How Stress Effects Creativity         

...And Why Some Thrive While others Falter Under Pressure?

by Rhonda Frankhouser

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

A Letter to My Writer’s Soul

RE: Your Long Absence

My dearest, darling muse,

It’s been nearly a year since you left me. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve missed your snark and light-hearted wit. The freedom and adventure you once instilled in me has withered, leaving my soul collapsed around sadness and fear.

I pray each day that the stress radiating from every avenue of life will subside and give you a fighting chance to break through, but this world we now live in is not the same world of my youth. The hate, anger, blame, sickness, and division is beyond repressive. It’s downright destructive, and I’ll never forgive that it keeps you a severed arms’ distance from me.

Until such time as you are freed to grace my mind again, I promise to do my part. I will gather adventures for fodder; transform angst into character; become a barrier to negativity, and remember my many blessings amid the devastation.

I want you to know that I am ever thankful for our past together — and ever hopeful for a blissful reunion one day soon. But mostly, I want you to know that I forgive you for disappearing. Sometimes, I wish I could do the same.

Sincerely,

Rhonda

Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash

So, let’s talk about this very touchy subject. How does stress effect the Creative — and why is it different for every person?

Recently, I had a conversation with an esteemed writer about the effect stress has on creative individuals. It baffled us both how some thrive while others falter under various types of pressure. As you can probably tell by reading my letter above, I’m definitely a member the latter group under stress that relates to family, livelihood, and health, while stress derived from competition ignites an engine of creativity inside of me.

After our conversation, I did a little research into this phenomenon. I spent a half hour of my life — which at the time I felt I truly did not have to spare, watching the YouTube Video by Dr. Joe Dispenza, entitled Living in SURVIVAL vs. Living in CREATION.

Survival vs. Creation — It’s worth the time to watch!

In that blessed half hour, I learned exactly how devastating unmanaged stress can be on our mind, body, and soul. I never realized allowing these emotions to rule your inner world could create disorganized thought and even physical illness.

According to Dr. Dispenza, when we enter Survival state or Animal state, stress hormones throw us into an incoherent, emergency mode — seeking shelter from the onslaught of negativity and damaging stress hormones. In this environment, we become more matter than energy, and creation takes a back seat to survival.

The good news is, with a conscious effort to attend to your own self care and positive mindfulness, you can develop the ability to believe in a brighter future, rather than dwelling on the dismal past. He termed this the Divine state or Creative state, which broadens our focus and opens awareness.

Photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash

I never knew a short walk, or a few, mindful moments of silence, could redirect mismanaged stress, stifling the physical and emotional consequences of overactive stress hormones.

Who knew we had that much control, controlling the uncontrollable? So, is that the difference why some creatives thrive in the Divine state while others, like me, are stuck just trying to Survive.

Listening to Dr. Dispenza’s explanation made me understand a whole lot more about the phenomenon called STRESS, but I still read on. Because that’s what writers do…

Daniel Kunitz, in his article Why Creative People Need Stress in their Lives, states that stress is just another type of stimuli for our psyche to manage. Not all stress should be thought of as negative. It can be a driving force for success or a weight that drags you down, depending on how it’s buffered or perceived.

He further relays how different levels of stress effect the creative.

1. Extreme levels — undermines all creativity. It’s best to give yourself permission to relax until it passes.

2. Moderate levels — can either bring on inspiration or procrastination depending on how a person handles it. Most productive creatives operate best in the moderate level.

3. Low levels — finds most creatives feeling stagnant and uninspired.

Personally, I’d never thought of stress in those terms. It’s always been this repressive energy created from my lack of control, or sadness over a situation, that holds me down until I can’t focus on anything other than the negativity.

Much like Dr. Dispenza, Kunitz’ view of stress levels has given me permission, for the first time ever, to be still and quiet when there are too many sources of negativity working against me. When life gets overwhelming, it’s okay to disconnect and find a happy place. Take a walk, go for a coffee, and expect nothing from myself but to breathe.

Photo by Andraz Lazic on Unsplash

Like most creatives, I have a built-in guilt mechanism that kicks in when I’m not being productive — which of course, creates its own source of stress. Grasping the meaning of the stress levels, and understanding my own limits, has helped me cope with this guilt.

