Inspiration and Genius – One and the Same

“Inspiration and Genius – One and the Same” – Albert Einstein. I’m struck by the thought (or misconception) that being both left and right brained is unusual. It is just another state of being. Einstein was left and right brained, and some say he was bordering on insanity – or was it that people didn’t have the capacity to understand him in those days?

I’m a creative writer also – noone said you had to center on just one talent. The text below is something I wrote a few years ago when musing about Einstein and his quote “inspiration and genius – one and the same’. You can knock the theory of what I have written, but the style is a little interesting. That being said, it’s an interesting read. This was written as I was moving through mastery training in martial arts.

IMAGINATION AND EXPRESSION

Imagination and expression are such unreal words in our real world. Take a trip through imagination accomplished visually through surreal based design, and mentally through drifted thought. It is and idea; it is a concept; it is an opinion, nothing more and nothing less. In this case it’s called “Imagination and the Expression of our Inner Self”. Life is a journey of learning, seeing, doing and even being, if you can make sense of that. If you are not learning, seeing and doing, then you are not being. For all that we are and for all that we will ever be is never more so pertinent than it is right here, right now.

by
Steve Shead

THE ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT

QUOTE: Littering a dark and dreary road lay the past relics of our lives, incompatible and broken by today’s standards, yet strong and resilient with the lessons of time. Today we must clear the mind of past practices. Enlightenment can be achieved with tireless efforts of mental growth and the fruit of imaginations running free, coupled with meditation and the knowing that all we see is not all there is. The invitation is to relax and meditate on the important lessons of the masters. Begin to see with clarity; learn to use the (yet to be) time-honored techniques in a new and invigorating fashion; become one with your inner self. UNQUOTE

There is clearly a need clarity in our own lives. The general status quo today is over and above the hum of every day life and that, in itself, presents issues. What I mean by that is that we live in our own insulated world by the rules we impose on ourselves through the society we are part of. That is the status quo and we do little to change that most of the time. Life then passes us by and we complain about this and that and how hard life is. You see where I am going with this? The hum of everyday life is the goings on around us that we don’t seem to notice, nor do we affect or effect, and some of those things are very special.

Where am I going with this? Well, having been some places and done some things I have a pretty unique view on the world around me and how much of an affect I have on it, as well as it has on me. What does that have to do with imagination and expression of your inner self? Profound as it may sound, it’s just another way of saying “how I think and dream and how I show that to the world”. We are all perceived in one way or another and there are those that like us, and those that don’t. The main point there is that, if you truly like yourself, does it really matter what others think? If you can truly trust that the majority of who you are and what you do is true to your life, then you know it doesn’t matter that you are not perfect and it doesn’t matter that you make mistakes. You know you are going to learn from the mistakes, so there is always the plus side.

What I have personally found is that, the more aware of your surroundings you are, the more alive you feel. If you take time to daydream even, you are, in a sense, almost in a state of meditation. You are controlling the thoughts and directing them to where you want to see yourself, doing what you want yourself to do, and you could actually use that experience to anchor a goal and strive towards it. If you know anything about goal setting you will know that if you can see yourself doing it, you can achieve it. So, therein lies the first key to imagination and expression. You can call it zoning, daydreaming or whatever word you like but, as long as you follow the basic principles of focus and concentration then you are on the right road. There isn’t really a predefined way, it’s all a matter of how we perceive it and that’s okay as long as it works for you.

So where do imagination and expression come into it? Well, to daydream you need imagination, so we all have that. Expression is how we show ourselves to the real world, and we all do that. That can mean in our actions, deeds and words so it can be quite all encompassing. The inner self is not to be confused with the inner child. The inner self is the part of us that only we know. There are elements to everyone’s lives that aren’t shared, and rightfully so! The inner self is the core of who we are and how we deal with ourselves, let alone the real world. If we can embrace our inner self as true to who we are and, again, accept that we are not perfect, then we are well on the way to self enlightenment. So, these terms that we hear all the time, such as inner child, inner self, enlightenment etc., are really other words for parts of us that we already know. Does that make sense?

So why do people want to use those terms instead of words we understand? Well, I think they want to set them aside from the norm because the norm to us is that hum-drum dreary road that we spoke about earlier. To make a change you have to break a habit and changing focus through words might just be a way of doing just that. I’m not saying I am ultimately right here, just that this is how I perceive it in my reality. What you should be looking to do is to incorporate the basic principles into your own life, in your own words, during your own time with your own thoughts and experiment to find what works for you. Like I said, there isn’t really a right way, more a way that works for you. You have to want to change, and that is another hurdle along the way. You may not be at a stage when you can accept enlightenment, even if you want to call it that. Conversely you may be looking for something that is missing in your life. This is then the best way to get started because it will lead you to a fuller, happier life. I’m not trying to preach here, just thinking out loud!

Why participate? For recognition, inspiration, success or for a sense of belonging? There isn’t really a set in stone answer to this. The rewards are personal to you. I know for myself that unlocking my inspiration allows me to write inspired music that others love to hear. The fact that the music I write can touch so many people in so many different ways is a fantastic reward to me, and it makes me feel like I have done something worthwhile. In writing my music I am expressing myself at an emotional level, in a sense bearing my soul with my music. It can reflect so many things, so may emotions, so many events that are turned into sounds that it’s almost un-limiting in it’s reach. Inspiration isn’t there all the time. What do we do when it’s not there? That’s when we sit and daydream or change our state in other ways. Meditation, if you choose that method, changes your state of being, your state of mind, your state period. That breaks cycles, habits, moods or whatever and leads to a refreshed, relaxed and calm inner feeling. From that point you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything. In reality you are the only limiting factor to what you can do! Try breaking a mood by changing your situation. Change your situation by going out, maybe to the gym or a long walk.

Strange as it may sound, the conclusion is that there is no conclusion. The limits are imposed by ourselves to ourselves and, every now and then, we try to impose those limiting beliefs, thoughts and emotions on those around us, be it knowingly or otherwise. You don’t need to understand how it works, just know that, with enough practice, it does work. How do I know? I have had some major successes and some stupendous downfalls. Each I look at in a separate light and ask myself “why did that happen?”, and I will find the reason, good or bad. Sometimes the way we are makes these things happen (remember habits?) and sometimes fate is telling us something. There will never be a perfect world and there will always be good times and bad times. The trick is in knowing how make good out of bad. Remember what I said earlier? There is always a lesson to be learnt, even from bad experiences. Just with that thought you can turn your world around!

Life is hard enough as it is without imposing our own limiting self beliefs on the world around us. It takes an open mind to truly see that we can change ourselves; that we can effect and affect those around us; that we create what we perceive to be and that we are deserving.