Every project I work on begins with these three words—Free the Angel. Whether I’m creating a painting, a building, or writing an article (like this one), those three words remind me to follow in the spirit of Michelangelo, who summed up his artistic method this way: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

This great Italian sculptor, painter, and architect started with the end in mind. He knew that the angel already existed. He carved away everything that didn’t bring out the ideal image he held in thought so he could simply reveal that ideal. He could set the angel free because the angel was already there.

Michelangelo’s description of the angel in stone leads us to a grander metaphysical insight. Mary Baker Eddy defined angels as “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions . . . the inspiration of goodness . . . ” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 581). Well, those angels surround us. They’re already here. At every moment Soul-radiating spiritual intuitions and good inspirations cut through the fog of mortality and stir us to dance and drum and film and act and paint, architect, cook, write, compose, and sing with beauty and awe and fire and grace.

Creative expression already exists within us, flowing freely and continuously from Soul—God—the source of unlimited, even breathtaking, artistic talent, skill-set mastery, and creative power.

All we have to do is carve away everything that doesn’t look like the ideal of who we really are. Sculpt until we set ourselves free. Sculpt until we feel the deep presence and power of Soul, which releases us from anything that inhibits our freedom. I’ve found that when I do that—when I “free the angel” within myself through scientific prayer—it’s a whole lot easier to release the angel in my work.

This approach can work for everyone, and not only for artists, but also for those who design everything from industrial robots to tractors to computers, as well as for those who design other aspects of life, from a lesson plan, to a PhD dissertation, to a conference, to a business start-up, from a menu to a brand-new culinary creation. No matter what aspect of creativity you’re called to bring to whatever you do, you can remember: Free the Angel.

Chisel thought

If to “free the angel” within ourselves requires us to sculpt our consciousness to reveal our ideal nature, the question comes down to this: What do you think your ideal nature is? Who do you think you are, relative to the actual source of creative power?

Are you personally the source? Or is the source greater than you? From where does our creativity and originality, our artist signature and voice, our evolving mastery and development—as well as our appreciation of art—spring? From a material brain? From a combination of a material brain and a personal, uniquely endowed soul? Or do our creative resources and energies spring from a bottomless reservoir, from one universal divine Soul that knows no foreshortened horizons, only horizons of infinity; no road blocks, only open highways of freedom; no plateaus of talent and skill, only mountaintops of mastery? Soul that shines brighter than all the stars in all the galaxies of an infinite universe. Soul unlimited.

Turning to sources other than Soul can dead-end in frustration and despair, rivalry, envy, and ego trips pinballing between inferiority and superiority complexes. But choose Soul—choose to see yourself accurately as the expression of divine Spirit, for which Soul is a synonym—and Soul will shape thought and remove all that’s unlike the angel in you. Watch egotism, anxiety, and ambition fall away. You’ll feel fueled by the “Soular” energy of courage, confidence, and calm exhilaration as you gaze into a light-filled universe of endless possibilities. Soul-generated creativity will flow to you and through you as surely as a magnet sticks to steel. See yourself (and others) as the unique and endlessly talented expression of the one Soul, and you’ll feel the assurance of the Bible’s God-sourced message of boundless potential and fulfillment: “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (Rev. 3:8).

We might also ask ourselves this: How does our one universal Soul, God, see us? Does Soul see us as vulnerable, physical beings, subject to trouble, decline, and death? Unlike Soul?! Or does Soul see us as entirely spiritual and therefore indestructible, immortal, and empowered? Logically, like produces like. Gaining this perspective enables us to see our ideal nature even more clearly.

Everyone has a choice to make about how to see themselves—as material or spiritual—and where to turn for inspiration and artistic light: either to the shipwreck shoals of materiality or the uplifting Soul-waters of spirituality. Will personal ego or universal Soul chisel thought?

