The Art of Allowing: Embracing Inspiration as It Comes

Through energy work, meditation, and stillness, we can open the door to inspiration, ready to welcome it when it arrives. Here’s how to create space for noticing, instead of forcing, creativity.

THE CREATIVE

Welcome to The Creative. Twice a month I share quotes from the books, Art is the Highest Form of Hope and The Creative Act. I find perspectives on the creative process to be so meta when it comes to life. We are a creative process and everything we do is subject to the same rules. Creation is non-linear. It's messy. It moves forward and backward. And also gets stuck. Often times we do not realize the purpose of a singular creative process until years later. Creativity likes to surprise us. 

“The artist casts a line into the universe. We don’t get to choose when a noticing or inspiration comes. We can only be there to receive it.”- Rick Rubin

There’s something both frustrating and freeing about this quote. As creative professionals, we often feel an intense pressure to control the flow of inspiration. We set up routines, develop rituals, and create the perfect environment to summon our muse. Only to find that inspiration arrives on its own terms. And yet, the fact that we don’t have control over when inspiration strikes isn’t something to be fought against. It’s something to embrace.

This notion hits deeply because it reminds us of the role of receptivity in our creative work. Often, my clients wrestle with the tension of being “on” all the time, ready to create at a moment’s notice. But creativity doesn’t operate on a timeline we dictate. Like Rubin says, it’s about being available, about staying open and ready, even when inspiration seems elusive. This speaks to the heart of so much creative burnout. The attempt to force or control something inherently wild.

The real work is in preparing ourselves to be ready when inspiration arrives. That’s where viewing creativity as energy becomes so important. Just like maintaining any other energetic flow, creativity requires us to be clear, present, and receptive. This is why engaging in daily meditation and energy work is so critical to the creative process. Through very specific mindfulness practices, we create the space for inspiration to find us. By clearing away mental clutter and grounding ourselves in the moment, we open up the channels for creativity to flow.

I’ve found that meditation allows us to pause and reconnect with our creative energy in a way that exercises and prompts cannot. It’s in these moments of stillness that we become more attuned to the subtle signals of inspiration. The noticing happens when we stop chasing, and start allowing. Instead of forcing creativity, we become aware of it. And that awareness makes all the difference.

Being open to receiving inspiration means cultivating this stillness and awareness, making room for pauses and reflection in our busy lives. Often, our best ideas come from moments of quiet rather than from pushing ourselves to produce. By embracing meditation and energy work, we are not only recharging but also building the muscle of noticing. So that when inspiration decides to arrive, we are ready to welcome it.

While we don’t get to choose when inspiration comes, we can absolutely prepare ourselves to receive it. As Madam Vice President would say, “this is not a time to throw up our hands. Let us roll up our sleeves.” The more we learn to view creativity as energy, something that flows, rather than something we control, the more we can trust that the inspiration we seek is already looking for us. We can engage in the act of maintenance to create a rich environment for inspiration and integration to occur. It’s our job to be present, to be open, and to recognize it when it arrives. 

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