| 
Inspiration
On Demand
Part
1
by
Greg Hansen
Imagine being
able to consistently get great ideas and solutions to everyday problems
whenever you need them. Wouldn’t it be wonderful? How would it be
to have the Spirit constantly? To get flashes of understanding as
often as required to work with our children, jobs and church callings?
After twenty
years of writing music on a daily basis, I have found that getting
inspiration is more a matter of consistent preparation than sparse,
singular moments of illumination. Receiving inspiration is, in my
experience, a learned skill that can be practiced and perfected,
rather than some elusive, uncontrollable mystery. Since I have had
to learn to get inspiration to create music for so long to provide
for my family, I have had terrific motivation to “get spiritual”.
Set Yourself
Up for Success
First of all,
it is important to understand that the creative process, inspiration,
revelation, the Holy Spirit, meditation, and prayer are all part
of the same whole, and there is no substitute for the basics of
a noble life rooted in Christ-centered behavior. Our lives must
first be in harmony with gospel principles as much as possible.
The belief that
each of us is original, unique, and has something significant to
say and do is fundamental to receiving the level of consistency
of inspiration I am referring to.
I believe we
are inspired 95% of the time, but do not take the time to listen
or follow what we’re told. Inspiration is there for the taking,
as much as we want it, if we learn how to get it.
Levels of
Communication
In this existence,
there are ascending levels of communication with our fellow beings.
The illustration below shows “Body Language” at the bottom, and
progresses in potency to the highest level, that of a visit from
Christ. Speech has the ability to bring the Spirit, but music can
transcend language, and combining visual and aural senses and music
together in film is even more potent. The Holy Ghost can sear its
influence into our very consciousness, while a visit of Christ requires
a near-transfiguration of the body.
An Example
of Undeniably Clear Inspiration
As a freshman
at Rick's College enrolled in the music program, I was asked to
conduct the music for one of the weekly devotionals, an honor usually
reserved for professors. I suppose my teacher thought I was a reasonably
good conductor, as I was taking his conducting class at the time.
Of course I was flattered and humbled at the prospect of conducting
a congregation of 6000, with a visiting General Authority as the
speaker.
I found myself
in front of an imposingly large audience, but managed to conduct
the opening hymn reasonably well without incident. As I sat down
following the hymn, I felt a wave of reassuring confidence.
The General
Authority’s talk was wonderful, and the Spirit was present. The
time came for the closing hymn and prayer. The program listed the
song as Abide With Me. I found the page and went through the hymn
in my mind.
As I got up
to begin the song, the organist began to play the introduction to
Abide With Me, Tis’ Eventide. Either she or I had the wrong hymn!
There I was, with two seconds before the intro was over, to find
the right page. In the days of the old blue hymnal, those two songs
were not next to each other as they are now in the green hymnal.
Maybe this story is why that was changed! There was no time to turn
to the index in the back and find the right page. What could I do?
I thought quickly:
“Let’s see, one is in 3/4, the other in 4/4,-ok, I can do this”,
so I closed my book and set it down on my chair. I began conducting
as if nothing had happened, trying to lead with assurance, and watching
the audience’s mouths to get the words.
A Horrifying
Thought
After the second
verse, I was beginning to feel like I was going to get through this
just fine, and not make a fool of myself after all. Then an absolutely
horrifying thought came to my mind: How many verses are in this
song?
If there were
three verses, and I kept going to a fourth verse, I would look like
an idiot. If there were four verses, and I stopped after three,
I would look like an idiot. There was no way out! I was doomed to
be the biggest fool in conducting history!
As we began
singing the third verse, I wracked my brain for what to do, all
the while smiling and conducting away as if nothing were happening,
I was tortured with panic and began saying a silent prayer - ”O
Lord, pleeeeez help me out of this mess!”
A Voice In
My Mind
The singing
continued to about halfway through the third verse, when suddenly
a voice came into my mind, as clear as could be, that said:
“There are always
people who put their books down early on the last verse.”
I was saved!
Sure enough, I watched the congregation, and about a fourth of them
closed their books on the last phrase before the song ended.
I finished the
hymn, sat down for the closing prayer, and afterwards my teacher
came up and shook my hand, congratulating me for “memorizing the
hymn.” He also gave me an A in conducting class. I never told him
what had really happened!
This was a great
example of direct revelation that was undeniably clear.
An Example
of Not Following Inspiration
In Paraguay
in the depths of my mission, there was a neighborhood that had a
retired military officer who still had his gun. He was an alcoholic,
and was known throughout the neighborhood for his nastiness, shooting
other people’s chickens and dogs that came onto his property. The
member family across the street warned us not to knock at his gate,
because he hated the missionaries.
Being young
and perhaps taking ourselves too seriously as servants of God, we
decided one day to try him anyway. We approached the fence around
his property and clapped at the gate.
He emerged from
his hut, drunk as could be, swearing and cussing at us with words
I didn’t even know existed in Spanish. Calling us every sort of
name imaginable, he approached us at the gate.
My ears were
burning with his language, and I will admit, I did not remain calm
as the Spirit was telling me to do. As soon as he paused for breath,
I told him in anger:
“Que tenga felizidad
in su vida miserable!” (I hope you will be happy in your miserable
life.)
He exploded
in rage and began shouting:
“Where’s my
gun? I’m going to kill these missionaries!”
As he ran back
to his hut to get it, we started walking very quickly away from
the gate. His wife panicked and started shouting:
“No! No! Don’t
do it!!!”
We could hear
all this commotion going on, and my junior companion said: “Let’s
run!!” But this time I listened to the Spirit and said: “No, just
walk calmly, as if nothing were happening.”
He roared over
to the gate, screaming how he was going to kill us, all the while
the wife shouting “No! No!” as the neighbors started rushing out
to see what was happening.
Inches From
Death
He lifted his
pistol and fired at us. The bullet went inches between our two heads.
Just after it passed, we rounded the corner to safety.
If I had followed
the Spirit to begin with, and not gotten angry, I would probably
not have put us in such danger. We reported it to the mission president,
and he told us not to go in that area again for awhile. Duh. The
only hard thing about that was not seeing the member family across
the street.
After a time,
we snuck though the back way over to the member family to get a
report on what had happened. The man had been taken sick, and was
lying on his bed for days, apparently near death. The predominantly
Catholic neighborhood banded together and told him this was his
punishment for shooting at the “servants of God”. He became repentant,
and sent word via the members that he wanted us to come and give
him a blessing. We came and found him pale and helpless, barely
able to speak.
We gave him
a blessing, and within a day he ws completely healed. Unfortunately,
he returned to his drunkenness, and did not join the church, but
he did stop shooting other people’s chickens.
This was a good
example of not doing exactly as the Spirit dictated, by letting
myself get angry. I’m glad the Lord still worked through us in spite
of my stupidity.
Next time: How
to Be Inspired on Demand (part two).
Greg Hansen is a professional composer, arranger, and
record producer living in Utah, with his wife, four kids and five
horses. (www.greg-hansen.com)
Click
here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.
© 2003 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
|
