Unleashing Your Creative Muse

The heart of creativity is an experience of mystical union; the heart of mystical union is an experience of creativity. --Julia Cameron Julia’s statement above certainly rings true for me. I remember sitting on the banks of the Ganges River in India, while visiting the town of Rishikesh high in the Himalayas. Each day, I would spend time sitting on my meditation cushion, seeking to quiet my mind and merge into that sublime space of spiritual opening. And day after day, my mind would not stop talking to me—no matter how many hours of meditation I did (and at one point during this India stint, I was doing about 10 hours a day!) But then I would go to the sunset fire ceremony, called Aarti, and sing to the Divine, to God and Goddess in its many forms. And after a relatively brief period, my heart would open and I would melt into a God-intoxicated state, drunk on bhakti or devotion. And it was then that I realized that my own creative expression was a portal for me to access and express my full, radiant nature. And so I began to more deeply attune to the creative process and utilize it to water the plant of my soul. Of course, those of us who are drawn to the arts each have our own preferences for artistic expression. For my husband, Stephen, it’s the written word that calls forth his mystical magic. And my friend Kalila finds she can belly-dance her way to nirvana. There’s a good reason why flocks of people choose to go “sweat their prayers” at a 5-Rhythm dance jam or Ecstatic Dance on Sunday morning, instead of punching in at the local church. And the reason is that we can access our divinity through our creativity, and as we tap into its force, it enlivens us and gives a non-linear expression for the fullness of our being. And yet there are times when most of us feel creative blocks in the flow. It’s time to turn on the creative juices, but the well has run dry. What to do? Or where to get some juicy new ideas for our current creative projects? For me personally, I generally like to start my creative projects with some sort of a theme. Once I have my theme in place, then it’s a lot easier to build from there. Here are 8 tools that I use to rev up my creative engine and find an inspiring theme. 1) Begin by setting aside a chunk of time to go inward by stilling your mind through meditation or whatever process works for you. Connect with that part of yourself that is wise and universal, and inquire about what topic is calling for deeper attention at this time. If you get a clear answer, follow it! If not, proceed to the next steps. 2) Keep a file of the quotes, poems, images, songs that touch me or inspire you in some way. When I am looking for a starting point for a creative project (for example, a blog article like this one), I turn to the file and use something I find there as a jumping-off point. 3) Take note of the speeches or conversations of late that have impacted you in some way. Utilize the pieces that touched you as a starting point for a creative project. 4) Pull a card from a deck with lots of images, and see what sort of information the image might have about your creative project. You might use a Tarot Deck, the 13 Moon Oracle (my personal favorite), a Goddess deck, or even Deborah Koff-Chapin’s Soul Cards, which have images that are not tethered to any specific meanings. 5) Choose a book that is filled with wisdom. Then sit with this book, and set an intention for receiving a good idea for your creative project. Then close your eyes and open the book. With your eyes still closed, let your finger point to a passage in the book. See what good ideas might be contained in that passage (or the passages before/ after). I suggest using a book of deep poetry (Rumi and Hafiz are always good), a spiritual or religious text, or some other book that has impacted you deeply. 6) Take some time first thing in the morning to write a few pages of uncensored, stream of consciousness text (a la Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages exercise). Return to this writing later in the day to see if there are interesting ideas for you there. 7) Use someone else’s work to inspire your own. For example, when trying to write some of my own poetry, I found it helpful to listen to a recording of spoken poetry set to music (Check out Kim Rosen and Jamie Sieber at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt6UEyhjft8 and others by them on YouTube). I listen for a phrase that I really enjoy, and then I might borrow a few words to initiate my own writing. You might also hear a song with a drum beat you really like and imitate it as starting for your own creation. 8) Create an ambiance that is in-line with your theme. For example, for my recent song about Isis, her energy reminds me of lightening. So I bought an album off ITunes that was filed with sounds of a powerful storm. I played that CD over and over while I allowed the lyrics and melodies to emerge. Starting with a drum-beat or some sound effects that have the right vibe also help me get into the groove. Once you have your theme in place, and a few good morsels (for example, a quote that inspires you, a drum beat, an image, a phrase), then you are off to the races! Give yourself at LEAST an hour of undisturbed, unstructured time…. And then come back to it a few times, as if painting a house and waiting for one coat to dry before adding another. If you get stuck, go back to this process—which can also be helpful in creating a good ending to your project. In the words of the meditation teacher Goenka, you are bound to be successful, bound to be successful.