A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to catch up with a woman who calls herself a "muse channeler". Her name is Jill Badonsky and she recently wrote a book entitled "The Nine Modern Day Muses, (And a Bodyguard)". Of course, being a Muse from SpiralMuse, I simply had to meet her and share with the online community this fantastically warm, unique and creative person!

SpiralMuse: When did you know this book needed to be written?
Jill: About 5 years ago, I was writing about depression and all the activities one can do to relieve it. I was working as an occupational therapist and a creativity coach, and these muses just started emerging. When I began to explore them more, I realized that there's not much written about them. At the time, I had about 10 creative principles that decided to become the modern day muses. And for some reason, it worked out, as the creative process does when you pay attention to it.

SpiralMuse: Because you had 10 principles, instead of nine to perfectly match the 9 historical muses, is that why you created Arnold the Bodyguard?
Jill: Arnold came about as a result of creative problem solving. The "(And the Bodyguard)" in the title tends to make the book more unique. Arnold protects the creative process. He requires more strength from us to protect us from the forces that stop us from reaching our dreams. Arnold also shows creativity by helping to present the book in a creative way.

SpiralMuse: What parts of the draft didn't make it into the book?
Jill: Believe it or not, it all made it into the book. It just goes to show how arbitrary the publishing industry can be. One publisher that rejected it said the book would need too much editing. Another publisher said it didn't need any editing at all!

SpiralMuse: How many rejections did you get before this book finally bloomed?
Jill: 7 rejections-which isn't bad at all. It was a book that was meant to be!

SpiralMuse: Who is your favorite muse?
Jill: I love them all! But I would have to say that Albert is one of my favorites. He is full of imagination and about breaking the rules. I love Audacity too. She gives people permission to do what they need and want. And of course, Bea Silly. If the book wasn't fun to write, then I wouldn't have done it.

SpiralMuse: At the end of every chapter, you prescribe a ritual to help summon that muse. Tell me more about the role of ritual in musing.
Jill: Ritual is important in the creative process because there's a sense of mystery behind both creativity and ritual. Ritual summons up our imagination and says, "OK, Now's the time!". Endowing a ritual with the belief for creative powers often makes it true. It also puts us in motion. A ritual will have you lighting a candle or saying something that often inspires you because you've been put in motion. It's something that makes the process more sacred. We're created and now we have the powers to go around and create. This is as close to spirituality as you can get! Ritual is based on belief, and sometimes the difference between the creative person and the not so creative person is the belief in their own creativity.

SpiralMuse: How can muses come out more in a community?
Jill: Something I'm starting to do is "muse groups". Groups where women can get together in muse groups and use the book as a stimulus for discussion. Muse groups can be a theater group, a reading group, a painting group, etc. They're so easy and rewarding! It's about people meeting in the name of creativity rather than in the name of addiction or recovery or something else. Celebrating what's good about us; what's creative about us!

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