Wondering....
Inspiration or lack thereof...
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 9:45 PMThis is rare for me... do I just ride it out?
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 9:45 PM -
permalink -
22 Comments
22 Comments |
add a comment |
|
Unsu...
|
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 10:02 PM
chill
live the luxury of innaction for a moment. there is much to be metabolized in the wake of your motions recent and the light of that deep inner work and inspiration is yet to shine bright. but it will shine, and certainly bright. you always do.
peace |
|
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 10:10 PM
seduction of the muse
oh sweetling i am so familiar. when the free flowing inspiration you come to count on suddenly slips like mercury through your fingers. Different things work for me in different times. Get out and work the body, move energy through the physical vessel, clearing the channel. Take some time to really immerse in the art that moves you, listen to the new Deaf Center on headphones without doing anything else, read Li-Young Lee poems out loud to yourself. Try not to build too big a narrative around these moments. Be gentle with yourself and do the things that bring you joy. The muse is attracted to open palms, not grasping ones. I have always found that it is after the moments of the work seeming most elusive that the purest inspiration flows.
You are loved and supported throughout the ten thousand levels of being. Never doubt it. |
|
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 10:20 PM
Usually when this occurs for me I take a few days out. My feeling is that, after spending so much time dipping the ladle into the uberspheres of collective imagination, it's good to balance things out a bit with a pinch of banality.....or at the very least to treat it as an oppurtunity to wash the pixels from my eyes. I would suggest catching up on some movie watching, going for a hike, or just spending time with some friends.
Sometimes also I tend to think of inspiration as a lover of sorts. And that there is a certain courtship involved in the process. Lighting incense and candles and sort of setting the mood of the environment can do wonders to slipping into the hyper realms. On a side note, Mercury just went into retrograde today. Mercury is often associated with music and the arts (Hermes is attributed with creating the first musical instrument in Greek Mythology). So perhaps this may play an influence, as well. Anyway, best wishes on bringing down the light and look forward to hearing you again soon (your set Symbiosis was stellar!) |
|
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 10:46 PM
some perhaps
who have said it better than me...
"Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself." -Hermann Hesse "Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form." -Eckhart Tolle "There is no need to leave the house. Stay at your table and listen. Don't even listen, just wait. Don't even wait, be completely quiet and alone. The world will offer itself to you to be unmasked, it can't do otherwise, in raptures it will writhe before you." -Franz Kafka "The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest." -Bruce Lee //r |
|
Mon, November 14, 2005 - 11:28 PM
ahh...
Mercury retro. Of course... i knew this, and as a gemini am not surprised that I am feeling the tugs.
Beatrix... wicked collection of quotes!!!!!! |
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 12:34 AM
Hang Tight!
Ocasionaly this happens to me and I just try to get myself to a state of chaotic confused over worked anarchy... Or sometimes I just blaze a huge joint and forget i'm suposed to think about making music at all and I just do it...Never the less from the sounds of what I heard from the sneak peak of the new album you seem to be onto something huge...that shizzz be wicked! Anytime you want to colaborate on a track man let me know! I'll be there in a second with some inspiration ;)
|
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 2:26 AM
Breathing Deep
Let it be
Let it be Let it be Oh, Let it be Nice song, I think++++++++++++ |
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 10:53 AM
invoking the muse
after a period of journeying
the mind will take time to quiet eve said it the most poetically; the muse does indeed seek open palms inhilation must precede exhilation so draw in creative influences personally i use your music to get me in the mood to paint or photoshop so maybe try the reverse; there's lots of inspiring visual art online to indirectly stimulate creative flowe without a doubt mercury retro is in effect as well; i lost two hour of work, including a start on a new piece so take this time for yourself you deserve it! |
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 10:55 AM
trust
in the flow youve created, as there is no flow with out the ebb.
seek new inspiration in other activities and transmute that creativity into your chosen path of creation, sound. listen to your own heartbeat, the grasshopper that is at your feet. the sound of ice melting on ahot day... sound familiar? breathe. you rock evan |
|
Unsu...
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 10:58 AM
Hi Evan -
It's been a long time since we've talked, but I saw your post and related to it so much that I had to reply. I know what it's like to feel creatively blocked. Something that has really helped me find inspiration as an artist is the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. One of the things she talks about is the idea of "filling the well." To just get out there and feed on whatever sources of inspiration move you. Go to a gallery and look at paintings, take a walk on the beach, dance, listen to some great live music, whatever...the important thing is to come from a place of wonder, joy, and playfulness. Take the pressure off yourself...creativity is stifled when we put pressure on ourselves to perform. Let your inner child come out and play, without expectations or judgement. Filling the well is about replenishing. You have already produced a ton of great music, have been touring, putting out a lot of energy...you probably need to put some energy back into yourself. Here's what Julia Cameron says about it: "When we work at our art, we dip into the well of our experience and scoop out images. Because we do this, we need to learn how to put images back. How do we fill the well? We feed it images (or sounds, movement, etc.) In filling the well, think magic. Think delight. Think fun. Do not think duty...Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; think mystery, not mastery. A mystery draws us in, leads us on, lures us. ( A duty may numb us out, turn us off, tune us out.) In filling the well, follow your sense of the mysterious." I'll add to your quote collection with a few more selections from the Artist's Way: "The most potent muse of all is your own inner child." - Stephan Nachmanovitch "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." - C.G. Jung "Creation is only the projection into form of that which already exists." - Shrimad Bhagavatam "One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." -Andre Gide I just want to say one more thing - you are one of the most amazing musical artists I have ever encountered! Obviously the Universe has chosen you as a channel for this divine expression. Be patient - creativity is your true nature, so let it unfold naturally! Wishing you peace, inspiration, and joy - Monique |
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 11:15 AM
dude it is always in you... I have felt it all over for 4 years...
thanks for spreading it sooo thick... you have done enough... sometimes it takes a break to break through... maybe it is just one of those big zits just waiting to be ready to pop and when it does... oooohhh aahhhh... sooo good, dirty, smelly... release of the............. funk......... bad anology, or great.... regardless.... love the beats and the friendship... come back to SD and rock it for me soon or else... your pal... Tim Clark
|
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 12:40 PM
pressure
I wish i could remove the "pressure to perform" but onoe of the things about experiencing success as an artist is that all of the sudden I have deadlines. The issue for me _right now_ is that a piece is due to another label, Im past deadline, and I _need_ to get it finished.
All I want to do is play video games (the new game Civilization IV just looks SOOOO good). So many incredible suggestions here... a goldmine of ... inspiration? |
|
Tue, November 15, 2005 - 12:41 PM
"not all who wander are lost". jrr tolkien
go do something fun and crazy. something that you never do and sometimes think of. reward yourself for what you have allready done. force your brain to think of something else and then soon, your heart will make your brain come back full force to your passion and it will flow like water.
|
|
Wed, November 16, 2005 - 11:10 AM
collaborate
Your blockage is very familiar to me, too. I've found that while I usually prefer to work on my own, sometimes a collaboration project is just the right thing. It helps to bounce ideas off of one another and also motivate each other. Once you bring the track to a certain point, the work flow will run back up to speed and your outlet will unclog.
I'd love to hear a collaboration track of Bluetech and _____ on the next comp. |
|
Wed, November 16, 2005 - 1:28 PM
collab
actually, that collaboration will be Bluetech vs. Shulman on the next comp, and Bluetech vs. Rena Jones
|
|
Wed, November 16, 2005 - 9:27 PM
I say keep working
It is times that we look for distractions that it is best to keep working. Sometimes it will be pure crap, but don't ever stop. It is when the work seems to become to familiar or banal that I become easily distracted, disinterested. It is a time for me to rediscover the small things that I love about the work I do. If I don't keep working, then those small things will remain trivial and easy to turn away from. Teaching others what you learn can be helpful. But don't talk too much...don't think too much... always show up and be present. Breath, feel and do.
When you are done, take a break, knowing that you have loved, even in difficult times- that which has loved you. I have my own thoughts of that mystical hovering, i call it the tide, the rythm, it is the siren. |
|
Thu, November 17, 2005 - 8:02 AM
Sounds to me...you're just fine!
It's just nice to read your blog posting and hear you've been so busy doin' good things and now chillin' and collecting yourself. Even though its been years...the memory of you is always a good one! Peace.
Love, Lucian |
|
Sat, November 19, 2005 - 12:01 PM
i have struggled with this for years but fortunately i have many different ways that i create...so if one isn't flowing i just jump to another track and do something else. The times when *nothing* is flowing, i get anxious too, wonder what's wrong, sometimes try to force it. I don't recommend this. I don't agree that it's best to keep pushing it out of you if it's not divine...these times are for reflection and...well, playing video games. ;) I have learned to stop trying so hard and instead, absorb others' art. I go to the art walk, or dance to someone else's music, or go to a party and be completely passive for once. Maybe now would be a good time to have some bodywork done, since your mind is likely to be a confusing place while Mercury is retrograde.
|
|
Tue, December 6, 2005 - 11:51 AM
This happens to me often enough. When this happens I go into work mode. I organize my sounds and projects, listen to old ones that I thought were doo doo with the thought that there might be a gold corn kernel imbedded in one. I also hit my gear hard making new patchs or doing a self imposed lesson to bring me into an app in a way that I don't usually go. That way I learn something new that I possible wouldn't have. It works for me most of the time.
|
|
Tue, December 13, 2005 - 6:50 PM
"I sit for hours in front of my computer finding things to do, cause I just cant bring myself to open the proper software and start working on anything. "
Go to a good planetarium and look at the stars. In the SF Bay Area check out the Chabot Space & Science Center. After that open the *improper software" and try some creative projects that are not music related -- graphics perhaps. Remember you have all the time you need, there is no rush. You'll power up the music circuits when it is time. Sleeping is good, oversleep. |
