Notes

Finding Inspiration in the Exotic and The Mundane
Have you ever noticed that when you finally listen to your intuition and commit to something that might not actually be so convenient or easy to do, you somehow unleash creative and synchronistic energies that move you forward in your mission in life? The sheer trust that people invest this unseen support from the universe takes courage, nonetheless it brings so much meaning and link with our lives. Unforeseen events happen which when you look back, make sense in the scheme of things, but you are not sure how at the time. I remember this experience not so way back when, when I felt I was at an unknown and frankly unwelcome crossroads in my life.

Wanderlust invariably precedes many journeys, which was no exception. Occasionally the destination you've chosen to explore, beckons you in a daydream or a captivating thought. I had an unusual episode of restlessness that needed attention. The months preceding this trip were flat and uneventful and I was just plodding on, struggling to perform my debut book Corporate Head, Spiritual Heart. The flow of creativity was blocked by a razor sharp inner critique that stifled any progress with the taunt, 'it's not good enough' which grew louder and louder until I couldn't even put pen to paper.

Strangely as I sat waiting for my very late client, I experienced a very powerful connection, sort of inner knowing, that the solution to my difficulty lay in the photo of the hush remoteness of the backwaters of Kerala which grabbed my attention when i flicked through a yoga magazine. A gentle tug within my soul, which defied any logical explanation. Yet I did so not question it.

On the facial skin of it, I possibly could not have chosen a worst time and energy to travel as my coaching schedule was so hectic and I had meetings lined up with important movers and shakers in my own industry which had taken so much energy to arrange. It all seemed a little crazy, this whim of mine and ordinarily I'd never have dreamed of cancelling so many careers. Yet I was sure that it was the proper move to make and I hoped that a change of scene would give me a respite from this feeling of despondency.

I was not disappointed. The large thatched boat was my sheltering shepherd on the soothing backwaters. The talented resident cook on board thoroughly spoiled me with delicious South Indian meals, waiting for me to devour after my leisurely visits to the compact villages on the banks. One encounters the deepest the main night here - bright stars abound to the unadulterated splendour of a moonless darkness. A sense of being naked is not uncommon. The contrast throughout the day was beautiful. The river and sky were all one colour - the shade of moonstone. All over the palm trees surrounded the paddyfields. Over everything hung a massive silence and in this space my mood was deeply reflective and quite unexpectedly joyous. As my spirit soared, those stiff, creaky floodgates opened and refreshing ideas just flowed out from my grateful soul as I wrote chapter after chapter forever with the aid of several white wicker candles.

I marvelled at the quality and depth of thoughts and insights I received about the far removed subject of corporate masks and executive stress in this sacred realm. It is as if everything comes alive when you tap into this heightened consciousness - for creativity and spirituality are synonymous. Whatever its form, spiritual awareness stuns the curious mind with its brilliance, its kinship with the supernatural. It had been a truly profound experience. Perhaps there was some truth in the normal reference to India as a 'land of magic'. It is as if there's an actual energy zone that is conducive to mystical experiences. Hard to spell it out, but I got a strong sense in me of several worlds in precarious co-existence: the partition between the seen and the unseen worlds may be paper thin. What made it a lot more remarkable, was how this natural connection we all have with the healing forces of nature or even the divine, had unlocked the barrier gate that had slammed shut inside me. It had lovingly melted that inner critique that was blocking my path and holding me back my work. Because the boat drifted along in a slow, steady pace, I was gently letting go layer by layer all of those niggling doubts and draining fears and came to a location of peace within myself. A comforting trust in the universal plans for me personally begun to take direction and I knew I was given what I needed the most at the moment - equanimity. An excellent internal transformation had occurred in an exceedingly short space of time.

I left with a sense of deep respect forever on the planet, a love of God and a renewed sense of purpose holding a completed manuscript in my own hand. Something had stirred in my own blood, awakening my senses to the inspiration around me. This is exactly what I so desperately wanted to get back with me and I wondered how I could possibly adjust now to the ordinariness of my life, after such a rich sensory and spiritual discovery.

