Confidence: Confidence is earned and created by doing hard things. Start somewhere and believe in yourself. When issues arise, face them, make a decision, fix them, learn from them and move on. Continue to challenge yourself in the process and you will earn the faith you need to have inyou.

As a part of my series about the 5 Important Business Lessons I Learned While Being On The Shark Tank I had the pleasure of interviewing Krista Woods. Krista was in the Sales, Training & Management Industry for 27 years. While raising three kids, she was promoted from sales to management quickly. Although being a female in a male dominated field wasnt always easy, she found repeated success in her ability to effectively communicate with her coworkers and customers. Krista wanted to grow as a leader and positive role model, so she invested in herself by taking a course to become a Certified Color Code Instructor and in 2016 she added award winning inventor to her resume with her company GloveStix. Krista and her company GloveStix have been honored to receive over 15 awards the last 3 years including The Today Shows Next Big Thing and this past year her Shark Tank episode aired where she pitched her product to some of Americas toughest Investors and closed a deal with not one, but two of the Sharks, on National Television.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit of the backstory about how you grew up?

I grew up in a very successful family, my father was a business owner and always made sure we knew that you dont get anything in life without hard work. I am the youngest of 4 so when I was in High School my older siblings were already off and gone to college, but I had no clue what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be. All I knew at the time, is that I could make people laugh so I usually got into trouble doing a bunch of silly stuff and I had a hard time following the rules. I ended up going to Community College to try and figure things out but during my first year I became a single mom, so I ended up dropping out. Needless to say, when I held my beautiful daughter in my arms, I knew it was time to finally get my act together.

Can you share with us the story of the aha moment that gave you the idea to start your company?

Fast Forward 21 years,a husband and 2 more kids later, as a working mother of 3 I was always very busy especially during their sports seasons. I spent more time in the car running from event to event and I had less time at home. I had spent years trying different products to help with the odor in their gear and wasted so much money, time and effort trying to get the odor out. Especially from those athletic gloves and cleats. It wasnt only my problem, every parent of an athlete I knew also had the same odor issues.

So 5 years ago, on the way home from a Lacrosse Tournament, my youngest sons gear bag was making me want to puke again and I looked at my husband and said, Thats it! I am going to invent something! With absolutely no experience in manufacturing, e-commerce, logistics or marketing, or actually anything I do now, and with the help of my husband and friends I went from idea to prototype then to having an actual product for sale in 1 year.

The actual design of the Stix just popped in my head. I wanted to create a product that not only was cool looking, so the athlete would actually want to use it, but after several months of research I also knew

-They HAD to work

-They HAD to be affordable

-They HAD to be non-toxic

-They HAD to be easy to use, to help out us moms always on the go

Thats when GloveStix and StankStix were born!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Thankfully I have a lot of stories, it sure has been an incredible few years and I have managed to do so many things I never thought possible. Everyone knows I have been on different TV Shows, but I think one of the most gratifying and interesting things I have done was not publicized. I have been volunteering in my local schools for a few years, speaking to students in the classroom as well as their Marketing and Deca Departments and because of that, I was recommended to VAME (Virginia Association of Marketing Educators) to be a closing speaker for their summer conference last year. I was extremely nervous, here I was going to speak to my state of Virginias Marketing Teachers, yet I had never taken a Marketing class so I wasnt sure how well I would be received. It went awesome, more than awesome actually and because of that I was invited to be part of the Virginia Department of Educations Marketing and Entrepreneurship Curriculum Team. That means, I sat on a board with only 14 others including some Middle School Teachers, High School Teachers, College Professors and another Business Owner and we spent the entire day rewriting the curriculum for the State of Virginia and changed what they will teach in our Schools.

I found it so interesting watching all the different perspectives coming together at one table to work together, unify and solve real world teaching strategies. I love how they had a few of us from each category. Teachers shared what they currently taught, the College Professors shared what they currently taught (which was surprisingly different from the Teachers) and us Entrepreneurs, we shared what actually happens. Despite our initial differences in opinion, we learned from each other and came together to create some awesome new curriculum for our young marketing students.