Kunitz’

hypothesis also encouraged me to gently push myself toward the laptop, (which I am doing right now, btw). If I’m gracious with my trepidation and just allow my fingers to hover over the keys — maybe the door will wiggle open for my fun-loving writer’s soul to peek through? Maybe writing is the cure to repelling the sinister effects of anxiety? My own therapy, perhaps?

Here’s my short list of stressors to avoid in today’s bizarre environment.

· No more scroll hole on social media for hours on end

· No more news that show only negative stories

· No more political commercials which tell us nothing of how problems will be solved

I know, I know, everyone needs to be informed and be a part of the solution, but maybe we should all find a way to make things better by doing better things? Write something beautiful that gives readers hope for a brighter tomorrow. Paint, cook, draw to create lightness. If you have no energy to create, listen to music, read, breathe, but please, don’t dedicate hours of time you’ll never get back to things that are geared to cause upheaval.

Photo by Brian Wertheim on Unsplash

Whew — SORRY ABOUT THAT– OFF THE SOAPBOX…

But I digress. After all my research on stress as it relates to creativity, I’ve given myself permission to think of stress as another method of motivation. Life’s pressures force action, which require healing, and finally adaptation. Just as physical exercise is designed to break your muscles down, so you can rebuild into an even stronger being, maybe using stress as a positive can allow us to manipulate it into useful energy for change?

With a little direction and mindfulness, human beings can be amazing, adaptable creatures with the ability to transition through life, bouncing from one obstacle to another, to finally evolve into stronger, smarter, calmer versions of ourselves. After all that 2020 has put us through, I have no doubt our next evolution will be one for the ages.

Thanks for listening,

Rhonda Frankhouser

Award-Winning Author

www.rhondafrankhouserbooks.com

Previously published on Kristine Raymond's blog and Medium.com, but I wanted to share with my Cowboy Kisses family. So sorry for the huge photos :-(

WRITING, SOME ADVICE FROM WRITERS

 Post by Doris McCraw

writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

When thinking about beginnings and all that entails for artists I thought of all the advice we get given over our lifetimes. They are numerous and like all advice, worth what you pay for them. Still, there are nuggets that shine through, especially for me as I take the writer's journey. It seemed an appropriate time to share eight of them with all of you.

1. Elmore Leonard published a book "Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing" in 2007. While all of his ten are worth taking a look at but the one that sticks out to me is: Leave out the parts readers tend to skip. And to add a bonus 'If it sounds like writing, I re-write it."

2. George Orwell, known for "1984" and "Animal Farm" said: If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

3. Neil Gaiman, has a list of eight that are so simple, yet we don't think about them. His #1 is Write and #8 is The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like ...

4. Joyce Carol Oates has something I personally relate to:  Read, observe, listen intently - as if your life depended on it. 

5. Helen Dunmore's advice: Finish the day's writing when you still want to continue.

6. P.D. James: Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.

7. Louis L'Amour's advice: Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.

8. Rainer Marie Rilke, who wrote the lovely book, "Letters to a Young Poet" gave this piece of advice: "Go into yourself. Find the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write."

Most of us have favorite authors, a number of them are here at Cowboy Kisses. While advice helps, it's the joy of writing, the heartwarming feedback from the readers we write for and telling the story in the way only the individual writer can. 

For writers, please keep writing. For readers, let the authors you've read know what their work means to you. It's the conversations that add so much to the experience and makes all the hours authors spend honing the story worth it. 

Advice helps us focus, but the real work: Telling your story.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in

Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Telling Stories Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

I’D LIKE TO THINK I WAS BORN WITH TRUE GRIT – OR HOW A PANTHER LOST HIS TOES by Sable Hunter

 

Now, that’s an intriguing title – isn’t it? And one that probably has you wondering.

Well, let me explain.

From the time I could walk, my parents said I bulldozed through life. I charged full force into situations, tromping where my guardian angel feared to tread.

Living in the country, we raised livestock. When I was barely walking, I’d slip out of the yard and wander among the cattle. My parents would go looking for me, calling for me, and I was too short to see as I meandered midst the bulls and cows – oblivious to any danger. At those times, they’d call me Dosha. “Get back here, little Dosha!” they’d call. For a long time, I thought Dosha was one of my given names. As I grew, I learned Dosha was one of my ancestors, a too-many-greats-to-count grandmother. She was a brave Cherokee lady who married a weak man who drank too much and didn’t take adequate care of his family – and yes, of course – I’m related as much to him as I am to her. Remember that.

