Inspiration and Thought
This morning, I was up early and spent some time reading, praying and meditating and doing some chi kung and yoga. As I spent time doing these ancient movements, many ideas kept arising and coming to me passing through my mind as clouds pass through the sky. As I became more and more serene and the distance between ‘The Observer’ and the thoughts became very distinct I began to wonder as I have many times before “Where do these ideas and thoughts come from? and what are they anyway?” Visions, pictures, emotions tied to the different images kept coming, ranging from inspiration to fear, and many in between. I stayed conscious of my connection to the earth and the wonderful experience of ‘being breathed’ as I did these movements.
I was then inspired by a thought of doing a little mini research project on this phenomenon which I will discuss briefly in this blog post. This research led into some interesting places connected to Freud, Nietzsche, Emerson and even the Buddha.
One of the first things I like to do when I go on one of these explorations is study the dictionary definition and the roots of the English words because they often help me see more deeply into whatever it is I am interested in at the time.
‘Inspiration’ from the Merriam Webster dictionary is:
1 a: a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation b: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions c: the act of influencing or suggesting opinions
‘Thought’ from the Merriam Webster dictionary is:
1 a: the action or process of thinking : cogitation b: serious consideration : regard carchaic : recollection, remembrance 2 a: reasoning power b: the power to imagine : conception 3: something that is thought: as a: an individual act or product of thinking b: a developed intention or plan
Inspiro - is the latin for “To breathe upon.”
Tho - is as in ‘theo’ as in “from God”
If I was inspired before I was that much more interested in finding out more about this process and what some other people before me thought on the subject. The following are some quotes that I found on ‘Inspiration and Thought’.
“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.”
- Frank Tibolt
“Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they are a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.”
- Johann Gottfried Von Herder
“There never was a great soul that did not have some divine inspiration.”
- Marcus T. Cicero
“Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Ralph Waldo Emerson seemed to have the most insightful ones on ‘Thought’ I could find:
“The ancestor of every action is a thought.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We do not yet trust the unknown power of thoughts”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Some thoughts always find us young, and keep us so. Such a thought is the love of the universal and eternal beauty.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
and this gem from the Buddha:
“Let the wise guard their thoughts, which are difficult to perceive, extremely subtle, and wander at will. Thought which is well guarded is the bearer of happiness.”
- Buddha
After researching the definition, reading the roots of the words and reading different quotes I found on the subject, I realized how important it is for me to be grateful for these opportunities and experiences. I rarely feel like I have the time for such contemplation but as I type these words it is ever clear in my mind that without these experiences my life would be less, and I would have less to offer Life without them. Now I have a definite intention to aim at making more time and effort for the contemplation and exploration in my mind in relation to these and other such subjects.
I certainly was not expecting my research to come up with so many ‘divinely’ related pieces of information, it sure felt good to be so calm and unattached to the visions, thoughts and feelings as they passed by the ‘movie screen’ of my mind. However, in hindsight I am able to have a greater appreciation and reverence for this knowledge and experience.
It always amazes me that a little mental attention can go such a long and deep way into understanding anything that we shine the light of our attention and focus upon.
