Often, the creative act feels as if it is a revelation, or a relationship between creativity and divine inspiration. The original idea of this post was inspired by the podcast interview I conducted with Danny Godinez. His idea was that we enter the cathedral of creativity every day.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
That is a profound statement.
Table Of Contents
The original post was about the relationship between creativity and spirituality. And I have been sitting on this idea for over a year.
I had blanket phrases like:
“silent thread”
“fabric of our lives”
“sacred ritual”
“conversation with the divine”
“bridge to the infinite”
“quiet sanctum”
“essence of the soul”
Then the introduction concluded with this—Art, in its truest form, is an expression of spirituality.
Stacked together, they created incense smoke, not an argument. No wonder it could never coalesce. What a bunch of trite puke.
So why do some artists interpret the loss of conscious authorship as an encounter with something beyond themselves?
When the Work Stops Feeling Entirely Deliberate
Elizabeth Gilbert once told a story about the poet Ruth Stone, who felt poems coming toward her across the landscape. Stone would run home and try to get them onto paper before they passed.
Hildegard of Bingen, whom I wrote about in Fire of Inspiration, did not leave the source unnamed. She believed God instructed her to write what she saw and heard. Her music grew within that world of visions. Divine inspiration was not a flattering description attached to the work afterward. It was her explanation for how the work came to her.
Gilbert loosens the artist’s grip on authorship. Hildegard gives that authorship to God. Artists sometimes create something they cannot fully trace through their conscious decisions.
What Was Already There
An idea can surprise me without coming from somewhere else. I have spent years making music and writing. I may not remember where I learned something, but it can still shape what I create.
Something heard decades ago can return without me identifying its source. Habitual practice and rehearsal can produce choices before I even realize they are there. What feels like revelation may be experience finally finding a use.
Perhaps the idea did not come from beyond me. Perhaps it came from parts of myself I have forgotten how to reach.
But if forgotten experience can explain where an idea began, why can its arrival still feel spiritual?
Entering the Cathedral Every Day
Creativity feels like a kind of temple to me. The part of Danny’s analogy that matters most is every day. When I say that, I mean it. I practice my instrument, write something, and brainstorm ideas each day.
Something always comes along. Sometimes it is simply a thought worth following, and being open is enough to recognize it.
I cannot call all of it revelation or being guided by the universe. But honestly, it sure feels like it. And I receive every bit of it that is intended for me.
The cathedral is where that daily work happens. When inspiration appears, I am already there.
Can We Help You?
Have you ever created something you could not fully explain?
Thank you for hanging with this post about a question that cannot be objectively resolved.
Leave a comment and tell us about something you created but could never fully explain.
Share this with an artist who may recognize the feeling, and subscribe.
Tomorrow, we enter the cathedral again.
Continue The Journey
The Fire of Inspiration: A Journey into Artistic Genius explores the philosophy of Mack-n-Cheeze Music in greater depth.
Because sometimes the wisest person in the studio has four paws.
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