For myself, an inspiration is a idea inspired by an emotion or feeling connected with an idea, like the perfect present for a loved one. But an idea is purely intellectual one inspired by rational thinking or logic. Just an idea.
Aquinas, Satya, you've both stated similar "ideas" Aquinas gave examples, Satya put them in clear and concise terms, more or less. I can't add much more to this. Inspiration takes an idea from the world of the abstract to the world of living breathing dimension.
Technically, this is only something that Ni and Si can work on together.... ie: we need examples, people!!! (to compare inspirations and ideas, of course) like, when you had that wonderful "aha" moment in the shower, did you call it inspiration, or an idea? when you were working on a problem and heard that quiet 'click' go off in your mind, connecting the dots and bringing you the answer, was it a euphoric experience, or simply the fruition of lots of concentration?
Perhaps . . . I had an idea to add beads to the trim of the Ren Faire dress when the embroidery machine failed me, it was inspiration, after hours of thought and beading, that led me to the exact idea I was looking for. Perhaps inspiration is the messenger of the idea? Inspiration is for ideas that aren't conscious? Some ideas, maybe, aren't as easily accessible, and present themselves as inspirations, or with inspirational thoughts leading the way? It would seem that not all ideas do not need inspiration to exist, while inspiration would seem to need ideas. But some ideas, particularly those of the subconscious mind, manifest with the assistance of inspiration where conscious effort is incabable of reaching them . . .
An inspiration is not an idea. The moment it goes from intuition to a cognition, it becomes an idea. Hence why it is very difficult to provide examples of inspiration. For example, if i am taking a shower and I'm thinking about two unrelated things, then I might suddenly have the inspiration of how they might be connected. That inspiration is simply a feeling, a hunch, or a gut reaction. The moment I begin to use my brain to try to understand why I have that feeling, I am forming a cognition of how they might be related, and thus I'm forming an idea.
I've been thinking about it all day and for me I think the difference is where they come from. Ideas come from my head but inspiration comes from somewhere else, the heart area I guess.
Um...Inspiration is intuition by definition. Inspiration comes from wherever intuition comes from. Intuition is instinctive and thus does not require a clear inference or reasoning process. It is an impulse or urge that is spontaneous and without thought.
(laughs bemusedly to self) . . . I'm thinking that a common characteristic b/w INFJ males may be their obsession with rigid technicality! My roomy, the ever expressive ENTJ, thinks that inspiration is the source for ideas, but is not, itself, an idea. More like the womb for ideas.
*Grumbles* Why is it that nowadays people treat definitions like they are insignificant? Why do we even have definition? Let's just let everyone make up their own definitions for words. That is a creative way of putting it.
If I am inspired into action I am doing "Gods Will" or at a service to others, helping healing. My ideas, though they may be in a service to others umbrella do seem to carry MY judgments in them. I mean to say, I am inspired to perform acts of selflessness. flipside... I have ideas to improve the "world" or the moment for that matter. make sense?
