forty days of everyday inspiration

"The muse strikes 365 days 24/7. Ignoring the muse because it doesn't appear at first glance to sing in lock-step with the rest of the world tune is the real challenge for most artists, designers, entrepreneurs." - This is Not a Marketing Blog post

Over the forty days I'll share tips for everyday inspiration. This won't be philosophical, but practical. Here and now, this moment, this day, this week are we attuned and thus creating inspired products, inspired films, inspired paintings, inspired marketing campaigns, inspired suppers, inspired friendships, inspired lives?

Why forty days? It's long enough that we can get into some depth. The forty days that Jesus spent in the desert has been personally symbolic to me, and this line:  "I shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" is the inspiration for the book I started last May. Also today's Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40-day Lent period (here's Wikipedia, however I resonate more with this "New Meaning to Lent") which extends through Easter.

"Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is the high point of Carnival followed by the quiet of Ash Wednesday...It is a time when the flesh and all of the material pleasures that it apprehends are set ablaze in the passion of the moment. The fat, so to speak, is in the fire and one is left with the ashes on Wednesday." - from Mardi Gras page, New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple

For me, it's hard to hear the word ashes and not think of creativity rising from the ashes like the phoenix. I once wrote: "Experience everything in your life, witness from the heart and it'll be fodder for self-expression and growth and poignantly reaching into other's hearts."

"Poetry is just the evidence of life.
If your life is burning well,
poetry is just the ash."- Leonard Cohen

Following threads of inspiration yesterday, also known as web surfing, I land at: "Note the fact that the Greek word for Spirit, πνευμα which can be translated as "air in motion" or wind)." Basically I'm in the mood to delve into the source of creativity and cater to its whims.

"If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it." - Toni Morrison (thanks for the quote, Tracy)

So in the spirit of Lent, which is more about a deepening abidance in that sweet wind, I'll explore practical ways that we allow ourselves to be swept off our feet and bring that sensitivity into our lifework. This video helps us get started:

image Marc Chagall's Promenade

Bonus: Delving into the creative mind... The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order has two articles Mind creative and Mind Reactive and Fields of Creativity on the creative mind ("spontaneous, the mind that is aware") versus the re-active mind ("doesn’t originate anything, it just re-acts, and the reactive mind is therefore the dependent mind; it is the repetitive mind, it is the mechanical mind")

The Science of Getting Rich (entire text online) was the impetus for the movie The Secret. The author continually reassures that the creative mind is not the competitive mind. For instance: "The mind that seeks for mastery over others is the competitive mind; and the competitive mind is not the creative one."

Comments

[Siona]

Ai. Lent is here already? Last year I renounced renunciation. I'm tempted to try the same again . . . saying YES to everything is a beautiful practice, and one to which I could, perhaps, recommit.

[Kamal]

Evelyn, great idea on sharing practical tips for inspiration. I'm looking forward to reading them.

[keith ray]

This blogger I know from a writer's workshop. There's not "much" here, except possible inspirations for writing.

"Detail Muse: Drawing creative inspiration from the everyday details of life"

http://detailmuse.blogspot.com/index.html

[Evelyn Rodriguez]

Thanks so much Siona, Kamal and Keith.

Siona, 'Yes!' sounds like a beautiful practice. One of my favorites. Whatever anyone feels called to do sounds good. I was in the shower (the place of much inspiration!) when I got the idea to do this focus between Fat Tuesday and Easter.

I'm not really taking a Christian focus to it, although I may bring something nondeminational. Jack Kerouac spoke of the Holy Ghost guiding the words that he penned frequently. However not thinking I'm taking this in a spiritual direction, although Buddhists call it prajna and it's also know as the Tao to Chinese. It could be the kiss of the Beloved for Sufis.

You will notice I didn't say a thing about giving ANYthing up ;-)

[Loofa]

Just what I need! A muse!

[Siona]

And oh, Evelyn. My mother's post on Lent also reminded me of you.

http://farland.zaadz.com/blog/2007/2/an_old_story

I did notice that you /said/ nothing about giving up anything, but you seem to be abandoning beliefs all over the place . . . ;)

[Evelyn Rodriguez]

Hi Siona,
Oh, the beliefs are dropping me, not the other way around ;-) I didn't know your mom was on Zaadz too. She reminds me of the old Zen quote: "Do not search for truth, only cease to cherish opinions."

Hi Loofa,
A muse! The muse will appear everywhere soon, you'll see. But you brought up a good point about a human embodiment of the muse. I have often said my ideal partner, and I think the order says something about definitive about my preference, is a muse-collaborator-playmate-lover. I'll make sure to talk about human muses in next whatever 38 days or so.

[Tammy Strnatka]

Beautiful.

Thanks for the thanks for the Toni Morrison quote.
My name is Tammy not Tracy though. My sister's name is Tracey.

[halide]

great

[duke]

Oh great and Fantastic blogger

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/04/12/dumbo_as_artistic_inspiration.php

[lucan]

atom heart mother where it all began

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9TPf6OMA3Y