Inspiration : A unique experience

One evening I was coming home from a painting class determined to complete my painting. With some detachment, I stared at the painting resting on the easel.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation of both calm and power come over me.

I could clearly see what was hidden only minutes before.

My hand automatically picked the right colors.

My eye naturally blended the strokes on the canvas.

With amazing speed, a direct connection between thought, color and shape was established.

I became one with this creative energy.

All the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place.

Started and finished at once.

Getting my bearings back, I tried to understand what had happened.

Some will describe this phenomenon as a state of grace, a revelation or a divine intervention.

Others will call it a state of trance or a form of channelling.

Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csiksentmihalyl advances the concept of ‘flow’, a mental state in which one is so focused on a task that nothing else matters.

The more recent ‘dual brain’ theory suggests that the two cerebral hemispheres work together to lend thoughts their efficiency and versatility.

When an artist paints, his ‘intuitive’ brain, the right hemisphere takes over.

As for myself, I define Inspiration as a potent combination of motivation, inner silence, extreme concentration, openness, intuition, and technique.

Contrary to my logical interpretation however, the feeling is at the heart of this phenomenon.

When I had this experience, I felt like a ‘channel’ through which new ideas, feelings and emotions of serenity and fulfillment were transmitted from my head to the tips of my fingers.

Mesmerized by this vibrant energy, I knew exactly what to paint.

To me, that is Inspiration: to know without knowing.

Where does it come from? From the subconscious? From God? I don’t know.

But when I look at the painting in which such enthusiasm and urgency to create come through, I know that it was a magical moment, one of pure happiness.