Hi,
I am 15 yrs old, and would like to try my hand at magic, and spell casting! I would find it very interesting to learn arts such as Telekinesis as well. There is one problem. My Dad is a pleasant person, and we get on pretty much fine. However, he is an Atheist. So am I for that matter, I don't believe in god. But my dad sometimes appears to have no imagination, and I find and have always found his judgemental nature infuriating. He is utterly unable to think outside his mental bubble, and that bubble is pretty small. For example, he never reads fiction unless it is believable, because 'it's just silly'. So he would read Arthur C Clarke's 2001: A Space Oddysey happily, but Harry Potter, or watching a show like Doctor Who? No way whatsoever. So what I am getting to is, given this, I'm sure you can understand his view on people who actually practice magic, don't just read it, but actually believe in it. He doesn't know that I believe in these things, but if the subject of Wiccan or Pagan believes are raised, he makes unpleasant, judgemental remarks, like 'They're all a bunch of sad wackos'. Unfortunately, I've had to live with him like this for 15 years, and only in the last 6 months have I tentatively started believing in magic. Right, so after all that rambling, my point is this; All spells require belief in the magic you are performing, and most require concentration. Unfortunately, whenever I try to cast a spell, or something similar, I have this little nagging voice at the back of my head that can be very distracting. Its saying that this is all a load of nonsense, that Magic is physically impossible, and it fills my head with doubts that almost certainly inhibit spell-casting ability, and has stopped me getting anywhere with it so far. Does anyone have advice on how I might go about exorcising this unwanted voice from my mind?
Thank you for any answers!
PS Sorry for the long post, I wanted to put in detail.