As I was reading your response I nodded from start to finish. When I was younger I used to use magic willy-nilly. You can imagine the sort of troubles I regularly got into :D It took some time to realize what magic is really meant for. There is a beautiful quote attributed to Black Elk in James de Korne’s Gnostic Book of Changes (see line #1):

It was even then only after the Heyoka ceremony, in which I performed my dog vision, that I had the power to practice as a medicine man, curing sick people; and many I cured with the power that came through me. Of course it was not I who cured. It was the power from the outer world, and the visions and ceremonies had only made me like a hole through which the power could come to the two-leggeds. If I thought that I was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no power could come through. Then everything I could do would be foolish.

So, I’m certain that in this manner we have ALL powers of universe at our fingertips. Of course, all we can do is be open to them and let ourselves be used by them, if we deem fit to do so. I think that that’s the meaning of stalking the power and the proverbial one cubic centimeter of chance.

And it’s only natural that “Reality, in fact, is only apparently solid. It is malleable.” As above so below. When we can lucid dream and shape our dreams completely, it’s only natural that we can “dream reality” in the same way. I just found out that most of the time it’s not necessary and there are even safety mechanisms in place that actually serve as guides to not mess things up (though, they can be ignored as I realized the hard way, and I’m talking about really serious consequences — if we desire, we can make the universe disappear, though it’s not as easy as it sounds). All in all, I would say that one simply knows when the time to act has come. And you know, “With great power…”

But definitely — a bit of innocent magic here and there to “slap ourselves awake” is what makes this journey so much more fun.