SPECTRUM OF LIGHT
INSPIRATION
To breathe in.
A Divine influence upon human beings.
To cause, guide, influence, motivate, stimulate a creative or effective effort.
To prompt or cause to be written, said, or acted upon.
To have an animating effect mentally, spiritually or emotionally.
INSPIRATION
WHAT RESEARCH SAYS
Inspiration Means 'To Breath In'
Inspiration is often experienced by something that fills us with such awe and wonder that it takes our breath away. For instance, looking up into the night sky and being overtaken with its vastness and beauty, especially as we consider are own small place amid this grandeur. Nature can be awe-inspiring in numberless ways as are intense religious experiences and deeply moving works of art. We’ve come to use the word “awesome” to express appreciation for all sorts of things, but truly awesome encounters don’t reside in the everyday but in the experience of something that moves us with its magnificence or power. Findings from a 2013 study coauthored by Michelle (Lani) Shiota (Arizona State University), Keltner; and Belinda Campos showed that, in marked contrast to other positive emotions, awe isn’t signaled by smiling but rather by raised eyebrows, widened eyes, a dropped jaw, and visible “inhalation.” Awe has been a little-studied emotion, but this is changing as researchers uncover its valuable benefits on mind, body and spirit. A summary of findings from current research (Shiota, Griskevicius Neufeld, Keltner, Haidt (Center for the Science of Greater Good), Rudd, Aaker, Vohs, Saroglou, Van Cappellen, Valdesolo, J. Graham, Piff, Stellar), tells us that experiencing awe has a positive effect on our well-being in the following ways:
It facilitates complex cognitive processing
Helps focus attention on what’s happening in the moment
Prompts thinking in more self-transcendent ways, moving away from focus on inward concern to outward connectedness – focusing on things beyond the self
Reveals a unique association between awe and religiosity or spirituality
Is a trigger to prosocial behavior, more willingness to volunteer time in charitable endeavors
Increases positive emotions such as happiness, well-being and gratitude
Interleukin-6 (a cytokine) was lowered in those experiencing higher levels of awe—which over the long term has a beneficial effect on prevention of cardiovascular disease and depression, suggesting a pathway through which experiences of awe can influence physical health
When was the last time you were inspired by awe?
Inspiration Seeds Purpose
Those who walk in purpose do not have to chase people or opportunities. Their light causes people and opportunities to pursue them.
The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why - Mark Twain
The purpose of life is a life of purpose - David Viscott
The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is
o give your gift away - Robert Byrne
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing - Theodore Roosevelt
Find a purpose SO BIG in life it will challenge every capacity to be at
your best - David McKay.
Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only be lack of
meaning and purpose - Viktor Frankl
Seven Ways to Find Your Purpose in Life, by Jill Suttie
People with a clear sense of purpose find it easier to be inspired by the things they do.
Thoughts on discovering your purpose from an article, Seven Ways to Find Your Purpose in Life, by Jill Suttie:
Identify the things you care about: Purpose is about making a contribution in a way that matters to you. Ask yourself, If you could change anything in your corner of the world, what would it be and how would you go about doing it? Jim Emerman of Encore.org, posed these questions to a group of seniors - What are you good at? - What have you done that gave you a skill that can be used for a cause? - What do you care about in your community?
Reflect on what matters most: It’s important to understand your personal values
Recognize your strengths and talents: We all have strengths and skills that we’ve developed over our lifetimes, which help make up our unique personalities. It can sometimes be helpful to ask others —teachers, friends, family, colleagues, mentors—for input. These may be a few questions to ask: - What do you think I’m particularly good at? - What do you think I really enjoy? - How do you think I’ll leave my mark on the world?
Try volunteering: Finding purpose involves more than just self-reflection. Volunteering in a community organization focused on something of interest to you could provide you with some experience and do good at the same time. When you find a good match, volunteering will feel invigorating, not draining.
Imagine your best possible self: Imagine yourself at various ages and what you see yourself doing, and what you hope people would say about your life at those ages.
Cultivate positive emotions like gratitude and awe: To find purpose, it helps to foster positive emotions, like awe and gratitude. That’s because each of these emotions is tied to well-being, caring about others, and finding meaning in life, which all help us focus on how we can contribute to the world.
Look to the people you admire: Sometimes the people we admire most in life give us a clue to how we might want to contribute to a better world ourselves. What is it about these people that inspires or uplifts you? These can be people you’ve read about in Scripture, in history books, personal biographies, or people in our present times. You don’t need fame to fulfill your purpose in life. You just need to look to your inner compass—and start taking small steps in the direction that means the most to you.
Purpose + Man’s Search for Meaning
Modern scientific research on human purpose had its origins in the Holocaust.
Viktor Frankl, a Viennese psychologist experienced the horrors of Auschwitz, Theresienstadt and Dachau. His father died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, and his mother was exterminated at Auschwitz. His wife later died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Through all of this he noticed that fellow prisoners who had a sense of purpose showed greater resilience to the torture, slave labor, and starvation rations.
One of his means to survival in these camps, was to focus on recreating the manuscript of a book he had been writing before his capture. Writing of his experiences afterward, he found a partial explanation in a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, “those who have a “WHY” to live, can bear almost any “how.” Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, was seminal in the field as it brought to light the crucial role of meaning and purpose. He dictated this book to a team of assistants in only 9 days. It subsequently sold millions of copies in dozens of languages.
