The Muse is IN Blog

1. We ARE Art Itself - If we pay attention

Virginia Woolf said, “… the whole world is a work of art; … we are the words; we are the music; we are the thing itself.”

In the dark hours, I am pretty sure I am a typo.  But when I accept the call of creative passion, I am a bold stroke of vermillion, a renegade hyperbole, or the wild fury of jazz violin. The world is a canvas to explore, a blank page to fill, and an arpeggio of waiting experiences. This moving masterpiece called “life” becomes intoxicating when it’s lived as if it were art.

What I discovered is that if I’m not awake to the inspiration that is present in every corner of my existence, or if I’m not engaged in my creative process the way I want to be, it’s because of what I’m saying to myself.

The mercilessly critical self-conversations we have are responsible for the resistance, procrastination, perfectionism, and feelings of overwhelm that make our creative expression difficult to access.

The only way I will not sentence myself to a life of frustration and regret is to change what I say to myself.  Even if high-pressured self-bullying is resulting in impressive productivity, if the enjoyment of these ventures is dampened by harsh judgment, what’s the point?

The "Muse" in Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching refers to a relationship we can have with ourselves if we decide to be artists of being alive. There are nine "muses" or voices of creativity. They aren't there to replace our judgment, they are there to speak louder.

As a celebration of the end of 2015 (for me a year filled with a LOT of typos but equal amounts of VERMILLION), and the beginning of 2016, I'd like to bring you some messages from each of the nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) in a ten part series.

We will begin with the Muse I called Aha-phrodite, the Muse of Paying Attention and Passion. This muse speaks to you when you awaken to moments of inspiration, filled with the passion to take action.

 

I'm working with Carol, a woman who is passionate about an idea she's had for over a decade. She hired me to coach her because carrying out the project feels overwhelming. She took the first steps and came up with a name for a website and then went into fear about the enormity of what she needed to do next. She was immobilized. She's not alone. This is a common response to starting something big.

Fear is a normal part of the creative process. Trying to eliminate it just makes us captive to it. Paying attention to fear encourages it but is understandable because we seem to be human and humans get weirded out by fear. Advertising moguls and the news-media depend on it. If we just let it be there and then pay attention to what we love about our idea, the energy of passion will move us along even if fear continues to mumble.

We can become the passion of art, the love that rises to the occasion with exhilaration and determination.

Then the "Kaizen" comes in and when we feel resistance, we break the enormity of a project down to steps so small, fear doesn't waste its time. Or we take a break and trust the steps we just took need to percolate. I like to say to fear, "Thank you for sharing, but I'm passionate about this idea so step aside, I have a minuscule step to take." Wearing a cape helps as well.

Here are some things we can say to ourselves from "Aha-phrodite's" desire for us to pay attention with passion:

• What do I love about what I'm wanting to do?
• What have I already done?
• What do I get to do next?
• What works to get me to show-up?

 “The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with
the light while it's here is up to us. Journey wisely.” ~Alexandra Elle
 

 (c) Jill Badonsky 2015 All right reserved

 

The Rebel Poet

 

 

The muse is
fluttering above the poet,
dangerously close to the chandelier,
holding a BIG red and black neon sign that says

WRITE!

The poet sees the sign and …..sighs.

The muse waves the sign dramatically,
and clenches her teeth together
in a large forced smile.

Poet? Sigh x 2.

The muse kicks a few clever adjectives onto the blank sheet of paper:
  shiny, wispy, ...productive.

The poet?
Swats them with a fly swatter and places them in the garbage
with the trout and pilaf leftovers from dinner last night.

The muse, slightly perturbed,
pulls out her secret stash of NOUNS:
potion, enchantment, … chandelier

The poet is checking Facebook.

 The Muse drops a few well-spiced verbs on the poet’s blank paper.
The poet pushes the verbs around with her pen,
pausing when she sees the word “go”
and then goes and puts all the verbs in a Mason Jar,

holes in the lid, and places the jar
next to the cinnamon and the thyme.
The thyme expired in ‘05.

The poet begins to write! ...
                                                          a grocery list.

 The Muse whacks herself on the head with the red and black sign,
flies out the window to visit the sculptor
who is sleeping underneath his work bench.

 The poet smiles and writes this poem.

 

Start where you are.

 

(c) Jill Badonsky 2015

My love affair

Originally developed by Abraham Maslow in 1964, peak experiences are described as  "rare, exciting, oceanic, <(really?!), deeply moving, exhilarating, elevating experiences that generate an advanced form of perceiving reality, and are even mystic and magical in their effect upon the experimenter."

I have been swimming a half mile at La Jolla cove ^ at sunrise a couple times a week for the past several months. I'm accompanied by sea lions, Garibaldi fish, pelicans, occasionally my friend Reba, and sometimes, off in the distance, I can see dolphins and whales romping (see photo below). One day, Jonathan Livingston seagull floated by and said "Baaach!"  I think he meant Richard Bach.

The activity feels like a peak experience; Maslow is nodding. In fact I actually say to myself, THIS is a peak experience as I watch the sun emerge from the clouds, feel the waves' perpetual cycling and relish the water suspending me. I'm not sure if announcing that to myself counts but despite being robbed, scammed, and having terrible misunderstandings with cherished others in October, when I'm swimming at dawn, there's nothing there but the ocean and a space for creative ideas to float by my consciousness.  Bliss.

I'm present with this sea because my focus on the creative process has prepared me for it. Focusing on the creative process is practice with being present with every aspect of being alive, not just my art and writing. And in a world where focus is constantly hijacked by the myriad of shiny and chocolate covered things, that's a blessing.

Creativity requires a love affair with the present moment –it is the pinnacle of mindfulness because in the creative process we are lost IN the moment. And it is here where our spirit is alive with expression and we are experiencing a freedom like nothing else.  

 What if we were so present with THIS moment, the one we're in right NOW, that we would be able to write about it two months from now? You don't have to do that, but what if you played with the possibility? What feelings, sensations, visuals, realizations are in this moment for you? What do you notice about your mind when you do that? Is there more space? Let's go for oceanic.

 I'd love to hear what stands out for you the most about this moment or what love affair is all about being present for you?

Roxy, a photographer at the Cove, snapped this photo at a swim the other day.

 

(c) 2015 Jill Badonsky