BBL, Putting My Feet on The Ground

Friendly reminder that balance is important. If you've been engaging in contemplation too much for too long, and it is dizzying, you may require some grounding. Whether that's theorizing, hypothesizing, deconstructing and rearranging your entire reality, or going into the abstract in general, grounding exercises can serve you. It doesn't mean you will be negating the value in contemplation. It merely means that you are choosing to, in some amount, ground yourself in something firmer or more 'concrete'. So that you can remain lucid instead of falling into lunacy. Grounding work is such an emphasized concept among spiritual folks because it is so undeniably fundamental and essential to practice as often as it is due when dealing with the spiritual.

What are The Odds?

Sometimes I don't know what's crazier, something extraordinarily exceptional happening by mere chance or by thorough planning...

Reasoning The Evidence

I kid a lot. But the truth remains that I'm simply agnostic, all around. There's much that I can neither prove nor disprove. So I ought to roll with some variation of "Cool story, bro. Would be [something] if it were really the case!" Else, I'd be paralyzed or go insane.

Forging & Enriching Your Spirit

Ever wondered why you’re here? Why are we all? There are numerous theories and beliefs surrounding that, but many of them seem to agree that we have a soul. More precisely, some would argue, that we ARE a soul and we have a body. Our body is merely the vehicle for it while we’re on Earth.

And if that’s the case, what are we supposed to be doing? Why come here? Is this a playground, a school, or a prison? Or some kind of mix? Whatever it is and whatever you’d call it, one thing is for sure: we learn, the easy or the hard way, but we learn. Or at least, some of us do.

If learning is at the core of our purpose, and drawing and incorporating lessons from what we get to be and do while we’re here is the whole point, is life here only a means to forge and enrich our spirit? Adopting this outlook puts plenty into perspective, including the cycles that repeat over and over again until we finally break them.

Certainly, however, we don’t all leave with the same. There’s this idea that, before incarnating, we know exactly what we’re coming here for and it can be very specific. Therefore, the circumstances surrounding our birth, upbringing, and all that follows, are chosen and arranged to deliver the established outcome. It’s our ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’, and every tiny little thing, led to it.

Some detest this concept, as it implies that freedom is an illusion and that we’re forever subjected to what is already in store for us. Others find it comforting, figuring that then there is something to take away even from the worst events endured. However, the truth might not be so set in stone. Perhaps a shift is possible.

Nevertheless, looking back and looking forward, what seems to be shaping you or trying to shape you? Into what, exclusively? What are recurring scenarios that you’re stuck in or that level you further within them? After everything that you’ve been through, what do you carry inside, and what does it crave you move towards?

If you’ve merely been given the opportunities but the rest is up to you, are you failing or succeeding at tending to this constellation of ordainings? Would you have to come back and try again because it went so poorly or because you still have a long way to go and this is only a part of it? What would your next life look like then?

Are you being rewarded or are you being punished? Or neither, and yet, you’re still studious?

Pure and Beautiful? Nah, it gets Dirty and Ugly

"Don't think bad thoughts!" Can you, really, though? Should you even?

If you are battling conditioning and prejudices, you're bound to run into and ought to run across 'bad thoughts' in order to get to the more objective, fair, and reasonable sort. Trying to avoid bad thoughts completely will only keep you from expanding your awareness and elevating your consciousness.

And especially if you're the type of person who absorbs and juggles other people's thoughts, constantly tuning into and weighing other perspectives and opinions, you will be sifting through many thoughts that aren't necessarily your own in order to compile or arrive at a conclusion or consensus.

Furthermore, thoughts heavily depend on your current state. You may have violent and unkind thoughts that you can later recognize as irrational, out of context, and out of proportion. When you're suffocating, exacerbated, and essentially far from being at peace and level-headed. They don't define you. If you keep them in check and eventually deconstruct them, they don't turn into a serious or even concerning problem. They might give you clues, as emerging symptoms, about issues that ought to be addressed within and/or around you, and be just that.

Let's say there's some darkness that you have and hold on to, too. If that's a part of you, rather than the whole of you, is it bad enough to invalidate you as the person that you are or aspire to become? Are you not still someone worthwhile?

So give yourself some leeway. Anybody who's done enough metacognition should realize and keep in mind that this much is natural and normal.

What Is in Your Favor?

Interestingly, what may seem to be going against you might, indirectly, actually be in your favor. And as crazy as that can sound, it happens a lot more often than we realize.

