When an idea forms in our mind, it is a moment of pure magic.

An idea is an instruction from a deeply mysterious place within our intuitive self. There is a joy when that instruction is felt.

This moment of magic is something we all experience. Several times a day, in fact. Some of us just happen to be more attuned to when the magic happens, and savor the moments. Some of us actively pursue them. With training, we can allow them to come to us more freely, and reliably.

This ability to form ideas is something very important for us to cherish. It is something uniquely human, and may hold the key to our continued existence on this planet.

 

Ideas are the fuel of creativity.

They solve problems, improve our lives, gives us direction, and gives our lives meaning.

I don’t believe Ideas are actively thought up by us. They just... pop up, from that mysterious well of ideas deep within us. Yet for good ideas to pop up, we do need to actively set the stage and do the groundwork for them to form.

Reading about a topic, watching movies on the topic, researching online on the topic, talking to friends or colleagues about the topic, all may set the stage for ideas to form.

Ideas may form at any time. It may be while you are in the middle of your research. Or it may be during a more poetic moment: when you are sitting at a window looking out at the bridge, with a blank sheet of paper and a steaming cup of tea; or sit still looking out at the whizzing scenery from a moving bus; or when you are in a nice corner of a coffee shop..

And when that idea emerges in the mind, it may come in as a blinding flash leaving you with a skipped heartbeat, or it may gently materialize around you, wrapping itself around you in a warm embrace, and then gently peel off and hover around you to marvel at. “Wow! Did I do that?” you may wonder innocently.

 

All of us are idea powerhouses. We just don’t know that yet.

There are active steps we can take to develop our abilities to form ideas. Keeping your mind in a state of relaxation is key. With this state of mind, find a regular time and place to go to, to sit by yourself and jot thoughts as they come into your mind.

Do not be discouraged if you do not get your ideas in the first few sittings. Deep within your mind, gears are turning, and locking into place to form those moments of magic. Trust yourself, and allow more time, more sittings.

Keep your goals simple in the beginning: One idea a day is a good place to start. Think about it: what would you do with 365 ideas in a year!

When you get that idea, be prepared to catch them and write them down.

 

Keep an Idea journal

Write your One Idea a day, into a special journal. A nice, leather bound journal would do great. Expand upon that idea. Write more thoughts based around that singular idea. That way it solidifies into something more concrete, and useful to your life.

Your idea journal may soon be your close friend. Someone to sit down with a cup of coffee and share your most innovative moments.

 

Getting to the Well of Ideas

Getting to the well of Ideas within you, is a personal journey. We all have different ways to get to the well of ideas. Mine is through meditation. Or sitting in a coffee shop with a steaming cup of java. Perhaps yours may be through jogging, working out at the gym, showering, reading, listening to music. Or it may be by unplugging from it all, and taking a walk in the woods.

Its our job in life to discover what gets us to the well of ideas deep within ourselves.

 

Sharing your ideas

The next thing you need to do, to develop your idea generating capabilities, is to share the idea you received. Discuss it with people who would care: close friends, colleagues, family members, mentors, teachers..

When you first get an idea, it is at its most vulnerable stage. You may be perplexed by it, there may be weaknesses in it, or you may not fully believe it, even. But as you discuss it, they strengthen.

When you hear yourself tell aloud your idea to people, you begin to rework the idea into something more feasible, and useful. You will also begin to believe it more.

When people you trust listens to your idea with an open mind, they too will be transported to a place within their own intuition from where supporting ideas may emanate. These supporting ideas may reinforce your own idea, and fortify it, give it more structure, solidifying it further.

Your idea gains more value.

 

Nurturing ideas

We must nurture our talent for perceiving ideas. We must also awaken each other’s capacities for Idea perception – in our work place, in our schools, and in our kids.

When the colleague has a problem he needs to solve, see if you can come up with an idea for him. Better still, see if you can gently coax an idea out of himself. If the employee seems to be dithering between tasks, or being unproductive, explain the big picture to her about her tasks, and leave her to form ideas on how she might approach the tasks differently.

If your child can’t figure out what to pursue in his career, find ways to engage his sense of curiosity about the world, and see how he get the ideas to propel him forward.

When you are stuck for ideas on the remodeling project of your garage, enlist your family to come up with ideas, and pick the good ones.

When you are unsure of what new product to create in your business, talk about possibilities with colleagues, create an open safe atmosphere for anyone to open up and talk his mind, hear everyone speak, no matter how junior, and watch in awe as fresh new product ideas originate from your team.

In the journey to be an idea person, it is the best gift we can give each other: to nurture each other’s Idea perception capacity.

 

Uncovering your purpose in life?

Ideas are potent. Ideas are powerful. Ideas are precious.  Ideas are the fuel of creativity. Ideas drive the economy. They move history forward.

On a personal level, Ideas give you energy. They raise your spirits and give you optimism. And, coming from that deep person well of creativity within you, they are uniquely yours. They are therefore your own personal gift to the world, and may hint at your very purpose in life.

 

So, here’s wishing us all One great idea a day!

_Sunil Thankamushy, Los Angeles