Inspiration

Often we don't feel terribly inspired by ourselves. I found myself being unmotivated these days and so I reached out to friends and family for encouragement. Yet, I had a sense that motivation and inspiration seemed different. I wanted to be self motivated. I became curious about the difference between motivation and inspiration. I do get inspired by great thinkers and activists, and people whom I love and trust who care about me but I was curious about where inspiration truly begins. And I wanted to help others, to inspire others. So what does inspiration mean?

As someone that pays close attention to words and word use (I think words create thought patterns) I paid attention to this word, "inspiration" and became intrigued with what I started discovering.

This is what came up on a brief internet search about the word, INSPIRATION that started me looking inward for that place inside myself where I feel inspired, and to get a sense of what that feels like for me.

1. "The word ‘inspiration’ ultimately derives from the Greek for ‘God-breathed’ or ‘divinely breathed into’."

2. The Oxford English Dictionary defines inspiration as "a breathing in or infusion of some idea, purpose, etc. into the mind; the suggestion, awakening, or creation of some feeling or impulse, especially of an exalted kind".

3. "Carl Jung echoed Plato, arguing that the artist is one who can reach beyond individual experience to access our genetic memory, that is, the memory, such as the memory for language, that is already present in us at birth."

I was especially excited when I read something I resonated with, " Open to a new experience. " That's how I began to tap into inspiration. I decided I would just be open to a new experience. Here's how:

1. The key is to first be open to a new experience in the moment. With no past or no future ahead. Merely opening the door. With no past or future there is no failure. There is just the NOW. Inspiration is taking that breath. You will feel your body expanding with each inhale. Try this right now. Now you are PRESENT.

2. Now, as you stay with your breath, you are connecting with your SOURCE. This is your inspiration, this intrinsic urge, a forth coming from inside. Not just and idea that comes from the outside, but more like a surfacing of something encoded in your very DNA.

3. This is what some of us say is Divine or comes from the source of your being. Then, the divine gets transformed into a creative energy or impulse that one feels compelled to express because it is who you are. It IS YOU, thrusting forward to be seen, unique to your Self. Blooming. Connecting with your Great Source is where the spark of inspiration is ignited. Can you feel it in your body? Notice the sensations. I feel a tingle, like sparkles, that excite me to do something, something I am compelled to do. Right now, it's to write this blog; to share something that I am passionate about: Inspiration!

4. Breathing connects you with your authentic self, where all creativity lays, yours and the entire universe that created YOU! Harmonious passion, one that boosts a sense of well being, is the energy through which Inspiration can be transformed into an action, into creating and manifesting. It's not just a matter of thinking that you believe it but more a sensation of knowing. It can seem like a deep sense of meaning or even a spiritual experience.

I hope this inspires you to in-spire your Self and know that you can create whatever you want in this moment. Whatever it is that you KNOW is needing to be seen and shared!