My favorite story about Dosha is the one that best reveals the shortcomings of her husband. John – that was his first name – was prone to spend most of his evenings passed out from indulging in too much home brew. During those times, Dosha did the best she could, making do with the little he provided and what she could scrape together herself. For better or worse, their union was blessed by the birth of a little boy. Dosha was so proud of him. She named him William.

Winter came to South East Texas early that year, bringing much cooler temperatures to the usually temperate region. If you look at a map of the lone star state, their cabin was located in the swampy, piney woods that is known as The Big Thicket region today.
                                     
                                               

In this deep, dense forest, wildlife was plentiful – and so were predators. Bear. Wolf. And panthers. (As an aside, I recognize that most authorities deny the existence of black panthers in this area today. However, my family has seen three in my lifetime. They roamed the wilderness in the post-civil war days and they still roam it now.)

                                                              

One night, when John was lying drunk in bed and Dosha was attempting to pacify a hungry William, the night grew colder as she burned the last of the firewood. Huddling up with the baby to keep him warm, she became aware of a distant scream. The sound was bloodcurdling, the cry of a banshee. Dosha knew it was a panther. Sitting there in the dark, the silence was only broken by the snoring of her worthless husband and the ever-nearing roar of the huge, deadly predator. In horror, the mother realized the big cat was approaching the cabin.

The black panther was hungry, and he could smell the baby inside.

You might think she had nothing to worry about. After all, they were inside the log cabin.

But no. Unfortunately – and thanks to John’s shoddy workmanship – there were gaps in between the logs. Not only did this poor construction leave a clear path for the cold winds whipping through the evergreen branches of the pine trees to seep inside – the exterior walls of the cabin could serve as a make-shift ladder for a determined predator. 

In abject terror, Dosha heard the big cat snarling just outside. Her eyes widened as she realized he was scratching on the wood. And then – she screamed as she saw big, sharp claws poking through the cracks between the logs. With her heart pounding in her chest, she placed the baby next to her husband as she attempted to rouse him by shaking his shoulders and beating on his chest. She begged him to awaken – but he was too soused to realize what was going on.

Standing, she gasped in fear as she saw the claws of the panther as he climbed the outside wall – higher and higher. The monster intended on coming down the chimney after them!

In near hysteria, she found the hatchet and tried to chop up a chair to serve as firewood – but there wasn’t time! She’d never be able to start a fire before the maneater descended into their midst.

As her baby cried, sensing his mother’s panic, she did the only thing she could think to do.

Dosha took the hatchet and ran to the wall and began to chop at the exposed toes of the black panther.

Chop! Chop! Chop!

She struck the blows and was rewarded by a wailing scream of pain.

In the next moment, she heard a heavy thud outside as the panther retreated to fight another day.

Wow.

You’ll never know how many times I sat at the feet of my grandmother and my dad as they regaled me with this tale – and others. Dosha’s bravery and John’s failures.

Her ability to survive was ingrained within her – and his lack of decency was…apparently ingrained within him. For she didn’t falter, and he didn’t improve. He died early, most probably from cirrhosis of the liver. Dosha lived a long life and continued to prove herself to be brave and resourceful.

I used to imagine that I was Dosha. I’d like to think I inherited some of her moxie.

Now…for the rest of the story.

Sometimes my research leads me down unexpected paths. Let me explain. In my plotting, there are times I need to come up with some fantastical fix that will tie my unlikely story line together. For example, in Lily’s Mirage, I was writing about a woman who was suffering with a brain tumor – a glioblastoma, the type that is usually fatal. I wanted the character to survive, but I wanted it to be realistic. Surely in this day and age, there was ongoing medical advances that I could draw from. So, I started searching and I found an unlikely answer. There have been clinical trials using the polio germ to battle this type of cancer. The polio virus is injected into the tumor and causes the patient’s immune system to attack the tumor and destroy it – a targeted assault. It’s still in the early stages, but survival rates have tripled as a result.

What I found surprised me. My heroine underwent the treatment and survived to have a ‘happily ever after’.

This is not the only time I have let my imagination lead me through research that has revealed answers to my plotting problems. My latest historical, Reno’s Journey, led me to learn more about time travel than I ever hoped to know – and the work that NASA is actually doing toward discovering the possibilities. For another novel, The Storm You Chase, I dug until I uncovered ongoing work toward harnessing the power of storms to power cities and how a treatment for chronic traumatic brain injury (CTE – think football concussions) may soon be a reality. Before I started digging – I knew none of this information. Didn’t even know any of it was possible.   

