Inspiration Introduction

 

What is inspiration? What are the conditions that cause it to come into being in our mind? It would seem to be an accident rather than something we consciously bring about, an accident of circumstances. The real question is, can we cultivate it, or bring about the conditions for it to arise? Absolutely, yes! Collins dictionary defines inspiration thusly:

 

‘A feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something, which gives you new and creative ideas.’

 

Inspiration can come from the outside world or by our own thinking. Either way, when it happens, there’s no mistake. We feel excited, empowered and energised, like anything is possible. Yes, we feel inspired’. And in that, we feel motivated to act. There’s no doubt that the more positive states of mind we’re in, the more likely we are to experience this powerful feeling, but what if we are just starting out? Maybe we’re not there yet?

 

Embarking on any journey of change and self-actualisation requires inspiration and motivation, ever more so for that journey to continue to progress. Powering our positive desire to strive, grow and overcome our passivity is why inspiration along with motivation are one of the focus elements, and the first one! Nothing can happen without these two vital qualities, and it’s so easy to sink back into the mire without keeping them alive in our minds and hearts.

“Inspiration entertains the impossible, motivation makes it so!”

 

When I started on this journey, I could never know how important a quality of mind inspiration would become and how it would inform this practice formulation for personal evolution. In the early days, I was very aware that I was thoroughly engaged with everything that was happening and I was never short of motivation. New and positively beneficial ways of practicing kept coming to me that I’d put into action, and my practice continued to grow in a natural and intuitive way informed  by this positive energy.

 

As this continued to unfold, I started to focus in on inspiration as the primary cause, and how a journey as challenging and profound as this wasn't going far if I wasn’t continually inspired. Whatever it is that we want to achieve, inspiration and motivation are essential, otherwise we’ll just carry on with our unremarkable habitual unconscious living. Who wants to do that?!

 

Identifying inspiration as one of three focus elements to motivating a committed and successful life of practice and growth was a major part of my journey. After I’d come through the worst of my difficulties, I entered a depressive period that lasted about 2 years. I was completely unmotivated to do anything in my life.

 

I got out of bed purely out of habit, getting to the local shopping centre to buy food and other essentials was a major struggle, and the idea of re-entering the work force seemed like some sort of vast unclimbable mountain. I had no motivation to cook or clean, I was maintaining basic hygiene only through habit, and I had no thoughts whatsoever of future possibilities, something that might draw me forward. It was a state completely devoid of energy or drive.

 

When I woke up from this apathetic state and found myself motivated again, it was such a stark contrast to where I’d been for the past two years (eight years over all). I suddenly had purpose and direction again. It was like some dormant part of me had switched back on and was now aware of the state I was in and wanted to do something about it.

 

Over the past five years, I had put on more weight than I ever had in my life and I had become desperately unfit. I knew I wanted to change that, I also knew that I wanted to get back into work, I had to! I’d been in this numb state of existing for nothing for so long, now that I was back, I could see how awful it was living without any sense of productivity or creativity. It had eroded my sense of self worth, of being useful and valuable, of contributing to life in some way.

 

As the weeks went by, I was inspired to make these little improvements in my daily routine, each one of these supporting the next. It’s like I was gradually rebuilding my life one step at a time, and every one of these changes felt like some sort of vital positive affirmation about being alive again, and for the first time in a long time, the future was an open door.

 

While this was happening, other quiescent parts of my mind started coming back online. One day on my early morning walk I noticed a different mental state emerge. It was in fact an old friend I had not seen in years and was instantly recognisable. It was my reflective mind, that wonderful faculty that caringly and curiously considers and questions the nature of things to try to understand them. It was as if a new dimension of my reality had opened back up.

 

These inspired changes kept on emerging in a very natural way and as I continued to swim in these greatly appreciated new waters, I was acutely aware of how motivated I was to not lose touch with what was happening. It was vital that whatever this positive engagement was, I needed to stay in contact with it, to allow it to continue unobstructed, to make more of it.

 

It became an ongoing fascination and constant reflection in the forefront of my mind, what is the nature of this highly positive directed mental state that makes me feel so alive and completely engages me with making the most of this precious life?

