Magic, Revisited

More than fifteen years ago, I wrote a small book called How to Do Magic. I wrote it from instinct. The text came quickly, almost in one breath - full of urgency, conviction, curiosity, and a deep desire to make sense of life through simple but meaningful truths. I wanted to write something that reminded people that magic was not separate from everyday life, but woven into the way we love, choose, trust, pay attention, and remain open to experience. The original version carried the voice of someone who believed clarity could be reached through bold declarations. It was playful, emotional, direct, and often absolute. In many ways, it reflected exactly who I was at that point in my life.

After the paperback was published, I kept revisiting it and thinking how to expand it. How to have a conversation with it. This revised edition of How to Do Magic is the result of returning to the same questions and adding more questions to those as well. Finding more spaciousness, nuance, and lived experience.

The heart of the book has remained unchanged. I still believe magic exists in ordinary life. I still believe attention changes how we experience the world. I still believe curiosity matters more than certainty. But the way these ideas are expressed has evolved.

The revised edition offers space for the reflections. Instead of certainty, it makes room for complexity. Instead of trying to convince the reader of something, it invites them into a quieter and more personal exploration.

It was so important to me to reflect on a more mature understanding of love, fear, responsibility, honesty, wholeness, and change and therefore, the biggest addition to this edition is the inclusion of self-inquiry prompts throughout the book.

These prompts were added intentionally to slow the reading experience down. They are not there to provide answers or self-improvement tasks. They exist to create pauses - moments where the reader (you!) can reflect on how the text connects to your own life, relationships, fears, choices, and ways of moving through the world. In many ways, the revised edition became less of a manifesto and more of a companion.

It feels quieter now.
More spacious.
More interested in presence.

Revisiting this book was unexpected, but I certainly leaned into it. And maybe that is part of the magic too. Only always.

The revised edition of How to Do Magic is now available in hardcover and digital format.

You can explore the revised edition here.