Blaze a new trail

You can take the well-marked path or blaze a new trail. Robert Frost’s 1920 poem “The Road Not Taken” gets at this choice. Frost encourages us to see how taking the road less traveled can make all the difference. In my work as an architect and painter, I’ve chosen to take a road less traveled. And I chalk that up to my trust that Soul, Mind, Life (synonyms for God), which inspires the explorer-desire in me, will also fulfill this desire. And sure enough, hoping for and expecting to travel the road less traveled has made all the difference in my growth and development artistically, and in the surprising richness of my experience.

And as we each travel our unique road, again the Bible assures us that we’ll be OK: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared” (Ex. 23:20). I figure that’s true not only for Moses, but for everyone—always. Soul’s “spiritual intuitions” go before us. Soul will bring us into the artistic place that Soul has prepared for us—so we can free the angel of our own unique art.

So delight in your unbreakable, scientific unity with Soul. Let Soul move you. Let Soul inspire you and compose, design, shape, form, and storyboard your life and artistic development. Let Soul paint the canvas of your life. Let Soul power you forward as you blaze a new trail.

Expect income

A lot of artists suffer financially. But we can reject the “struggling artist” role because Soul doesn’t intend misery for anyone. It’s right for artists to earn enough money and other forms of supply to live modestly, if not to thrive! And what’s worked for me is taking a clear mental stand that sees myself as far above mortality’s fake rules. When we get a true, spiritual perception of reality, our daily life syncs with that reality in amazing ways. So when we get a strong grip on these two core aspects of spiritual reality—equilibrium and abundance—we can expect to see tangible proof of that combination in our lives.

The source of creativity and income is the same: Soul. Soul not only abundantly provides our creativity, but also abundantly provides opportunities for its expression and reward. Expect to see this spiritual law of supply and demand light up your life. Expect the demand for your talents to go hand in hand with the supply of your talents. Expect income.

Be a metaphysical warrior

This expectant outlook is a metaphysical outlook—an outlook attuned to life-principles invisible to the material senses, but discernible by our spiritual sense. Without this metaphysical outlook, I’d probably be road-sided with a flat tire, too hobbled and bummed to keep going. But instead: I’ve adopted these seven words by Mary Baker Eddy as my anthem: “Meet every adverse circumstance as its master” (Science and Health, p. 419).

I remind myself daily of that demand, because more often than not, I tend to initially meet every adverse circumstance as a pawn. I get knocked back on my heels, flummoxed and discouraged about what’s going on. But then I hit the switch. And I remember that we’re God-empowered to meet adversity as its master!

Every artist—and everyone who aspires to grow and develop in the art of living—can prayerfully face adversity with the confidence of a metaphysical warrior, who through spiritual strength and serenity can expect proof of divine Soul’s total governing and coordinating power. You can trust Soul to remove any roadblock, iron out any wrinkle, and coherently, creatively direct all elements in the design of our lives. Mount righteous rebellion against the unrighteous authority of adverse circumstances. Be a metaphysical warrior.

Listen first

That’s what I’ve learned: Listen. Then act. Listen to that quiet inner voice, because that’s the voice of Soul prompting you to move ahead this way or that way. Or to hold off, and do nothing—yet. I’ve learned to trust that inner power, our hard-wired, Soul-based intuition. That trust keeps me relaxed and ready, always receptive to the shooting stars of insight and foresight, helps me sidestep land mines and go around barriers, guides me and protects me, and prompts me with what to do and how to do it and if to do it and when to do it. Listen.

Listening and following divine inspiration unchains thought from limitation and mediocrity. Instead, we feel propelled upward by Spirit-inspired aspirations for radical breakthroughs and excellence. Mind turns us away from the false concept of a brain-centered material being with a personal soul who’s either gifted or not, connected or not, fortunate or not, to our true unlimited Soul-fueled—God-sourced and God-sustained—artistic power, originality, mastery, and freedom.

You can carve the block of marble that is your life hoping to sculpt something into existence, or you can let Soul impel you to release the angel of your creative voice that comes divinely installed and unbreakable. So chisel thought, blaze a new trail, expect income, be a metaphysical warrior, listen first—and free the angel!