Much in life operates based on requirements, standards, preferences, and priorities. On both conscious and subconscious levels. And is this, precisely, what can keep us from what is not meant for us and ‘redirect’ us to what is. Similarly, there are pulls and pushes in ourselves that can, with or without our consent, sabotage us or take us to success.

Clearly, plenty can get in the way of this magnetism and lead us astray. Fear, conditioning, habits, our own heads and hearts. But the laws remain there, influencing and affecting to at least some extent. So if something just doesn’t seem to ever be right, there’s a chance it’s not for you or it is but it’s not yet the time.  

Opportunities abound and we miss many of them while fixating on what we set ourselves on. Yes, some things are just too good to pass up and trying harder is what you should be doing, but that’s something to discern in each occasion rather than always carrying a scarcity mindset that enslaves you to what isn’t welcoming you.

Do your best, but recognize that great opportunities may be available that don’t require you to struggle so much. And don’t immediately discard them due to the assumption that if it comes easy then it isn’t worthwhile. Perhaps you have earned it already so you don’t have to prove yourself anymore for it. It is thus available to you, yet not to others. And it’d be a loss to turn your back on it.

Furthermore, certain paths are not compatible with others. So, the moment you are no longer on one path, others will become accessible to you. You’ve shown you can’t or, by firm decision, won’t walk that one path, so these other paths might do. What's important is to not get stuck believing there’s nowhere to go when that isn’t the case.

What most resonates and is most aligned with who you are, and where and when you are in life, is waiting for you, ready to make it easier and lighter, now more directly working in your favor, not against you. So stop making things unnecessarily difficult and hard for yourself; find those doors that lead you to more for less. And value it. 

Barren Grounds Vs. Lush Gardens

Don't make grounds barren and then claim lush gardens are mere fiction…

The ongoing debate about being realistic or being idealistic keeps getting on my nerves, so might as well bring it up and offer my point of view.

Too often, people assume they have the most correct and accurate perception of the self, people, life, the world, and/or the universe. What they fail to realize is that they are not accounting for what, with what is, could be. In some cases, they are not even accounting for what, despite what now is, has been. Quite literally, they are being short-sighted. Yes, you can see what’s right in front of you and around you with clarity, perhaps even in precise detail, but there is a lot more that goes beyond that.

It’s no lie that many idealists have given idealism a bad name. And this is because, alternatively although similarly, they also fail to take more into account. They ignore the what is in favor of their whimsical imagination. And that’s fine, outstanding even, if you’re working on a piece of fiction. But when it comes to reality… Well, reality significantly matters.

You shouldn’t be convincing yourself that all would be wonderful, when it wouldn’t, the same way you shouldn’t be convincing yourself that all will always be brutal, when it doesn’t have to be. These are limited and incomplete views that keep you from making the most and the best of what you have and could have. In both cases, you are deluding yourself - either trapping yourself within an alluringly escapist dream or trapping yourself within a barely bearable nightmare. And what’s worse, you are letting or even calling others to join you there.

You have a hand in what happens. You, me, and everyone else. So until there is enough of us believing in and working towards an Ideal Reality, we’ll be settling for an ever-elusive fantasy in a grating dystopia. Don't be a fool.

Touching Ground

If you’re trying to put your feet on the ground but can’t quite reach a firm landing, here’s some more anchoring to pull you from being stuck dwelling within the clouds.

Yes, subtext exists. While it is probable that you have interpreted many things correctly and others not so accurately, you can certify which is which over time (as more concrete and definite answers become more accessible to you). Yes, there are occasions when there’s not much or no meaning at all behind things despite what we’re inclined to believe, but for certain not all is merely to be taken at face value alone. Likewise, there is indeed more to repeated coincidences (or "coincidences"). And yes, there are those who pay extra attention, deciphering and such - just like you.

Moreover, in a world where everyone seems to be in the business of lying, people still exist who do mean what they say. And when in doubt, they can reassure you again.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase. Unfortunately, there is truth to it. It may not happen immediately, if at all, but you could be cautious or at least prepared for what might happen.

Sometimes a wish sets into motion much within us. And sometimes much within us sets a wish into motion. In both cases, something is at work. It may not even require any divine intervention. You may fulfill it yourself, knowingly or not.

What is tricky is that they come in a package. Including more than you “signed up” for. And often, that is inevitable. You cannot have one thing without the other. Not in this universe and the mysterious (yet explainable) ways in which it works.

