A Compelling Place (The Port of Azores)

By Dennis Siluk Dr.h.c The road leading up the hill to a spacey panted village, which seemed to be spread out from the foot of a hill above me to circling the top of the hill and then downward, served as the center of the town-let. Here donkeys were unloaded, and small cargoes sorted for delivery to whomever, if indeed there were merchants farther up the mountain, or down the other side. I was left alone, as I climbed the heart of this peak that extended out of the Atlantic Ocean, as if it belonged to the tips of Atlantis, whispering awe to my alternate mind, of the mysterious volcanic ridge underneath it. I looked beyond the limits of the town-let and the mountain peak itself, and saw between the hills, the colorful sun reflecting off its Atlantic waters, it was 1976. As I turned about I found myself facing a speeding car coming down the dusty and hard dirt roadway, a sporty kind of car. The car stopped and I heard a sweet peremptory voice asking, "Are you intended for the island?" I turned to find myself facing a lovely, good-looking woman stout woman, with long black hair, in colorful clothing. "I live here in a dwelling on top of the hill," she replied, "did you just come in from the plain at the airport below at the military air base?" Come the woman's additional reaction, to the curious moment. I stood there in a kind of bewilderment, ignoring the question, "Come" she said, "I'll give you a ride down the mountain?" But I was going up the hill. She then noticed being a stranger with no luggage, must have figured I was taking advantage of the short delay in the refueling of the plane that just had landed at the small military airport below us. "My name is Sergeant Chick Evens," I said, "and yes, I'm just kind of sightseeing as the plane refuels." "People fall of this cliff-road, you must be careful as you reach the top, but by the time you do, the plane will be long gone!" She reminded me. From what I could see, it all was a tightly knit town that stretched from the near the summit where I was, the outer boarder, to the top to the hill, or the peak of the mountain. And then perhaps proceeded down the other side of the hill until it coiled around the hill to the back of the airport. And I wanted to stay for some odd reason, negotiate with the young lady, whose face showed deed thoughts, trying to dig into mine. I was twenty-nine years old then, she was not much older, if not younger. And so I did get in the car, and she drove wildly down the road, and all the other good places I had known become disconsolate for that brief moment in my life. I had wished for a flash, to have made myself a part of the brotherhood of this most desolate, and mostly uninhabited, compelling place. As I sat on the plane heading to Germany, a simple explanation was received into my alternate mind in silence, as if left there by the woman of the Port in the Azores, to forever ponder, received as if by clairvoyance, in a long moment of hesitation, marked by her deep-set eyes, which seemed to express the quiet exaltation of the town- And I seemed to carry fugitive thoughts, the island had a kind of intellectual power far surpassing others I had been on, and I had wondered, and still do wonder if I could have held a place amongst them. No: 1031/11-5-2014 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Siluk_Dr.h.c. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8797121

Can Thoughts Really Help You Get What You Want?

by Wendy Watkins

It is hard to believe that it was about eighteen years ago when the Olympics were here in Atlanta. As cool as that was, it was not nearly as exciting as when we found out that my sister Lisa was pregnant. It was the first baby in the family - big deal!

When we learned it was a boy, the excitement escalated. We were all huge Braves fans at the time, so every time the immediate family saw Lisa, we would rub her belly and say, "now pitching for the Atlanta Braves, Jake Lovvorn."

We said that often. It became our mantra.

It is not surprising that Jake is a hot shit left handed pitcher, getting ready to start his college baseball career in 2015.

This is a wonderful piece of evidence of attraction principles - what you put your attention on expands.

What is your mantra? What do you tell yourself regularly?

Is it "When am I going to find a job I love?" or "I love my job?" Is it "My life is awesome" or "I wish I had so and so's (fill in the blank with whose being you covet) life, it seems so much better than mine."

There are so many people out there dissatisfied with what they have, so they spend their time blaming or complaining about it. That seems like the normal thing to do, if you are unhappy.

Or is it?

If you are blaming and complaining, that is what you are putting attention on. And, if you are putting your attention on it, most likely you are getting more of just that.

For example, when I wanted to quit smoking cigarettes many years ago, instead of thinking about how hard it is to quit smoking (which it was), I put my attention on what I wanted - better health.

My mantra became "I prefer health." I would let that song play in my head all the time, even when I was on the back deck smoking a cig. "I prefer health, I prefer health, I prefer health."

Over time, when a craving would show up, I would choose not to have one until the next craving came, then I would say the mantra and eventually I stopped smoking.

There are still times that I crave a smoke, 8 years later. Guess what I say? I prefer health, and I do!

If you want to change something in your life, I invite you to:

1. Notice what you are telling yourself about your situation.

2. Shift the mantra to something positive.

Are you telling yourself you are fat?

Try telling yourself you are in the process of finding your perfect body weight.

Do you think your job sucks?

