Day 4 – The Myth of Inspiration
Posted on | December 11, 2009 | 17 Comments
I use the word “inspiration” a lot, but when I use it, I usually mean it in terms of wanting to achieve a greater good or aspire to a greater goal because of something or someone I have encountered along the way. Let’s use Nelson Mandela as an example. What he was able to do, to accomplish, despite the circumstances in his life (or perhaps because of those circumstances) proves what humans are capable of, given the proper amount of passion and commitment. He inspires me. How about Bono. What he has done with his fame and money, the good he has achieved, the minds, bodies, societies he has affected in positive ways proves that money and power can be used for good. That inspires me. The ocean inspires me. It is a grand and powerful example of the miracle of creation and the small, important place we have within that.
I am inspired by spontaneous expressions of affection, by anonymous acts of charity, by conspicuous acknowledgment of good work and good deeds. I am inspired by those who come to see their potential, and those who strive to fulfill it with dedication. I am inspired by much in my life. Even, sometimes, chocolate cake, if it is dark and rich enough.
Writers, artists in general (and I include myself here, on those days when I’m pretentious enough to call myself an artist) use the word “inspiration” with a different meaning. They (we) think of it as some sort of divine spark, the kiss of the Muse, some still, small voice whispering eloquent ideas that bypass all our mental faculties and allow us to create spontaneously. Many even wait around for this inspiration to hit, all the while producing nothing, affecting no one.
I think, for the most part, that inspiration thought of in this way is a myth.
I can hear the hoots from artists everywhere. My own inner artist is hooting right now, as I type. I’m sure I will get people wanting to express to me in the most vehement terms the almost out-of-body experiences they have had when deep in the creative process. Yes. I know. I have experienced those wonderful moments, also. Or rather, not moments, they seem outside of time. When in that kind of creative state, time no longer exists for you, nor do the needs of your body. Or your family. Or that noisy cat who hasn’t been fed for the fourteen hours you have been under the spell of it.
This is not really inspiration. Many artists use that notion to exclude the general populace from thinking they can create art. “It is something only we special people have.” Pheh. Anyone can learn to have those experiences. It is not a Muse whispering new thoughts into your ears. It is not from outside yourself. It is, instead, the flower that grows in a well-tilled garden. Those thoughts, those creations, occur because you have cleared the way for them, sometimes over a very long period of time, often without you realizing that’s what you are doing, but you can do it consciously.
Steve and I are often asked where we come up with our ideas. The easy answer would be “we were inspired”. It’s one we rarely use, even when we’re being lazy. The truth is that we have trained our minds to think, and when your mind thinks, it will come up with some surprising things. We observe all the time. But we observe in a way that many people don’t. It’s a simple adjustment that anyone can make, and I recommend making it: We have trained ourselves to notice our observations. Sometimes they then become dormant for years, bubbling and boiling in what Paul Sheele calls the “other than conscious mind.” But if we hadn’t noticed them consciously, they would remain external, unusable.
To go back to the image of the flowers in a well-tilled garden, a farmer can spend years clearing the land, pulling the rocks out, softening the soil, fertilizing it with good, old-fashioned cow dung. This is you being educated, you reading, you letting other art wash over you, letting the world wash over you consciously. The farmer plants the seeds early. Some bulbs get planted years before they bloom. It can take an acorn up to a half century to produce another acorn, but that does not mean that second acorn spontaneously appeared after being whispered to by a Muse.
After the allotted time, the plants then grow. Some of them surprise you with their beauty, their strangeness, their originality, they seem effortless, but you have worked hard for them.
Leaving that analogy behind before it twists itself into something unrecognizable and unusable, if you train your mind to write, it will write. Journal. Jot. Train your mind to observe. Notice and admire stray thoughts. Notice and admire stray happenings. Notice and admire the mundane. As you notice and celebrate life you will “attract” more life worth celebrating because that’s what you’ve trained yourself to notice and it’s always already around you.
The more you encourage yourself to do that, the more you will be able to produce your art. You can call it inspiration if you want to, you can call it a gift from the Muse or the Divine or the Universe, you can call it Fred if you’re desperate, but know that it is precisely (to go back to my rickety metaphor and mix it a little) because you have tilled your mind that the Muse and the Divine and the Universe can chat with you.
~ Geoff Hoff
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December 11th, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
Dear Geoff,
Beautiful and eloquent…
I am in agreement with 99% of what you have written.
I love the clear and concise picture you have presented to show us how a simple word can have such a variety of meaning.
The other 1%…well,
IMHO ~ The second version of inspiration that you speak of does not rely solely on content that has been consciously or unconsiously recorded on the cells of our brain inside our own personal body.
In the whole, every thought, deed and act has been recorded and makes up the field of conserved awareness. In the state of “living in the present moment”, we can tap into that field and experience inspirations of things that seem to lay outside of the information that has been imprinted.
Of course, if one never learns to delve into that deeper place and relies solely on the content of their thinking mind…their life expresses as information in…information out.
Kat~
December 11th, 2009 @ 1:51 pm
I love your post. I think you are right on the money here except for one small point -
You say you have trained you mind to “think,” and that is the basis of the idea flow. I suggest that if anything it’s that you’ve trained your mind to NOT think, but to watch and observe and take note of that’s really the key.
