50 YOGA JOURNAL
WISDOMSERGEY FILIMONOV/STOCKSYInspiration and Creativity
When you’re in a state of genuine creative inspiration, you’re
connected to a greater force. To be creatively inspired is to enter
a zone where ideas, movements, words, and music flow through
you. The pleasure of true creativity comes from the fact that it
connects you directly to the Self, to the innate creativity of the
universal consciousness. “God is an artist,” says one of the sages of
Kashmir Shaivism, and when we are at our most creative, we are
the most in touch with the divine. Inspired creativity can flow in
a conversation when all the participants are open to being
channels for something that is greater than any one individual can
access. It can arise when you ask for inner guidance in solving
a problem, or it can come totally on its own, as a gift.
What does it take to experience the pleasure from being
inspired? First, you have to be willing and able to surrender to
it—to let go of the fears, doubts, and beliefs that block you from
receiving inspiration. Second, you need to have the skill and
patience to translate inspiration into action. And third, you need
to be able to notice and avoid the pride that comes in when you are
tempted to “own” gifts of inspiration. Experiencing the full depth
of joy in inspiration demands that you let go of the ego-driven
notion “I did this,” and recognize that creative inspiration comes
from the essence—from the Self. The practice for experiencing
creative pleasure is non-doership: what Taoism calls the action of
non-action.Pure Spirit
The deeper the level of pleasure, the more transpersonal it
becomes. The subtlest and deepest layer of pleasure is pure,
unmediated communion with the essence—with God, with the
inner Self. You might experience this as resting in pure awareness.
But you can also experience this very subtle kind of pleasure as
an intimate communion with a very personal form of the divine.
The yoga of devotion, or bhakti yoga, is known for being a path
of deep, subtle, mysterious pleasure. It has the sensual quality of
the highest type of physical delight: the sweetness of intimacy, the
selfless commitment of being immersed in something greater than
yourself, and the bursting inspiration of true creativity.
The pleasure of pure spirit comes when the separate I-sense
fades—even if only for a moment—and you enter into the state of
pure being. The key is letting ego dissolve. Not an easy matter, as
any meditator will tell you—in fact, it’s not something you manage
without grace. However, even though you can’t force your ego to
dissolve, there is a practice that can open you up to moments of
pure awareness—any time.
Try it. For a minute, just drop the thought that you are a
separate being. Recognize that your body, mind, and emotions all
function perfectly well without there being an ego to experience
them. Notice what you feel. See if you can taste the rare pleasure
of freedom. When the sense of separateness or ego comes back,
let it go again. Keep tuning into what remains when your sense
of individualism dissolves for a moment. See if you can become a
connoisseur of the subtle pleasure that comes from a relaxed ego.Full Immersion
Once you have tasted being ego-free, you can bring that
awareness into any pleasurable experience. Each level of
pleasure can be an avenue into your true Self if you know how
to be fully immersed in the experience of enjoyment without
the separation that the ego creates. Once you know how to tap
into the essential experience of feeling good, you’ll discover
that you can follow any experience back to that timeless place.
That’s the secret the Tantric yogis point us toward. Whether
you are tasting something delicious, enjoying the company of a
friend, throwing yourself wholeheartedly into a task or cause,
or enjoying the flow of creativity, you can make any of these
pleasures an avenue into the stillness of true Self. When you
turn inward and lean into life’s pleasures, you’ll connect with
the true source of all pleasure—the Self.
Stop and savor these moments. Turn your attention
inside, and let every pleasure take you to the sacred joy that is
your core.SALLY KEMPTON is an internationally recognized teacher of
meditation and yoga philosophy and the author of Meditation for
the Love of It and Awakening Shakti. Find her at sallykempton.com.This piece originally appeared in the March 2011 of Yoga Journal.