Expecto Patronum

As a teenager diagnosed with clinical depression, one of the things that really helped me was reading and watching Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban.

In the story, Harry Potter, a boy wizard, faces Dementors. Dementors are dark, vicious creatures that guard Azkaban (a prison for witches and wizards). Every time Harry faces a Dementor, they feed on his happy memories, literally sucking out his soul, until all he feels is darkness by reliving his bad memories. The Dementor's Kiss is when they suck out their victim's souls, taking away all of their memories and feelings. Their presence makes the whole scene cold and dark and flowers will die (sorry for scaring you Lotus and Selina, but I'm sure you'll be safe here ). Chocolate is a good medicine to eat and heal after their attacks.



J.K. Rowling once said that the Dementors represent the clinical depression she once felt and every time I saw the movie or read the book, I felt like the story was about me. Little did I know that my fight with depression was really the beginning of how I would come to understand the Law of Attraction and manifesting.

So how do we fight a Dementor? To quote Professor Dumbledore from the movie version, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” We face a Dementor by focusing on the happiest memory imaginable or even the idea of a very happy moment. We imagine it, we feel it, and we say the incantation "Expecto Patronum!", and with a circle of our wand, a Patronus comes out (which is kind of like a spirit animal) and protects us from the Dementor. At first, Harry remembered his godfather's offer to live with him and how happy he felt. And boom! - his patronus pushed away hundreds of Dementors. One year, Harry imagined being back together with his friends and that idea was enough to cast the spell. So we either think and feel the happiest memory or imagine what could become the happiest memory.



I remember at 13 I read this book and watched this scene over and over again to remind me that I can beat depression. Harry Potter was my hero (ironically, so was Tony Soprano, HBO's mobster with depression   ). When the dark feeling and numbness came back, I would just close my eyes and try to think of the happiest memory or the happiest vision for my life possible. It didn't matter if it came true, as long as it reminded me that I have the power to live these moments again, maybe even create happier moments. I wouldn't say "Expecto Patronum" but my incantation (said in my head) was "I'll make it though this." And I did. The depression went away, not all at once, but every day got better and better, like Dementors scurrying off and leaving me in peace.

Looking back, I wonder if the emotions of the memories and visions helped me rewire my brain's neuropathways making it easier to stay out of depression. Or maybe magic does exist and it's all in our state of mind. I learned after that to focus on how my state of mind is because that usually determines how I experience reality. And then when I first read about the power of emotions and visualization in Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, I was hooked.

So, what are some "spells" that helped you get through depression/sadness or other injuries and ailments? What are your favorite books, movies, music, or experiences that helped you find more magic in life or helped you realize the power within your Mind?

President Roosevelt wrote:
Looking back, I wonder if the emotions of the memories and visions helped me rewire my brain's neuropathways making it easier to stay out of depression.?

Yes, that's what happened. Thank you for sharing this story and metaphor.

I never knew that it was metaphor for depression... You learn something new everyday and has gotten me thinking thank you for the interesting insight

blossomtea wrote:I never knew that it was metaphor for depression... You learn something new everyday and has gotten me thinking thank you for the interesting insight

Ron Weasley is even based on J.K's best friend she hanged out with as a teenager. He even had a Ford Anglia like in Chamber of Secrets. J.K even based Hermione on herself.

Great post President thank you for sharing I love Harry Potter! I think I've seen all the movies 100+ times and I've read the books too but I prefer the movies, because I really enjoy visually the world they have created.

Also you made me smile with the chocolate cake because tomorrow is my 33rd birthday and my husband asked me today what I wanted to get. I said I don't want anything, but it's also the 1 month birthday for Iris and she wants a chocolate cake
So your cake picture must've been the universe delivering a sign of a cake before it arrived lol

I had a dvd collection of Harry Potter before and they have all this bonus material with interviews and documentaries with JK. Rowling and it just seemed to me that she still oozed this sadness. I can't explain it, but she still seemed depressed. Maybe she's just really an introvert and doesn't like all the cameras around, but even if you look at the photos of her- she doesn't look that happy.

