The Practice of Magic in the Office
The practice of magic requires going out to nature – particularly to tree spirits – every single day for at least half an hour. This is the easiest way to release the obsessive fixation of everyday life and get back to experiencing the “suchness” or “thusness” of the world which we knew as infants. However, many of us work in offices most of the day. How can we feel ease while imprisoned in a little cubicle for 8 hours at a stretch? The answer is through ergonomic seating and chairs and other office furniture designed specifically to help us relax and tune out stress.
As Aldo Leopold put it in A Sand County Almanac, “There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” It is comforting and soothing to be surrounded by plants growing in pots, which are as important a part of contemporary office furniture as computer desks. A pot of flowers on our desk; a trailing vine grown in a pot hanging from the cubicle wall; a bonsai grown on a stand; can help us to feel the presence of nature even in a cubicle. When we need a moment’s rest and peace, the sight of these wild things reminds us of our connection to a higher reality – that we are part of a natural process.
It’s also important that our corner computer desk, wherein we spend so much of our lives, is comforting rather than stressful. This is why leather office chairs are so much more conducive to contemplation and relaxation than the plastic-and-steel variety.
When we work at home we have more options in selecting home office furniture which will be conducive to relaxation and ease. Home office desks and chairs can be selected for comfort rather than looks; and of course we can plant a veritable garden under fluorescent lights in a corner of our home office.
It is important in the practice of magic that we don not permit our daily lives to become a grind – that we find ways to maintain a light, positive mindset and mood no matter what it is that we are doing. Wise selection of office furniture is one thing we can do to practice magic even in the most unmagical circumstances.