The Magical Hand Cream

Or how to help magic find you.

I’m finally surfacing after my trip to the UK. I find time zones a challenge at the best of times, and crossing them seems to scramble things for me in a way that only time, water, sleep, and deep nourishment can smooth out.

One of my most profound takeaways from this trip was a powerful reminder of the power of intention and focus. And I wanted to share that with you in case it helps you remember too.

Toppington & Company Booksellers in Bath

When I run a retreat, I start setting intentions and plans before I even send out the invitations. (I do the same thing for every course, live session, or 1:1 call I do.) I set the intention (always) for magic. I set the intention for miracles. I set the intention that everyone who is drawn to join be gifted with magic just by agreeing to be a part of the circle. I set the intention that we are guided and helped and supported and delighted every step of the way and on every level of our time together.

But two years is a long time to wait! 

And although I still did this for any courses and offerings, over the months of blergh, I got further and further away from my own daily practices of alignment and focus.

So when the retreat suddenly looked like it was actually going to happen, I realized that I needed to double down on the magic and began to remember myself into the practices that I had allowed to slip away over months of not going anywhere.

So I intended and layered on magic like it was my job.

Every morning. Every time I did any work on the retreat or thought about the trip. Any time I remembered. Every night. I focused all of my attention and energy on everything being magical.

And from the moment I started traveling, it was. And I kept intending. I kept being grateful when magic showed up. I kept blessing everyone I met with ease and miracles and magic and a safe journey.

The day that the retreat started, I couldn’t get into the house until 3pm, so I spent much of the day in Bath. It was so magical that I actually laughed out loud several times. If I needed something, it would appear. If I thought about something, I would find it. I saw every 11:11, 12:12, & 13:13 that it was possible to see. Everything just felt like it was conspiring to give me the magic that I had asked for.

Being in the UK, my used-to-Costa Rican-humidity skin was a bit unhappy, so I ducked in to Neal’s Yard to get some hand cream. The only hand cream they had was a large bottle, and I went back and forth on that a few times because it honestly would have lasted me the rest of my life. So I browsed a little bit, trying out some things, going back and forth to the hand cream, and enjoying the novelty of being able to shop all on my own in a magical place.

When I had a few things, I walked up to the till. A woman was in line in front of me, and as I walked up I heard her say, “I’ve been waiting three years to get back here!” She proceeded to buy everything. She wanted bottles of this and tubes of that. She wanted 200ml of this tincture and 600 ml of that one, but could she have that in two different bottles? Did they have any lavender oil and what was the difference between that one and…

Another time I might have been annoyed, or abandoned my pile and gone somewhere else, but I was just so in the zone of magic, liked the shop, had nowhere else to be, and was kind of amused by her, so I stayed. I shopped a little bit more, wondered for the tenth time about whether or not I wanted the large bottle of hand cream, and then stood and waited.

A woman came from the back of the store and said, “I’ve come to a spot where I can break away, can I help you?” I smiled and gave her my little pile. As she checked me out, she looked at me and said, “Here’s a little something for being so patient, thank you!”

And she popped a travel-sized bottle of - you guessed it - hand cream into my bag.

I laughed out loud, said thank you, and then went outside and sat on a bench, holding onto the gratitude and the wonder for a few minutes.

Some people reading this will think, “It was just hand cream.” Others will read this and nod: Yes. Magic.

Magic happened. Maybe magic happened because I was there for it. Maybe magic happened because I intended it. Maybe magic happened because I noticed it, or because I decided that is what it was.

But magic definitely happened. It even winked at me.

Over and over and over again I was and still am reminded of how powerful we are and how easily magic can find US if we get in its way and then pay attention. I’m determined to create as much magic in my own life as I did for that trip.* I know I can do it: I have a little tube of proof sitting on my desk.

Do you have a magical hand cream (or upgrade or gift or unexpected magic) story? I’d love it if you’d share it in the comments.

With so much love,

*P.S. I have a new class starting NOW that is all about us making this magic: about intentions and intending and consciously making magic happen. It’s about getting aligned and in the zone every day for 88 days (and it only takes 8 minutes or so) - and seeing what happens when we put as much intention as possible into our lives. Imagine if every single day was filled with stories of magic finding you?! IMAGINE!

Join me.

xo