Great technique though, I'm glad you got out of your depression and what a clever approach. I've never really been seriously depressed, but I do get some sad or fed up moments. For me music really helps and getting it out of my system. I just literally write it all down point by point what bothers me. Most of the time things improve vastly after that. I don't know if it's the universe hearing my worries lol, or me lifting my vibration by getting the bad things off my chest.

Thanks Lunar!

The chocolate cake was actually for Night Eyes since she desired a chocolate gateau last night. But you can have some too

And Happy Birthday! I hope you do get a chocolate cake and your kids can eat it all since you don't want anything lol

I always keep forgetting to buy all the Harry Potters on Blu-Ray....but I did successfully manifest my favorite scenes in Order of The Phoenix and The Half Blood Prince to show up at the right moments for me as part of the 7 Day Manifestation Challenge on PLOA.

As for J.K. Rowling's depression, I do think it tends to leave its scars and that scar can make people more introverted. I also thought the general gloominess was a British thing lol

Strangely, I didn't start listening to music until after my depression. And I also find that writing down all the things that bother you and just putting your emotions onto the page is a great way to release negative energy (as long as you're getting it out and not beating yourself up).

This week, I reread Chamber of Secrets and felt super pumped to get a lot of work done. It's as if living in the story itself helped me release some fears of criticism and failure and the focus on courage and action - by Harry's fight in the Chamber - made me feel ready for the job. What is it about storytelling that does this? Sometimes, I think we unconsciously look for drama and certain life experiences to release stuck emotions within us, like the hero's journey, and stories offer a way to experience things we have denied so that we can release those emotions, and limiting beliefs along with it.

well firstly... thanks for the chocolate cake! i will of course share it with the birthday girl! mwah mwah mwah!

this is a fabulous post, thank you for sharing it, i love the Harry Potter films, maybe not for the same reasons, for me they're on every xmas here in the uk or around that time, so they just remind me of cosy saturday evenings, snuggled up watching feel good films.... i havent read the books myself but i have a friend who never reads... except for Harry Potter as she loves them!


i dont know much about J.K Rowling myself, but what a wonderful example she is of overcoming so many things..... dont quote me on this as i might not have it quite correct off the top of my head, but i remember hearing how she was very poor and struggling, and she used to write these books in a little cafe.... i think she had also heard of Loa..... so she is a prime example of just how far you can come, and how much you can change your life!

there's a film called a Knights Tale... its one of my favourites, and the star of it is a Guy called William, who travels with a Knight but he dies and William pretends to be a Knight himself.. going on something his father told him as a child before he left home... he asked his father  'is it possible to change your stars?' and his father said yes 'change your stars William'

and well he did change his stars, at the end of the film he was dubbed a Knight even though he had no lineage to become one.

anythings possible

OF COURSE I would share my cake with gorgeous Nighty and ehemm... I would share my cake lot with all of you cause my husband always has a problem with understanding "chocolate cake" so he came home with a huge chocolate cake, a box of large chocolate chip muffins, a box of chocolate m&ms cookies, a box of chocolate eclaires with custard, a box of these fluffy shells with strawberries and fresh cream and tons of crisps, dips and other party food (all for me, since I'm not really having a party) AND a huge tub of vanilla ice cream... sigh.. I'm sure I left something out too.
Perhaps he thinks I'm too thin?
Shame you aren't here, because I have to eat it all by myself. My son can only eat a little bit and Iris is only 1 month old, so all she gets is mommy's boobies (and those aren't for sharing, before you get excited President )

Just because you inspired me, I watched The prisoner of Azkaban again last night. You're right- JK Rowling must know about LOA because there are so many references, especially as most spells involve using your imagination on the spot. Even the parallel reality they create to go back in time in that particular movie.
Ahhh but I do so wish that I would reincarnate in a Harry Potter universe. As our gallery suggests, my soul is really from the world of wizardry and witchcraft

Ohh NE I loooove the Christmas feeling, I only remember the first Harry Potter being on tv during Christmas in UK. What I  remember are Love Actually, The Holiday and that cartoon with a snowman...I'm walking in the aiiiiir ...
Speaking of snowmen in cartoons I loooove Frozen. I must be a very visual person because I love how clear and vivid the colors are in Frozen. The shades of purple, blue and gold are probably my favorite colors


I haven't watched it yet but

Oh and forgot to say I have heard that JK Rowling's first husband was emotionally and physically abusive.

i love Xmas films Lunar, It's a Wonderful life has to be played every year, the night before Xmas eve... maybe i'm a bit odd, but i love Autumn and Winter.... purely because you can just shut the front door, stick your fluffy wooly socks on, make Hot Chocolate and film binge!

