What is the Muse Self?
A muse is defined as a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist. As we all know, everyone is creative, including you; therefore, the Muse Self is the personified force within ourselves as the source of inspiration and motivation. I like to refer to the Muse as an archetypal name given to the part of us all that connects to our creative imagination and helps us to gain insight and inspiration for the things that we already genuinely know because it’s held in the subconscious.
Why connect with the Muse?
The Muse senses light and dark qualities within ourselves and invites us to explore the meaning without judgment and criticism. We connect with our muse at will to appreciate parts of ourselves that are brave, passionate, hilarious, goofy, sensual, magical, etc. In other words, we can tap into the uninhibited self, which is primarily an unconscious mechanism that mediates between the superego (the conscience), the psyche, the Ego (the part of the psyche where our conscious awareness, sense of identity, and existence resides) and societal expectations.
Imagination is one of the best qualities of the human mind, and we use it to imagine potential threats and problems. This enables us to solve problems before we get into trouble. However, this capability to imagine threats can also work against us by turning our minds into “random negative thought generators.” Our mind tries to keep us right where we are – any place it perceives as safe and comfortable. In addition, our negative thoughts become habits. 90% of all thoughts are repetitive; we will have almost the same thoughts today that we had yesterday. When we think the same things daily we create neural pathways, the more we think things the stronger the connections in the brain become. This is how habits are formed, good or bad (also why we feel something is off when we’ve missed something and why it’s hard to break a bad habit). Below is a list of a few automatic negative thinking habits I often reference from psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen.
- Fortune Telling is when we begin predicting the worst, even though they don’t have any evidence.
- Mind Reading is when we arbitrarily believe that we know what someone else is thinking, even though they didn’t tell us. This one, in particular, is rough on relationships.
- Guilt Beatings occur when we think with words like “should,” “must,” “ought,” and “have to.” Guilt is not a very good motivator for change. Telling yourself, “I shouldn’t eat that donut,” rather than “I don’t want that donut,” only causes you to feel negative.
- Blame: When we blame someone else for the problems in our lives, we make ourselves the victims who can’t do anything to change them. Avoid blaming thoughts and take personal responsibility for changing the problems you have.
- Labeling is when we call ourselves or someone else a derogatory name. It diminishes our ability to see situations clearly, and labels are very harmful.
- Imposter Syndrome occurs when we feel anxious and do not experience success internally despite being high-performing in external, objective ways. It often results in feeling like “a fraud” or “a phony” and doubting our abilities.
Here is a list of fill-n-the-blank thinking patterns that I hear from clients and some of my own that my Muse Self is helping me with.
As you read, fill in the blanks with what your inner “ANT” voice says. If you don’t have any, I invite you to share how you’ve overcome the inner critic on my social media page.
- I am not _______________________________________ enough.
- Who am I to __________________________________________?
- You aren’t going to ________________________________, are you?
- You aren’t that _________________________________________.
- You aren’t qualified to ____________________________________.
- No one wants to _____________________________________ me.
When we are faced with challenges in life we can ask “What would my muse do or say?”. The muse has no boundaries/limits, it is free to explore all possibilities. The Muse archetype isn’t shut down by the inner critic, it has an impenetrable force field of protection against being held back by automatic negative thinking (A.N.T.s).
The Muse Self…
- Attempts to be the antithesis of the negative thinking part of us.
- It knows that negative thoughts are, for the most part, untrue and clobbers them.
- It teaches us to follow our intuition, divine light, inner calling, and inspiration and to let go of fear. Fear (doubts—negative thinking) is like a booby trap that holds us back from many opportunities, expressing ourselves, and having more life experiences.
- It helps us step into our inner knowing and then access a visual/imaginative state of seeing ourselves doing those scary things, helping us realize that it’s not going to be as bad as we think it’s going to be.
- Encourages us to be responsible with our power to change and declare… I AM capable, powerful, intelligent, imaginative, strong, ______________.
YOUR Muse Self Invites you to Create your I AM statements today!
Join the Creatively Cultivating Consciousness Private FB Group to begin connecting with your Muse Self!
Until next time, and Always with Love and Light ~ Kami
