Living the Magical Life: An Oracular Adventure

by Suzi Gablik

In traditional cultures, oracles guided individuals and even entire societies, helping them to connect with the greater world and the meaning of life. Yet, in our modern world of efficiency and productivity, this visionary awareness of the soul has been pushed into the background. "Living the Magical Life" offers a compelling account of one woman's journey to reclaim the magical, oracular, and spiritual dimensions of life. After building a personal altar to the Black Madonna, art critic Suzi Gablik finds herself immersed in a world of oracles and synchronicities. Adopting an attitude of openness, trust, and curiosity, she explores what it is like to experiment with the reality of divine to rely on oracular signs, numinous clues, guided inspiration, and moments of meaningful coincidence as another way of knowing and appreciating the world. Invoking the aid of the Black Madonna on her quest, she learns to stick her neck out for the magical life and discovers invisible forces and powers that constantly test the ingenuity of her spiritual imagination. Confronting the challenges of a powerful experience that is filled with paradox and ambiguity, she arrives at a very special place of being able to enjoy, accept, and trust the ultimate inscrutability of the universe. Today many of us live without access to the visionary part of our psyche. We tend to think of life as being unpredictable and random--a series of disconnected events, flowing like an arrow through time. "Living the Magical Life" opens a doorway to a deeper vision of the "A closer look has convinced me that life is more like an ecosystem than a linear equation. All the parts are interconnected. This feeling for the relationship 'between' things--seeing the world as a cat's cradle of interconnections rather than as a set of isolated fragments--is something I learned from being a collage everything is related to everything else. Nothing is isolated. Nothing exists separately from the rest. And synchronicities are the nodal points, magic moments where seemingly unrelated events are woven together to form a single, undivided world fabric."

Genres: Nonfiction

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Diana 𓏲𝄢 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer of this book seems to perceive things the same way i do, which is why it was so easy for me to understand and just read through this book page after page. It’s almost like she makes every sentence sounds so meaningful and pretty. I enjoyed the book a lot and learned new things from it. I became very invested in it at some point.
It talks about the journeys of letting go and moving forward, trying to find good things in endings and explains why it is a good thing to surrender to the unknown…
The only thing in which i noticed though was that it starts off, the author has a relationship with Black Madonna and talks so beautifully about her but it kind of fades away towards the end of the book.

[Josie Varela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no expectations upon reading this book. The title and cover called to me and that is that. The archetype of the Mother, connectives between all living things, and a “master plan” are palpable practices in my life. This book opened up a door in a time I was peaking through the keyhole.

If you are sappy, silly, or believe in magic of the universe, this book gives vocabulary to your beliefs. For that, this book put me on the path I have been longing to be on. And the inspiration to share with others.

[Jonathan Frederick Walz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quirky and quixotic. Upon this reading, I'm 90% sure I did read this before, but had just forgotten. It has not aged well, and there are some truly hokey/goofy turns, but Gablik's heart is in the right place. Given the prevalence of digital capitalism in the contemporary world, she might be glad she's dead. Though on the other hand, she might have been happy to see how much social engagement and environmental activism there is going on in the art world...

[Rebecca Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eloquent but ultimately disappointing middle-aged memoir of the author's quest for love and meaning. Although described as an "oracular" adventure, she uses I-Ching and bibliomancy, which I would certainly call divinatory but not necessarily oracular. Her relationship with the Black Madonna does not develop much, sadly, and becomes less and less a focus as the book goes on. It feels like the author wrote this too soon, before her story was finished. Would have liked to see this book from a perspective of a few years later. For those looking to deepen an already established path, you won't find much here. If you're just starting out, you might find some inspiration, although it would be somewhat nullified by the ending.

[Margaret Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend Suzi Gablik's work - I'm fascinated by the journey she has lived, her beginnings as an artist, art scholar,and her continuing growth into the journey of "knowing herself" through her prism of the Feminine energy as she perceives it. She is a true Original, and I am delighted to have been introduced to her and her work. I also love collages, and her "getting to the insights from the outside-in" pattern is something that explains a lot that I relate to. This book may expand any reader's view of what "magical" really means and a beginning of thinking of the truth of energy and magnetism as we live our search for living love and truth.

[Carolee Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I read this before. The parts where Gablik describes her oracular experiments and divine synchronicity are really beautiful, and I always enjoy tales of artists' early days, couched in the blazing blur of recollection. But as last time, I grew exasperated with her dogged determination to date the tai chi instructor and her wilingness to ascetic anything as a sign they were meant to be together.