If you wish for strength, you won’t suddenly be strong with the snap of your fingers. You will have to go through and/or swallow what will make you strong. And not only that, once you are strong, you will have the consequences of it. Things will shift. You will be looked at differently and treated differently. For better and for worse. You will also begin attracting or repelling based on it. And with all of this, you would have sacrificed what cannot coexist with the fact of you being strong.

The same, in essence, can be applied to other wishes. Because as chaotic and whimsical as life may seem, it is still strictly governed by certain rules.

When you make a wish, know that you are making a trade. And sometimes, depending on what you currently have going on for you, that trade will bring about tremendous change. You might be forced to let go of and lose things that you would rather keep and even cling to. Because, again, they are not compatible with your wish or are getting in the way of it. If it is only the latter, there may be room again for them later on. A typical example would be people who are holding you back more than you realize or admit to yourself while you hold on to them dearly. It can be painful.

It gets worse if you resist. If the wish is inevitably coming true but you are stubbornly keeping in place what is keeping it out, devastating destruction could manifest. Does this mean you should always be flexible and open to anything? And simply go with the flow? No, that is quite dangerous too. It means that you should try to figure out what is an obstacle to it and, if you can’t, be ready to endure what will reveal it as such. 

So, be careful what you wish for.

CREDIT: AI-Generated Examples done on Leonardo.AI

Was that a sign?

Signs are everywhere and in everything, more so when not taken at face value and instead are further interpreted. It can be intriguing and fascinating to notice them, and they can bring you to new revelations, but assuming that they’re all leading you closer to where you are meant to go can be both disorienting and maddening. Not to mention, can also create awkward and uncomfortable situations. Part of life is about presenting you with opportunities to exercise discernment and judgment, letting you examine and determine more of your life rather than fully dictating it for you. This can be especially difficult and hard to do as we may dread finding ourselves at a point where we painfully regret not heeding the signs more. But remember that, for the important decisions of your life, it should take more than just a hint that you casually or even randomly came across with.

Nightmares & Terrors

Have you had strange dreams? What could be creepily lurking down there? Some would say that dreams are completely random, but I don’t believe that to be the case.

However, dream interpretation can be quite hit-or-miss and overall unreliable. It is not, at all, guaranteed that the precise meanings commonly attributed to the symbols and the patterns that emerge in your dreams will give you accurate insight into a present or future situation in your life. They might, though, prompt you to pay attention to what you could have overlooked and have a few new realizations that are founded in reality. Am I saying there’s no magic to it? Not necessarily. And recurring themes are definitely worth reflecting on.

The subconscious is unmeasurably complex, endlessly intriguing and fascinating, quite inexplicable as well. And if you are the kind of person who often has and remembers dreams, you might have noticed that it can sometimes give you the most beautifully soothing dreams but also the most horrendously upsetting ones.

Typically, having bad dreams indicates a restlessness in one or more aspects of your being. What worries you? What scares you? What do you fear? What do you dread? What has caused you intense pain and/or suffering? What is threatening and dangerous to you? All of this is likely to show up while you’re asleep, as if you no longer hold the door closed to them and they can pass over to torment and torture you. If not just to remind you that they are there.

Horrifying as it can be, they are an opportunity to dive in, face, and overcome what could be holding you back or even sabotaging you. Anything that makes you nervous is an area where confidence is lacking. And confidence, the true kind, gets you through anything.

Maybe there is trauma to work through, possibly stored shame, and possibly stored guilt. Wounds you are yet to properly tend to, too. Illnesses as well. But maybe the enemy isn’t within. Maybe it is outside yourself.

You could be under stressful and overwhelming circumstances, absorbing tainted energy from your environment, sensing toxicity going around or even your way. Perhaps something is wrong and you’re picking up on it. Whatever it is, it is messing with you and your ability to rest.

For all we know, it could be dark entities visiting to drain, consume, and possess you. That sounds crazy, but something could come out of it.

If this is you, get to tackling it all because, yes, you can stop having bad dreams if you get to the bottom of them. Resolve what you can and come to terms with what you can’t.

CREDIT: AI-Generated Examples done on Leonardo.AI

Blessings and Damnations

What if this means something? What if it’s been with you? Some things certainly feel and seem like something cast over us. But how true is that?