When you have an open mind, and say yes to yourself, you can do and learn some amazing things that will create change for years to come.

Can you share a story about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?

One of the funniest things from the beginning days was when I was trying to find a manufacturer. After months of calling plastic factories within 300 miles of my house, getting hung up on, leaving messages over and over again and never getting any return calls or emails, one day I finally got this guy on the phone to listen to what I wanted to make. I was probably talking 100 miles per hour (I was just so excited I actually got someone to listen to me) and when I was done he said, I am sorry mam, we dont work with Entrepreneurs well I wasnt sure who he was talking to because I responded, Excuse me, I am NOT an Entrepreneur; I am just a mom trying to invent something!

I still laugh at that and share that story. It just goes to show you that I really knew NOTHING. I didnt even know that I was trying to be an Entrepreneur and I definitely did not think I was capable of being one. I learned that Entrepreneurship is one of the hardest but most rewarding professions and any one is capable of it if you have a drive and passion to see it through. There are a lot of ups and downs, its like a roller coaster ride that is never ending so it takes a certain mindset to keep convincing yourself to keep pushing forward.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Prior to GloveStix, I ran Color Code Team Building Workshops for Companies, so I got my people fix doing that and I absolutely loved it. Making the transition over the last few years to full time GloveStix, one of the hardest challenges for me is all the time I now have to spend in my office by myself. However, starting GloveStix has opened up a lot of doors in other areas I wasnt expecting, and I also have been doing a lot of public speaking. Giving my time to help inspire others is actually what fuels me so I have been doing a lot of it on the side. There is nothing better than being inspired, by inspiring someone else. The feedback I get from the audience, and the messages sent to me after I speak are what I carry with me through my hard days and I am so grateful that my story, can make someone else feel like they can do anything. Thats the point I try to make, if I can do it, so can YOU! There will be a lot more of that in my future, the more I speak, the more I get asked to speak and I absolutely love it!

Ok, thank you for all that. Lets now move to the main part of our interview. Many of us have no idea about the backend process of how to apply and get accepted to be on the Shark Tank. Can you tell us the story about how you applied and got accepted. What hoops did you have to go through to get there? How did it feel to be accepted?

I applied for Shark Tank at an open casting call in April 2017 in NYC. The crazy thing was, I actually really did not want to go on Shark Tank, I was way too scared but everywhere I went and everyone I talked to would always ask if I was going to try. I got asked by The Today Show to come back for a one year follow up of The Today Shows Next Big Thing Contest I won and this little birdy in my head kept telling me to check when a Shark Tank Casting Call was so I finally listened to the voice in my head and I hopped on their website. That is when I found out that the open casting call date was the day after I was going on the Today Show and only 2 blocks from where I was going to be in NYC. All I had to do was stay one more night. All the stars were aligning, and I no longer had any excuses, so I decided to go for it! I had about 2 weeks to prepare my pitch and I practiced every day. When I did my pitch I thought it was Ok so I really wasnt sure if I was going to make it past that round or not but it wasnt too long after that I received a call from a Producer telling me that I made it to the next round. Of course, still with no guarantees, I was then assigned another producer who basically interviewed me every week for the next 6 weeks. She would ask me to send in certain paperwork or for me to send my sample pitch or even one time I had to do a 10 min video talking about myself and my business. I did it in 2 takes, I wanted it to be as authentic as possible! Every time I had about 5 days until I had to get them what they were asking for and I dropped everything and got them everything they asked for, even before they needed it. Once I made a decision to go for it, there was no stopping me and I wanted to show them I was reliable, and they could count on me in the process as well. I think that is a very important piece that a lot of people forget about. Will you be easy to work with?

I know that Producers have tons of people to pick from, you have to make sure they know that you will do your part and that they can be confident in their choice if they choose to pick you. I eventually got a call and heard the words I was waiting for, Krista, we would like to offer you an opportunity to pitch your product in the Tank! OMG, I FREAKED OUT! Seriously, I couldnt believe I had done it, I couldnt believe it was happening and I just screamed and cried and screamed some more. Several of my family members came running to my office to check on me and my producer, who I loved, just giggled on the other end of the phone. She said that was one of the best reactions she had ever heard.

