Magic and Dogs

[wolven7]

Helping someone with something regarding the references of magic. Just small tips and whatnot. Anything more and I'd have to start charging a consulting fee ;)

Anyway, in the process, I articulated something that's always bugged me about anyone claiming that their magical systems are best. I've talked about this, in the past, but I think this says it more clearly:

'...the key question becomes, "How Do They Manifest Their Abilities?" Because [if] they are manifestations of unconscious, conscious, and pre-conscious desires, intentions, and goals, it would seem they would be subject to the psychology of the individual, including things like "What Am I Good At?" "What Makes Me Comfortable?" "Do I Speak Well?" "Do I Sing Well?" and so on. Various magically talented people are going to express their abilities in different ways, because they are Different People.'

See what I mean? If what we are doing, in magical practice is in any way attached to our psyche, then we have to take the make-up of that psyche into account, even if we are actively working to alter that make-up.

I had another thing I wanted to say, there, but I stopped in the middle of a... And now it's gone.

I'm really tired. It seems our neighbours, across the street (the nice ones), were looking for their dog, early this morning, and apparently, this ended in the Next Door Neighboutrs (the jerks who don't take care of Their many roving dogs) having at least one of their dogs taken away... Now, those dogs are annoying as fuck; they bark all the time, they don't really listen to individuals so much as run away from them, and they shit anywhere they want. But they're dogs, and I don't blame them for being themselves, when they only know "better" if someone teaches them better. I blame the people who ostensibly take care of these dogs. I would prefer that they be punished, and the dogs rehabilitaed. But that is not likely to be what will happen, and I feel bad for those dogs.

*sigh*

Lot of work to do, today. Back later.

Comments

[raoin.livejournal.com]

i want to do something to help my mother sell her house. i havnt the slightest where to begin... help?

[halafax.livejournal.com]

if she is selling on her own, with out a real estate agent, then she needs to find out how much the house is worth, how much she wants for it, find a way to post it on the FMLS and anywhere else she can.

You are going to have to get a home inspection, and make sure the house is up to code, and with in whatever county ordinances that there are. Also if you want, get a real estate agent to come out, give the house a once over, tell you what they think, tell them you will call them, and take what you can from them into consideration.

Its not easy.

[raoin.livejournal.com]

i'm sorry, i meant do something with magic to assist in selling the house.

my parents are already aggressively doing all the other things you have mentioned, and a few more besides, but they dont think along the lines of magic and i've been asked to pray for them, but i find magic more efficacious than prayers and i'd like to do something more forceful than my usual magics and i think wolven would know where to begin whereas i do not.

[halafax.livejournal.com]

i dont think the loan gods listen to the other gods, I hear odin is living in an apt in the bronx

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

Mum would suggest a few things:
1) Psychic advertising: Fill up a spectral blimp and circle it over the house saying "house for sale", "ready to move", "if you lived here you'd be awesome", and so on. (Be sure to deflate said blimp shortly after new people move in, lest they feel driven to move out immediately.)
2) Put spectral post-it notes, signs, and other metatags all over the house about its positive features, and feed happiness and comfort into it. Don't overdo it, as people might feel cluttered or antsy with too much energy hanging around.
3) Visualize the perfect person or people finding the advertising, finding the house, liking the price, and being very happy living there. Try not to put too many details about the people on, just the emotional states.

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

I love your (mom's?) spectral solutions. They crack me up. Not in a bad way.

There was a book I read (which one, I have now forgotten) that suggested experiments with turning your aura into images; peace signs or smileys, stop signs, etc.) to see how people's responses change.

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

Excisely.
Even if you skip the magical potential, and ignore the argument of magic being a particular form of psychology, it's a proven psychological method.
If you think of yourself as having a peace sign painted on you, or if you have a peace sign necklace, it's part of your consciousness, so you're more likely to be aware of and respond to it. And others react to their perception of the role you're taking.
It's not a gimme, especially if you don't really believe it or the people you encounter assume hypocrisy (less likely if they don't actually see the signs you put up), but it's an interesting idea antinonirregardless.

If we jump another hoop into game theory, you're more likely to win if you assume that winning is possible. (As an example, get one person to look at a visual puzzle of some kind, then get two people to look at a puzzle and see how long it takes the second person to get it after the first one says, "I get it".) To that end, you end up more likely to get whatever goals you seek by assuming there's a solution (even though I don't know what it is; if I did, I wouldn't be painting sigils on my belly in magic marker).

[l-the-fangirl.livejournal.com]

If you think of yourself having a peace sign painted on you, it's part of your consciousness... and others react to your perception of the role you're taking.

As they say on the Nets, This.

That explanation jives with my understanding far better than anything else said on the subject.

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

I used to do a variation of this at work, when stuck at register. I'd picture myself in different outfits; a three piece suit, armour, a dress and heels, and see if people's attitudes changed, because the thought itself would change how I carried myself.

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

Any conclusions?

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

Only kinda; it wasn't always easy to gauge effect because other people's receptions of these things differ, and I'm shit at hiding my own emotional state; irritation, boredom, etc., all of which colour responses.