• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Rowan Mangan

Writer. Mom. Wild Inventurer.

  • Contact me
  • Wild Inventures Blog

What are Wild Inventures?

August 17, 2021 3 Comments

I’m so glad you asked!

Let’s say that an ADventure is a quest or mission you go out into, much like Frodo Baggins and his friends do in Lord of the Rings. I like adventures fine, and I’m lucky enough to have been on many in my life.

An INventure is a different kind of quest. It’s about lining up the actions you take with your own deepest truth; living in absolute integrity.

See, often we get turned about by other people: our families, our ethnic communities, our national groups, or our softball league. Any of these groups can be seen as its own culture—and one thing culture wants us all to do is to conform. Our true nature only wants us to be in peace, in alignment with those individual truths that may not be shared by anyone else on earth.

On our podcast, Bewildered, my partner Martha Beck and talk about the culture/nature divide like this. “Culture tells us to come to consensus. But our true nature tells us always to come to our senses.”

When you learn to pay attention to our senses and act accordingly, life truly becomes one wild inventure after another.

How do I start having my own inventures?

There’s an easy method to get yourself on the inventurous path. I think of it like this.

IN + INVENT + VENTURE = INVENTURE

Right now, you’re probably facing some kind of decision. It might be about what to have for lunch. It might be about what college to apply to. It might be about whether or not to leave a relationship. You can embark on an inventure in any moment. Let me show you how.

Step one: IN

Before you do anything else, go inside yourself. All the wisdom you’ve ever wished for is right there waiting for you. Find somewhere quiet, put both feet flat on the floor if possible, and focus on your breathing. Reach inward for silence. This might take some time, especially if you aren’t a regular meditator. It’s worth the wait when you realize that there is an infinite pool of peace  inside you.

The silence you encounter at this point is you coming to your senses. Culture can’t reach you here. If you feel yourself sliding back into language and ideas that begin “I should,” just settle back and return to your breath.

Step two: INVENT

Now that you’ve found your way away from the clamor of culture, it’s time to bring your imagination in. When you sit with the decision you have to make, imagine the absolute best outcome. This should start with the ideal feeling state coming out of this moment.

Now, in your imagination, invent your way forward through this moment to an absolutely wonderful future moment on the other side. You feel great, and are steeped in a prevailing sense of peace.

Let the feelings and images grow as bright and detailed as you like. Dwell in the sensations and images. Keep this moment as a touchstone you can return to.

Step three: VENTURE

This is the moment where you take your inner knowing and invention on the road! This is where you take a step forward—you venture forth—and test the feeling state against the one you found inside you. Does this feel like I’m heading in the direction of peace? Am I venturing towards that ideal outcome I invented?

You will likely venture out in several different directions until you find the one that brings you into the inventure. When it happens, you’ll feel something like a little “click” inside, a sense of ease, a smoothness where before there was a feeling of static or difficulty.

When you hit that point of ease in your venture, you’ve just begun a true inventure. Now do it all over again!

Step four: WILD INVENTURES!

You know where you’re going? Right into your dream life. The more you listen inwards and invent your own life, the more you venture in its direction, the more incredible life becomes.

A word of warning, though: your dream life may well look strange to the culture (and cultures) you belong to. It can be uncomfortable at times. But as a price to pay for freedom, peace and joy, I promise you it’s worth it a thousand times over.

Stick around on the blog to learn more about me and my family working towards a life full of wild inventures!

xR

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article originally appeared on Rowan’s Wild Inventures substack newsletter. To subscribe and get all Rowan’s posts in your inbox, head over to Wild Inventures on substack now. 

you may also like...

  • Precious precious wild
  • Pandemic babies, lockdown life
  • My Bullet Journal friend

Filed Under: Parenting inventures

Previous Post: « Pandemic babies, lockdown life
Next Post: Parenting inventures »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Em says

    January 16, 2022 at 8:03 pm

    So excited by the concept of Inventures! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Orit says

    June 2, 2022 at 6:03 am

    Thank you, Rowan, I love the concept of inventures. I’ve been living like this for a big part of my life. Now I know what I’ve been doing 🙂 Had no idea! Thank you for clarifying this and giving it an aware legitimacy. Good to know we are quite a few to be doing this. the more the merrier, as they say 😉

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Parenting inventures - Rowan Mangan says:
    January 26, 2023 at 7:26 pm

    […] you might already know, “inventure” is my word for a way of living that puts nature before culture. It’s all about living in a way that feels right to you, even […]

    Reply

Footer

find me on instagram!

