Inpower Institute Insights

Liberated Living

Written By: Rebeccah Bennett  |  January 1, 2019

The beginning of a new year is always a great time to talk magic.  Now before you realists roll your eyes and stop reading, I should be clear that I don’t mean Black Panther invincibility or Dora Milaje super strength.  What I’m referring to is a state of lush living that delights our senses and adds dimension to our real life experiences. This magic is rare not because it’s mythical, but because it’s unpracticed and flies in the face of what we’ve been told about “how life really works.”  Yet, if we temporarily suspend our disbelief, we’d see that magic is both within and around us, whispering to us through our longings and patiently awaiting our notice.

Real magic invites us to pay close attention to our hearts. Unlike our usual head trips, it calls to us through our passions and desires; shocks our circuits as novel ideas; and excites the very core of our beings.  And when we lean into it, we make some profound discoveries.

We learn that we have more power than we think and fewer limitations than we’ve been taught.  These are earthshaking insights for those of us who’ve been confused about our power by oppressive systems and harmful conditioning.   Yet when we engage our power, it’s like wielding our very own magic wands. Using these wands reveals that in the web of life we are both cause and effect, with deeper connections to everything than might readily be apparent.

So, what are the qualities that will help us access our magic and unleash our personal power in 2019?  The list is long, but let’s focus on the 3 A’s – authenticity, attention, and appreciation. We’ll begin with authenticity, beautifully defined by Shakespeare in Hamlet as, “to thine own self be true.”  Being ourselves without pretense may cost us a measure of social acceptance, but it liberates our thinking and accelerates our growth. When we stop pretending to be, think and feel what makes others comfortable, we take back our power to be self-determining.  

Living authentically means that we no longer spend time lying, hiding and avoiding.  Instead, we are free to give quality attention to the true muses of our lives like family, pleasure, learning, justice, healing, faith and purpose.  Attending to our muses, and not just to our daily “musts,” strengthens our appreciation for the essence of life. And, it’s this appreciation that inspires life’s magic, for it’s impossible to elevate that which we don’t appreciate.  

The 3 A’s remind us that we’re more than just cogs in a machine – we’re creators whose passions and commitments shape reality once unleashed.  If we remember this, we’ll be sure to touch magic in 2019.

Rebeccah Bennett, Founder