The goddess, Muse, and her eternal lover, Genius, reside within us. As we tend to their needs and stock the fire of their passion, their love blooms in the fertile soil of our embodied being. Male, Female, both or none, whomever you are, the fruits of your abundant creativity and boundless wisdom are awaiting expression.
The integration of “intellect” and “creativity” into manifesting potential has been a challenging aspect on my journey of self-actualization. I look around and see a world that favors “professionalism”, labels, and narrowing the scope of our research into linear, logical trajectories. Yet, the movement within us swirls in spirals.
The muse moves in unpredictable yet highly intelligent patterns. Creative-Intellect draws nourishment off the wisdom latent in the earth, the trees, and the skin that sense the air, it listens to the whispers of ancestors long gone, and beings yet to be-come.
To my students, mentors, colleagues, daughter, sisters, mother, family, friends in spirit, and in life, and those I’m yet to encounter - I see you, women of infinite potential and talent. Women who are fertile with the wisdom of medicine, education, and spirituality - capable of infinite creative expressions – from gardening to science, from dance to healing, from cooking, mending, caring, and loving to researching, writing, fighting, and defending. Women who are fierce with compassion and are committed to nurturing joy and growth under every spectrum of circumstances.
In our post-industrial society, the trend has been to move away from integration and improvisation into specialization, encouraging us to choose individuated labels and cut away from the continuum of expression. In order to thrive in a world heavily influenced by linear thinking, we are expected to declare I’m “X, Y or Z” then strive to become the best in fewer areas of life, and divorce from the numerous adjunct fields of interest, the “side journeys” that would otherwise cross-pollinate our natural and healthy inner-wilderness.
We are each one of a kind, a unique expression of the boundless divine.
As we are guided toward our medium/s of choice to express our innate creativity, we make our mark, directed by our genius.
The fulness of my being expresses as a dancer, a healer, a naturalist, a researcher, a friend, a wife, a mother, a writer, medicine maker, poet, mystic, lover… and so many more. Labels could never contain who I am, as I BECOME; dynamic, in dance with the elements, following the invisible thread of playful love-games between Muse and Genius.
As a classical dance artist, I extensively researched the cultural, historical, and spiritual roots of Classical Indian Dance, and what I discovered is that there are no clear-cut lines between the classical and the popular, between traditional and contemporary. Despite science attempts to give a yes or no answers, and maintain linear perception, life, art, science, and our human emotions all express in a seamless continuum, as the day moves into night, and summer shift gradually into fall – winter - spring. Popular arts gain inspiration from classical and vice versa. Threads of connection run between art, discoveries, and natural evolution across cultures, geographic locations, genres, and eras like a vast maze of translucent webs.
Do not fall into the trap of labels, cutting yourself from boundless inspiration. We do not have to hate winter just because we love summer, and we don’t have to shun darkness because we enjoy the light. We each have our own distinct brew of tendencies, preferences, and areas of expertise, our original nature, and in that unique signature of being, black and white abound intertwined in continuous expression.