Actually, it might be a grave mistake to trust that we need to travel for miles to exotic lands to track down and seek out inspiration. You can find gifts and clues all over - we simply need to open our eyes and senses to opportunities for creative inspiration. get more info is helpful to be familiar with where we get our sources of inspiration. I have a child like curiosity about things or individuals who are completely different from me or my world. Meeting people with an unusual ancestry, meditating by a river, exploring Egyptian historic artifacts in the British Museum and trying on ornate and exquisite antique jewellery, are a number of the items that refresh and stimulate my mind. As does playing football with my three year old nephew and enjoying a white tea ceremony with my Japanese friends. I see it being an investment of my time because my spirit is worth nurturing. This can be a form of celebration, gratitude and receiving from the universe, otherwise we are able to feel burnt out, jaded or even cynical about life.

It's important to our well being to seek out new means of staying fresh also to be a possibility thinker so that we can manifest rich and fulfilling life experiences. Have you noticed that if you are inspired and deeply touched by something, your spirit grows bigger than the obstacle or problem? Once we follow our inspiration, which in lots of ways is really a call to growth and learning, we get transformed because of it.

Often our inspiration will come in a size too big for all of us and resistance and excuses appear like uncontrollable weeds inside our fertile minds and we end up rationalizing away our best ideas. One's capacity for scepticism is endless, and I've learned to risk relocating the suggested direction; I've found that when I take a risk, providence moves in with incredible speed, and there also appears to be a noticeable guidance which people might call the "still, inner voice". I then discover that my hunches, urges, intuitions become far more acute and uncanny coincidences start turning up. Like I simply 'happen' to bump into my prodigal student friend at a celebration, who became my fabulous editor. After rejecting several book cover designs by 'experts' in the field, my 16 year old niece 'happens' to require a favour and mentions a name of a fellow student who's a whiz kid at graphic design and who ends up producing probably the most surreal and eye-catching, book cover design for me personally.

I have been blessed with the support of creative friends around me who'll endorse that synchronicity is actually happening; otherwise it really is amazing how selective amnesia inside our busyness can bury the real creative gems. In ways, I regard these 'coincidences' as forms of subtle, yet powerful interventions of the divine hand helping us find our purpose in life. A loving nudge in the proper direction.

I also remind myself of how good I felt when I've followed through with my ideas during the past and how things just fell into place when I took that first rung on the ladder. Just like when I booked my flight to India. It had been easier to benefit from the journey as I had not been caught up in concentrating on an effective outcome. I hardly ever really likely to be writing anything on that trip; not going through the torture of writers block. Funny how switching off, actually switches on our creativity. The 'lets just see what happens' mind frees you around discover new ideas.

We are all inherently connected to divine creativity. I don't really feel that we are separated from the divine. To be human after all is to be a natural creator. We all have been blessed with this particular gift to co-create with this maker. Probably the most valuable question we can be asking ourselves regularly is 'How am i going to inspire myself next?. The answers will start unexplored vistas for you to enjoy. Your fertile imagination will cause you to so many possibilities that could powerfully transform you and this phenomenal planet we live in. Of course, you can find those visionary, caring individuals in this world that are called to harness this creative force for the higher good for all. To produce a real difference that will last for generations to come. Could that person be you?
Kahlil Gibran, the Prophet, guides us beautifully when he wrote," Work is love made visible." Should you have not already done so, it is time for you to get in touch with your purpose as well as your inherent creativity and make your projects, your love made visible.

Shilpa Unalkat is the Managing Director of Staflow Ltd, a corporate coaching and personal development organisation. She holds a Diploma in Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy and is really a certified Master NLP & Time Line Practitioner. E-mail; [email protected]

She is the author of the much acclaimed book ?Corporate Head, Spiritual Heart? available in all good bookstores and directly on her website [http://www.staflow.com]. It is a must have book for anyone who is wondering if you have more alive than this; if you want more meaning and satisfaction in your work; if you want to change direction, but just can?t find out what else that you can do; to be able to make a difference nowadays, but don?t know where to begin; if you are sick and tired of your brain games, greed and the corporate mask; and if you intend to be true to yourself and your values in life.

Shilpa offers powerful one-to-one coaching together with group workshops that focus on developing leadership skills based on emotional and spiritual intelligence. She also delivers high impact talks to organisations worldwide.
Homepage: https://studenttcareerpoint.com/precisely-what-is-life-and-motivational-teaching/