Jill Badonsky has taken the creative process and made it more accessible by personifying her ten creative principles in the form of nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard).
The Modern Day Muses are playful and profoundly practical ways to tap into your creativity and overcome the blocks of fear, overwhelm, perfectionism, procrastination, low-self confidence, self-sabotage, being "focus-challenged", and having difficulty making time. Each Modern Day Muse gifts the creativity seeker with tools, thoughts, exercises, quotes, journal exercises and brainstorms that trick them into falling into the creative flow...effortlessly.
Principles in a nutshell:
1. Aha-phrodite: Paying attention is crucial to the discovery of an idea and the passion of an idea is moved to the next stage by using the powers of paying attention in its myriad of ways: observation, questions, shifting thoughts to possibility and the present, embracing inspiration with laser focus, writing down the idea before it disappears.
2. Albert: The ability to think and be different differentiates the idea, the process and the person from everyone else. It begins the process of innovation and in many circumstances moves one from playing small to ... joy and expansion.
3. Bea Silly: Playing with ideas, making the process fun instead of serious, lightening up instead of choking the process with rigidity, these approaches allow creativity to arise as it would for the uninhibited child.
4. Muse Song: Abundant self-nurturing, kind thoughts and surrounding the self with believing spirits has an underestimated effect on creative output. Techniques to give oneself credit and to focus on what works, shift the creativity seeker to coming from a full place instead of an empty one.
5. Spills: The permission to be imperfect, to lower standards, to relax into the process has busted blocks for an untold amount of creative seekers. When practice is touted as essential and is made easy and enticing - progress and joy is inevitable.
6. Audacity: Courage, confidence, liberation from the opinions of others = creative freedom and grand leaps into creative evolution even when small steps are taken.
7. Lull: Do not underestimate the importance of taking a break, allowing subconscious connections to take place during inactivity, taking stock of gratitude, daydreaming, dappling in other areas... for these are dynamic tools in the creative process.
8. The Shadow Muse: Embrace your darkness for its potential to inspire art, for the freedom it gives you to be human unapologetically, for the understanding, compassion and connection it provides you with for creative breakthroughs and light.
9. Marge: One must actually show-up and engage in the process for creativity to happen, but there are ways that make it easier. Small steps, structure, classes, partnering, creativity-coaching, all these things give the sometimes distracted creative seeker a container in which to thrive.
10. The Bodyguard: Because of all the detractors to the creative process, there needs to be ways to ruthlessly protect the idea, the intention and the time set aside for creative endeavors. The Bodyguard has answers, anchors, comebacks, and a few other secrets.
Based on the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration by Jill Badonsky (originally published by Penguin/Putnam) Rights were purchased by the Modern Day Muses themselves and to illustrious 3rd edition is out!
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The current edition of The Nine Modern Day Muses can be purchased here.
O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.
~William Shakespeare