Life is full of different people. And with them, it is also full of different paths that can be taken. And along with all of that, different traits and behaviors that they’re all composed of. Some “good”, some “bad”. Some convenient, some not so much. Some putting you at a significant advantage, and some at a disadvantage. Might be so extreme or immense that it could even cause you to ask what you did to deserve it.

You can call it a soul contract. Or just genetics combined with the environment and determinism in and around them. But it is still quite strange when it is as though you’ve been bestowed with a particular twist that has an inexplicably great impact in your life, in what you can and cannot do, where you can and cannot go, and what happens around you because or in spite of you and what you’re like.

Acknowledge and embrace it. Many of us waste too much of what we’re granted by desperately trying to be anything but what we are. Disowning what sets us apart and therefore gives us something different to bring to the world. Perhaps because we had other plans and you’d rather not let anything or anyone but yourself define you. And that’s valid to an extent. But if you find yourself dismissing and denying a bit too much, maybe you should reconsider.

Both blessings and damnations can be difficult to accept. For numerous reasons. Though blessings are generally positive and constructive, or ultimately are, we might be reluctant to accept them or closed-off to them. And damnations? Well, who wants those? But they can be the precursor to intense learning that leads to profoundly transformative growth and eventually places you in a position of mastery that very few can reach. And quite importantly, in certain cases, your blessings counteract your damnations or vice-versa. So, coincidentally or not, they're there for something.

Careful, though. Choose your battles wisely. Draw your lessons as you go.

CREDIT: AI-Generated Examples done on Leonardo.AI

Invisible Assistance or Sabotage

You might be overlooking something! Certain things aren’t as obvious as others. And sometimes we’re just not paying enough attention. But there is more in the works that we’ve yet to notice.

This is why it is always important to pause and reflect for a moment before making a change, adding or removing a part of something else. Because for all we know, they could be doing significantly more than we realize. Assisting or sabotaging.

Needless to say, it happens with people too. Those who help aren’t always loud about it. In fact, in many instances, they might purposely choose to be as quiet as they can possibly be, sneakily assisting you with one or more issues. Maybe they’d rather you don’t notice or maybe they’d rather others don’t notice. After all, why draw attention to your weak, faulty, or lacking spots? And of course, could be both too. Whatever the case, this is usually one of the purest forms of service to receive and it is sad it is this quality that at the same time makes it more likely to be taken for granted and only missed once it’s gone.

Alternatively, those going against you also aren’t always loud about it. They could be as sneaky or even more. Like an invisible sickness or a poison that you only find out about when it is too late  or far advances and it has already done much of the damage, irreversibly so. The sneakier they are the better so that they can continue to mess things up. So besides keeping quiet, they could put on disguises to cover their tracks. Pretending to be something they are not (probably acting as if they're solely assisting you) so that you won’t suspect them or would even drop your guard around them. It is twisted.

So look around! Take stock of what is happening. What is there, where, when, how, and why. What connects to what and what affects what? How would it go without one or another?

CREDIT: AI-Generated Examples done on Leonardo.AI

10 Things that Make You Become or Remain Dumb

More likely than not, you don’t want to be or stay too dumb. At least not awfully so. Sure, ignorance is bliss and curiosity killed the cat, and we might spiral down if we go down too many rabbit holes to get to the bottom and leave no stone unturned, but you could do with being a bit smart or smarter than you are.

Especially nowadays, when information sharing, in various forms, has become what positions you among the rest. And it’s as if everyone is eager to have a stance on whatever the current topics are. And even when they aren’t, they might be pressured to (not that you always have to give in, but it can put you against the wall). Furthermore, though not new, too many people go around taking advantage of whoever they can by being “clever” and trying to outsmart them - employing tactics and maneuvering in ways that you could miss.

So what can you do to get out of your ignorance and proceed further toward awareness? Catch yourself whenever you’re doing or about to do any of the following and instead keep yourself from them.

• Never asking questions, too afraid to appear uninformed.

• Being too stubborn with what you believe or not stubborn enough.

• Indulging in wishful thinking or being consumed by fearful thinking.

• Overelying on whether or not the information comes from what are considered “reliable sources” rather than practicing discernment.

• Accepting views and opinions as facts based on whether they are popular or unpopular takes.

• Persisting in echo chambers or concentrating on devil advocates.

• Refusing to consider hypotheses and theories that haven’t been sufficiently proven (assuming that proven = true and unproven = false, or a complete dismissal of fiction).

