These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Series 7: Inspire.

Spontaneous Inspiration versus Imposed Inspiration

• Inspiration is generally considered spontaneous. Spontaneous inspiration is probably the most valuable form of inspiration, but other forms are worthy of appreciation and should be considered for practicing their acquisition skills.

• There are multiple and graded levels of inspiration, starting from the smooth, spontaneous inspiration to extracting inspiration from seemingly impossible moments. It is good not to give in to the ease of spontaneous inspiration and be satisfied with that. Practice and get used to drawing inspiration within various moments when it does not seem smooth at any level.

• Spontaneous inspiration is a blessing that you should receive enthusiastically and you shouldn’t be distracted by anything else that you can postpone. Immerse yourself in spontaneous inspiration as soon as you feel it knocking on your mind, and stay engrossed until the last drop of inspiration. If you are already preoccupied with something, try to postpone what is left of it, and take time out to receive inspiration and devote yourself to it.

• Don’t immediately take a break when you find inspiration too hard. First try to change the way you think about the subject, or change your place by moving a little to another suitable place. If inspiration remains stubborn, then you can take a break, but be careful not to stray too far from the subject.

• A period of rest to regain inspiration sometimes becomes an inescapable necessity. This period should not be long, but its duration depends entirely on the nature and stage of the work or the idea that you are processing. It also depends on your mental and psychological state at that time, as well as the time available to complete the work or present the idea in its final form.

• Set a maximum in advance for a rest period to recover your inspiration; after that maximum, push yourself to continue the work, even if the inspiration still seems difficult. Staying on the lookout for inspiration without a deadline may lead you to quit work altogether or may lead to a noticeable sluggishness and decline in production in the long run.

• Inspiration is not thinking, although any thinking process involves some form of inspiration. Talking about stimulating inspiration and working on it means talking about the best ways to allow inspiration to cross into your mind and soul for a richer, broader view of a certain topic, rather than just trying to figure out how to solve an existing or expected problem.

• With practice and perseverance and by believing in the importance and value of inspiration, it will become a habit, practiced on every level with interest and passion.

• No matter how magical or mysterious the spontaneous inspiration may seem, a deep reflection on the circumstances surrounding the manifestations of your spontaneous inspiration will help you to attract inspiration when you need it and deliberately seek it at any level.

• Having a positive attitude will greatly enhance the chances of receiving inspiration.