The Magickal Pen

We all have those moments, days or weeks where we are simply uninspired by all that we know. We slow down a bit, slipping into a haze of boredom  or become restless and antsy, trying to create our own place of excitement. When this occurs within our mundane life, we seek out the company of others, hoping that some of their enthusiasm may rub off. When we feel uninspired at a spiritual level, things become a bit trickier, given that the source of spiritual inspiration has less to do with what outer stimuli you encounter and everything to do with the attitude in which you process it.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives these two definitions of the word “uninspired”:

1. lacking in imagination or originality
2. (of a person) not filled with excitement

The imagination aspect is what feeds our ability to visualize, create and bring into manifestation what we will to be. The originality occurs in the resulting product of that imagination. All and everything that is created is unique to the source of its creation; despite the appearances at times of it being the same.

Excitement becomes the passionate, freely flowing fuel that ignites and catalyzes the will. Desire is the necessary ingredient to produce what the imagination has created and strives to create within the space of true originality.

Feeling uninspired stops the flow of creative action cold in its tracks as we wait out the inner turmoil that arises over such a state and pray to our Gods and Goddesses that this time will pass quickly. So, what are some of the ways we can push through and shorten the hiatus?

When I think about the concept of inspiration, I immediately relate it to breathing. And, in support of this idea, I have noticed that when I am feeling uninspired and just plain apathetic about my spiritual practices, there is a certain shallowness and tenseness in my breathing patterns. The air does not flow as smoothly, and my mind is a little less clear.

For me, to be inspired is to feel expansive in what I am receiving and therefore expansive in what I have to give.  Thoughts, feelings and actions flow in a light and airy way and gently find their corners of interest and creative awareness to fill. When I am feeling inspired, I feel connected to a source that is continually available for me to drink deeply from. For me, Inspiration is the filling up with the breath of life; taking it all in and allowing it to move through mind and heart.

Now , here is the catch.  As productive and life changing as being inspired feels, the truth is that those times of feeling less than inspired are the breeding grounds of what most often become a surging forward that pushes through emerging with a fresh perspective and greater dynamic. I see them as the necessary kick-starters that allow a re-think on what I consider to be my motivations, philosophies and core beliefs. The apathy that is felt, becomes passion when seen from a different view. The boredom becomes the enthusiastic need to move and act.  And, using the analogy of the light bulb seen to represent inspired and inventive mind:

When the glass shatters and the light is no longer viable, the inspired view is a little less visible. And, in this darkened state, we rest, strategize, take a deep breath and the first response becomes the inspired action that is cleaning up the shards of glass and replacing the bulb anew!