"The cultural imperative to adhere to certain soci "The cultural imperative to adhere to certain social rules is extremely strong. And when we don’t adhere to those rules, whether accidentally or not, we can experience what Brené Brown calls a “vulnerability hangover”—the feeling that we’ve exposed more than the culture allows.

And speaking of vulnerable exposure, Martha shares a hilarious story involving nakedness at the spa—entirely accidental!—that led to a 25-minute conversation where everyone pretended it hadn’t happened. Culture again, folks. It’s powerful.

In this special BeWild Files episode of Bewildered, Martha and Rowan take a deep dive into the subject of vulnerability hangovers—and the hangover cures that work wonders for them. Be sure to listen! (Towels optional.)"

Listen at the link in our bio—or on your favorite podcasting app.

@bewilderedpodcast 
@themarthabeck 

#bewildered #bewilderedpodcast #podcast #podcastersofinstagram #wayfinder #wayfinderlifecoach #rowanmangan #marthabeck #naturenotculture #funny #funnypodcast #funnypodcasts
I wrote myself some rules to help me get to the wa I wrote myself some rules to help me get to the warm and scrumptious glow of HAVING WRITTEN. 

But one size doesn’t fit all days or all folks or just the infinite and ever-loving LIFEYNESS of it all. My rules reflect the ways lifeyness shows up for me. You might need to make your own. 

You can read and subscribe to my Substack newsletter at the link in my bio.
Instagram post 17977439803922640 Instagram post 17977439803922640
"Do you find that you enjoy setting goals but have "Do you find that you enjoy setting goals but have a harder time achieving them? 

It turns out that lurching, rather than sailing smoothly, toward goals is how it works for most of us, and in this episode of Bewildered, Martha and Ro are talking all about it!

Ro recently saw a specialist for a painful shoulder, and along with a list of exercises he wanted her to do, he gave her a perfect commentary on how hard it is to move everyday toward a goal:

“You're in a lot of pain, so you're going to do the exercises. The exercises are going to work, and the pain will go away. You will stop doing the exercises because there's no pain. Then the pain will come back, and you'll start doing the exercises again.”

Moving toward your goals, Martha says, is like driving a wombat or a snake or some other animal you can't easily control. Stopping and starting, again and again, may feel awkward, but it does get us where we want to go.

Don’t miss the full episode to learn how to set goals that resonate with your whole self and stop-and-start your way toward them with joy.

Listen at the link in our bio—or on your favorite podcasting app."

@themarthabeck 
@bewilderedpodcast 
.
.
.
#bewildered #bewilderedpodcast #podcast #podcastersofinstagram #wayfinder #wayfinderlifecoach #rowanmangan #marthabeck #naturenotculture #funny #funnypodcast #funnypodcasts
New Substack newsletter this week. This one’s ab New Substack newsletter this week. This one’s about the idea of finding our stories inside of our stories. Or something like that. Plus, aren’t slow cookers amazing? Link in my bio.
SPOTIFY AND THE BEWILDERED PODCAST 🛠️ We've SPOTIFY AND THE BEWILDERED PODCAST 

🛠️ We've been busy making some behind-the-scenes tweaks and updates to improve Bewildered.

🫣 Unfortunately for our listeners on Spotify, there was a little unexpected disruption. Oops!

🧑‍🔧Bewildered (and The Gathering Pod) are both back on Spotify, but you may need to resubscribe to the individual podcasts in the app.

🔍If you’re having trouble finding Bewildered, either use the search function in Spotify or use the "Listen in your favorite podcast app" link in our bio to find the direct link. 

💗 We love and appreciate all of our listeners. Each of you is astonishingly intelligent, exceptionally good-looking and with excellent taste. Thanks for all your support, possums! 😘😘😘
New Substack newsletter (finally!) out today—Inv New Substack newsletter (finally!) out today—Inventures in Inconsistency, a topic I feel very qualified to talk about. Hope you like it! Link in bio. x
"It’s The Procrastination Episode of Bewildered, "It’s The Procrastination Episode of Bewildered, which Martha and Ro almost named something else not quite safe for work…but they thought they’d get too many letters—“and not the good kind!”

Procrastination can be an extremely frustrating experience, but when Martha and Ro throw in a little sexual innuendo, it’s hard not to laugh along with them. 

For a lot of humor but also some seriously effective tools you can use to find your way out of procrastination, you won’t want to miss the full episode. (Just maybe don’t do it in public.)"

