical, romantic components to them. I would be lead by spirits through temples in Nepal. I would be seduced by Vampires in Berlin. I would find ancient tomes hidden away in Prague, and discover the energizing magic of the communal spirit of flamenco in Spain. In the Vienna opera house, for one night I would fall in love with a fellow traveler, only to never see her again .
Unfortunately, the curse ran deep, and I spent much of my time travelling simply wandering. I could not bring myself to write consistently nor to connect to local communities or other travelers. I did, however, make some progress on my inward search for magic. I read multiple books about Buddhism, spirituality, and Zen. Something shifted within me and my depression was debilitating no longer. The curse wasn’t lifted, but part of the evil in it had been blocked. It no longer ran so deep in my body, my back pain was much relieved, and I could see my life more positively.
I do not believe that magic is dead or rendered obsolete by science. Magic is simply another lens through which we can understand this chaotic world. I personally believe that magical thinking is sorely lacking in our institutionalized world. The power structures in our modern world would have you believe in your insignificance, in the inevitability of your situation. Alistair Crowley defined Magick as “the science and art of causing change to occur in comformity with the will.” With magic, nothing is impossible. With magic, we can change ourselves and the world against any odds.