Sparking the Wonder Within

“Muses work all day long and then at night get together and dance.”
-- Edgar Degas

THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSES

What's all the fuss about muses? Haven't muses been portrayed as rather moody or fickle, as unpredictable or inaccessible, much like goddess figures in ancient mythology? Ancient Muses are supposed to inspire different branches of the arts, and I'm sure they were understood and used in ways appropriate to their era, however, we are not stuck with only the ancient muses!

Today we have a remarkable new set of Modern Day Muses, invented by Jill Badonsky. They are not all female, so we have some gender balance now, to address both our feminine and masculine sides. These nine re-invented Muses not only inspire us, they also address specific obstacles to creativity and help us understand the process of creating. The Bodyguard gives us tools of protection for the new learning and transformation we go through when we take the Muse Journey.

As we study these new Muses, we begin to tangibly experience how creative energy can be summoned from a world beyond our fingertips, in some ways like artists in the past would summon their muses. The difference today is that, as we learn the tools and integrate the wisdom, each person gets to flex his or her own unique Muse energy, contained within the imagination. Like the message of the recent book and DVD The Secret, part of what we must do is believe in it, begin to name it, and call it forth.

Muse energy is like inspiration but somewhat different. Each Modern Day Muse energy has a character and quality for different creative challenges. You may need Muse support for nurturing and healing, or you may need to call forth an audacious and bold attitude. You may need innovative techniques and outside the box solutions, or you may want support to deal with dark and intense feelings.

Other times will require a light and silly frame of mind, or a quiet and observant way of being. Sometimes a person in the midst of creative process needs to remember why it's going to be OK to take three steps forward and five in another direction. And another Modern Day Muse energy will provide that gentle kick in the butt that deals with the "I don't feel like it right now, but I know I need to" scenario.

Muse Albert, who is the Muse of Imagination and Innovation, helped me compose the following exercise. Albert assists in thinking differently and provides tools to trigger ideas. Discover how your Muse energy speaks to you. Try this three part exercise for reawakening and enriching your imagination.

MUSE JOURNALING EXERCISE

This is a visualization and writing exercise, so you will need paper and pen. Start with a 5 minutes of sitting still in a quiet place where there are no distractions. Breathe deeply and allow all your senses to activate. If you need help with this, email me and I will send you a Guided Visualization.

This is a “What If…” exercise in which you continue the thought after breathing deeply and sitting with one question. Becoming aware is best done in small steps.

Recommendations:

Consider one question per sitting; allow yourself just to ponder the “What if…”
There is no pressure to write immediately.
You may want to describe what you are experiencing out loud to yourself.
The next day ponder the same question.
Allow your sensations and images to flourish until you feel that spark of wonder.
When you feel it you may choose to start writing.
Learn to pace yourself as slowly as you wish. There is no hurry!

EXERCISE, PART ONE

Choose a question to ask yourself...

What if my Muse were a sound?
What if my Muse were a cuisine?
What if my Muse were a rhythm?
What if my Muse were an animal?
What if my Muse were a pattern?
What if my Muse were an energy?
What if my Muse were a hiking trail?
What if my Muse were a body of water?
What if my Muse were a color combination?
What if my Muse were a historical event?

Answer the question by completing the sentence
If my Muse were a sound, I would be…
Write your descriptions without deliberation after your sensations have given you clues.

If this does not work for you, and you would like to know more about how creativity coaching can help, email me at coaching@sparkingart.com.

Here is what I wrote after I first designed the exercise:

What if my Muse were architecture?

I would be a door beckoning to the inner light.
I would be stucco, colored by a summer sunset, showing different gradations each passing moment.
I would be an arched window with gathered, semi-transparent window dressing.
I would be a brick patio, each brick a different red or pink.
I would be a brick encrusted with live green moss.

EXERCISE, PART TWO

Choose one sentence, change to the present tense, and write a story…

A three or four sentence story is very sufficient. The example below was refined after a much shorter beginning and is the result of several meditations. Take yours as far as you want. I use mine here as a teaching example of what one can do with it.

I am a door beckoning to the inner light.
I chose this description because I love to photograph doors.

I am a Door with magnetic energy beckoning Magical Ideas to enter through my archway. The light through the doorway is golden. My entrance is to a Kitchen from which enticing and inviting aromas are emanating. Now I am myself and I walk through the door and marvel at all the powers that I have. I can control the light in the room and the time of day with a Mere Thought. The oversized kitchen instruments look strangely like people and can be animated by a mere Twinkle of Invitation. A giant wooden spoon dances into hand. I begin to Stir Ideas Together in a pot on the floor stove. I can not be burned at this stove, because I am protected from extreme heat and cold. The pot is full, it has too much in it. If I get overwhelmed by the possibilities here, I have a control switch which puts everything on hold; this allows me to lie down on a Magic Carpet and be transported to the Room in Which to Lull. Here I take a nap, and then I wake to write the next Recipe for my Ideas…

I visualized immediately going into a kitchen through the doorway, because I like architecture and I like to prepare food. It appears that the recipe metaphor and animation work for me. These affinities immediately provided images and ideas for the beginning of a story.

I could have stayed with being the architecture itself, but I found myself shifting into being inside the architecture, so I went with that flow. It is important not to let any exercise limit one’s imagination.

EXERCISE, PART THREE

Journal about your story to find the gems of inner wisdom…

I share two gems about creativity in the story I wrote, messages that arise from my inner knowing. One is a reminder about pacing myself (taking a rest) when I see the soup brimming over (too many things going on in that pot). The other is about eliminating some ideas (making a recipe and limiting the ingredients) so my soup pot does not overflow and douse the fire, as I need my sparks!

There are clues to several creativity tools here that I use in coaching. The recipe is a beginning point for getting organized and starting small, as it will point to the first step. The recipe also gives me some structure for an action plan, and something to modify, if I find there is resistance to getting started or resistance to the plan. The plan will change. These tools help to decrease overwhelm, which sometimes can be a stubborn obstacle to creativity.

However, note that I do not create art with recipes, I merely generate my Get Started attitude with a small recipe of steps, which are like a springboard for action.

“You can have no recipe with art. If you follow a recipe, you're negating the creative act.”
— Denise Hare

If you are willing, I would love to hear about your experience of this exercise and receive any of your stories. Please share by sending to musestories@sparkingart.com.

See A Journey With the Muses, Coaching, or Schedule

“O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.”
— William Shakespeare

Sparking the Wonder Within

THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSES

MUSE JOURNALING EXERCISE

Recommendations:

EXERCISE, PART ONE

EXERCISE, PART TWO

EXERCISE, PART THREE

LINKS

Places to go:

PENINSULA - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

SAN FRANCISCO

EAST BAY

NORTH BAY

Some Mentors and Teachers:

Some Inspiring Artists: