That evening, I stayed in a downtown Hollywood hotel room. Using my black Bic® cigarette lighter, I lit a candle, which sat on the window ledge. The candle burned brightly, and sparks were flying off of it. I didn’t know it at the time, but within seconds the window curtain had caught on fire. I didn’t see the fire start because I was performing a headstand on the floor next to my king-size bed.

I said to myself, “I’ve been bored to death lately. While the blood flows to my brain, maybe I can come up with a good idea.” Then I asked, “Lord, how else can I overcome my passiveness and receive a spark of inspiration?”

The Lord made yet another personal appearance. In order that God could talk with me, face to face, She did a head stand right beside me. It was a good thing that She dressed in casual clothing—a plain light-blue T-shirt, which was tucked deeply into Her blue jeans. Naturally, I had a little frown on my face.

Apparently, God didn’t see that the curtain had caught on fire, either. The Lord simply looked at me. She said, “Inspiration reflects bursts of perspective thinking—ideas that come to you from your burning desire to tap into your own reservoir of knowledge. Meditation, getting your mind in a state of relaxed concentration, can give you the key to ‘see the light.’ Meditation can unlock the doors to your innermost self. The trick is to bring these flashes of brilliance to the surface, from your subconscious mind to your conscious thoughts.”

I wasn’t sure about how God felt, but I noticed it getting a little too warm in the room. I asked, “Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?”

The Lord just ignored me and continued, “Inspiration, alone, is useless unless it manifests itself by way of applied knowledge—creative expression that takes the shape of inspiring others with your insightful words or artistic products. Usually, it’s easier to become inspired if you look for new ideas by associating your current interests and abilities with finding a need and trying to fill it.”

God stopped, for a moment, to wipe the sweat beads off Her forehead. Then She concluded, “As you think with the goal of becoming inspired, you may create something that will truly inspire others. Wantsalittle, look to see what’s going on around you—something that could be improved or changed for the better.” Then God vanished into the smoke-filled air.

Somebody should’ve told me that cigarette lighters could be hazardous to my health. My trying to receive a little spark of inspiration nearly trapped me in a towering inferno!

Fortunately, there was a fire extinguisher in the hotel room. I quickly put out the curtain fire. When I sprayed the flames, I noticed an empty white plastic flowerpot, which was sitting off to one side of the window ledge.

I reached in a dresser drawer, grabbed another candle, and lit it. I thought for a few moments about everything that I had just seen in the room. And then I said, “An inspirational thought just struck me: I’ll search for my ‘pot’ of gold!”

(The moral of this episode: When you want to receive a spark of inspiration, it may help if you look around to see what could be improved or changed for the better. Then try to create something that will truly inspire others!)

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