Interviews with The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard)

Interview with Albert

Muse of Imagination and Innovation

By Molly Anderson-Childers & Jill Badonsky

Jill Baldwin Badonsky is the author of Nine Modern-Day Muses and a Bodyguard and The Muses’ Awe-manac. Helping mortals connect with inspiration is her specialty. In an effort to help bring inspiration your way, we are teaming up for a series of interviews with the Muses. In October, I interviewed Arnold, The Bodyguard. Last month, I got a glimpse of Aha-Phrodite’s world and learned to keep my eyes peeled — there’s inspiration everywhere, if we remember to pay attention! This month, I’m working with Albert, the Muse of Imagination and Innovation. Welcome to Creativity Portal, Albert! It’s my pleasure to work with you today.

Q: Sources tell me you’re the only male Muse; and the only Muse inspired by a mortal. Tell our readers how this came to pass.

A: (Albert talks with a thick German accent so we fed his answers through an accent-straightener so you would easily understand his important wisdom).

Greetings Mortals. I, Muse Albert, am about defying the obvious for the innovative, moving from the mundane to the magical. I am about surprises to the cerebrum and my mission is to inspire mortals to see with new eyes so that what they were used to seeing one way, can be construed in a much different way — possibly one filled with more joy, more prosperity, but indubitably with more resourcefulness.

When the other Muses were constructing the second Modern Day Muse (that would be me), protocols were broken, boundaries were stretched and sauerkraut was used as tinsel. Thus, in the spirit of breaking rules, I am a male instead of a female. And not only THAT, a mortal inspired my selection in a realm where Muses usually inspire mortals. [weird laughter] When the Muses assigned me, they snickered at this disobedient gesture of pure genius, and then I can’t remember which one, but one of them said “Well, we’ve got to throw in some surprises or else the mortal mind will stall in complacency when it could be cruising in possibility.”

Q: It’s easy to slip into default thinking; an automatic response based on old, tired, thought patterns that don't necessarily work anymore. Can you talk about ways readers can shift into a different mode and explore “possibility thinking” when they’re stuck for an idea or searching for inspiration?

A: The acronym that can help mortals slip into possibility thinking is P.A.G.E.: Personas, Attitudes, Genres and Emotions. By choosing a different point of view through these devices, mortals can think different things. Imagine asking a question and instead of answering from your usual selection of solutions, choose a persona like a Wise Man, an attitude like Invincible Self-Confidence, a Genre like Science Fiction, or an Emotion like Reckless Joy, and see what different ideas you come up with. Invite yourself to be absurd and you may stumble into new ideas that are actually brilliant because you've given yourself permission to go past the obvious. In Jill Badonsky's book, The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder, there are lists of playful Viewfinders in the back of the book that you can easily use to amp up your possibility thinking.

Q: In today’s challenging economy, many artists are unemployed, or working outside their fields to make ends meet. Can you give readers some creative ideas that will help pay the bills, stretch a buck further, or cut expenses?

A: The answer to this will be different according to the reader because many creative minds see this recession as a time to get creative whereas others are stuck in lack-thinking. My decree to think differently includes the reinvention of yourself and this economy gives people stuck in old, tired, joyless patterns a reason to think differently about themselves. Reinvention is all about realizing there is a choice in how we frame our situation, some of the choices empower us and some send us in a downward spiral. New thoughts need to be practiced; they don't change our reality overnight. Mind-mapping, treasure-mapping, brainstorming, visualization, wanting what we have, inviting in trust to replace fear and joy to replace dread — and PRACTICING these thoughts AND the feelings they can create in our body is guaranteed to manifest new prosperous avenues. I've seen it over and over. When recessions happen, the mortal can turn from the fascination with material objects to the fulfillment of creative expression.

Q: I really enjoyed the “Brainfeast” section in Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard. Can you explore these techniques a little here, and help readers generate new creative ideas and inspiration?

A: You're talking about my Physics of New Ideas: The suggestions are designed to expand your mind so that you think in new ways, and consequently come up with new directions. They stretch open your mind into the world of imagination and as Einstein himself said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Knowledge is fixed. The concepts I share in the book involve the boundless imagination. They include:

Listing, Associations, Connections, Repetition, Personification (The Modern Day Muses are an example), Relocation, Exaggeration

Just to give you an example of a few of these concepts in action: Take a problem in your life at present. In your journal exaggerate it way out of proportion. Dramatize your reactions to it. Create new characters if you feel the need. Bring in your own special spirit guides to help out. Invite background singers, firemen, the clergy, police, superheroes, characters from different movies to join you. Ask yourself: What in your life can you minimize? Talk about a very important event nonchalantly.

Q: How do you incorporate the theory of relativity into your work with mortals?

A: I have listed five concepts in the Nine Modern Day Muses book that give mortals the secrets to relativity in the realm of creativity. Here are two of them:

1. You will enjoy life relative to how much you are inclined to think about life in a way that makes it worth enjoying.


2. You are creative relative to whether you think you are creative or not.

Q: What is your single greatest source of inspiration and new ideas?

A: Asking small questions without requiring an immediate answer. Small questions program the subconscious to think differently. The subconscious begins to play with many of the concepts I've mentioned above, such as associations, connections, and possibilities. Soon, a question like, "What's one small way I can make this more unique?" will result in many ideas. Questions such as "How come I can't come up with original ideas?" or "Why aren't I good enough?" need to be hammered flat, folded into an airplane and sailed out a window with just the right aerodynamics so that they land in the recycling bin and are eventually made into something that cannot be remembered.

Q: Any last words of advice for budding geniuses and creative souls?

A: Remember that there is more than one right answer to how to approach your thinking, your creative passion and your life. Know that if the rules someone gives you in the creative process do not honor your intuitive genius, CHANGE THEM and understand this as ingenuity. Remember that my hair stands straight up like the real Albert Einstein's because there are more important things to do than make your hair lie flat and thinking differently is the path to being truly original. •

Next: Interview with Bea Silly »

Exciting Muse-Flash!!!! Modern Day Muse Cards are now available for you to invite their power into your world, where the secrets of creative success become yours in a playful, imaginative and long-lasting way. Visit here and scroll down.

Visit www.themuseisin.com for more information about the work of Jill Badonsky and the Modern Day Muses.

© 2009 Molly Anderson-Childers and Jill Badonsky. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Molly Anderson-Childers
Molly Anderson-Childers is a writer, artist, and creativity consultant living in Durango, Colorado. She's published work locally, nationally, and online and welcomes inquiries about freelance writing assignments. Learn more about Molly at her blogs: stealingplums.blogspot.com and addictivefiction.blogspot.com.

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12/4/09