Selina's busy, but her ghost is here to say...

I was born on Christmas Day, so I always love Christmassy things. I'm still not as obsessed as one of my friends, though, she's already counting down to Christmas now!

(of course, in Australia we don't have snow fights but water fights)

oh Selina how lovely, you were a little xmas babba!

i'm not like batpoop crazy over xmas... but i love cosy evenings... twinkling lights... and eat till you cant move food!

I love European Christmases. Haven't had that many in my life but ohhhh the atmosphere!! White Christmases are the best Christmases. And I love the festive atmosphere wherever it is... I always wish we could be like that all year round. Full of joy and love and peace and yummy food.....

I can't find anything on how Jo Rowling might have used the Law of Attraction...

Based on her Oprah interview, she said that her wealth was very unexpected and she never in a million years imagined it. If we take this quite literally, it would seem to contradict the "Thoughts create reality" aphorism. But we do know that thoughts create reality, as does emotions and beliefs (repeated thoughts). So if she didn't think about wealth, or expect it, how did she attract it?

First, I remember the biggest factor in me beating my depression was to constantly see myself living a better life. I would remind myself what's worth living for: family, friends, writing, dogs, video games, pizza, helping people...I would lay in my bed and imagine all the fun times ahead of me, all the wonderful things I can do to live a meaningful life. I would imagine these things especially when the darker thoughts showed up, which was curiously almost always around 9-10 PM. Over time, I just knew that my depression would go away. And it did. Sure, I'd get moody spells here and there, but never on the scale of suicidal thoughts for three years straight like before. It's similar to fighting a Dementor; you're reminding yourself of what's really meaningful in life when the cold darkness tries to suck meaning out of you. And Jo Rowling really wanted Harry Potter to tell us how great imagination is. I could have never beat depression without my imagination.

Jo Rowling says she was clinically depressed back when she was writing Sorcerer's Stone (Philosopher's Stone for some of you) in the cafes. She was afraid that her daughter, an infant, would die. But her daughter was also a grounding presence for her, a reason to live. Plus, Jo's mother died years before and she never had a chance to say goodbye. Maybe writing was her outlet, and given the themes in Sorcerer's Stone, maybe it was a way to say bye to her Mom, and find her own power as a Mom trying to be strong for her daughter. It took her 9 months but she beat depression with cognitive behavioral therapy. She came up with the idea of Harry while on a train, but sometimes I wonder if the idea of "Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived" is connected to her daughter in that sense? (her daughter, the girl who lived). She used her pain for Harry's family backstory. Sometimes in depression, art and expression are the biggest things that save you. Abraham Lincoln had his poetry, Winston Churchill his paintings, Jo Rowling her writing, and I was lucky to have both painting and writing.

I remember after my depression lifted, if felt wonderful to be alive. Nearly everything I imagined, everything I knew was worth living for, came true. It was a like a feeling of miracles do exist, that I was prosperous. So I wonder if J.K. felt the same emotions when her depression lifted? Maybe she felt super great when she finished the book? And this powerful, prosperous emotion attracted so much wealth? So maybe Adi was right, go general and feel the emotion of being prosperous, and you'll attract circumstances that give you more of that in your life. It's also kind of similar to Abraham-Hicks. They say to never do something just for the money, find what feels good to you, find your passion first and put it into the work, and the money will come. It seems like cliche advice, but maybe it is easier to attract wealth when we feel fulfilled and passionate on the inside? I seem to attract cool things when those emotions are strongest.