Anyway…like most authors, the research is as rewarding as the writing – I learn so much.

Recently, while working on my historical Wild West series, which travels between characters living in the past and their descendants in the future, I wanted to find some vital way to link the actions of an ancestor living in the past with the events in the life of their descendant in the present day. In other words, could the experiences of your great-great-whatever have any realistic impact on how you live your life today?

Could Dosha’s experiences determine how I react to obstacles I face? Could John’s propensity to give in to his weaknesses effect how I live my life?

Well…lo and behold – look what I found.

We are, indeed, a product of our past – perhaps, much more than you realize.

Our behavior can be influenced by prior generations. Of course, we already knew certain preferences, character traits, and biological characteristics are passed down, but we’re just now discovering how patterns, traumas, memories, and the very experiences of our predecessors can be passed down to us also. In ancient belief systems, this was called ancestral karma. Indigenous cultures have long taught how the experiences and actions of our ancestors can affect us. The Iroquois hold that our behavior, the way we process emotions – our very actions can be influenced by seven generations before us. This theory gives wings to that old scripture which says that the sins of the fathers are visited down to four generations of their children.

Despite this age-old belief, the science of genetic memory is quite new – in any scientifically serious way. This budding science actually has a name, it’s called epigenetics – the study of how genetic expression can be inherited in the same manner as DNA. The idea of genetic expression can be defined as how the instructions built into our DNA are converted into a function. In other words, life experiences can be passed down to children and their children… Just think about that – the holocaust, abuse, triumph, murder, education, slavery - - and on and on - - these things can be engrained, imbedded, and woven into the very fabric of our being.

We were taught that you could take a child out of an environment and give it new experiences and they would be untouched by the happenings of the past. Nurture – vs – nature. Maybe not – not entirely. What if survivors of traumatic events can pass down the effects of that trauma to subsequent generations? If true, this could go a long way in explaining why some people do the things they do. It also puts a heady burden on our own heads that what we do can have long reaching and everlasting consequences.

Another article I found argues that this genetic memory imprinting could explain the mysterious talents of a savant – how an individual with no formal training and sometimes with disabilities, can possess unexplainable abilities in music, language, math, or art. These people very well could be utilizing imprinted knowledge in a way that others of us can’t.

On the flip side, this could explain why some people are born abusers or are just plain evil.

In the animal kingdom, this same theory has been bandied about when mice can follow a path through a maze that was forged by their parents. They were born knowing the twists and turns they’d have to make - - - makes you think, for sure.

Maybe this is an answer to phobias and anxiety issues. Hell, this theory could answer a lot of questions. This molecular residue from days gone by could very well explain why we feel, believe, and react to things the way we do.

Truthfully, this big subject of familial imprints is sort of making my small brain hurt – ha!

There was one point that gave me hope, however. Epigenetics also offers the possibility that a person can choose to become a pivotal character, one who will create a path of change, a course correction, a line of healing for future generations. Maybe we aren’t necessarily doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Instead, we can consciously decide to man the helm of our own future.

Yes, we are a product of our past.

So, now I have a basis from which to expound on my plot in this new historical. How the actions of those who lived before impacted the actions of those who follow in their footsteps.

And on a more personal note – I would like to believe that the pioneering spirit I inherited from Dosha is stronger than the weakness I inherited from Grandpa John.

Thanks for listening to me ramble –

Love, Sable



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The Wild Woman Sculptor of President Lincoln

By Jacqui Nelson

Happy New Year...one week after the day! The start of a New Year (or even the start of a new month or week) is a great time to make resolutions or create lists of dreams/goals we want to achieve. I believe that planning how I will achieve my dreams/goals is essential. So is embracing (as much as I can without exhausting myself completely) the mindset of a go-getter. 

What or who is a go-getter? Well, I think Vinnie Ream definitely was one. Read on and be inspired (as I was) by the go-getter who was the daughter of a land surveyor but still found a way to sculpt Abraham Lincoln when she was only seventeen...

Lavinia Ellen "Vinnie" Ream
( born 1847 in Madison, Wisconsin ) 

As a child, Vinnie Ream moved frequently due to her father's job as a land surveyor. When she was seven, her family moved to Kansas, and she was sent to school in St. Joseph, Missouri. Three years later, she attended Christian College in Columbia, Missouri. In 1858, she rejoined her parents in Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

In 1861, her family moved to Washington, D.C. in search of new employment. As her father's health continued failing, Vinnie started working to support her family. 

