It’s one of the most profound questions of all time: where does inspiration come from? The Romans believed it came from a genius loci — a “spirit” of inspiration which visited those lucky enough to play host to it, which could vanish as quickly as it arrived (in a fascinating TED Talk author Elizabeth Gilbert explains why she chooses to subscribe to this belief and you can watch the full amazing 20 minute speech by CLICKING HERE).
In my opinion, inspiration is the borne fruit of conscious experience and can be maximized by lining up the right elements: a healthy diet, physical activity, a happy and productive life, certain psychedelics, etc. But there is that one special artform in particular that sparks the flame of inspiration more than all others — music. In a recent article written for PLOS.org, writer Steve Silberman has compiled a fascinating collection of 10 authors who share their own personal stories of how music has been responsible for some of their greatest breakthroughs, and they even share some of their favorite pieces in particular. You can read it in full by visiting PLOS.org.
From a personal point of view there is one musician above all others whose music has proven to be the most conducive to creative breakthroughs during these past two years writing FEELguide. He goes by the moniker GEOTIC, and his album Mend is quite simply extraordinary. I’m not sure where GEOTIC’s source of inspiration came from while he was composing that album, but it has become a major source of creativity for me not only as a writer, but as a reader as well.
On the other hand, however, for some reason I can never listen to music as I read — NEVER. But two years ago while reading Jonathan Franzen’s mindblowing novel Freedom, I found myself listening to GEOTIC’s Mend on constant repeat. There is something magical about this album, and it will forever hold a very special place in my heart and mind for the rest of my life.
For all FEELguide stories on the music of GEOTIC you can CLICK HERE, and to download GEOTIC’s Mend as well as many more of his brilliant albums be sure to visit him at AngelFire.com. For more stories from the realm of inspiration simply head over to Inspiration On FEELguide.
