Behind The Curtain…

Come here, my lovely. Come a bit closer. Closer still. You see I want to share with you what’s going on behind the curtain. Do you want to see? Lean in and I’ll show you….

Remember that key scene in the Wizard of Oz? No, not the one where she steps into a technicolor world. Although that one’s always been one of my favourites. No, the one that actually holds the most fascination for me (and laughter!), is when Toto snags the curtain in his teeth, and pulls it back to reveal the truth behind the projected illusion of The Great and Powerful Oz. The bit that always cracks me up is when he says, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” Like, he knows the jig is up, and yet, and yet…. he still holds out some desperate hope that the illusion can be maintained.

But you know, what has been seen cannot then be unseen. No matter how much we would wish that we could invest the same level of belief as we did before, we’ll always know, we’ll always see the truth.

If we allow it to, this can invite in a melancholia. Or a nostalgia, even. You know, for that time when you believed without question. When you could exercise blind faith. Sometimes we can let this blinker us to another truth – a truth just as, if not more, magical than our previous belief. The real Oz is, for me anyway, about hundred and fifty times more magical than the illusion he’d created. His humanity. His vulnerability. This. This is so much more magical to me.

So when Toto unveils the truth, and the smoke and mirrors act unravels, there, there we are confronted with the beauty, the magic, the awe-inspiring truth of what it means to be a fallible human being.

And with that precursor, let me be Toto. Let me snag the fabric with my teeth, pull back the curtain, and reveal the truth behind the Practical Magic Business Circle, and the truth of me as the woman who sits there waiting to be unveiled…

5 Things You May Not Know About The Next Round of the Practical Magic Business Circle

1. I really didn’t intend to hold another Practical Magic Business Circle this year. I thought maybe, just maybe, I would offer one in 2015, but even then I wasn’t sure if I would. The clarity, conviction and commitment that rushed through me when my beloved suggested the possibility that I offer one this autumn shocked me with its intensity. I could feel my “YES!” reverberate through my whole body. No part of me felt reluctant to show up for this. Which is why I’ve offered it. And, I would add, I don’t think you should *ever* offer anything that doesn’t feel like this for you. I’ve made that mistake before and….. [tumbleweed].

2. I didn’t plan my launch. Actually, hahaha, who am I kidding? I very rarely plan my launches. Instead, I set intentions. I commune with the goddesses. I listen to my gut. I attend to my heart. I speak with my soul sisters. And then I just begin. This time round, I really wanted to share with you the various different energies that are coming into play for this next round. So, the sacred chocolate ceremony. The goddess vision. The magpie medicine. The circle archetype. I want to share with you the magic that is already stirring here. With an open heart. I want to be fully present for all the ways in which this offering is calling to be shared. And I want to respond to that with joy and trust and ease.

3. It’s not all been smooth sailing. Exactly a week ago today, I had a bad fall which aggravated my left hip problems, that filter up to the surface every now and again since the summer of 2012. And I felt oh so much shame around this fall. Quite literally, back down to earth with a bump, I was grounded. I felt a bit like a bird with its wings clipped. Or like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, only to find his aspirations would instigate his descent. And then my wiser, more compassionate self speaks up, and laughs softly. “Oh Amy,” she says, shaking her head, as a mother would to a toddler that was behaving foolishly. She helps me to see that my vulnerability is *always* a gift. Always. That I am not removed from this circle; that I am but one member of it. Yes, I’m going to hold it, I’m going to gently and lovingly add content and conversation and invitations, I’m going to guide and witness and respond in whichever ways I am most called. But that I can’t do all that and remain removed from it. That if I want to show up fully, I have to bring my whole self to this circle. So grateful for this insight – even if I did have to fall flat on my arse to receive it!

4. I really cannot predict what magic will be invoked by this circle. All I can do is call the cauldron into being, add the ingredients, and then offer the invitation. Each circle will be its own unique experience. And each circle sister will receive something different from her participation there. And this, I think, is one of the most beautiful things about it – the spaciousness to allow that which the goddess wants to offer us to be given and received. So often, we over-define, over-determine, over-inscribe, and in doing so, we cut ourselves off from the exquisite experience we could have had. Leaving space for surprises, for mystery, for magic… my whole body sings with the deliciousness of just the thought of this.

5. Sign ups for this circle have already exceeded all my hopes and expectations. I will be officially opening the circle on the 1st of September, and honestly, if we are now, with over a week still to go, a complete circle, I will be more than happy. The circle sisters who have already claimed their spaces are a beautiful mix of those who have worked with me for years, those who have participated in past Practical Magic Business Circles (always a good sign – lol), and some new faces too. It’s a gorgeously eclectic circle with a range of businesses, nationalities, ages, backgrounds etc. all represented. And…. there’s space for more. If this circle is calling to  you, lean in, lean in close, and ask yourself if this is for you. Is this something you want to be a part of? Yes? Well, my darling, there is a place for you. You just need to claim it.

So there you have it. A sneaky peek behind the curtain. Now tell me, does the disillusionment outweigh the magic of the truth? Does it devalue the preciousness of what is available here in this circle? Or do the revelations only invite in more? More magic. More possibility. More compassion. More love.

The truth may indeed be stranger than fiction. But I am a firm believer that it can be more magical too. I have no interest in selling you a beautiful illusion. I’d much rather invite you into something made all the more exquisite for its integrity, for its honesty, for its intrinsic place within the reality of things.

And this, this is what exists beyond the curtain of the Practical Magic Business Circle. Please do pay attention to it.