Secondly, I think Jo Rowling's a good example of decision. All the publishers told her to keep her day job, that children's books don't make that much. Despite her depression, Jo said that it was the most freeing time of her life because she could put most of her energy into writing. She just stuck to it, and finished her book. She was rejected many times, but it didn't stop her. She said “This is really where I turned my life around completely. My life changed so much in this flat. I feel I really became myself here. Everything was stripped away. I’d made such a mess of things. I just thought I want to write so I wrote the book. What was the worst that could happen? It could get turned down by every publisher in Britain. Big deal.” Instead of spending all her time indulging depression and her fears, she decided to do something she really wanted to do, which I think raised her vibes.

Third, she didn't seem to care that much if she was rejected anymore. As long as she wrote her book, that was all that mattered to her. If she was rejected, it was no big deal. I think this attitude gave her 0% resistance to success. I remembered I was inspired by Beowulf back in high school (before I was interested in conscious manifesting). Here's a good idea of Beowulf's warrior code:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/09/21/lessons-in-manliness-from-beowulf/

The basic idea is that success and failure are out of our hands, all we really have is our state of mind and actions. It doesn't matter if we win or lose, as long as we do a courageous act, that is what we shall be remembered for since all men face Death anyway. So if success and failure are out of my hands, it makes no sense to worry about that. Instead, I have to stick to my code, which is to do great things, live meaningfully, and do it in spite of fear. Back in the days of high school team sports and exams, this was my idea of how to live life. Don't worry about about the past or the future, just do a meaningful act right now, no matter if it scares you, do your best, and be proud of that. It won't matter if you win or lose as long as you're happy with who you are. Strangely enough, this time in my life was very good and I think it's because I was feeling good about who I am and what I do and I didn't care at all about the outcomes. So I wonder if J.K had a similar attitude to her writing? It doesn't matter if I'm rich or not, if I get published or not, as long as I do what I feel is right for me and be happy with that? As long as I face these fears, do something great, and just enjoy the experience of doing it? I wonder if this kind of attitude attracts success...Even in Neville Goddard's methods, we just assume it's a done deal so there's no need to worry about the outcomes...

Listening to the interview it seems that it sounds more like Bashar's version to follow your passion without expectations, although she does say that she told herself that getting it published is the hard part and once it's published, it'll be huge. So she did have a belief that it would be huge.
I did find it interesting though that she says she still worries about money or doesn't feel that she'll surely be financially secure for life.
I find this interview a lot more interesting, because most people that are billionaires are some big CEOs and to be honest I have zero interest in becoming some big manager or have anything to do with business, marketing yadda yadda, so it's nice to see some alternatives.

I watched The Half Blood Prince tonight again and it reminded me of a funny kinda LOA related experience.
Right before I moved here I worked at a cafe for couple months with a Brazilian guy that really reminded me of Snape. He was much younger, I think about 35, but his hair was exactly the same, his face was very similar and his voice and the serious way he spoke... so I just called him Snape. I even made a small series of him as Snape in Photoshop and tagged him on them in Facebook.

Anyway so I moved away and he went to work to the cafe that was temporarily open in the Serpentine Pavillion in Hyde Park. About a month later he sends me an email saying Alan Rickman actually visited the cafe and he got to serve him. so the 2 Snapes met after all my joking

Hi All

I never thought I'd see Jo Rowling and Beowulf mentioned in the same breath but great stuff. Actually I like President Roosevelt's discussion of rejection here better than anything in the Art of Manliness post.

"As long as she wrote her book, that was all that mattered to her. If she was rejected, it was no big deal. I think this attitude gave her 0% resistance to success."

This is the key to any success. Doing for the sake of doing. When all outcomes are equal in the mind of the person striving to achieve, then there aren't any more blocks to the manifestation. How can there be.

The greatest minds in history weren't thinking about success even. They were just focusing on creating. That was all that mattered. Vincent Van Gogh, for example. Dies a pauper. But look at him today. There was a Van Gogh sold at Sotheby's for $66.3 million this May. And yet he was rejected by all his contemporaries. All he cared about was painting, not money, not what people would say.

Actually Beowulf would be more relevant to a discussion of LOTR - JRR Tolkien was actually a Beowulf expert and it influenced his work. He even translated it. He's in the same vein as the warrior code mentioned above when he says,

"A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities."

This is the secret of course. You don't pay attention to the world around you, the rejections, criticisms, the fact that it isn't as you want it to be. You focus on the dream.

Ph