I've been thinking of the mif recently and I found a very good quote for the news group in one of the books I've been reading, and I wish to submit it.

the book is caled "Red Branch" by Morgan Llywelyn printed by ivy books

"Magic is but a label for a body of observable circumstance. To deny the reality of that which cna be observed is unreasonable,which is why those who wield magic effectively are those who reason more clearly than other beings. Thiers is an awareness that springs intuitevly from heightenned perceptions of the world as it really is. Magicians do not accept a limited reality worked out by the painful intellectual plodding of less gifted individuals.

"Magic is a talent carried in the blood and the spirit, but conversely, all those abilities humans call talent are rely forms of magic. Poetry and healing and making music are simply observable expresions of the creative force that is magic.

"One with the talent of magic can sense others so gifted, even if he or she never recognizes the common thread uniting them. Sometimes, the awareness comes strongly; sometimes it departs unexpectedly, leaving a haze in the memory. Yet, each of you has encountered magic somewhere, sometime.

"Do you remember?

"To know a magician look into his eyes. They are clear and aware. If you see him, h will know that you are seeing him. A magician does not hide behind his eyes; he puts everything in to them to be recognized by those who know how. In every culture, the ignorant have mistaken such beings for demons - or gods.

"Humans who think they can explain magic or gods have experienced neither. Yet both suround you.

"Open the eyes of your spirit and see."

I believe this is wht the mif has always stood for and it's the way I think magic works. in rl and in karchan--Telen