Im sure the actual presentation was pretty nerve wracking. What did you do to calm and steel yourself to do such a great job on the show?

I calmed myself the same way I do anything challenging. Before I went in, I first said lots of prayers and then second, I put in headphones and listened to some angry girl power music, then right before I pray again! Mindset matters and nothing gets my mindset in the right place then when I am all jacked up on Pink, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Jesus! LOL

Once you are in the Tank though all that was out the window. You dont see cameras; you just see 5 people and an opportunity of a lifetime. After your initial 1 min and 30 second pitch, its a free for all and I am a firm believer that you never rise to the occasion, but you fall back to your preparation. I was confident that I prepared more for this moment, then I had ever prepared for anything in my life and that I could hold my own, that helps with nerves a lot. For 3 months prior I studied every single day. I watched every Shark Tank Episode, wrote down every question asked, then would write them on a 35 index card with the answers that pertained to my business on the back. I added new cards every night to my pile and brought those cards in my purse everywhere I went and those times that I used to pull up Facebook while in the carpool line or a line at the store, or where ever, I brought out my index cards instead. I studied hard and didnt stop until the morning of my taping. Preparation produces confidence and confidence helps you do anything!

So what was the outcome of your Shark Tank pitch. Were you pleased with the outcome?

When my Shark Tank episode first aired, I did more business in the next 2 months then I had done the entire previous year before so financially it was a huge success right away. My episode was very well received by the audience, and I am so thankful for that, and I got hundreds of emails from strangers telling me that I inspired them. It was the most incredible feeling. I will never forget the kind words that were shared with me in those emails and the personal stories of struggle from some. Since then, I have made it a priority to give back, volunteer more, and continue to inspire as many people as I can.

What are your 5 Important Business Lessons I Learned While Being On The Shark Tank? (Please share a story or example for each.)

It just so happens when I speak, I talk about the 5 Cs. These are the 5 things I have learned and by practicing these 5 Cs it has helped me grow as a business owner and leader.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive and avoid burnout?

I like challenge, I need it to keep me going. I have a whats next type of personality. However, in teaching my Team Building Workshops I have learned that although most people need something to look forward to or work towards, they are not always financial goals. I highly recommend if you are working in a team environment to make sure you fully understand who your teammates are and what they need. Everyones needs and wants are different and recognizing what they are, will help them enjoy their jobs. If you are always pushing your own agenda, and your own needs and wants on to your people, burn out is almost inevitable. Proper communication, understanding and acceptance of who your people are, are key.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

If I could inspire a movement it would be a Stop believing everything you see on Social Media movement. Social media is awesome in so many ways but we need to understand it has its downsides too. I know so many people that can go on it and depending on the day it makes them feel really bad about themselves or their life. That makes me sad because on Social Media, people usually only share the good stuff that happens to them, very rarely do you see a I sure sucked today post. Well, even if people dont post about it, we all have sucky days, yes, even the most successful people you know make mistakes and have challenges and struggles both personally and professionally. There is no such thing as perfect and even if there was how boring!

Can you please give us your favorite Life Lesson Quote? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Be real and be vulnerable. You may not fit in but you were designed to stand out!

Some people follow the yellow brick road to get to their OZ while I have always been one to swing from the trees and branches to get to mine. It has served me well in life to follow my own path, not the path that others set for me. Your path may be different, and it may not be the easy path but as long as you are being true to yourself, you will succeed!

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

Yes, lots of them but Kevin Plank who owns Under Armour needs to meet me. His headquarters are in Maryland, which is right across the bridge from where I live, and he started his business out of the trunk of his car. His story is amazing, and I think about what an incredible business he has all the time. I think one day there is a possibility we could do business together, I know I am reaching, but I am supposed to reach right?!

More here:
Krista Woods: Here Are 5 Important Business Lessons I Learned While Being On Shark Tank - Thrive Global

Dr. Megan Jones Bell

Can meditation help you become more creative? Will this practice also improve your leadership skills? Dr. Megan Jones Bell says yes. She's chief science officer at Headspace, the company behind the popular meditation app of the same name.

