Writing music always happened for me in periods when I wasn't under the influence of mind-altering substance.
I think art is inherently nonviolent and it actually occupies your mind with creation rather than destruction.
Once I opened my mind to the concept of a greater power, I never struggled with it. Everywhere I went, I felt and saw the existence of a creative intelligence in this universe, of a loving power larger than myself in nature, in people, everywhere.