I've long read and heard from spirits that awareness is the key to being successful. Sure, its a bit trite, and so it gets passed over and relegated to one's notes, but seldom to folks really think about what that actually means. I fell into that category, and never really thought much about it until I got the inspiration to do so.
It occurs to me that if knowledge of a thing changes the behavior of that thing, then awareness is key to manipulating how something changes. By becoming aware of a situation, we are influencing its outcome per Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. With that in mind, it becomes readily apparent that we should cultivate awareness as best we are able.
This is where meditation comes in, as its a tool that allows us to shift our awareness inward, outward, towards a specific idea or event, etc.
With that in mind, if we're striving to do magic, we should be meditating our butt's off. ;)
SE