Learn to Stop, Sit and Listen To Your Heart by Shifra Stein

Living Successfully

If you feel like the world is speeding up when you need to slow down, this is the time to reflect on what you need to do to stay healthy in stressful times. Many people are walking around fearful and afraid. If you don't know where to turn, don't turn. If you don't know what to do, don't do anything--except the following three things: Stop. Sit. And Listen To Your Heart.

If you are terribly busy being busy, how on earth will you take the time to simply be? If you never stop long enough to catch up with yourself, how will you find yourself? How long can you keep running? Do you really know where you're going?

When we run for a long time, we build up a terrible thirst for something more than what we have. Yet, because we run constantly, we have no time to find out what we need. The more we run, the more we lose ground, surrendering parts of ourselves along the way. First, our hearts; then our minds. We need to recover what we've lost. And we can only do that by stopping long enough to listen to the person within.

The art of self-centering

Spirit Soars - by Shifra Stein - peaceful, relaxing, calming energy, exhale, relax, cell, fiber, being, path, emotions, feelings, Holland America Statendam, writer, author, artist, watercolor

Being "self-centered" doesn't necessarily mean being selfish. Think of a potter's wheel, if you will. In order to throw a pot, the clay must be properly centered. Otherwise the pot will fall apart. You are like the clay. You must first be centered within the wheel of life before you can be beneficial to yourself and others. One of the ways to begin the self-centering process is to be honest with yourself. Covering up the deepest part of you with a lie, throws you off balance. When we deny the truth of who we are, we don't think straight, sometimes hiding the best parts of ourselves beneath a lot of rubbish. If you are doing something you love to do, then your time is being spent wisely. If not, then maybe it's you might want to rethink the way you are spending your days and with whom you are spending them.

JOURNALING EXERCISE

Getting in touch with your creative center. In this guided visualization, be open to new ideas and experiences that come to mind. Record the exercise and play it back at leisure.
- Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and let it out. Let go of all tension and stress.
- Inhale peaceful, relaxing, calming energy. Exhale and relax.
- Imagine that your emotions are made up of tiny bubbles--a stress bubble here, and a tension bubble there. Bubbles of fear, and doubt, and anger, and guilt. See the bubbles dissolving--just going away. No more bubbles.
- Imagine that you are in a safe place where limitations do not exist. Feel yourself open up to creative energy that surrounds you. Let this energy penetrate every cell, every fiber of your being.
- See yourself walking down a pathway. Imagine that this pathway is in the middle of a beautiful, tranquil setting. As you walk the path, feel yourself becoming more and more centered, more calm, and more self-assured.
- Where are you headed on this path? Is there a specific direction you're taking? Where is the path leading you? Be aware of any message or communication that is coming to you at this time. Also be open to new creative ideas that emerge as you walk the path. Notice any feelings and emotions that emerge from this experience.
- When you're ready to come back to the room, take a deep breath and open your eyes.
Using crayons or magic markers, take a piece of paper and draw a picture of what you felt or saw in your guided visualization

Shifra Stein is the author of Unlocking The Power Within: Journaling For Personal and Professional Growth. The book is available for $12.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling. For more information, see her website at www.shifrastein.com

Cruising Artfully In Autumn

Holland America Statendam, photo credit copyright 2002 by Bob Barrett - North Light Magazine, The Crafts Report, Arts Magazine, Kansas City Star, solo exhibitions, paintings, artist seminars

Its 6 a.m. and I'm up sitting on deck of the Holland America Statendam sipping a cup of strong coffee and watching the sun rise over the Sea of Cortés. There are a few people jogging around me on the outside promenade and they seem oblivious to the radiant color of sky and sea, which I'm attempting to capture on paper. My palette is balanced nicely on the small table beside me; my brushes at the ready. With so much free time to recharge my spirit and renew my commitment as an artist, I have begun to fine-hone my artistic skills aboard this lovely ship which offers me the respite to create in peace.

As a seasoned traveler, I've found there are big differences that set apart major cruise lines from one another. To me, décor has a lot to do with my own personal comfort level. Holland America Line (HAL) touts itself as being "oceans apart" in comfort and spacious design and I found this to be true. I liked traveling in the ship's elegant surroundings, where I could sip cappuccino in a grand atrium that soared three decks high, or descend a grand sweeping staircase into a resplendent two-tiered dining room with walls of glass on three sides and a canopy of Venetian glass.

Of course, if you don't care about grace and comfort, or first-rate service, any cruise line will do. But there's something to be said for HAL's attentive staff, fine food, and monumental signature sculptures suspended through the three-story atriums at the heart of all HAL ships.

Sunset board the Statendam copyright 2002 Bob Barrett - Kansas City Art Institute, Eastern Shore Arts Center, Fairhope Alabama, American Business Women's Association Speaking of comfort, I liked the calm reassurance of the cushy seating to be found in the state of the art lounges named after famous Dutch painters. The Rubens, Van Gogh, Vermeer, and Rembrandt lounges-- all themed to the artist's era, feature their namesake's likeness etched into the glass doors at the lounge's entrance.

In addition, the interiors of the cruise ships feature an extensive museum quality collection of commissioned art and intriguing antiques, lending a warm, inviting sense of a home-away-from-home. Fresh flowers can be found in all of the public areas, and ships such as The Statendam boast a teak promenade deck that completely encircles the vessel, and holds dozens of lovely teak deck chairs for sunning yourself.

I found the staterooms to be very spacious-an average of 25 percent larger than other ships in the same class. All the little extras add up to a big difference that is part of charm of this appealing cruise line. To check out the upcoming autumn cruises down the Mexican Riviera, or other sailing schedules, see the cruise line's website at www.hollandamerica.com or call 1-877-SAIL HAL.

Shifra Stein, healthy, stressful, fearful, heart, earth, running,thirst, center, selfish, self-centered, honest, balance, truth, creative center, inhale

Shifra Stein - Writer, author, artist, and workshop presenter, Shifra Stein has written more than 30 books and hundreds of articles for magazines and newspapers, many of which focus on arts-related topics. As an artist, Ms. Stein's unusual watercolor and mixed media techniques have been featured in publications such as North Light Magazine, The Crafts Report, Arts Magazine, Star Magazine, The Kansas City Star and other publications. Her artwork has been featured in solo exhibitions and group shows and her paintings hang in corporate and private collections. In addition, Ms. Stein offers workshops in the visual arts as well as expressive writing. She has presented artist seminars through the Kansas City Art Institute, Eastern Shore Arts Center in Fairhope Alabama, and other venues. In addition, her unusual creativity training seminars have been presented through The American Business Women's Association and the NCAA, as well as hospitals, wellness centers, and professional organizations. A member of the Missouri Watercolor Society, Greater Kansas City Art Association, and Kansas City Artists Coalition and juror for the renowned Kansas City Plaza Art Fair, Ms. Stein is available for workshops, speaking engagements and artist representation. For more information see her Art For The Health of It website at www.shifrastein.com.
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