Founded in 2010 by Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson, Headspace claims over 60 million members across 190 countries. The app offers meditation courses in everything from creativity to better sleep, many of which can help creatives, leaders and executives perform more effectively.

Those new to meditation struggle with finding time to practice. I was talking to a friend about meditation, and he complained he couldn't find time to squeeze another 10 minutes into his already overloaded morning. Bell suggested people like my friend layer meditation onto an existing habit or routine instead.

"If you walk for 10 minutes, you could take a mindful walk. It doesn't need to start with eyes-closed meditation," she says. "You could try a wind down exercise that has a short mindfulness-based activity and technique that helps you turn your mind off for the evening. It could be taking a mindful run with one of our audio guided runs that we've made with Nike. There's multiple front doors into this practice."

Meditating by focusing on the breath or a mindful run could help my friend and many others perform more effectively at work. Headspace worked with the College of Policing in the United Kingdom and conducted a study of approximately 1,300 participants in five different police forces. The study found that meditation is associated with improved job performance, increased well-being and resilience.

"We know that when we are stressed, when we have a feeling of being burned out, that's associated with difficulty in productivity or decreased focus," says Jones. "It's really this combination of being in a healthier overall emotional state, which comes from a practice of meditation as well as this training in attention and awareness that is really core to meditation."

Mindful Leadership

Leaders of large teams or within busy companies often juggle competing priorities, frequently without clear-cut solutions. For example, how should a leader react if a key team members quits in the middle of a product launch? While meditating won't provide the immediate answer, it'll help a leader manage challenges with more authenticity.

"[Mindful leadership means] our stress doesn't spill out on those around us, on our team. We can reduce it and manage it more effectively. We can be more intentional in every kind of micro-interaction that we have with our teams throughout the day," Jones says.

"If you're in a company where you believe in the mission, or you're working towards a big goal together, being able to hold that in your present moment awareness is really helpful for navigating challenges."

In the case of an entrepreneur, a key client quitting at short notice might cause him or her to react negatively and even lash out at other team members. Instead, practicing meditation for just three weeks could help this entrepreneur learn how to step back rather than react to business setbacks emotionally.

"You can more easily toggle between putting out the fire of the moment and the bigger picture," says Jones. "That dual focus is really important for a leader, and to guide the team, help people through the day-to-day challenges while anchoring to that bigger goal."

The teams at Headspace regularly meditate together at the start of the day and before meetings. That culture is understandable considering Headspace's product.

When a writer, musician or artist turns up in front of the blank page, canvas or in a studio, they're under pressure to perform. It's no wonder many complain about feeling blocked or uninspired. That pressure is hardly conducive to open-minded expansive thinking.

"When you are better able to distance yourself or set aside those pressures, those expectations, the stress that might come along with needing to produce something for a deadline, you're better able to create the right conditions for creativity to occur," says Jones. "When we're better able to notice our thoughts to kind of quiet the mind, we can create the right conditions for creativity to happen."

Follow this link:

Why Meditation Will Help You Become A Better Leader - Forbes

Posted on Dec 22, 2019

By Teddy Robertson

It all began with a New York City police officer.

Michigan-native Gloria Kramer was an accomplished 5K, 10K, and half-marathon runner when she realized she wanted something more than what she got from a good run. Living in Florida where she worked as a registered dietitian, running had been her avocation.

I was in my thirties, Kramer says. Meditation was becoming popular and I was interested, but I had a heck of a time just sitting still and clearing my mind.

Thats where the policeman came in.

Kramer saw an ad for a tai chi class, and the instructor turned out to be a police officer from New York whod given up his career to teach tai chi. Gloria learned Yang 24, a form, or set of traditional tai chi movements created in China in 1956 to bring the benefits of tai chi to the masses.

Tai chi is moving meditation, she says, It gives your body and mind a chance to connect. I liked the physicality of it, plus the mental aspect.

Kramer continued her tai chi instruction with Hilmar Fuchs, a renowned German martial arts master headquartered in Florida. Gloria describes Fuchs as phenomenal teacher; tai chi really resonated with me, she says.

She was hooked.

