The Fiery Muse: Creativity and the Spiritual Quest

Lynn Szabo is an assistant professor of English at Trinity Western
University in Langley, B.C.

The Fiery Muse explores, in the words of the author, “[t]he overlap
between creative genius and mystical experience.” Its analysis of the
creative acts of writing, painting, musical composition, and the plastic
arts are based on extensive case studies and anecdotal records.

Religious and spiritual traditions are mined for their connections to
the creative impulse in humankind. According to Degler, Shiva/Shakti,
Nirvana, Enlightenment, Cosmic Consciousness, and Mystical Union with
Holy Spirit all offer inextricable links to spiritually transformative
energies that impel one forward on a continuum toward “higher states
of consciousness.” She encourages her readers to do the exercises at
the conclusion of each chapter in order to participate in this
evolution.

Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke’s Cosmic Consciousness—a study of the
connection between mystical experience and creative genius in such
figures as Christ, Buddha, and Mohammed—provides a framework for
Degler’s inquiry. She concludes that the ultimate goal of experiencing
our creativity in a spiritual or mystical context is the realization of
our “oneness with God.”

Readers of this demanding book will either warm to its ideas or find
just as much evidence to the contrary in the lives of the world’s
creative geniuses. The passion and purpose of The Fiery Muse are
unquestionable, but its arguments remain as inconclusive as they are
fascinating.