{"id":12632,"date":"2025-06-21T08:08:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T14:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/?p=12632"},"modified":"2025-06-26T07:54:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:54:58","slug":"everyday-magic-your-role-in-a-more-enchanted-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/2025\/06\/everyday-magic-your-role-in-a-more-enchanted-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Magic: Your Role in a More Enchanted Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Unlocking the \u201cWOW\u201d: the art of seeing everyday magic. | Photo via Lloyd Newman and Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
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The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. ~Eden Phillpotts<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What if there was magic in the world that was just out of your view? What if by honing your instincts and taking the time to look at life\u00a0a little more closely, it revealed itself? The magic I\u2019m talking about here has nothing to do with sleight of hand or pulling a bunny out of a hat. It\u2019s about the magical realization that there\u2019s more to life than what meets the eye.<\/p>\n

On the radio show Fresh Air<\/em>, author Amber Scorah discussed her memoir Leaving The Witness<\/em>. It\u2019s about her life as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness, a religion she left as a young adult. During her conversation with host Terry Garr, she was asked about her current\u00a0spiritual beliefs<\/a> now that she was no longer moored to a religion. Her (lightly edited) response was thought-provoking:<\/p>\n

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My spirituality is related to this kind of a spiritual feeling I think I\u2019ve had my whole life, which I used to chalk up to being a religious experience. I think of it more now of as a spiritual experience.\u00a0It\u2019s just that there\u2019s the magical all around us, and life is made up of these moments where, if you choose to notice them, they\u2019re around you<\/strong>. And because those things, like the love I saw in my son\u2019s eyes for me when he was a baby, are so inexplicable and transcendent, I think that they feel magical. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finding the magic starts by looking within.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If we don\u2019t see magic in our own lives, it may be due to the fact we don\u2019t slow down<\/a> long enough to notice what\u2019s going on around us. It may be our human conditioning to sit back and wait for magic to happen\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em>us, instead of realizing that we need to be a participant and part of the process.<\/p>\n

In the new book In The Cosmic Zone<\/em>, Madi Murphy tells us there\u2019s no secret formula to making magic happen. It takes practice. We become more attuned to the magic in our lives, when we take steps to become more grounded and centered. This includes a daily practice, such as \u201cmeditation or prayer, daily movement, journaling, or affirmations.\u201d These activities can help us better realize our inherent abilities.<\/p>\n

Murphy believes that \u201cmagic happens when we show up, day after day, come rain or shine, and devote ourselves to being a good steward of our gifts.\u201d These are the attributes within us that set us apart from everyone else and include the unique calling of our souls<\/a>. Murphy writes:<\/p>\n

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In Native American tradition, they say that each of us is born with our own original medicine\u2014something unique to us that we, and only we, have to offer humanity. This mirrors the Hindu and Buddhist<\/a> concept of dharma<\/a>, which speaks to the part we are each here to play in maintaining the cosmic order of all things. Simply put, we each have something unique to share with the world, and we are doing a disservice to ourselves and others when we do not develop this to its most exalted capacity.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Engage more with life to get more from it.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While this may seem counter-intuitive, this means finding the time to sit still and really take in the world around you. It\u2019s during these times, with our senses alert, that we can find the magical moments in life that are key to our spiritual and psychological well-being. As Thomas Moore<\/a> notes in\u00a0The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life<\/em>:<\/p>\n

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Those of us who have been brought up in a secular culture don\u2019t realize how much our lives have been impoverished by the lack of magic.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What is missing according to Moore is our inability to see \u201cthe penetrating experience that rises out of a world that is alive and that has deep and mysterious roots.\u201d He tells us that to live in a magical world, \u201cwe have to assume the role of magician in our everyday lives<\/strong>.\u201d When we live by magic, \u201cwe don\u2019t try to understand everything that is happening and everything we\u2019re doing. We allow nature to remain mysterious, but we tap into it to share its hidden powers.\u201d<\/p>\n

For you and me, this means stopping to\u00a0take notice of the small wonders<\/a> that are part of our daily landscape. With our lives in constant motion, our senses can be dulled by habit and routine. We often tend to overlook the subtle magic that permeates our lives. Moore mentions several magical moments in his own life, including:<\/p>\n