All posts tagged: Spirit

These two dark personality traits are significant predictors of entrepreneurial spirit

These two dark personality traits are significant predictors of entrepreneurial spirit

A new study published in Acta Psychologica provides evidence that specific personality traits, including narcissism and psychopathy, are significant predictors of entrepreneurial tendencies in adults. The findings suggest that an individual’s employment status and distinct personality profiles account for a substantial portion of the variation in their propensity for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is frequently viewed through the lens of economic activity, such as starting a business or generating employment. Psychologists increasingly recognize it as a multidimensional phenomenon involving the identification and exploitation of opportunities. This perspective treats entrepreneurialism as a stable personality trait rather than merely an occupational choice. This distinction is significant because it suggests that entrepreneurial potential exists in individuals who may not currently own a business. The study of these latent tendencies helps scientists understand the psychological makeup of those who are likely to innovate and create value. Previous models have largely relied on general personality frameworks to explain these behaviors. The Big Five personality model has been the standard for much of this research. This model assesses traits such as extraversion, agreeableness, …

‘He was, above all, a treasured spirit, who understood how vital music is for the human soul’: tributes to Andrew Clements | Classical music

‘He was, above all, a treasured spirit, who understood how vital music is for the human soul’: tributes to Andrew Clements | Classical music

I owe Andrew Clements big time. He wrote so positively about my music early in my career and the last article he wrote was singling out my opera Festen for special praise. He did seem to go off me a bit in mid career but he was such a serious and thoughtful critic that I often agreed with him. I got to know him very well in the late 90s as he was the partner of the librettist and translator Amanda Holden. He had such a broad knowledge of music and a great enthusiasm for new music which he wrote and spoke about with such warmth and humour. We spent many evenings in Highbury talking about Stravinsky, politics and Arsenal football club – he cared about the most important things in life. Mark-Anthony Turnage, composer Andrew was perhaps the most remarkable critical voice of our age, and his writing embodied knowledge, curiosity and integrity. His tastes were open and adventurous, with a rare awareness of – and enthusiasm for – the newest musical developments from …

When the Holy Spirit Sends Warnings – OpentheWord.org

When the Holy Spirit Sends Warnings – OpentheWord.org

Credit: Paulius Dragunas, unsplash.com In an interview with the TV station Caracol, Colombian pop star, Yeison Jimenez, 34, spoke about having dreams warning him that he would die in a plane crash. Jimenez is one of Colombia’s most popular folk singers. “Those were the dreams. And in one of the dreams, I dreamt that we had died and that we were on the news. And it was the third time I dreamt that. God gave me three signs, and I didn’t understand them, I didn’t get them,” Jimenez said in the interview. A few weeks later, Jimenez, along with his entire band, died when their plane crashed as they were flying for a concert in Medellin on Saturday, Jan 10, 2026, the NY Post reports, At this point, I have no way of knowing if Jimenez was a Christian. But he believed God was sending him a warning. In Joel 2:28, the prophet said that in the end days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Because of this, they (all flesh) would have …

Inside Spirit Awards Brunch as Natasha Rothwell Says ‘F*** Tilly Norwood’

Inside Spirit Awards Brunch as Natasha Rothwell Says ‘F*** Tilly Norwood’

Leave it to the indie film crowd to add some spice to the weekend. During an awards season in which many boldfaced names have been playing it safe when it comes to weighing in on hot button cultural and political issues — not counting Guillermo del Toro who shouted “fuck AI” at New York’s Gotham Awards — the handful of boldfaced names who made it to the podium at Saturday’s Spirit Awards brunch did not shy away from sharing their passionate takes. But first, official business: Film Independent brought its typically beachside act to the London West Hollywood to host Spirit Award nominees for an airy rooftop brunch. (For years, Santa Monica hosted the brunch at Casa Del Mar and the Spirit Awards in a tent on the beach.) Aside from serving up avocado toast, tacos and Lavazza espresso martinis, the org doled out $75,000 in grants to emerging artists. Hannah Einbinder and Natasha Rothwell teamed to announce the winners in front of a starry crowd that included Ethan Hawke, Zoey Deutch, Joel Edgerton, Dylan O’Brien, …

‘Marty Supreme’ and Perfectionism’s Degradation of Spirit

‘Marty Supreme’ and Perfectionism’s Degradation of Spirit

The new film Marty Supreme is, at once, the embodiment of perfectionism, narcissism, greed, moxie, passion, genius, and cultural degradation. The protagonist, Marty Mauser, elicits all of your feelings because you can’t make sense of how you should feel about him. Is he the problem, or is it the culture? Is he just surviving and playing by the rules imparted to him by the real culprits? Or is this just human nature, and he’s an exemplar? And is morality meaningful when it’s so frequently sacrificed for success, which, in turn, is cheered on as the pinnacle of existence? The film leaves you with so many questions, about Marty and yourself. As a perfectionist, I easily saw myself in Marty: the inability to lose or take responsibility, the tantrums and pain of feeling inferior to anyone, the grandiosity in believing you’re innately special (even if only because you are in some domain), and the sense that others in your life are merely secondary characters acting as ornaments for the main attraction. Marty sacrifices any semblance of …

How Choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall Helped Amanda Seyfried Embrace the Holy Spirit

How Choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall Helped Amanda Seyfried Embrace the Holy Spirit

If you can remember back to season two of Gossip Girl, you may recall an episode about aspiring designer Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) attempting to earn funding for her eponymous fashion line by staging a guerrilla show at a charity gala. In the middle of the stuffy reception, Jenny commandeers the A/V system, blasting punk rock while a squad of models, clad in her early-aughts emo designs, climb on tables. Even the most dedicated Gossip Girl superfans may be surprised to learn that two of the models in that scene are The Testament of Ann Lee director Mona Fastvold and her longtime collaborator, Ann Lee choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall. In a stroke of Hollywood luck, the pair met that day, becoming fast friends and launching a creative collaboration that would extend for nearly two decades. The 20-somethings worked together on music videos until their first major project: 2018’s Vox Lux, which was directed by Fastvold’s partner Brady Corbet, based on a story by Corbet and Fastvold, and choreographed by Rowlson-Hall. But even during the Vox Lux …

Christmas adverts are hijacking the Love Actually feel-good spirit to get us spending more

Christmas adverts are hijacking the Love Actually feel-good spirit to get us spending more

The Christmas advert season has officially started, and Richard Curtis’s genius is all around – again. From the carrot expressing love on a placard in the Aldi advert, to the moment when Keira Knightley finally says yes to Joe Wilkinson (and to his food) in the Waitrose commercial, the Love Actually film seems to be everywhere in Christmas adverts. The spending spirit is being neatly squeezed into our minds, just like the extra syllable in the original lyrics of the Love Is All Around anthem. These adverts are trying to tap into our growing loneliness and desire for togetherness and to persuade us that the best way to get it is to spend money on gifts. In the Pandora advert, for example, the boy character plans a Christmas gift for his mother to the sound of the Beach Boys hit song God Only Knows, which could be intended to remind us of the ending of Love Actually in the arrivals hall at Heathrow airport. It’s no surprise that advertisers use works of fiction to reconnect …

How Near Death Experiences by the Totally Blind Prove the Existence of the Human Spirit – OpentheWord.org

How Near Death Experiences by the Totally Blind Prove the Existence of the Human Spirit – OpentheWord.org

Jesus Healing a blind man By Andrey Mironov (artist), Wikipedia, Creative Commons 4.0 ESPAÑOL: Cómo las Experiencias cercanas a la muerte de personas totalmente ciegas prueban la existencia del espíritu humano In a recent video, apologist and former atheist Lee Strobel provided five evidences for the existence of the spiritual realm, CBN reports. While we live in a physical world, we are also part of a spiritual realm that involves Godly angels and demonic ones. Strobel points to verified miracles and unexplained angelic encounter as evidence of this. But the one that caught attention was his third evidence, Near Death Experiences (NDEs). These occur when people who have died reported their spirits leaving their body and allowing them to watch from above what was happening to them on the operating table. Their spirit returned when their bodies were revived. The Bible teaches about the existence of the spirit, soul and body. The soul (mind, will and emotions) is created when our spirit merges with a physical body. At death, our physical body dies, but our spirit …

Do You have the ‘Spirit of Creativity’? – OpentheWord.org

Do You have the ‘Spirit of Creativity’? – OpentheWord.org

A celestial doodle from God’s exquisite imagination. The Cone Nebula taken from the NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Credit NASA, Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 By J. Scott McElroy For Christians, it’s certain that God is the most creative being in the universe. From the inconceivably beautiful/bizarre celestial formations seen through the Hubble telescope, to the impossibly complex and equally beautiful universe inside a single cell, His creativity and imagination awe us. He paints a million constantly changing masterpieces in sunsets and cloud formations everyday. His brilliance in conceiving, designing, growing and sustaining living beings like humans and animals will never be eclipsed. And, as they say about family traits, His creativity runs in the blood of His children. Jesus, our brother if you will, said we would do even greater creative acts and miracles than he did while He was on the earth.   For most of us that is hard to imagine, let alone achieve. Why is this? I think there are several reasons why we don’t feel we live up to the family legacy of creativity. …

How to Worship in Spirit and in Truth, Part 2 – OpentheWord.org

How to Worship in Spirit and in Truth, Part 2 – OpentheWord.org

Credit William White, unsplash.com “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” —John 4:24 By Andrew Hopkins Jesus said that true worshippers would worship in spirit and in truth. Part 1 spoke of worship in spirit: that it’s not about location, it’s about a heart posture. And that worship is a spiritual activity. It starts in your spirit and ministers to God, who is Spirit. This article is going to focus on what it is to worship in truth. I remember one night, scrolling through Instagram, a guy’s post of his song came up. As I watched, I could feel what he was saying. He sang with such conviction and authenticity that it moved me. His singing invited me into his story. It was like God was showing me what worship in truth was from someone who, as far as I could tell, did not believe in Jesus. To be clear, he wasn’t actually worshipping, but he was expressing his heart. And expressing it in true authenticity. I thought—this …