 

This is how the practice point: ‘Rouse your spirit, get energised, fired up!’ came into being. Every morning, I would read this message and other notes that eventually evolved into what you see here today. I was motivated to keep reminding myself of what was important, what were the most vital elements that would keep me practicing, keep me headed in a positive and upwards direction, the right direction.

 

I continuously reflected on the nature of inspiration and a positive mind. I was wrestling with existential questions about who and what we are as human beings, as motivation and desire, what makes us tick.

 

Our lives are a maelstrom of activity, every single thing we do is a choice, an expression of what we desire most at any given moment of time. We are desire writ large upon the world. We wake up and get out of bed, have breakfast, exercise, care for our family, go on holiday, go to work. Even if we don’t want to go to work, we do, because out of all the competing desires at that very moment, the choice to go to work wins out. The reasons for that decision might be complicated and numerous, but it’s a choice, nonetheless. So, in that, we are also our priorities, we do what has the greatest importance to us in any given moment.

 

All of this led me to think about why people live these lives that they aren't happy with, barely alive in them, barely conscious, or at least trapped by them in some way that makes them feel unfulfilled. Are they aware of their unacknowledged hopes and dreams, of their values, of what can make them truly happy, of the things they’d never compromise on. In other words, are they in touch with what truly matters?

 

When I’ve asked people about this, I found that they either didn’t really know, or they sounded like they were trying to convince themselves of their answer. I felt so passionate about the importance of living our best life and being inspired within that it made me want to ask people, what would you die for? What line wouldn’t you allow to be crossed or what information would you die without giving up to protect someone you love? What’s so important that it would inspire the courage and resolve to face death with steely confidence and say ‘No, I will never bow to your demands!’. When it came to crunch, what would your entire life be represented by?

 

I was trying to distill the positive essence of our humanity, of our spirit and will, of personal immovable integrity, to tap into the energetic core of our being to find out what powered it. Once we come to know and understand this, how to access it and call on it consciously at any time to power all of our intentions, we’d have motivation at our beck and call. We could stay inspired and motivated with our goals in the forefront of our mind, so we’d never lose our way and get distracted from our central priorities, our values, the things that are most important to us and define a life lived fully.

 

This is about self-knowledge, which is an ongoing process of deeper understanding. We don’t just wake up one day and suddenly get all there is to know about ourselves. We will always be peeling back the onion layers and getting a bigger picture as we go, but there’s always another layer. This is a very rewarding experience, not to mention a freeing one. We come to know ourselves by engaging with the practice of change with awareness, and sit back and see what is revealed.

 

Part of my ongoing investigation into our drives was also defining the differences, if any, between desire, motivation and inspiration itself. Desire has a more pejorative connotation than motivation and inspiration, and therefore reputation. However, desire is just energy, and it can be very positive when it moves us to achieve great things. Motivation is a much more acceptable word as it often relates to goal setting and accomplishment.

 

Then we have inspiration and this is where my fascination is most preoccupied. Inspiration is typically used in a more rarefied way, describing spontaneous creative states of mind that give rise to empowering ideas and visions or new ways of thinking. This can include being inspired by the actions of others, or by our highest religious ideals, by depictions of beauty, of love, of strength and so on. It can call on the highest parts of ourselves, parts of ourselves that we perhaps never knew existed.

 

My particular interest is this wholesome aspect of our drives, the conditions that come into being in our minds and hearts whereby we tap into positive energy. The sanskrit word virya which relates to Buddhist practice but really spiritual practice in general, is translated as energy, enthusiasm and diligence, but it has an ethical component in that it is energy exerted in the pursuit of wholesome and positive states of mind. It is energy channelled into virtuous actions, ones that are ethically motivated for our own well being and that of others.

 

The purest form of inspiration and motivation has this ethical component, it is a powerful force for good and when we act with positive intentions, to care for ourselves, to improve our physical and mental health, to grow and evolve, act for the betterment of others and the world at large, we experience very positive states of mind. We become energised and feel alive in a way that’s vivifying. This infuses everything we do with a vitality that’s virtually unstoppable.

 

Through mental training and awareness we can continually tap into our inspiration and motivation, this very positive energy. By being fully conscious and working out not only what’s most important in our lives and why, but what brings true happiness in life. When we have certainty and conviction about all of these things, we can then move forward with our whole self on board. We remove uncertainty and the obstacle of doubt as much as possible, then crack on!