But life happens. Kramer and her family (now including an infant daughter) returned to Michigan. She searched for a teacher, but never found someone equal to Fuchs.

Gloria Kramer (Photo by Teddy Robertson)

Fast forward several years and life intervened once again. Kramers daughter turned six and wanted to learn karate. The karate studio offered parents the option of watching their kids classes or participating themselves for the same cost. Guess what?

Kramer learned along with her daughter and eventually obtained a second degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do, Korean-style karate.

But as I grew older, she says, those takedowns and throws are harder on your body. She returned to tai chi.

At first Kramer practiced qi gong (or chi gong) warm up exercises and tai chi in the evening to help a cousin relieve anxiety during a stressful time in her life. Kramer remembered her cousins comment: You know, you should teach this; youre really good at it.

Qi gong involves repetitive exercises to stimulate the flow of qi or energy throughout the body, whereas tai chi involves a form or sequence of movements that flow from one to the next that complete an entire set movements.

A registered dietitian with a masters degree in nutrition, Kramer had always enjoyed the teaching shed done in hospital settings. Maybe her cousin was right? She should become a teacher herself.

Kramer sought out tai chi instruction online that would prepare her to teach. She began with the program of Vancouver specialist, Dr. Keith Jeffrey, originator of Easy Tai Chi. At a weekend session for certification, people told her about Dr. Paul Lam.

A physician and world leader in tai chi for health for over forty years, Dr. Lam has promoted tai chi for health improvement from his home in Australia. https://taichiforhealthinstitute.org/about-dr-paul-lam/ Dr. Lam and his master trainers also teach in the US, annually offering workshops in different states.

Kramer attended a regional workshop in Cincinnati held by Lams Tai Chi for Health Institute, and today she is certified in all the Institutes tai chi forms adapted for different needs: tai chi for health, energy, arthritis, rehab, and diabetes. In week-long intensive courses with Lams master trainers, Kramer learned other long forms of tai chi: Sun 73 and Chen 36.

Kramers journey toward official teaching began when she offered a class at her karate studio. She went on to teach evening classes for Flushings Community Education. Today Kramer teaches a total of 13 tai chi classes a week in four different locations: YMCA Pierson Road, Grand Blanc Senior Center, Woodhaven Assisted Living, and the McLaren Hospitality House Conference Center (cancer patients take these classes for free). Today 80 adults are learning tai chi in these classes.

Tai chi instruction is challenging. For successful learning, beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners must be grouped to accommodate their skill levels. At Grand Blanc and Hospitality House Gloria teaches the three levels back to back.

Kramer emphasizes that you have to experience tai chi to appreciate its value for health and well-being. People who manage to complete one month or longer are more likely to stay with the practice than those who take a single class. For example, most of Kramers regular students at McLaren Hospitality House have been attending twice a week for three or four years.

To accommodate people who drop in at the Pierson Road Y, Kramer usually teaches one tai chi form twice a week and then chi gong exercises the third day of the week. People often begin with the qi gong exercises and then jump into the tai chi class.

Kramer views America as a vast, potential market for tai chi. The variations designed by Dr. Lam and his team show how the practice is adapted for all ages and conditions. Still, so many people just dont have access, she says. One approach is working though hospitals . . . a wonderful way to get in touch with people who could benefit. Kramer would like to get doctors interested; she has experimented with teaching tai chi to staff in medical offices. The market is untapped in many different places, she says.

An adept practitioner of three tai chi stylesYang, Sun, and ChenKramer describes the benefits of each one. When asked if she has a favorite, she replies: The Chen 36 is mentally challenging but also athletic, Sun 73 is good for relaxing and breathing, and Yang 24 has a pleasant flow.

Tai chi is rooted in the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang oppositions. Reflecting on this duality, Kramer notes, yin is water and yang is fire. Tai chi belongs to the spirit of yin in life. Americans tend to embrace yang-type or active principle movement like aerobic exercise or weightlifting. Everything is so hard and fast. But our minds are very overactive; our life is over stimulated.

Kramer repeats, tai chi really needs to be experienced. While its practice may be hard to explain, the benefits of tai chi are recognized and promoted by the Center for Disease Control, the National Council on Aging, and the Arthritis Foundation.

