Jamie's book The Teen Spell Book was featured in the film, I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) with Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd. In this scene Michelle picks up the book after shoeing away her daughter and friend. She then says the words to a love spell to get the guy, who just happens to knock on the door seconds later!!

Teens and young adults often get in trouble for being vociferous and opinionated, which is a damn shame. In my opinion, this is the stage in life at which all humans truly finetune their individuality and mode of expression - whether through music, art, words, or even action. Teens and young adults are like wild mustangs - roaming the world for possibilities and the furtherst horizons. It is this time in life that adults look back upon to summon courage, freedom, and the ability to "live out loud!"

Barrio Writers, based in Santa Ana, California, strives to encourage teens and young adults to find their voice and give expression to it in the form of writing. This college-level writing class is held in the summer and features main teachers as well as published authors as guest speakers who teach how to hone the writing craft, whether through poetry, spoken word, personal narrative, essay, fiction. The students come on a volunteer basis and one of their completed works appears in a published book at the end of the year. The beauty of this program is the that finished work is polished and maintains the original voice, including all its passion and rawness.The first edition of Barrio Writers book will be available on Amazon in mid May 2010. www.barriowriters.org or visit them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1073240&id=1079060074&saved#!/pages/Barrio-Writers/308107010424?ref=ts

Top six reasons to keep a diary

1) It helps you find your voice. Being a teen there are so many things thrown at you, spending time along with your thoughts helps you decide which thoughts are yours, and which are opinions of someone else

2) It helps you organize. There is a lot going on when you are a teen. Writing helps you get things clear in your head in a way that makes sence and allows you to articulate your feelings, opinions, or thoughts,

3) It helps you separate drama from reality. When you write, you get a chance to realize your responsibility in a situation and save "face" at the same time. You see things from a more objective position.

4) Writing helps you process your feelings -- like going from rage to anger to sadness to hope.

5) Writing allows you to express things you might never say outloud.

6) Writing helps you set goals and visualize your dreams.

» VIEW MORE ON WRITING

Q - Hi Jamie, I've been a wiccan for about two months now and recently told my cousin, ellen about my choice. she thinks i've gone mad the religion is very inportant to me though and i like doing it quite alot but im closer to my cousin than anyone else, even my mum. the concern in her eyes was unmistakable. if she reacted like that how will my mum or my friends react. it wont be pretty. PLEASE don't say contact your guardian angel i already tried that. i got a big fat nothin so far! should i pack up my witchie things or continue to practice?

yours truly
sophie, age 13

A - Sophie, Thanks for your email. This can be a tough situation, if, only if you don't understand the foundation and reasoning behind why you are attracted to Wicca in the first place. Usually concerns about Wicca are based on negative propaganda and misconceptions, not actual experience with the religion or its practitioners. So your job will be to set the record straight, but first you need to understand what it is about Wicca that is most attractive to you.

What about the Wiccan religion do you like? (do you like learning about lore from other cultures, symbology, animal medicine, crystals, moon phases, etc.)

You said you like "doing it a lot"? What part of Wicca do you like doing most? (meditation, visualization, appreciating/understanding nature's cycles, etc.)

How does practicing Wicca make you feel? (do you feel a connection to nature, more empowered as a responsible co-creator in your life, etc.)

How does this feeling positively impact your life and the people in your life? (for example do you find yourself more peaceful, confident, etc)

Imagine that you are describing Wicca like you were describing a special place, like a favorite meadow or beach. When you begin with defining why you like Wicca and how good it makes you feel, you will have a better chance at opening their minds, because you aren't trying to convince them of anything. You are simply pointing out how it helps you. Then perhaps you can explain the tenets of the religion and begin to debunk some of the hurtful myths that circulate about Wicca.

Lastly, if you liked playing soccer or riding horses, but your friend didn't, would you really give it up just because she didn't quite understand your passion? You are old enough to make your decisions about religion without needing another's stamp of approval.

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> Got a question? email me at jamie@jamiewood.com

Spell Casting

When you blow out a birthday candle or the fluff of a dandelion how much time do you give your wish to come true? What's the difference between this kind of wishing and spell casting? Maybe less than you imagined. With spells you may add a chant, music, incense, a picture, a color, an oil -- all the better to focus your intention. My friend used to say, if you were stranded on a desert island, you could still do magick, because you are the magick. Essentially a wish, a spell, a prayer all amount to the same thing: a plea to the Divine As You See It. The Divine does not work on a human time clock – ever. Your spell or wish comes true in perfect time, so be a good little witchy poo and understand magic works best with Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.

MARCH - Heal Apathy

From The Teen Spell Book

Apathy is the terrible sensation of being in a black hole. When you are apathetic, you don't care what happens today or tomorrow, you are numb, feeling nothing but the impression that you are spiraling backward through a bleak darkness. It is not always defined as boredom, lethargy or laziness. You may be fully functioning, but your indifference, lack of concern a, and inability to conjure an emotion of any reasonable size has begun to really scare you.

I believe it is the gentle fragile souls (like love or creation itself), who feel deep pain and are ultra sensitive, who fall into the trap of apathy. They have felt so much pain that they cannot stand it, and they shut off the best they can. Thoughts such as, "Why would you hurt me? I"m not as tough as I appear!" flash through their minds as they try to make sense of the world. I remember, at age fourteen, wanting to just shut off my emotions like a water faucet. But humans are not meant to be detached.

Experiments have shown that lack of physical touch leads to depression and apathy. Walk through the fire; you will be okay. If you try to block it out, you will most likely only succeed in building pressure that eventually need release. But by being a channel and allowing the pain to pass through you and not attach, just breathing though it (like in yoga), you can gain compassion and feeling. You probably are going to be a real gift to people - helping others. First you have to help yourself. Just because you feel fear, doesn't mean it has to stop you.

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