Creative Solutions and Inspirations from the Modern Day Muses

Fun is an Elixir of Spontaneous Ideas

By Jill Badonsky, Muse Channeler M. Ed.

PLUS: Meet the Muse Bea Silly

“You can't make footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt, and who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?” — Bob Moawad

Bea Silly is the Muse of Play, Humor and Lightening Up. She is the third Muse in the modern day upgrade that happened when the classic Greek Muses were unable to keep up with the pressures and distractions of the 21st century.

Bea Silly is all about play. Taking the creative process too seriously can choke off its flow. Putting too much pressure on yourself to perform perfectly, shuts off the flow of ideas that come with lightness, uninhibited play, and sleeping backwards on your bed.

In Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching we find that questions are vital to the creative process. We ask a lot of them and we prescribe small ones to clients as antecedents for AH-HA experiences. The brain loves to play with questions; the mode of curiosity is closest to that of the child. When we ask questions we activate the brains percolation systems and this is very creative indeed. Ask yourself:

• “How can I make my creative project more fun?”

• “What would this creative project tell me if it could talk to me?”

• “What would happen if I got silly about this idea?”

• “What can I name this project to make it more fun?”

• “What absurd or amusing thing can I do with this idea?”

• “Who else could I invite to play with this idea?”

• “What other fun questions can I ask about this endeavor?”

• “Where’s the chocolate?”

Like I said in the title, fun is an elixir of spontaneous ideas. Solutions that seemed so evasive earlier appear effortlessly in the midst of play. To engage in the kind of play that stimulates ideas, mortals need to take themselves less seriously and make room for making things up, kidding, and goofing off. Bea Silly advocates the mortal prerogative to be silly, foolish, and frivolous, and thus, have fun. She wants mortals to step out of the adult mode that, because of its tight adherence to unbendable rules, leaves little room for creative discoveries.

A light mind creates an inner playground for ideas. Insecurities mortals have about letting down their adult guard, and thus look foolish, need to be reexamined for the benefit of creative exhilaration. Who is the fool? The childlike mortal with a lightness of heart dancing with the spontaneity of mischievous ideas, or the strictly adult mortal who takes himself too seriously? So often in Shakespeare plays it is the fool that makes the wisest observation strewn with humor and alive with play.

Take two minutes right now and write down all the ways you could bring fun and play into your creative life. List quickly and include the silly, the absurd, and the playful. •

Copyright © Jill Badonsky, 2007. 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.

01/13/07