Baron Baptiste - Being of Power: The 9 Practices to Ignite an Empowered Life

ALSO BY BARON BAPTISTE
Books/Kit

Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul

Journey Into Power: How to Sculpt Your Ideal Body, Free Your True Self, and Transform Your Life with Yoga

My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids (illustrations by Sophie Fatus)

The Yoga Bootcamp Box: An Interactive Program to Revolutionize Your Life with Yoga (Kit)

DVDs

Baron Baptiste: Foundations of Power Vinyasa Yoga, Live at the San Francisco Conference

Baron Baptiste Live!: Core Power

Baron Baptiste Live!: Soul of Strength

Baron Baptiste Live!: Unlocking Athletic Power

Baron Baptistes Power Yoga Level 1: The Initial Challenge

Baron Baptistes Power Yoga Level 2: The Next Challenge

Baron Baptistes Power Yoga Level 3: The Ultimate Challenge

Journey Into Power: Power Vinyasa Yoga, Level 1

Journey Into Power: Power Vinyasa Yoga, Level 2

The Trainers Edge: Long and Lean Yoga

Transform Your Life: Yoga with Baron Baptiste

Please visit:

Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au
Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk
Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za
Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Copyright 2013 by Baron Baptiste

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover design: Rodrigo Corral Interior design: Nick C. Welch

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Baptiste, Baron.

Being of power : the nine practices to ignite an empowered life / Baron Baptiste. -- 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4019-1905-4 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Self-realization. 2. Conduct of life. 3. Yoga--Philosophy. I. Title.

BJ1470.B37 2013

158.1--dc23
2012033301

ISBN: 978-1-4019-1905-4
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-3191-9

16 15 14 13 4 3 2 1
1st edition, April 2013

Printed in the United States of America

To Luke, Jake, and Malachi, all on their way
to creating a life that matters. And to
Mom, who at 91 years continues to live an
extraordinary life that inspires.

In 1926, Albert Einstein told his fellow physicist Werner Heisenberg that it was nonsense to base a theory on observable facts alone. In reality, the very opposite happens, he said. It is theory which decides what we can observe.

Consider that right now you have a theory about lifea personal philosophy. Up to this point, it may have served you well. Its defined you, given you a sense of order and a way to process the world. But on the flip side, its also been limiting you. By forming your view of yourself, others, and the world around you, it has unilaterally dictated what you see. Its told you what you can and cant do, what is and isnt possible. Its also fixed, so it continues to create whatever results youve gotten in your life up until now.

But life isnt fixed. We live in a world where were all about updating. We update our computers, phones, cars, careerseven our partners. Now its time to update your personal philosophy. In essence, its time to update you.

This book is about transforming relationships. Not just with others, but with yourself, your experiences, your work, your purposehow you relate to everything in your life. My aim is to give you the tools to enable you to break through the limiting views that have been keeping you stuck, frustrated, and unfulfilled. Even more, these tools will open your eyes to new possibilities and allow you to take action wherever and whenever you sense that something greater is possible. Freedom, peace, confidence, courage, love its all absolutely possible, and it all lies within the realm of being of power.

What, really, do I mean when I say power? Thats a great question, because typically we think about it as being something we hold over someone. But Im not talking about dominance here. Im talking about a whole other kind of powerthe kind that is generated from within for the sole purpose of leading your life from a place of strength and grace. This kind of personal power taps directly into whats important to you in your heartwhat you love, what inspires you, what you cherish, what is sacred to youand allows you to live it in whatever you do. Its the secret to being real, open, and authentic everywhere, with everyone, all the time. I know you are here because you sense that kind of power is available to you. Not a power over anyone or anything, but one with everyone and everything.

I know that many of you have done a lot of inner work up until picking up this book, and thats really good, because you get to keep and apply all of that. But still, the you who is reading these pages, right here, on this day, can be so greatly expanded. Something inside you knows that, doesnt it? You wouldnt be here in this moment otherwise. Youve probably heard the saying, Yesterdays enlightenment is todays ego trip. Its only in the present that you can expand, grow, and explore the bigger questions of what your life is for.

Being of Power is about enabling you to live as that expanded youthe self-actualized you, the you that you know deep down is within. Actually being of power allows you to consciously choose your response to how life, people, and events show up. Youll take responsibility for your thoughts and actions and the impact you have on your reality. You can either be like a leaf in the windreacting to all of your experiences from a place of Why is this happening to me? Why are they doing this to me? and even Why does life keep showing up for me like this?or you can respond from a deeper reservoir of your essential self and trust that you do have a say in the matter.

The nine practices in this book are the stepping-stones on the path back to your essential authenticity, which is where your greatest power lies. I refer to them as practices because they are exactly that: something that one must put into action moment by moment, day by day. You wont be able to master them all at once. Instead, Id like you to work them into each present moment, again and again, until eventually you come to exhibit them as a natural way of being. This is how to transform.