Channeling

I am an amateur songwriter who has dabbled off and on with various styles of music for the past several years. For me, creativity is very hit and miss. Sometimes songs come easily, other times I spend months trying to get them just right and never actually finish them. But I have had a few experiences with both words and music when I felt that I was receiving something from somewhere else entirely, like it was already written and I was simply "channeling" it. I have heard of other artists who have had similar experiences, and wanted to share a couple of stories.

Christian singer/songwriter Mark Schultz wrote a song called "He's My Son" several years ago about a boy he knew who had been diagnosed with cancer. He spoke in an interview about that song and said, "I say I wrote the song because on the CD it says 'He's My Son' by Mark Schultz, but the fact of the matter is I had nothing to do with it ... I mean, I can’t think of that stuff on my own. I think it’s just in those moments when ... I say, 'OK, God, everything that I’ve thrown up, I just hate it.' Then all of a sudden something like that comes out, and then I go, you know, what if I’m 80 and all I’ve done is come up with a song like that because You gave it to me? I’m really OK with that. That’s a life well lived for me." (The full interview is available at: http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/interviews/mark_schultz_070103.aspx)

LDS songwriter Roger Hoffman shared a similar experience about writing the song "Consider the Lilies," which was recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. "One day, as I was sitting at the piano in our chapel ... I found my fingers wandering over the piano keys. I noticed what I was playing and repeated it so I wouldn't forget it. Once the melody had become locked into my consciousness, words began to form in my mind ... I grabbed my pencil and began writing. As quickly as I could write, the words continued ... I was pleased that the message had been so well delivered, and gratefully acknowledged the power that had presented this song to my mind. I was about to rise from the piano bench and go home, when I felt a kind of downward tug, and sat down at the bench again. The message came clearly into my mind, 'I'm not finished yet.' I sat down and the [next] verse began, 'Consider the sweet, tender children Who must suffer on this earth...' I panicked. I was afraid to tackle so large a subject. I thought, 'My pen is too small to deal with a problem so great.' The thought came into my mind, 'You're not writing this, anyway.' ... So, tremulously, I continued ... [and as I wrote] I could not contain my feelings. The love I felt was so powerful that I was overcome. (Indeed, for the rest of the day, I felt somewhat removed from this mortal sphere.)" (The full story is available at http://www.hoffmanhouse.com/writingconsider.html)

To me, stories likes these are proof that God is in charge of this world and hasn't left us alone. Sometimes I wish I could control the ability to receive creative inspiration and "channel" on demand. But I am not the source of the light, and it is up to Him when and how such inspiration will be sent to mortal realms. If I am ready and willing, though, perhaps I will be given an opportunity to be an instrument in His hands.