US medical and healthcare systems, however, are not geared to offer tai chi or qi gong exercises as a prescriptionin contrast to countries like Australia and China. We may eventually embrace tai chi for health, Kramer says, but we are a long way away from it.

Meantime, interest in tai chi grows slowly and Gloria Kramer continues to teach. Asked about her future plans, Kramer muses, Ive been thinking that maybe next spring Ill offer an evening class for working peoplejust the audience that might appreciate a bit more yin in their overactive lives.

More information on the practice of tai chi is available at Chi Force Tai Chi @ 810-348-6530.

Banner photo of one of Gloria Kramers tai chi classes by Teddy Robertson.

EVM Staff Writer and columnist Teddy Robertson can be reached at teddyrob@umich.edu.

See the rest here:

A tai chi chronicle: From marathon to moving meditation and 13 classes - East Village Magazine

An Overview of Meditation

Meditation is characterized by a crossed-legged seated posture, called the lotus pose, accompanied by deep, slowed breathing. Similar to yoga, meditation can help reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and emotional triggers, while changing brainwaves. There are also several methods that offer slightly different benefits.

With many of meditations benefits, it is clear it can be ideal for substance abuse relief to combat symptoms of withdrawal, triggers, and cravings. The benefits of meditation include:

Other benefits of meditation therapy include the ability to alter brainwaves, which contribute to improved psychological function and cortisol reduction. Mindfulness practice can enhance the performance of the frontal cortex, the area of the brain that regulates planning and thinking. Meditation also impacts the amygdala, which reduces fear, and increases the activation of the anterior cingulate cortex, governing motivation and motor control.

In cases of withdrawal-related symptoms such an anxiety, insomnia, or depression, meditation can assist in grounding the individual and calming the nervous system. A calm nervous system enhances the overall quality of sleep, and during times of wakefulness, it enables better moods. Furthermore, those suffering emotionally imbalanced thoughts from disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can learn to observe thoughts without attachment. Meditation therapy also allows someone to actively regain control over impulses. For example, transcendental meditation has been used to reduce drug, alcohol, and nicotine abuse.

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Another element of meditation for substance abuse treatment is the release of dopamine or feel good chemicals sought out by those struggling with addiction. A study by Molecular Psychiatry indicated the low levels of dopamine once someone abusing drugs experience when crashing, contrasting it with a John F. Kennedy study. The John F. Kennedy revealed a 65% boost in the minds of participants during meditation. Any co-occurring or undiscovered motivations for substance abuse, such as filling a void, thinking the worst-case scenario, or feeling anxious can improve with meditation.

A John F. Kennedy revealed a 65% boost in the minds of participants during meditation.

Meditation therapy allows practitioners to feel at peace in the moment. With this, someone with trouble focusing on daily activities and craving substance instead can learn present moment awareness through the breath. If someone includes yoga in their practice, he or she has a better method to achieve wellness and control over ones mental activity. Meditation can aid Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by reinforcing focusing on ones behavior similar to a mindful practice. Lastly, meditation can teach individuals to accept what is, put the past in perspective, or create intentions which are beneficial for someone in treatment.

Meditation is becoming more available as a holistic treatment for substance abuse. Individuals seeking a life of transformation can begin so by contacting a treatment specialist who can place them in a facility offering yoga and meditation. Prospective patients can discover the different types of treatments that can help him or her thrive in wellness. Make the first step, and learn how meditation treatment and medications can set you free from addiction.

Read the original post:

Meditation Therapy for Substance Abuse - Addiction Center

See it before it closes in late January.

"Stages of Dying 5/6: Depression" by Judy Chicago, 2015

Judy Chicago has had a busy year. In addition to opening The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the artist turned 80, opened an art space in New Mexico for her nonprofit Through the Flower, and launched the Judy Chicago Research Portal, which collects the archives of her writing, educational materials, and visual works. The website for that project states that Chicago started the initiative as part of her efforts to overcome the erasure that has eclipsed the achievements of too many women, displaying her desire to create an enduring legacy. Thinking about her own departure from this world and what shell leave behind has prompted three fascinating series of work, and her continued evolution proves why she remains on the cutting edge after decades.

