Do you know what the “geniuses” had in common?

I remember the moment vividly, sitting at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, watching Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly as the plaintive strains of the aria “Un bel dì” pierced the auditorium. I felt transported to a higher realm. And so, I was especially pleased to discover the following soulful conversation between Puccini and the writer Arthur Abell:

“The great secret of all creative geniuses,” remarked Puccini, “[is the] conscious, purposeful appropriation of one’s own soul forces.”

He proceeded to describe how he would first cultivate “the burning desire and the intense resolve to create something worthwhile.” He would then make a “fervent demand for and from the Power that created me,” coupled with “the full expectation that this higher aid will be granted.” He believed “this perfect faith” opened the way for “inspired ideas” to be born in his consciousness.

“Was that the process when you were composing [Madama] Butterfly?”

“It was… the music of this opera was dictated to me by God. I was merely instrumental in putting it on paper and communicating it to the public… We mortals here on this earth are partners of the Creator… [A composer] must acquire by laborious study and application the technical mastery of his crafts, but he will never write anything of lasting value unless he has Divine aid also. There is a vast amount of good music paper wasted by composers who don’t know this great truth. We are dealing in this domain with higher spiritual laws.

“Dante, Rafael, Stradivarius all drew on that same Omnipotent Power. The inspiration from above stimulates the intellect and the emotions. An inspired person sees things in a totally different light from one who is not inspired.

“Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all of man’s faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements… It is a Divine influence.”

Many great writers, artists, scientists, reformers and other creative minds throughout history have operated with a near-mystic connection to their craft, allowing spiritual intuition to guide their work in moments when they stepped back to let spirit flow.

Mystics are a tribe of truth-seekers across a diversity of faiths and traditions, united by their hunger to discover and connect with the potentialities that lie dormant within us all. They believe there is an ocean of cosmic intelligence behind the universe, and that each of us is like a drop of that ocean. 

This intelligence is an ever-present, all-knowing, loving force that all of us can tap into from a place of noble intention and calm perception.

Einstein discussed his process of discovery as follows: 

“The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness… and the solution comes to you and you do not know how or why… All great discoveries are made in this way.” 

“The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion… Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe… I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.”

Creative minds burrow a tunnel from their individual intelligence to cosmic intelligence, turning their brains into browsers to search for universal inspiration for their creative projects.

“Spirit pushes Itself out into visible manifestation as soon as a channel is opened through which It can flow,” wrote Yogananda, who authored Autobiography of a Yogi.

This is the twelfth principle I want to offer you. For you to reach your highest potential, you will want to trek the path of the mystic — to open yourself up, with noble intention, calm perception and a pure heart, to the whispers of the universe.  

The journey so far, and the journey that will continue

I first invited you on our journey together, many weeks ago, with the promise that you would discover the peace, wisdom, love and joy that exists within you — within all of us — at our inner core. I hope these newsletters and principles have helped illuminate the path to success in both your inner and outer worlds.

I am honored to welcome you now, officially, to our Mentora community. In addition to receiving my periodic newsletters, you can choose how you’d like to engage with us and continue honing the 12 Principles we have studied. Here are some possibilities:

• Join us at one of our Executive Retreats for immersive practice
• Take an online course
• Join our online community of like-minded professionals who seek material and spiritual advancement through self-discovery, lifelong growth and the pursuit of a purpose-driven life.

As always, if you’d like to continue the conversation with me directly, you can reach me at hitendra@community.mentora.institute.

I wish you all the best in the beautiful arias you will create in the Metropolitan Opera of your own life. Until we connect again.

Note: Parts of this newsletter are excerpted from my book, Inner Mastery, Outer Impact: How Your 5 Core Energies Hold the Key to Success.