Find something to appreciate about your job, maybe the paycheck or the unlimited coffee - then reframe your thought - I prefer work that fulfills me.

Know this, changing the thought is just the beginning, and a very good beginning. From there, you'll move forward with inspired actions so your new mantra becomes reality.

Jake does not throw 88 mph fast balls by just visualizing and affirming, he practices and works out.

By changing your thoughts you will not become the next pitcher for the Atlanta Braves (unless you are Jake!), but you will begin to live a life you are madly in love with, filled with fulfillment, peace, joy and abundance! Homerun!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Watkins

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8797157

How to Learn Simple Magic Tricks

by Avisha Jain

For many people magic tricks hold a fascination for them, leaving them wondering how they are done and for some they want to know how to do simple magic tricks to entertain their friends so in this article we will cover simple magic tricks. To know how to do simple magic tricks that actually work and will not embarrass you in front of your friends the two best pieces of advice you can receive are to practice, practice, practice, and stick with the simple tricks and not some of the hard ones.

Do not look at any simple magic trick and think you are going to be able to do it perfectly the first, or even the second or third time. This is where practice comes in. Do not be afraid of failure. Just keep practicing. Looking at all the famous magician's of today it is a sure bet that they got to where they are today with lots of practice. You should learn to have a poker face and have the ability to draw your audience under your spell. Start out with the simple ones, master them, and move onto more sophisticated tricks. You should know many magic tricks because a "one trick magician" will not go anywhere nor will they be very entertaining.

One of the first and maybe the easiest trick to learn is the coin tricks. Learning coin tricks will help to make you a famed mind reader. The props that you will need are some type of hat and five to ten different coins of different denominations. When ready to perform the trick ask someone to check the coins to make sure that they are all denominations and choose one to show to another member of the audience. Shake the coins inside the hat to mix them up and then tell the audience that you are going to read their mind and pick the coin that they have picked. Look into the hat and have on a game face that makes the audience feel you are really concentrating and trying to read their mind. Feel the coins in the hat and the one that feels the warmest is the coin that was chosen by your volunteer. Bring that coin out, show it to the audience, and leave them awestruck.

After mastering the coin trick you can move on to other magic tricks like card tricks but make sure that you have several magic tricks that you have mastered before entertaining your friends at parties, school talent shows, or even doing them for pay.

This article is penned by Avisha Jain for the Adelaide magician group - Mind Blown. Mind Blown is an award winning group of magicians that perform deception shows and stage magic shows at corporate events, wedding receptions and close-up magic.

The group has given performances and been part of major events all across Australia and performed internationally as well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Avisha_Jain

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8797664

Art Versus Craft by Linda Murdock

There are distinctions (and similarities) between craft people and artists. Artists are dedicated to their work. It is their life calling and their intent is to pursue that calling as a career. They not only create a final product, but they create its shape, color, the medium, the finish, the title of the work. It comes from a deep emotional need to express themselves. And the outcome is one of a kind. They may have to get a second job as a means to continue their art, but what they produce is often seen as more valuable than a craft, albeit not always in their lifetime. The finished piece may have little in the way of practical purpose, but you cannot look at Van Gogh's Sunflowers without feeling that the world is a better place because of his emotional, uplifting contribution to the human spirit.

A craft person also has a need to create. He or she learns and develops a skill, but often limits his or her passion to the weekend or as a hobby or even as a way to supplement income. It is not their career and, thus, does not often command the same price as art. A craft person knows what his end product is going to be from the beginning, whereas, an artist does not. The object being crafted comes from a pattern created by someone else, whether knitting, crocheting, quilting, woodworking, sewing, pottery, etc. The end product is more often something you can play with or wear or use in some way. Craft people can expand their skills and reach for a more artistic result by going beyond the pattern and producing new objects and new ways to reach that final result, but they know what the final result will be even if it is one of a kind.

Craft people may become artists, if there is no longer an element of practicality and purpose in what they are creating. The motivation to create is more practical for a craft person and more emotional for an artist. The artist experiments and his work evolves as he or she shares the audience's reaction to the final piece.

Perhaps the best way to understand the difference is that an artist makes infinite decisions, explores a multitude of possibilities based on the knowledge of his craft and then clarifies and defines the result based on an emotional need to express himself and have others experience that emotional release. The fact that the work is so tied to the artist that many do not get it, is exactly why craft people and crafting continue to be appreciated and emulated. You don't have to get a craft, but when you do, you have something enjoyable that speaks to you in a way you can understand. Ultimately, the individual assesses and defines the work through his or her own eyes and determines whether it is art or craft. The important thing is that someone appreciates the work, a small piece of someone else's life.

Copyright 2014 by Linda K Murdock. Linda has many interests, including crocheting and going to craft shows. Go to her namesake website and follow her blog or visit her publishing site, which describes her four books at http://bellwetherbooks.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Murdock

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8800094