• Alternatively, refusing to ever reach any firm conclusion because you do not know what you do not know.

• Blind faith in what has been already established, as if it is somehow not prone to any error or corruption. 

• Failing to take proper care of yourself (physically and psychologically) and letting your brain functions decline.

Now, which have you fallen into to an extent that has undoubtedly dumbed you down? What else has? How can you start turning it around?

CREDIT: AI-Generated Examples done on Leonardo.AI

I Love Keeping a Journal

Keeping a journal, or a diary, or anything you'd call it, is sooo important to me.

Even if I don't make entries every single day. Even if there's no possible way I can neatly encapsulate every significant or relevant moment. Even if it seems bleak and pointless while I'm narrating them. Even if it feels tedious and like yet another chore taking up my time and energy. Having that to look back to in the future is priceless.

I'm not a person with outstanding memory (I probably exchanged it for other traits and skills), but I do get nostalgic from time to time. Given that, in the greater scheme of things, everything is intertwined, and the past matters. Incredibly so. It can be marvelous for me to witness how everything eventually fits together or unlocks doors to more.

And if you knew me well, you'd believe that it doesn't necessarily have to do with money and fame for it to be amazing to me (although those can be impressively great too). It's just the miracle of everything, how astonishing and wonderful life can be. It is pure meaning.

Something not everyone knows or is aware of is that many of us legitimately suffer if we don't weave the events of our lives into stories. We lose purpose, direction, and will. We miss out on the lessons, too. And fail to see the big picture or even have a compass. Storytelling is not only entertaining, it keeps you sane.

Maybe there are characters that come in that you wish never had. Characters that leave that you wish would have stayed. Or characters that weren't there enough. And it makes you want to rip out those pages with them on them because you don't want to remember them. Maybe you don't even want them to have a place there, in the book that's yours. But they do, at one point it was their story too. Eventually, you come to terms with it and can look back at it to see how, if nothing else, they added some spice.

And maybe there is still plenty that doesn't make much or any sense. That has you wondering, "What in the world?" And it's taking up space without any seeming justification. You might ultimately find out that it does... or that it doesn't. But such is life and sometimes there's fluff and fillers. Not everything will advance the main plot and not all the plot holes are patched. The foreshadowing can be an astounding or a disappointing reveal. And the twists can be indescribably blissful or utterly devastating.

But those incredible bits that you'll treasure forever? They're worth the wait. Nobody can take that from you. And by keeping a journal, you can anchor them and be led back to them, vaguely or vividly reliving them. How magical is that? The ordinary may be extraordinary after all. Literally legendary.

It's also bewildering to think of all the times different lives have paralleled each other until finally crossing. And I don't mean simply viewing or meeting, I mean on the different levels that there are and that they carry. We contain so much. And oh, such obliviousness. It is frustrating.

I just sometimes wish I could do more of it, but soon that will be the case. Some of my biggest regrets still include not having much or anything to remember something or someone by. Yet, who knows? Maybe somebody else kept a better record and I'll stumble upon them and we'll trade!

You can be sure, though, that I'm awfully sentimental and I'm holding on...
It's a familiarity I'd rather never lose...

Built Up

Maybe one day, a lot of the seemingly random and out-of-place things in your life will suddenly come up as insane foreshadowing to something major. Or maybe, they'll remain a compilation of experiences that, regardless, built you up.

Maturity is Alluring

Maturity (not to be mistaken for cynicism, defeatism, or plain boringness), among much else, has a certain appeal to many - but especially to those who are themselves mature or striving for maturity. Speaking mainly of character, which encompasses the mental, emotional, and spiritual realms, here's a quick list of a few (in no particular order) of the traits that make it so:

1. Once a level of trust has been built, communication is open and clear.
2. After many lived experiences, many observations have been made and lessons have been learned.
3. Less likely to be impressed by trivial and vapid things.
4. Heightened ability to look past illusions.
5. Able to form their own opinions, revise their beliefs, and consider views and gathered input.
6. Have proved themselves to themselves, not as interested in proving themselves to others.
7. Can laugh at the absurdity that is taken too seriously.
8. Has seen enough to not miss the forest for the trees.
9. Smoothly handles what could have others stressed or even panicking.
10. Takes failure and rejection with relative ease.
11. Ambitions and aspirations go beyond worldly rewards.
12. Appreciates the simple and small - yet meaningful - things once taken for granted.
13. Solves issues and/or gets along with family and friends they may have had minor differences with.
14. Realizes we're in a game and that the rules are questionable.
15. Possesses an immense and intricate universe within.
16. A grasp on their likes and dislikes, until/unless they shift again.
17. The wittiness and cleverness that comes with wisdom and not just intelligence.
18. A long history of chances they've taken, where they led, and how they turned out.
19. Values and forges deep connections and lasting relationships.
20. Commitment, at least to what's right for them and after careful evaluation, is not taken as a suffocating cage to desperately escape from and it is instead stabilizing.