She was one of the first women employed by the U.S. federal government. From 1862 to 1866, she processed undeliverable mail in the U.S. postal system's dead letter office. She also sang in church and in hospitals and spent the rest of her time studying statues at the U.S. Capitol and in public squares—while dreaming of becoming a sculptor.

Vinnie with her bust of Lincoln

In 1863, she used a contact from her Christian College days (who was now a U.S. Congressman) to gain an introduction to the sculptor Clark Mills. The following year, at the age of seventeen, she became an apprentice in Mills' studio.

That same year, President Lincoln agreed to model for her in the mornings for five months. During this time, she created a bust of Lincoln's figure and also (as a marketing strategy) sold photographs of herself and solicited newspaper attention.

A year later in 1865, she became the youngest artist and first woman to receive a commission from the U.S. government for a statue. She used her bust of Lincoln as her entry into the selection contest for a full-size statue of Lincoln. 

Significant debate ensued over her selection due to her inexperience and the slanderous accusations that she was a woman of questionable reputation—known for her beauty, conversational skills, and zest for public relations.

In 1871 when she was 23 years old, her Carrara marble statue of President Lincoln was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. 

Vinnie and her Lincoln statue

In 1875, George Armstrong Custer sat with her for a portrait bust. In 1876, she exhibited at the Centennial Exposition. In 1877, she produced a model for a Lee statue in Richmond. And, after lobbying William Tecumseh Sherman and Mrs. Farragut, she won a competition to sculpt Admiral David G. Farragut. 

She designed the first free-standing statue of a Native American (Sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet) to be placed in Statuary Hall at the Capitol. The town of Vinita, Oklahoma (established by the Cherokee attorney and politician, Elias Cornelius Boudinot) was named in her honor. 

Yup, Vinnie Reams definitely is my idea of a go-getter. Of course, going after (and getting) what you want helps if you have the gift of the gab, which it sounds like Vinnie definitely had as well. 

I'd love to hear your dreams/goals for this year. Hope you'll share ❤️

Three of my dreams/goals for 2021 are... 

1) take a walk at least every second day, so that (if the world allows) I can go on the Kenya/Tanzania safari camping trip (I had to postpone last year) and be fit enough to really enjoy it 

2) let go of what I can't control (just say no to negative thoughts) 

3) keep my mind focused on finishing writing my story-in-progress, A Bride for Griffin 🙂

~ * ~

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Welcome to Cowboy Kisses 2021 ~ Julie Lence

Greetings Cowboy Kisses readers!

Despite all the rules and social distancing Covid has brought to our lives, I hope everyone had a wonderful 2020 holiday season.  For me, the holidays weren’t much different than past holidays. It’s usually hubby, kiddo, and me since most of our family reside in New York, unless you count the real Christmas tree. We haven’t had a real tree in 30 years because I hate the mess from the needles, but hubby and kiddo wanted one so I gave in. (I really had little choice since Fed Ex delivered a tree stand from Amazon, lol.)  But now that the celebrations are behind us and the decorations are put away, I’m ready to dive back in to writing, and part of that includes Cowboy Kisses.

In 2020, Cowboy Kisses said goodbye to some authors and welcomed others. Currently, we have tremendous talent on this blog and I urge you to get to know our team better by checking out their author pages.   

In other news, if you haven’t already, I invite you to join our Facebook group. Membership there grows almost weekly, and everyone enjoys the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday prompts for all members to participate. Our Facebook link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CowboyKisses

We’re also on Twitter and you can catch our tweets here: https://twitter.com/CowboyKisses1

The Cowboy Kisses authors will continue with Excerpt Sunday, which is also located on our Facebook page. We will also host our annual round-up this fall. Last year we held the round up on our Facebook page and it was a success. Unlike the previous year, guests were able to comment without encountering Facebook issues, so we will again hold this year’s party on the group page. And last, but certainly the best, the Cowboy Kisses blog passed over 1,000,000 hits in 2020 since it’s conception. That is a thrilling milestone and one we certainly couldn’t have reached without you, our loyal readers. The Cowboy Kisses authors and myself Thank You for your support and your loyalty, and we look forward to sharing another year with you.

Hugs,

Julie