A decade after writing the book, he assisted in developing the first and most widely used standardized survey of purpose, the 21-item “Purpose in Life” test. He became widely recognized for developing the “third school” of psychotherapy, known as logotherapy, focused on meaning and purpose as the primary motivation of an individual. The first school of psychotherapy was developed by Sigmund Freud and the second school by Alfred Adler. Frankl corresponded with Freud while in his teens and studied Adler’s theories while a student at the University of Vienna Medical School.
Over the past few decades, psychologists, and sociologists have developed a host of assessments that touch on people’s senses of purpose. That conclusion that emerges from these tests and surveys, interviews, definitions, and meta-analyses is that Frankl’s observations were correct. Having a purpose in life is associated with a number of benefits, ranging from a subjective sense of happiness to lower levels of stress hormones. A 2004 study found that highly purposeful older women had lower cholesterol, were less likely to be overweight, and had lower levels of inflammatory response.
Having a sense of purpose in life is associated with a lower risk of death according to a study published May 24, 2019 in JAMA Network Open. The research which sampled almost 7,000 people included a Psychological Well-being evaluation that concluded a stronger purpose in life was associated with decreased mortality. NYTimes January 2018 reported that having purpose is linked to a number of positive health outcomes, including better sleep, fewer strokes and heart attacks, and a lower risk of dementia, disability and premature death.
Zoryna O’Donnel’s article on Positive Psychology (April 2018), noted that people with a strong sense of purpose in life tend to do better on a number of different measures of mental health, well-being, and even cognitive functioning. Several studies also show that people with a higher purpose in life tend to engage in healthier behaviors (for example, they are exercising more and are participating in preventive health services) which results in better health outcomes. A study done in 2013 found that individuals with more sense of purpose in life were better at managing stress and had better self-rated health status (SRH), and that stress management partly mediated the effect of a purpose in life on SRH.
As illustrated by examples that follow, results of numerous studies across various age groups, from adolescents to very old, consistently point at significant benefits of having a strong sense of purpose in life.
A survey of 3,489 adults between the ages of 32 and 84, established that a purpose in life was associated with higher scores for memory, executive functioning, and overall cognition.
An earlier study of 189 very old people between the ages of 85 and 103, revealed a significant inverse relationship between a purpose in life and depression.
A cross-sectional study that examined the relationship among purpose, hope, and life satisfaction among 153 adolescents, 237 emerging adults, and 416 adults shows that having identified a purpose in life was associated with greater life satisfaction and overall well-being at these three stages of life.
The importance of having a purpose in life in early youth was also highlighted by a study of 669 young people, which found that a purpose in life predicted well-being during emerging adulthood and was positively associated with self-image and negatively associated with delinquency, even when controlling for personality traits.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS
JOHN 12: 27
Jesus said speaking of the cross: Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
GENESIS 1: 1-5
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
This text from Scripture is among the most awe-inspiring statements in all of literature. It leads us to ponder the imponderable. For instance, where did time come from - can it exist without light? Where did light come from and how did it become an element of everything? Where does the 7-day week cycle come from?
Interestingly enough, science tells us that particles of light called photons, seem to be eternal. Although debate is inherent to the study of science, for practical purposes, photons have no beginning of end. Whether one has faith in God, whether the creation account is accepted as truth, the pondering of origins is vastly beyond human conception. It has occupied the thoughts and pursuits of scientists, theologians, philosophers, and a host of other scholars as long as we know. The thought of an eternal being with the power to speak a world into existence is beyond our conceptions and calculations. For some it may be rendered unbelievable and silly, for others it awakens awe. It’s mentioned here because whatever our position, the magnificence of the universe can stir the soul.
Nature inspires awe. We travel the earth to take in its magnificent views, hike trails and traverse waters. No matter where we call home, we find breath-taking beauty. It would be impossible to touch on all the ways nature speaks, teaches and sparks wonder. Whether it be soaring mountains, rolling hills, verdant valleys, multi-colored layers of rock formations, lakes, streams, waterfalls, oceans, rain forests, redwood forests, hidden forests, myriad flowers, trees, shrubs that grow in the backyard or are groomed into the stunning, glorious gardens of the world, animals of every variety—graceful, resourceful, playful, or powerful on land or sea, birds and butterflies, the tiny ant, starry night skies, complete rainbows, the vastness of the universe; each opens an opportunity for awe. Going back to the creation account, we find it is punctuated with the fact that God saw everything He created and called it good.
ECCLESIASTES 3: 1-8 (WRITTEN BY KING SOLOMON, CONSIDERED THE WISEST MAN OF HIS TIME)
To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain and a time to lose; A time to keep and a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war and a time of peace.
ROMANS 12: 6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them, if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering, he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Scripture affirms that we have different gifts and purposes to fulfill; it is important to know our purpose and put ourselves fully into it.
ONE SOLITARY LIFE (POEM)
He was born in an obscure village.
He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty.
He then became an itinerant preacher.
He never held office. He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn't go to college. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty-three when the public turned against Him.
His friends ran away. He was turned over to His enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had on earth.
He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed,
All the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together,
Have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that
One Solitary Life.
"WHERE WORDS FAIL, MUSIC SPEAKS."
Hans Christian Andersen
REFLECTION
How might you increase opportunities to inspire awe? Are you walking in your purpose?