Interviews with The Nine Modern Day Muses

Bea Silly: Muse of Play, Laughter, and Dance

By Molly Anderson-Childers & Jill Badonsky

Welcome to the Realm of the Ridiculous, the City of Silliness, the Garden of Goofy. That’s right, readers — this month, I’ll be interviewing Bea Silly, the Muse of Play, Laughter, and Dance. My interviews with Bea Silly and her fellow Muses can be found right here on Creativity Portal — each month, I’ll be working with a different Muse to bring you inspiration, surprises, and silly, delightful ways to dance with creativity! Bea Silly, it’s a pleasure to work with you today!

Q: Who are some of your favorite creatively silly mortals — alive or dead — who have been inspired and delighted by your playful energy and sense of fun?

A: One of my best projects has been Ellen, I lunch with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, and hang in the rafters over the Daily Show. You may have noticed that words such as Google, Stumble Upon, and Yahoo have emerged — and though they sound silly, mortals are attracted to silly these days. "Silly" is becoming a lucrative movement...it's because I've been hanging out in corporations as well. Every mortal who knows the value of play and laughter and silliness, is in my fan club and I in theirs.

Q: Do Muses make resolutions to ring in the New Year, the way mortals do? If so, what are some of your resolutions for 2010 and beyond?

A: Muses know the folly of New Year's resolutions. We subscribe to the belief that mortals work best when they run on the intuition in the moment. So, although we encourage mortals to decide on an intention to follow like a North Star…the intuition in the moment may bring more action in alliance with what their souls really need to shoot for. We encourage mortals to follow North Stars such as joy, inner peace, higher purpose, service and creativity — where the intuition leads mortals following these essences will always be the right action…even if for some weeks it means daydreaming about the next small step.

If mortals asked the child-like spirit inside of themselves, what three things would feel good today in terms of their higher purpose…rather than forcing a linear agenda, their child-like spirit, which can be responsible for colossal resistance, would be more cooperative. That said, any intention, goal or resolution can be made more enticing by making it fun, or by rewarding the small steps that make it up in a fun way.

If I were to ask myself today what I might be intuitively drawn toward… it would be nudging that Badonsky girl to get writing on her third book. It's going to be silly in a good and inspiring way.

Q: The Modern Day Muse Cards are a fabulous invention! Can you tell me a little bit more about this new creative tool, and your role in its creation?

A: Well, you know that Badonsky girl I mentioned up above?…I DID sprinkle her with a mixture of Muse dust, silly string, raspberry flavored pixie stick dust, glitter adhesive and some baking soda — because I thought it was funny. But after she showered, she sat down and made illustrated cards for all the Muses. The cards are very powerful and should be used only when you've done several yogic breathing exercises, have sung the word Zugggg for 10 minutes continuously while petting a cat, and are nowhere near a grass blower….

But seriously…the powers of the Muses can be called up by picking a card and applying the principle of that Muse to whatever project is at hand. You'd be amazed how effective this can be with a Muse-blessed deck. Furthermore, when you buy a deck you are automatically invited into the Muse Card Secret Society website, which gives you all sorts of uses for the cards. I'd give you the website but that would be silly — you can't get in without a password. But if you buy the cards, you can get them here, you will receive the secret entry information.

Q: What are some of the projects and plans you’re excited about for the future?

A: I'm VERY excited about Jill Badonsky's new program: "So What I'll Do it Anyway, Invincible Will for Focus and Follow-up." The So What I'll Do it Anyway part of the title is one of my most powerful tools to help mortals stay true to their creative call. It is derived from the power of the inner brat to disregard any inner or outer detractor. For example, if you say to yourself "I'm not good enough," or "I'm too old," or "What if my creative passion is a waste of time?"…the inner brat can be activated in the interest of breaking through these unhelpful and fictitious fears. If he or she says "So what, I'll do it anyway!" permission is fueled, inspiration is engaged and we have more will to get to those things that call to us.

Q: What’s one thing that anyone — no matter their age, budget, or circumstance — can do to keep their creative juices flowing and generate new ideas?

A: They can set aside time to use their imagination. There are so many moments in the day when a little imagination can shift our entire experience of ourselves and our world. We can pretend and act "as if" we are more courageous, more patient, more resourceful, more creative. Funny thing happens when we are pretending these things…we all of sudden start BEING these things.

Journal writing, listing, writing very short stories and poems…these things can be done in 2 to 5 minutes and can result in a continual flow from the fountain of creativity.

Asking the small question: "How can I make this fun?" is a virtual elixir for the creative process. My philosophy of play and fun is one of the most vibrant and popular tools in Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching.

Q: What’s your favorite way to beat the winter blues and fight stress?

A: Watching funny movies, looking at you-tubes of animals, rereading funny things mortals have written, and taking a journey in my imagination. Laughing at how funny we are as humans and what a good sense of humor the Creative Spirit has is a sure-cure. Putting on music where you can't sit still is a guarantee to obliterate blues as well.

Q: How does motion open you up to receive inspiration? Can you tell our readers more about Muse Walks and how they work?

A: The body is filled with creative ideas. Ideas cannot resist it when the body moves playfully...it may take time if your ideas are stuck behind your fear...but movement with the intention of being playful dislodges ideas that have been stuck for ions. Play’s active spontaneity is the optimal condition for creativity. That’s why dance and movement are part of my domain. Exercise and any other kind of physical activity can also elicit ideas. The energy of exercise releases stress so the mind is free to connect to the ideas behind the tension. Even moving your hand over the paper can muster up some power for you…the subconscious responds to action, and the subconscious leads us around like a mother duck.

Q: In Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) you suggest some rather unusual ways to get beyond creative blocks. How does throwing a tantrum or rebelling against a deadline help to fuel an artist’s creativity?

A: Walking around stomping your feet can physically release some of your resentment toward being so responsible by giving the inner child a voice. We suppress so many feelings as we get older. Stomping your feet plugs into the child inside of you, makes your body release from our usual composed adult like stance into a novel one, and frees tension. This engages, again, that ever important child-like spirit who can then spontaneously move into ideas.

Real deadlines really shouldn't be ignored, but there is a psychological mischievousness that can be activated to fool the rebellious inner child. Put “cleaning the fridge" or "watching TV" on your to-do list and then, INSTEAD, sneak into your studio or writing space to MAKE STUFF. This is a fun experiment to practice to appease the rebellious side that is so common among the creative. Make your rebellion work for you.

Q: Any closing remarks, or words of inspiration for our readers?

A: Just some quotes from my section in the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard):

“Play is the exultation of the possible.” — Martin Buber

“A child's attitude toward everything is an artist's attitude.”
— Willa Cather

"He who hesitates is frost.” — Eskimo proverb

Next: Interview with Muse Song »

© 2009 Molly Anderson-Childers and Jill Badonsky. 12/31/09