Igniting The Fires Of Your Creative Genius ~ How It Impacts Your Health

How does creativity impact your health? Or perhaps a better question is: is there a connection between creativity and your health? Questions that come to mind as the Genius flits in and out of my own world.

In order to ignite the fires of one's own creative genius, I believe it's important to know it's there in the first place. It is my strong belief (and yes, this is about a personal belief, not a scientific theory)that each and every one of us has a Creative Genius in some form or other. This does not mean that everyone can write a book or paint a mural or invent a new device or design the next Eiffel Tower. Genius comes in many forms, most of them less conspicuous than DaVinci's contributions. But that's not important. What's important is knowing you have your own kind of Genius and using it to make your world a better place.

Uncovering this Genius isn't all that difficult. Step one is to acknowledge the possibility to begin with. Because, let's face it...most people display genius at a very early age and then it is battered and beaten by the oft fearful caregivers who worry over our 'success'. How often do they tell us (as children) that the odds are against our ever achieving such lofty goals. If a child says, "I want to be a Rock Star when I grow up", they are met with warnings of impending failure and poverty. "Do you know how few actually make a living at it?" Or, "Well Junior, that's great. But you better go to college and get a degree so you have something to fall back on."

What kind of encouragement is that? To warn a child that they must have a "Plan B" is as good as telling them not to even try. It's a horrible but effective way to crush a dream...and a Genius.

In order to re-ignite those creative fires we must clean out those old messages. We must take a very close look at the many voices of our childhood that extinguished the fires in the first place. Seek them out...and destroy them. Once we've done that, we make room for that marvelous Genius to come live with us again.

But what has this to do with our health? How, if at all, does creativity impact us in terms of our well-being?

Let's take this from the most basic of theories on well-being. We now know that the majority of health issues are the result of stress. Most any malady can be traced to too much stress and not enough 'lightness'. Obesity, heart disease, cancer, depression, insomnia, and pretty much everything in between are all rooted in stress. Take away the stress factor, add massive doses of laughter and play, and the symptoms of most maladies will disappear within weeks. While Western Medicine catches up, those of us who practice holistic health are well aware of these facts. This being the case, one could then surmise that creativity is as much a factor as laughter is. When one is engaged in creative endeavors, one's mental and emotional state shifts into 'calm' mode. Stress doesn't stand a chance. The Creative Genius has no tolerance for stress. There is an inherent 'knowing' that the Genius identifies as 'buzz kill'. Stress is the party pooper. Genius is the ultimate hostess. Can't have both at the party.

It really doesn't matter what your Creative Genius likes to do. It could be The BBQ King or the Best-Mom-In-The-World or the Queen of Open-Faced Sandwiches. The important thing is to let that Genius out. Invite it to come and play. The more It is present in your life, the better you'll feel. Just try it and see.

It's not rocket science. Just good, easy sense.