Why Aren’t We Magicians?

Or rather, why don’t we know we are Magicians, Shamans, Sages, Wizards and Mystics? I believe that we were all born with magic inside of us: a passion, desire and ability to express something that is uniquely our own. No one ever was or ever will be exactly like you. You are unique and you have something extraordinary inside of you waiting to be born and shared with the world.

"The universe is holding its breath, waiting for you to take your place"
----- Jean Houston

And yet, how strange is it that so many of us spend most of our lives just trying to figure out what that magic is. We wonder; Who are we? What do we want? Where are we going? How is it that we’ve been given this incredible gift and we don’t know it? I believe that in the depths of our being we do know it. We knew it before we were born and we knew it when we were very young. And then somewhere around the age of nine or ten we slowly let our magic slip away. The ‘voice of authority’ scales began to tip. While our inner wisdom grew quieter and quieter, the outer voice of our ‘tribe’ grew louder and louder.

It was all too easy to let happen. We realized early on if we wanted to get taken care of we had better behave and do what the tribe told us to do, even if we didn’t understand why. Of course, 'why' is the one word vocabulary of a 3 year old. We ask, they answer and we believe them because gosh, some of the things they told us seemed painfully true: “I told you if you keep putting your fingers in the hamster cage, he’ll bite you! Or; “I told you not to touch the stove or you’ll get burned!

Years later, perhaps in our late thirties we begin to feel a mild discontent and unless we stop the presses and pay attention right then, that discontent gradually turns into a gnawing at our soul. Our wake up call may come through desperation or with any luck, inspiration. Sadly, some people do not take the call at all.

But perhaps we should take a step back and talk about the Tribe. Caroline Myss refers to our family of origin as our Tribe. What defines a tribe is that they are bound by shared beliefs. We are all born into a tribal mentality, she says. In a Tribe, our spirits are involved in group thought forms. We all agree to believe the same thing. It's not a conscious agreement, but it is an agreement none the less. The Military is a perfect example of the tribal mentality in action. Everyone wears a uniform, they have strict rules and regulations and independent or critical thinking is not allowed. If you don’t agree with what they dictate, no problem…you’re out. Government, Corporations and many other organizations are examples of a tribal mentality.

Most of our beliefs come from our tribe, although you may not realize it on a conscious level. So if your dad said “you have to work hard for a living” or your Mom said “you need a college education in order to be successful” these beliefs became hard wired into your thought system as absolutes and then manifested as our reality. There are many more subtle beliefs such as a like or dislike for certain foods, colors, styles and even people. And you thought you were a free thinker!

At this point, some of you may be protesting. “But, I’m NOTHING like my parents!” I challenge you to think really hard. Maybe your Dad was a ‘staunch’ Republican and you’re a ‘staunch’ Democrat. Maybe your Mom was critical of others and although you may not be critical of others –you are critical of yourself. Or maybe the person you married is just like one or both of your parents or has similar characteristics. Believe me if this article were longer I could show you dozens of examples.

I’ve spent years examining my own life and the validity of this concept. When I stopped resisting, protesting and defending, things began to shift. When my focus became my awareness and freedom, I was able to see how often I made choices and acted out of hard-wired beliefs and perceptions. The ‘Truth’ (however hard it is to see) will set you free.

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
------ George Santayana

From Peter Calhoun, a modern Shaman; “The false belief systems that we’ve been given have caused us to look at life in a very limited way. The key to freedom is in knowing that you have been given these false beliefs. If you perceive the world as an inanimate object and something impersonal- that’s what you will experience. If you perceive it as a magical place ….a divine being whom you love and have oneness with, then that’s what you’ll experience.”

If we want to reawaken to our magic, if we want to live life on purpose and with passion,
then it is our responsibility to manage our own consciousness without seeing it through the eyes of the Tribe.

Like a child, the first step is to be inquisitive. Start asking questions again. Except this time, ask your inner self. Write you questions down if you like and post them all over your house, in your car, at work. Maybe the first question is: “what do I need to know to awaken to my purpose and passion?” Or maybe you have another question that is burning inside of you. Do this for a month….. and let me know when your magic appears!

At the onset of my writing this- my first blog, I have to admit I spent 2 full days in bed, in pajamas, with mylaptop, writing, researching and rewriting. I had a full 12 pages (yes, I realize this is ridiculous) which I reluctantly whittled down to two. A bit of a perfectionist - Ok..Ok, I’m obsessively perfectionistic - my hope was to inspire you to become inspired.
Tonight at last, I had my final draft and needed only to make some editing changes. I was good to go! For some 'reason' I decided to take a break and watch a saved Oprah show from December. Uh.. huh…you guessed it - it was about Inspiration. As the show's two featured stories unfolded, I realized they delivered a powerful message and more impact than the two - or even the twelve pages I had labored over.
So there it is, exactly what I wanted to write about happened very appropriately and right on schedule.
I will offer a bit of my own thoughts on living an inspired life, however the stories from The Oprah show say it all.
My question is:
Can you really live without knowing what inspires you?

