We default to precepts to steer our navigation through life. They can be taught to us, or arise from our instinctual, intuitive or subconscious impulses. We can also deliberately shape, inform, acquire and discard precepts. Below are a few precepts to throw in your back pocket if walking the mystical or magical path.

Live As If Already Dead

This precept was pressed upon me while being taught Bushido culture. While just one statement, there is a holistic embodiment that occurs by taking this precept upon yourself. First, you accept your death. You understand life is temporary and have already swallowed that pill. You are ready for it to come at you at any moment.

Second, you can abandon many impulses that might keep you confined and constrained. If you are living as if already dead, then your priorities shift. You begin to move from your soul or spirit rather than just pursing the fancies of your physical self. If living as if already dead, you then move from another reality and with different aims.

Third, in order to truly live as if already dead, then you must cultivate some peace and contentment within yourself. Being ready for death at any time means that you have closure in your life, and can find happiness, peace and contentment in all it has been to date, yet you’re ready to let it all go and move past the portals of time at any instant. It also means your business is always taken care of. You have no loose ends to be concerned about.

Find Your Motivation and Inspiration

Say you’ve decided to live as if already dead. Yet, you are still here, alive. Accepting your death does not mean to let your life go to waste. Find your motivation and inspiration. Determine what it is that drives you every day. Set goals for yourself. Make the best of life.

Just because you are ready for death does not mean you need to forsake your existence. Because you know it can all go away in any moment, you find the wonder and beauty in it all. Grab what life has to offer and suck the marrow.

Be Thankful

Thankfulness and gratitude have many benefits, including generating health and blessings. It’s paying heed to all the details of your known reality. Decide to pay attention to that which supports and sustains you, even the things we take for granted, like running water. Even difficult lessons are worthy of your gratitude – they help you grow. Challenge yourself to focus on all the things there are to be thankful for and you’ll watch the landscape of your reality alter.