Creative Solutions and Inspirations from the Modern Day Muses

Muse Profile: Lull

Excerpted from the book The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard: 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers, and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence by Jill Badonsky, M.Ed.

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Lull

MUSE OF
Pause, diversion, & gratitude

MEANING OF NAME
A break, a pause, a space in between

DOMAIN
Honoring the cycle of creativity where letting go works best, adding the power of gratitude

SYMBOL

HOW LULL CAN MUSE YOU
Doing Nothing with a Muse called Lull

THE SELECTION of LULL

So the Muses were working incredibly hard to reinvent themselves into these Modern Day versions of the Greek inspiration brokers. They had successfully come up with five Muses when, zap! Muse-revamping came to an abrupt halt. They still had some slots left to fill, but they could not think of what would work next. They made all sorts of facial contortions, had a few brain strains, and Bea Silly’s attention span was completely shot. They tried hard to control the process by auditioning various Muses, hiring a Muse from an escort service, and attempting to rehabilitate a Muse with a bad reputation. They were trying too hard — then it dawned on them, “Duh! We need a break!”

As often as it happened, they were still surprised when the juices dried up without warning. So they took a break. One of them went skiing in the French Alps for awhile, and one of them laid in the grass and looked at the pale moon in the daytime sky, but most were fine with just being still. They just stopped doing what they were doing to rest, to let-go, to listen and to receive. That’s how they came up with the next new Muse, Lull.

BOTTOM LINE

Sometimes, in the creative process, the next right step is to let go, pause, and give time for our vast resources to connect and spring into new ideas. Surrender to the natural cycle of creativity. Fill with new sensations. Meditate. Turn your attention to mind stimulating activities. Let go of trying to control things. Trust in the process. Celebrate the creative rejuvenation of rest and pause. Say thanks. •

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Copyright © Jill Badonsky, 2001. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Jill Badonsky
Jill Badonsky, M.Ed. is a nationally recognized workshop leader, artist, performer, humorist, and author of the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence. She teaches creativity lovers to facilitate classes and workshops based on her book and along with UCLA psychologist, Robert Maurer, she trains people to be Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaches. She can be found lurking at www.themuseisin.com.

05/12/07