![Statue of the writer and his Muse. Statue of the writer and his Muse.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5eadfb24-ecfd-47d3-b57c-3c52c33d629a_700x772.jpeg)
The word “muse”, comes from the Greek word “mousai” and refers to the Goddesses of Creativity and Art. A muse is anything that inspires you and which instils the feelings of passion and creativity, in an artist. There are writers, painters and creators down the ages, who have had their muses. The muse on its own does not have to do anything, but needs to be present in the life of the artist.
In most cases, the muse is a person, who the writer, poet or artist falls in love with. However, this is not always the case, as it could be an object or a place, which sparks the imagination of the creator. Sometimes, the artist can only do his or her best work, when the muse Is present. It could be a model, for an artist, a lover, a fellow writer, a spouse or a friend, who inspires the writer to create his or her literary masterpieces. It could be because the artist or writer wishes to impress his or her muse or because, he or she just feels that burning desire to create something of beauty, to share with the world.
Here are a few ways in which you can find your “Muse”.
1. The Question: What inspires you in life to create? It could be a person, a place or an object or even an idea.
2. Look at the muses of other artists, and it will help you find your muse.
3. Discover places of interest that are related to your craft, like art, poetry and literature. Da Vinci could inspire you as an artist, while Leo Tolstoy or Charles Dickens, James Patterson, or Emily Brontë, could inspire you as a writer.
4. Develop an artistic process if you are an artist or a daily writing ritual, if you are a poet or a writer.
5. Explore, other forms of art, literature and creative expression.
6. Visit different places and find the one that inspires you to create and where you produce your best work.
7. Write and express your thoughts daily. Once you have opened the tap of creativity, your ideas will keep flowing from the reservoir of your imagination.
8. Meditate and ask your muse to send you some great ideas, that you can turn into some great stories.
9. Visualize your muse. What do you want your muse to look like, someone, like James Bond, Great Garbo, Mark Twain, Brooke Shields, Geena Davis, Darryl Hannah, Jason Bourne or Leo Tolstoy.
10. Media: Your muse could be lurking in the realm of the media, like movies or television series, that are brimming with great ideas.
I hope that the above list will help you to discover your Muse. I look forward to hearing how and where you discovered your muse. A few of my muses are Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare and the others are some great movies actors, that I have discovered over the years.
![Model in a black dress and a long red coat. Model in a black dress and a long red coat.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd3928fc1-d6f1-4eed-a6d3-1e42a569f7e4_700x1050.jpeg)
My muse is a nature spirit, a sylph peeking out from behid a tree, her glittering wings reflecting sunlight onto the dancing waters of a stream. She is beautiful, mysterious, mutli-faceted and ever-present. Even when I'm sleepin, she invades my dreams.