The Call for Papers ended September 30, 2006, although the Forum welcomes submissions on a rolling basis for possible inclusion in future Forum activities.

We invite proposals for papers addressing one or more of the Forum's primary areas of inquiry: physiology, psychology, mythology and spirituality as they relate to cross-cultural inspiration. Submissions should include a title, 150-word abstract and one-page summary of the author's curriculum vitae.

Send submissions to submissions@inspirationforum.org. We welcome papers from a broad range of disciplines and academic focuses, including anthropology, sociology, religion, business, philanthropy, communications, biology, the physical sciences and the humanities. We especially seek cross-disciplinary and research-based approaches to the issue of how people are inspired.

Please download and read the August, 2006, Call for Papers for more information.

Download Call for Papers (120kB PDF).

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At the Forum's inaugural convening, approximately 60 accomplished academics, researchers, theorists and practitioners from a broad range of disciplines will advance the inquiry in four areas:

Physiology: Are we hardwired as human beings to become inspired in similar ways to similar stimuli? What is the neurological component of inspiration?

Psychology: Are we inexorably moved as a species toward individuation and fulfillment of certain needs before others? Is inspiration only possible after other psychic needs are satisfied? How do the behaviorists and depth psychologists see this issue and what cultural factors differentiate our responses?

Mythology: What role do archetypal stories and symbols play in our ability to inspire or to be inspired? What unseen narratives dictate our future? Are there universal icons and metaphors so fundamental that they transcend cultural differences? What is the process of myth-building and myth-changing?

Spirituality: Psychology pioneer Otto Rank and more recently philosopher Ken Wilber have written that mankind's cultural, religious and societal development has been spurred by our balanced needs to recognize both separateness and interconnectedness. Recognizing this apparent paradox, what constants are there in the major spiritual paths that could provide the basis for an inspired population across the boundaries of religious belief?