The other key I’ve found for myself that I wanted to mention is to always, always, always, have a way of recording ideas close to hand, and record them immediately. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had an idea, and said to myself, I’ll write it down after I finish the sentence I’m writing on something else. More often then not, the idea is gone by the time I go to write it down, even if I’m sure I’ll remember it….
Andy
andydolph.com
December 11th, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Kat – in a sense, I agree that there are things that hit you, seemingly from outside. It is almost an axiom that, it you don’t act on an idea, someone else will. Also, you talk about that “Intuitive Leap”, those thoughts and ideas that weren’t predictable and that changed the game, to use a tired expression.
What I am proposing is that it is not the exclusive realm of that “special class” called artists; that it is something anyone and everyone can develop. We can culture ourselves to experience it. I am also talking about being responsible for your art, your creation or lack of creation. If you are not creating, it isn’t because you are not inspired, it’s because you are not creating. Go write something. Splash some color on a canvas. Tell your mind you’ll do it even if it’s not good and eventually your mind will get it and it will be good. This is what I think the Law of Attraction really is, by the way.
Also, on a deeper, more philosophical level, I think we are the Universe that we look to for that inspiration.
Andy – I do see your point on “think”. As you use it, you are correct, we sort of get out of the way when reaping the crop we’ve sown. I may be using the word slightly differently. I’ll have to cogitate on that a while.
In a previous post I talked about the Idea File. I also often have a pad next to my keyboard to jot things down as they occur in my head so they will be available to me when they are needed.
Thanks for your comments, guys!
December 11th, 2009 @ 3:11 pm
You hit it right on the head. It starts with the ability to observe. Then taking the time to put what you feel into words.
There is an artist in each one of us.
Sheila
December 11th, 2009 @ 3:29 pm
December 11th, 2009 @ 3:36 pm
I totally understand what you’re saying. When I was in music school, I asked my professor Dr. Nelson who is a composer, how he get the inspiration to write music. He looked at me like I was crazy. He told me that he didn’t get “inspired”, he simply got up each day, went to the piano and spent so many hours writing music. It was like he was giving himself both a discipline and an opportunity to “let” the creativity flow out of him into a piece of work. I realized then, that the creativity is inside of us, we’re simply “allowing” the flow to happen. By being “observant”, we open ourselves for new experiences and situations to prompt us to take action.
December 11th, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
Yes! Steve and I approach writing like a full time job. (A wonderful one, mind you.) We have a set schedule and we keep to it, even if it doesn’t seem to be flowing. You keep writing and it will flow.
Thanks Laureen.
December 11th, 2009 @ 4:08 pm
Hi Geoff, great post! You have inspired me to get inspiration from a Chocolate cake! I will give ut a try, if I don’t get any inspiration, so what? I got a chocolate cake!
When creating music I often ask myself: Where did that come from??? Mostly I can’t give an answer…
Claus
December 11th, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
Ckaus – hope your cake was inspiring!
I have two different answers to the question “where did that come from.” One, it’s been percolating in you for a while, just under the surface. And two, it doesn’t matter.
December 11th, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
Geoff –
Exceptionally well written. So much so, that I actually thought I was going to disagree with you when you were addressing the “Divine spark”; but once your entire point had been made, and I allowed the perspective to soak in…I thought it was fantastic.
I do agree with Andy, that it is when our minds are quiet, still, and not distracted by “thinking” that we can truly hear ourselves, that essence, which is always inspired…if only we could stay there…
Great stuff, dude
MS
December 11th, 2009 @ 11:31 pm
Great post! I believe it’s your best, so far, in the 30 Day Challenge. Tell me, what was your inspiration?
December 11th, 2009 @ 11:36 pm
Funny guy. And thank you, I think it’s the best one so far, also.
December 13th, 2009 @ 3:08 am
Dear Geoff,
I love your post, you hit it right on the head, I totally understand what you are saying, great post. But I plagiarize!
A haiku by a certifiable geezer, not plagiarized, about inspiration of one kind you were talking about:
Giuseppe Verdi
composed best when very old.
My inspiration.
There is an interesting point about inspiration: The heart opens from inside.
Your piece is an inspiration to me. I’m not joking!
December 13th, 2009 @ 3:58 am
Dear Dad,
Thank you for visiting my blog, making a comment and sharing one of your haiku. (For those here who don’t know, my father is a published poet who has written much beautiful, complex poetry.)
I’m very glad I can be an inspiration to you. I have often said, “My passion I get from my Mother. My words I get from my Father.
Geoff
December 28th, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
[...] is what I think true inspiration is, you’ve done the work, now the Muse (your subconscious mind) feeds you the art. ~Geoff [...]
January 2nd, 2010 @ 9:41 am
[...] When you hope in art, you are telling yourself that there is a possibility that it won’t happen. When you give yourself that possibility, you stop being creative. Don’t hope. If you need to do something, trust instead. Don’t hope your resolutions will work, trust that you created a new year filled with well imagined possibilities. Trust that your vote counts and make sure it’s heard, don’t hope they will get it right this time. Trust that you can create, that you’ve done the imaging work, that the work will move you, that the Muse will then whisper in your ear. [...]
April 11th, 2010 @ 9:23 am
[...] a gift from the gods bestowed by some divine and mystical spark.” (I have written about the myth of inspiration and it seems I have a compatriot in Ms. Tharp.) The book goes on to prove that creativity is the [...]