Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Looking for inspiration


When it comes to personal growth and development there is nothing in the world from which we can not draw inspiration. Whether we take positive or negative lessons from an experience a piece of art or a video game they all teach us whether we are looking to be taught or not. When we want inspiration we start to search for it high and low when instead of searching all we need to do is open ourselves up to the inspiration that is already there.

The true power of inspiration is that an idea hits our brain and sets off a change reaction of ideas that lead to new and original thought. When we are inspired our world looks different and we feel as if any problem we encounter is nothing more than a speed bump. So what are some ways we can open ourselves up to state of inspiration?

Ask for it: Watch your cat for a few minutes and ask "what can I learn from him?" Watch a movie and ask yourself "what is it trying to tell me?" Everything has some value and message it is trying to communicate to you. When you listen for that message a new idea is put in to your head and can start the chain reaction of inspiration. Interacting actively with our sense and reasoning about the data we take in on a conscious level is a great way to be inspired.

Turn your head: We all have a way we see the world, a series of filters that we use to interpret the data that we take in. If we become aware of these filters and how they influence our perception we can begin to shift them to see things in a different light. Think of the filter like a grid and we line up items we see with the grid, these grids may have names like technology or religion or Saturday morning cartoons. Each of these grids calls our mind to different details about things. One way to look at something from a different angle is with this question "how does this relate to that?"

Save it: When you see something that starts an idea smoldering in your head play with it, get it together with other embers of ideas in your mind, add a bit of kindling and let the fire burn. Even if you do not have time to play with an idea right then take a moment and jot yourself a note, text it yourself or find some other way to save it for latter. I have mentioned in the past my love for role playing games now I have another confection to make, when it comes to game notes and maps I have drawn I am a hoarder. I love being able to go back through those old ideas and search for new inspiration. My partner keeps all of his old art so he can go back and look for inspiration in it.

Inspiration is there in the world around us and every little thing can inspire us to grow, to change, or create a work of beauty. Every bit of data we take in has the potential to chang us and to change how we see the world if we just find the inspiration in it. Where do you go to find inspiration in your life? As always I love to hear what you are thinking so leave me some coments, have a great day and don't forget to fallow the feed.

2 comments:

Oscar - freestyle mind said...

I've never tried to look at cats with that in mind, but now that you are making me think about it, there are certain things that I like about them, like their extreme agility. Unfortunately they are also lazy quite often :D

Quinn said...

Oscar another way to look at that is rather then lazy they are meditative. Thanks for stopping by.

Post a Comment