Introducing …The Monthly Muse: Inspirational Guest Articles
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In Greek mythology, muses were female goddesses or spirits who inspired humans to create literature or art. Cultures worldwide recognize goddesses of creativity as muses that promote artistic creation. For example in Celtic culture Brighid is honored as the Goddess of Healing, Creativity & Poetry, and in the Hindu tradition, Devi is worshipped as the Goddess of Creativity
Recently, while working in my studio, I had an idea to create The Monthly Muse, a new section of my blog that will feature a guest article once a month written by a Holistic Practitioner, Life Coach, Artist, Educator, or Art Therapist. The article will be written in the original voice of the guest writer, and shall serve as an opportunity for them to share their experience, wisdom, and stories with our readers. The article will be published the last weekend of every month. Please contact me if you would like to collaborate and increase your exposure through my blog.
Linger a while longer, and continue reading to see how artists benefit by uniting art and spirituality. Learn the rewards of invoking the muses and divinity in the creative process. Here are three simple tips to help you get inspired and take some creative action:
1. Preparation: Invoke the Muses
Generally an artist invoked the grace and presence of the muses as a type of ritual before beginning an artistic work. For example Dante’s Inferno includes the following:
O Muses, O high genius, aid me now!
O memory that engraved the things I saw,
Here shall your worth be manifest to all!
(Anthony Esolen translation, 2002)
Before beginning a creative project, it is good to follow this advice. Take a few minutes to meditate and center yourself before you begin to write, paint, etc. and open yourself to inspiration for your creative endeavors. This is a very nice practice, and will help unleash your creative potential.
2. Inspiration: Visit a Museum
A museum (from the Latin mouseion meaning “a place where the muses were worshipped”) is a spiritual place, since it contains great art or other artifacts that were created by an artist, who in turn was inspired by the muses or a divine source.
Joseph Campbell, the famous American mythologist went to visit the American Museum of Natural History with his father when he was a young boy. He was mesmerized by Native American masks and totem poles, and this led to his lifelong fascination with mythology. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars in the field of mythology, and has inspired countless people with his famous phrase “Follow your Bliss!”. It all started with a visit to a museum …
I really believe that a museum is a spiritual place. I always feel inspired to rush home to my studio and paint after I have visited a museum. This past summer, myself and my friend/colleague visited the Phoenix Art Museum. As a result of this trip, we were inspired to create an integrated art and literature curriculum which resulted in some great student writing and wonderful found art self portraits.
3. Creation: Go with the Flow
Do you ever lose track of time when you create? Do you feel energized and fulfilled after finishing a project? Positive psychology describes “flow” as a state of being totally immersed in an activity, and feeling energized, focused, and joyous while performing a task. A feature of this state is also losing a sense of time.
Immerse yourself in your creative project and don’t be too attached to any particular outcome for your work. Go with the creative “flow”, and see what happens. Sometimes those “happy accidents” lead our work in a whole new direction we may not have even considered previously.
Invoke the muses, get inspired, and start creating! Write a guest article for my blog, and increase your exposure on the web!
What inspires you?
When is the last time you visited a museum?
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