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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 c: something (as an opinion or belief) in the mind

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.

We had another wonderful Green Drinks event at Argyles Grill in Babylon last night. We had a really nice turnout and we teamed up with Mike from www.greensender.com and www.zipgoesgreen.com and we gave out organic cotton t-shirts to everyone who came through. Blue Point Brewery was also there in support of our event with drink specials and extra bottle choices.

An extremely wonderful and eclectic crowd came through last night: real estate brokers, green janitorial supply, 2 organic home & office cleaning companies, an organic landscape company, a whole crew from www.lululemon.com , a restauranteur, a green architect, a gentleman from www.LIcares.org, Citizens Campaign for the environment, the list just goes on and on. Its truly amazing to see people come out and support our group for their love of the REAL Green, or Bright Green movement that is all about true green initiatives not green washing ones.

Also the author of this great article that ran in the Daily News last Sunday about Green Drinks was in attendance! For those of you interested there is also another good article from the NY times about Green Drinks here.

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I wanted to share this article that ran in the Daily News yesterday. Its about Green Drinks, (a business networking phenomenon that has been growing very quickly over the past few years) Green Drinks Hamptons and Green Drinks Long Island.

Its a powerful networking movement that canvas got involved in last year. We weren’t sure what to expect and now this event has grown very substantially over the last 6 events. Its a great event for people who are interested in finding out about ‘green initiatives’ what it really means, and why there is such a concern about ‘green washing’ which we wrote about back in October, you can read that here. The definition of ‘green washing’ is basically when a company talks about being ‘green’ but the information is either misleading or untrue and they are just using it to sell their product. You can find more about that here as well.

Our next event is taking place at Argyles Grill & Tavern, in Babylon, NY this Wednesday, March 26th, from 5:30 to 9:30.

Its also a great event if you just want to be in a positive, upbeat atmosphere meeting new business contacts, hanging out with good friends, and new friends.

Hopefully I will see some of you there.

- Matt O’Grady, Associate Publisher, canvas magazine

I am often concerned with ‘time’. How much of it do I have today, for this or that project, before a deadline, in this life, how long it will take me to do something like an errand, or such. Its such an interesting concept, especially after changing the clocks for ‘daylight saving’ time. Why is it we do that again? No, I am not sure either!

I was once told by a wise man that said that one aspect of the Christian cross actually has to do with time, and that the horizontal bar was to represent ‘regular’ or unconscious time and that the vertical bar or living consciously and being completely present in each moment as it happens, was meant to represent that you were living ‘out of time’ or eternally if you will, and is the beginning of ‘heaven on earth’.

Here is an interesting article from the times I read recently related to the subject of time.

Since I was a kid, hanging around the kitchen, eating, talking and doing some cooking, helping my Mom, Grandma, and Aunts, has been always been a safe, confortable place for me, and I have the waistline to prove it!

Last night was no different, I cooked up with the support of my wife, who likes to cook but not as much as me, this delicious Chicken with Lemon and Garlic recipe. For me coming home after an intense day, one of th best things for me to do is to cook. The aromas, the textures the colors all serve to bring me into a creative state of presence where all other concerns fall away. I also truly enjoy the time with Tara to catch up on the day, appreciate the moment, being grateful for what we have been given, listen to some great music and talk about tomorrow. I hope someday to set up my life so I can do this more than once or twice a week.

By the way, every recipe I have cooked from this book has been really great. This one I changed quite a bit but it was inspired by a book called The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, by Jacqueline Clarke & Joanna Farrow, published by Hermes House. Its on ebay for a great price.