The muse is something outside of yourself that provides inspiration.
Posted 6/22/05 | Updated 5/22/20
I've been discussing how to thrive as a creative artist by connecting with different things. I thought it might be helpful to begin with some distinctions.
As I've discussed before, the Inner Artist is that part of ourselves that has been untouched by our experiences, trials, tribulations or creative roadblocks. It is infinitely creative and joyful in everything that it does.
ANY time we connect, we're also connected with Spirit. And I use the word Spirit to also refer to God, the Universe, Higher Power, something that connects us all, no matter how unique we are. While our personal definition of Spirit is unique, when we connect with that Spirit it immediately connects us with something outside of ourselves.
And that brings us to our current topic: the Muse, and how to connect with yours.
The word muse stems from the 9 muses of Greek mythology, who were responsible for inspiring creative artists and helping them remember their works (since in those days they didn't write them down). The Greek muses were also responsible for protecting history by singing about the great heroes and events of the day.
The muse is something that's outside of yourself, which provides inspiration and helps you get your creative work done.
I like that definition because with that definition I get to be a muse! And I certainly am honored when I get to fulfill that role for the creatives and artists I work with.
To have a connection with your muse you need to be tuned in to your inner voices. This is because a muse (even in the form of a coach) will not dictate, "Draw it this way", "Use this word", or "Here's the winning chord progression."
So, connecting to your muse is really a three-fold process.
Your muse is unique to you, and so are the ways you can best tune in to it. You might be able to name your muse(s) immediately, or you might need to explore a bit. You might:
This could be a person you can spend time with, a place you can visit or look at photos of, an activity you can do more of or a personal environment you can create in your creative workspace. If your muse is someone you don't know personally, like another artist you admire, this could be spending time in the presence of their work.
Allow whatever the muse has evoked to be expressed through your creative medium(s). Here's where tuning back in to your inner voice comes in. Whatever you've taken in from your external source of inspiration still needs to be filtered through your unique lens of skills, experiences, opinions, ideas and sensations. Otherwise you'd simply be reproducing exactly what you've seen or heard.
It's time to make another date with your Inner Artist only this time you're in search of your muse. Block off some time for simply noticing what inspires you if you can't help but rush home and write, draw, build, photograph, compose or otherwise create something, well, call it a happy bonus of this exercise.
What if you don't have time to go traipsing all over the city to the spots where you find inspiration? What if your creativity has a deadline? What if you have a busy life that involves other people's schedules?
Here are two possible solutions:
So, what is it about water?
"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong."
My muse whispers to me through water, if I yield to it and bend my resistance.
Copyright ©2005, Linda Dessau. All rights reserved.
Linda Dessau is the owner of Genuine Coaching Services and Content Mastery Guide. more
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