Like many of you,
I'm sure, I feel increased stress these days about all the events that crowd my
calendar between now and the end of the year. Keeping balance can be extremely
challenging especially in these days of gloomy news, disasters around the
globe, and ever escalating everyday stresses. More than ever, in my opinion,
securing a steady diet of daily inspiration is essential to wellbeing.
The word inspiration literally means the act of
breathing in and has come to mean
the power of elevating or stimulating influence, including divine influence, on
the intellect and/or emotions.
It turns out that
we can identify numerous forms of inspiration from creative influence to
inspiration software to inspirational
music and films, to Biblical inspiration. In the early days of Greek and Roman
civilization, inspiration was believed to come from the Muse, or goddess of
art.
Creative
inspiration is believed to be artistic, practical, as well as spiritual in
nature, and is the force through which creativity takes place. This force of
inspiration becomes the seed for creative thought, which can then manifest into
a new invention. The author Ralph Waldo Emerson described creative inspiration
as the fusion of the human soul with the Divine.
Inspiration tends to manifest in
several different ways mediated by extra ordinary states of consciousness, such
as dreams or creative reverie. We might struggle for years with a problem or
challenge and then have a dream in which the solution is finally unfolded. In
other scenarios, a creative idea may come suddenly and unexpectedly when we are
driving, running, taking a shower or in the midst of a completely unrelated
activity. A third instance is when a highly detailed vision of the new idea
comes to the individual, such as Albert Einstein's vision of the principles of
the study of relativity and Mozart's discovery of his symphonies in complete
and final form before ever writing them.
There are many
wonderful stories of how people in pain have found inspiration. The mother of a
4 year old daughter, who contracted leukemia, became inspired by her daughter's
healing process and left her job to help others battle cancer. Another cancer
survivor created a line of fashionable hospital wear while undergoing
radiation. Another woman who contracted cancer while she was pregnant gave
birth to a normal baby, though rendered unable to have more offspring. She says
of her cancer, "Cancer will change you, but it doesn't have to break you."
You don't have to
have severe pain, of course, to find inspiration because all of us can find
ways of being lifted up to find meaning and pleasure in our lives. One example is how easy it is to become
disconnected from our dreams when we become mired in the minutiae of daily
life. Even if you are exhausted from the demands of work, family, or even
coping with a pain condition, you can find support to invest in discovering and
pursuing your truest purpose in life.
One way to do
this is to ask yourself, "Am I just going through the motions to get through
each day to pay the bills?" If the answer to this question is yes, spend a few
minutes each day envisioning a life you love enough to get up for each day. You
may want to journal each morning on awakening for a week to track your progress
toward a re-inspired vision of daily living. Without overanalyzing, make a
simple list of the kinds of relationships, family life, career and adventures
you would like to be living. Make a choice to take an action step each day in
this direction.
Another tip is to
reconsider your priorities, which may have become lost in the chaos of daily
living (and yes, all of us experience this!). Reflect on the kind of
experiences that would help you feel more alive. If learning and discovering
are important to you, seek more opportunities to pursue these pleasures. If
family, health, and spirituality are important, rebalance your life to reflect
what matters to you most.
Ask yourself as I
asked a client this week, "
Who
are you called to be?" Rather than analyzing this question, simply allow the
answer to come to you in whatever form it takes. Accept, welcome, and receive
your meanings without judgments. As you allow your imagination to bring you
insights and ideas, dare to know that if you can imagine it, you can create it!
If you feel lost
in personal dramas, including the trauma or physical or emotional pain, it may
help to develop a connection to the larger universe of what transcends you. For
some of us, this means focusing on faith in God; for others, it means finding a
spiritual practice of connection by exploring the beauty of nature or a circle
of like-minded seekers who want to reach beyond themselves. Whatever it means
for you, if you make connecting with universal energy a part of your everyday
life, you can restore your faith in humankind, in your community and family,
and in yourself.
For more inspiration, explore
www.beliefnet.com and
www.spiritualityandpractice.com
As always, be
well and stay well,
Maggie
If you like to
plan ahead, please mark your calendar and set your intentions to attend our
November 6 teleseminar with Dr. Steve Gilligan on 