Blood & Ink: Courting the Muse

“I only write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.”

– Peter De Vries

Ahh, the gold in this statement for any aspiring creative…

During my recent plant diet with Marosa, I had a strange yet beautiful insight: the shamanic process of dieting a plant is a lot like courting the Muse, pursuing a beautiful woman, or falling in love.

It begins with an intention: Make the connection. Find the inspiration. Open the relationship.

That grows with the faintest of whispers. A fleeting moment, the woman in the red dress passing by, lost in a dream. A sultry melody that floats into your head in the hypnagogic state between wakefulness and sleep. A splash of visual colour and pattern in ceremony. An unspeakable yet all-too-undeniable feeling that someone, something, is out there, waiting for you, calling you home…

Then, without warning nor understanding, but with undeniable certainty, the connection is made.

The woman appears in front of you. The golden thread of inspiration is taught and ready to play. The energetic imprint of the plant is present in your conscious experience.

And so the dance begins…

Who are you? Why are you here? What can we do together? What do you want? How can I help you? Show me what we could do together in this lifetime.

A whirlwind of questions, conversations, intuitions, and ideations shoot off like fireworks. The connection strengthens and the relationship deepens.

Inspiration is a lot like this.

Inspiration is like passion: not something outside your control, thrust upon you by some hopefully benevolent and merciful being—it’s like fire: kindled slowly from small sparks into a raging inferno.

Just work at it. Notice your thoughts intimately. Follow the threads of what excites you: not like a detective hunting down someone, but like a dance partner following the next invited move.

Dragons are fickle creatures. Capable of crushing you, while rarely revealing themselves. They arrive only to those who are still in Heart and Mind.

• All you need to do is show up. Stoke the flame. Court the muse. Welcome the plant.
• All of this is done from a gentle, open, calm, receptive state.
• Just show up—butt in chair—each day.
• Ask “What is alive in me? What is alive that wants to come through me?”… and wait.

Become very still. Listen for the inaudible but undeniable music. Inspiration has a rhythm that you can dance with, even if you’ve never learned the moves before.

Inspiration is a Way of Living. You live an inspired life.

Inspiration is a place you can visit. If you are strong enough to stay very still.

Breathe. In-spire.

Inspiration is all around you, you just need to become very still and listen. And then, once you hear the music—join in the dance.

Bon voyage,
EB.