Why would you want to?

Maybe inspiration resides in the 'zero point' field- that place of unlimited possibilities.
When we are inspired things take on a magical quality. We all know that feeling – We don’t eat, maybe we don’t sleep, we lose track of time and space. Hours fly by that seem like minutes. Perhaps, you've had a 'lightening bolt' experience that compels you to do or say something that even to yourself, you find surprising or even startling.
Although inspiration can come with lightening speed, as it did to Genevieve Piturra and John Wood as reported on the Oprah Show, it is more likely to come as a whisper and not a yell. Maybe we hear it at the edge of sleep or deep within a dream. I believe within each and every one of us is a soulful craving, a passionate desire that breathes life into our being. It is in part 'why' we are here. Maybe you had a glimpse of it when you were growing up. What did you aspire to be when you were a child? "Queen of the Universe" you say? Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. Trust me...somewhere within the absurd is a clue to what inspires you.
You are Unique. There is only one You. The world is waiting to hear and see what extraordinary gift you have to share. Inside of you something incredible is waiting to be known.
Be Inspired… Today.

"Aspire to Inspire before you Expire"

---Author Unknown

The following stories are excerps from The Oprah Show 12/07

Genevieve Piturro -The Pajama Program
For Genevieve, realizing her passion took a little bit of soul searching.As a single woman in her 30s, marketing executive Genevieve Piturro was focused on climbing the corporate ladder. Then at age 38, she met her husband and the pair started settling into a life together—but she says something was missing. Though she never felt the pressure to have her own kids, Genevieve knew she wanted to have kids around her. "I started to volunteer at night," Genevieve says. "I'm a big reader, so I'd go around and read [to kids]. I'd call shelters and group homes and different organizations and volunteer."As she worked at different shelters, Genevieve started to notice that none of the children owned pajamas. They would go to sleep in their regular clothes."I said, 'Where's the bedtime? My mom was a great mom, and everybody has a mom who reads them a story and puts on their pajamas. Soon after seeing the children's bedtime routine, Genevieve had an Aha! moment. "I was sitting on the subway, and like a raindrop, the words 'pajama program' went into my brain," she says. "And I said, 'That's it! That's it! Pajamas.'"Genevieve got to work right away. She approached an after-school program for child victims of abuse and pitched her idea. "[They] said, 'That would be great! Nobody thinks of that. Nobody gives pajamas,'" she says.The next time she visited the shelter, Genevieve had a shopping bag full of pj's—a pair for each child. "[A] girl came in, and she must have been 6 or 7, and she looks and she says to me quietly, 'What are these?'" Genevieve says. "I said, 'They're pajamas. You wear them to sleep. What do you wear at night?' And she said, 'My pants.'"After that, Genevieve knew that one shopping bag of pajamas wouldn't cut it. She told everyone she knew about her mission, and she gathered as many pj's as she could. Five years later, Genevieve has collected 85,000 pairs of pajamas for needy children!

The Story of John Wood
Few individuals choose to walk away at the height of their corporate career to dedicate their life to a social cause.
At age 35, John Wood did just that - quitting his position as Microsoft's Director of Business Development for the Greater China Region in order to found Room to Read. He has never looked back.
John's career at Microsoft spanned 1991 to 1999, where he ran significant parts of Microsoft's international business, as the Director of Marketing for the Asia-Pacific Division, Director of the Internet Customer Unit for Microsoft Australia, and Director of Marketing for Microsoft Australia.
In 1998, John took a vacation that changed his life. Trekking through a remote Himalayan village, he struck up conversation with a schoolteacher, who invited John to visit his school. There, John discovered that the few books available were so precious that they were kept under lock and key - to protect them from the children! Fewer than 20 books, all backpacker cast-aways, were available for more than 450 students.
What started with a simple email requesting friends donate used books has grown into Room to Read, an award winning non-profit that over the past eight years has established over 5,160 libraries, donated and published 4.3 million books, built 442 schools, and funded over 4,036 long-term scholarships for girls - impacting the lives of over 1.7 million students worldwide.
John strives to bring the lessons of the corporate world to the non-profit sector. Room to Read combines his passion with the discipline of a well-run global company. He has been described by Fast Company Magazine as "all heart, all business."
John has received countless honors for his work, including recognition as a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum and as one of Time Magazine's "Asian Heroes." Room to Read is a five-time winner of Fast Company Magazine's Social Capitalist Award, a recipient of the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Innovation, and a recipient of Draper Richards Fellowship for social entrepreneurs.
John holds a Bachelors of Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Colorado, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He lives and works in San Francisco, CA.