You can listen to the full episode on our website, link in the bio, or on your favorite podcast app.

@themarthabeck 
@bewilderedpodcast 
.
.
.
#bewildered #podcastinglifestyle #funnypodcasts #selfhelppodcast #spiritualpodcast #podcastshows #podcastoftheday #podcasterlife #funnypodcast #podcastersofig #podcastingtips #podcastofinstagram #podcastrecommendation #podcastlifestyle #newpodcastepisode #womenwhopodcast #instapodcast #newpodcastalert #podcastseries #podcastepisode #podcastcommunity #podcastmovement #podcastsofinstagram #podcastaddict #podcastinglife #writerofinstagram #podcasthost #newpodcast #podcastersofinstagram
People talk about “shower thoughts” as those b People talk about “shower thoughts” as those bolts of inspiration that hit us when we’re bathing.

I have hippopotamus thoughts. Every night I perch on a little blue hippo stool while Lila is in the bath. Whatever the zen space is that bathrooms provide, it finds me then. 

Squatting on my cheerful steed amid the splashing and chattering of bath time, I’ve resolved plot holes, created characters, adapted recipes, devised new scenes—all while singing along with the alphabet song or voicing a rubber duck on a wacky adventure. 

When you find a creative vortex in your home, friends, use it. In my experience, the insights are worth the indignities and the creative mileage outdistances the pressure on the knees. 

#writerswithkids #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writinglife #thewritinglife #keepingitreal #bathroomtruthbombs
Oh joy. I went on a pilgrimage on this rainy New Y Oh joy. I went on a pilgrimage on this rainy New York day to indulge my latest obsession… @misterosman’s new #thursdaymurderclub novel. (And this one’s signed!) 

If you haven’t yet discovered these books, they are a gorgeous treat: brilliantly plotted mysteries full of heart and laughs and unforgettable characters. They’ve made me reaffirm two core beliefs: human beings are mostly good, and solving murders is a delightful hobby. 

I’ll be on my couch with tea if anyone needs me… xR

@pameladormanbooks @jeramie.orton @pgeditor
Signs that you live with a toddler #634 Signs that you live with a toddler #634
Wherein Ro—in her first ever IG Live!—reveals Wherein Ro—in her first ever IG Live!—reveals her mission as an almost-American: BRING BACK FORTNIGHT.
May we all stride forth through our inner and oute May we all stride forth through our inner and outer landscapes with this much verve and bawdy grace. 

I love this kid so hard. 

(Thanks @carmenschreffler for the pic! And for being a magical fairy godmother ✨🪄)
Have you ever used language to speak in code to so Have you ever used language to speak in code to someone? From spelling things out, to speaking Chinese to using pop culture references, there are multiple secret languages going in Martha and Ro’s household. In this episode of Bewildered, they explore the way language is embedded in the culture and how we can free language from culture and wield it creatively to express our true nature. If you are fascinated by languages and self-expression, this thought-provoking episode is for you!

You can listen to the full episode on our website, link in the bio, or on your favorite podcast app.

@themarthabeck 
@bewilderedpodcast 
.
.
.
#bewildered #podcastinglifestyle #funnypodcasts #selfhelppodcast #spiritualpodcast #podcastshows #podcastoftheday #podcasterlife #funnypodcast #podcastersofig #podcastingtips #podcastofinstagram #podcastrecommendation #podcastlifestyle #newpodcastepisode #womenwhopodcast #instapodcast #newpodcastalert #podcastseries #podcastepisode #podcastcommunity #podcastmovement #podcastsofinstagram #podcastaddict #podcastinglife #writerofinstagram #podcasthost #newpodcast #podcastersofinstagram
Because it’s all transitory. And perfect. #fal Because it’s all transitory. And perfect. 

#fall #autumn #georgeeliot #georgeeliotquote #frommywindow #forestbathing
We have some exciting new episodes of @bewilderedp We have some exciting new episodes of @bewilderedpodcast coming up!

Do you have something you’re trying to figure out? Something where the forces of culture seem to be an obstacle to your true nature? Follow the link in my bio to leave a voice message for @themarthabeck and me… and maybe appear in a future episode! Love and snuggles x

#bewilderedpodcast #innercompass #podcast #podcastersofinstagram #podcasters #womenwhopodcast #funnypodcast #funnypodcasts #podcastersunite #podcastforwomen #funnywomen

follow me on twitter!

Tweets by rowanmangan

Copyright © 2020 Rowan Mangan · Site by Lilt Creative