These are some of the ones that stand out for me the most. But you can surely think of more!

What About Your Legacy?

Maybe you don’t believe in the afterlife. Maybe what happens in life only matters to you while you’re alive. And if that’s how you are, that is valid enough. However, if you find yourself caring about what you could leave to others after you’re gone, then it’s worth pondering some more.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a theist, an atheist, or an agnostic. Regardless of any of that, you may or may not care about the long-lasting consequences that your actions could have.

You may be moved to highly ambitious goals. Not just in the service of yourself (your name, your image, and how you will be remembered), but in the service of others (a generous gift to them). What will it be exactly and in what measure depends, but it can be taken as your mark in history.

Alternatively, it may be simpler than that. Rather than going down in history as somebody noteworthy for a major contribution to the world or an area of it, you may instead be moved to help your family, your community, and others around you or that you choose in some significant manner.

This aim can push you forward to achieve and accomplish more than you would otherwise. As you’d no longer be living only for yourself and your brief life, but for more that goes beyond it. And if the idea of it is inspiring to you, then you’d know it is meant for you to pursue…

Too Unhinged & Deranged

How far can you or should you go?

What happens in fiction land, stays in fiction land. Maybe that’s a handy guideline to adopt when it comes to exploring, experimenting, and experiencing the most unhinged and deranged aspects of yourself, of others, and of living creatures, organisms, and machinery in general.

However, are you really free to go as wild as you’d like when that’s the case? Not quite. You’ll get passes but you’ll still be marked as suspicious. And that’s something you would have to maneuver through, possibly by having a vast amount of evidence pointing to your innocence to counteract the effect of these concerning activities.

And while it’s true that it’s often the most small and simple-minded people who are quick to point fingers and yell, “Witch!” To have everyone around gather with pitchforks and carry you to be burned at the stake, it is valid to be wary of those displaying a level of enjoyment in violence or other twisted and messed up things. That doesn’t mean those that hide it are automatically more trustworthy, To some, that can be more concerning because… Where does their anger go? Surely, any human without a disability impeding it is able to experience anger. But it does mean that when you do show the signs, more people take notice and, rightfully so, their guard goes up.

This can be discouraging. But if you’re meant to go into these sides of life, it may not fully stop you. It will also largely depend on how accepting or rejecting your environment is of this nature. And if you’re committed and responsible enough with it, it will take much to deter you.

It is proven, however, that it is worse to be in complete denial and ignorance of what horrors lurk or lie beyond - in the past, present, and in potential futures. Depending on how this venture is taken, it can serve as a form of preparation for the same or similar situations, on smaller or larger scales. But there’s indeed the risk of being consumed by it instead and taken down a darker road.

Please always exercise sound judgment and stop before reaching the point of no return.

Conjuring & Transmuting

But isn’t that, like, magic? Complete fiction or illusory at most? It depends on how you look at it!

When we speak of conjuring and transmuting, we are speaking of two particular processes. These processes are often associated with the realm of magic, of unbelievable powers reserved for those who are more than mere humans. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t be borrowed for more practical and common instances of them - whether to take something mundane and view it through the lens of wonder or simply to effectively communicate what is being done exactly.

When you’re drawing from within yourself and connected deeply with what could be various sources of inspiration that fuel you or even possess you, what comes out of that can be considered something you conjured up - especially if the specific measures and mixes are essential to the formation of it, had you consciously controlled them or not.

Similarly, transmutation is something you do. When instead of completely discarding what seems useless or even detrimental to you, you have it go through a transformation that turns it into something worthier to you, to others, or in general instead, and it is somehow an equivalent, yet perhaps an opposite, that is by definition transmutation.

In art, when engaging with one’s artistic abilities, conjuring and transmuting is not foreign. Artists seemingly forge gems out of nowhere and turn coal into gold. And it is magical to those who appreciate it.