The End is broken up into three distinct rooms for each of its series, like a guided journey into the underworld, and its guards helpfully recommend that viewers absorb the exhibit in its intended order. The first examines death as an abstract concept, the second finds Chicagos personal musings on her own demise, and the third considers the death of the natural world. There is a strictly enforced no photography rule throughout, in contrast to the wall text encouraging hashtagging around the rest of the museum, which prods viewers to stay in the moment and engage with the material.

Despite Chicagos wide-reaching body of work and frequent focus on political and historical issues, her art has often approached those ideas through a lens that points inward. The first room, titled Stages of Dying, repurposes Elisabeth Kbler-Ross five stages of grief to portray a figure who bears a resemblance to Chicago grappling with the concept of death across several panels. Chicago is unabashed in showing the full humanity and raw emotions of a woman who is elderly, nude, and bald, all rarities in artistic depictions. Her distinctive cursive handwriting is a fixture in these porcelain paintings, and in an interview with Artnet, Chicago says, because the subject matter was so personal and intimate, I wanted it to be in my own hand. I wanted it to go from my hand into other peoples hearts.

Next, in the Mortality room, the artist takes a hard look at her own oblivion without flinching, and has gone so far as to preemptively cast her own face and hands in a bronze death mask, a tradition typically reserved for after a person dies. Her likeness appears serene, with her head lying on a pillow, a smile on her lips, and her hands clasping lilies. The hyperrealistic heavy bronze serves as a foil to the surreal, stylized collection of black glass paintings that follow. Chicago is a multi-talented craftswoman, adept at choosing the right material for a given work, and her typical technical mastery and ability to move easily between mediums is on display. Glass painting is a painstaking process, requiring the colors to be built up layer by meticulous layer, and going into the kiln for firing multiple times.

One series of these glass paintings titled In the Shadow of Death considers the views of various philosophers and writers, etching out choice passages like crib notes. Most of these thinkers have a pretty positive spin on death, and some of the accompanying imagery is a bit more lighthearted than the rest of the exhibit, particularly a gleeful skull-faced character.

The next of the glass paintings form How Will I Die, which plays out as a choose-your-own-adventure of possible fatal outcomes that Chicago has contemplated. Will I die screaming in pain? the artist wonders in one particularly visceral panel depicting her writhing figure. Will I die in bed with my cat Petie by my side? asks another. These scenes are illustrated with another Judy Chicago avatar, this time with her famous red hair. One panel shows Chicago laid out, an outline of her head rising upward with the text everyone wants to die peacefully. Her body rests on a reflective swath of iridescent paint that acts almost as a mirror to place the viewer in the scene. The reveries are deeply personal, but they evoke fears and worries that are shared by all.

In the first two rooms, Chicago leaves space for ambiguity and interpretation, but the Extinction segment of the gallery, the finale, conveys an utter clarity of message and purpose. This room features another bronze casting, this one an assemblage of animals that looks over the room, their detailed, lifelike appearances undercut by the inclusion of an incongruous alligator purse. Chicagos work has never shied away from uncomfortable truths, and here she has black glass paintings, each displaying a different ecological atrocity wrought by humans using vivid and sometimes violent imagery. Jarring illustrative elements, like the jagged zigzag edges of fins chopped off of sharks and a cross section of a beluga whale being sliced open for its caviar, along with a tin of the stuff, mark the otherwise delicate rendering of nature scenes. The handwritten captions relay upsetting facts and figures, which frantic crossouts sometimes interrupt.

As the year and the decade draw to a close, its a fitting time to contemplate endings, and an apt opportunity to see The End before it closes in late January. The End is not light fare for an afternoon at the museum, which is precisely what makes it such a vital experience. By the end of this terminal journey, a viewer may be unsettled and emotionally spent, and its rare that art can provoke such a vigorous reaction. Its enough to make a person feel alive.

At the National Museum of Women in the Arts to Jan. 20, 2020.1250 New York Ave. NW. $8$10. (202) 783-5000. nmwa.org.

To Do This Week is your twice-weekly email roundup of arts and cultural events. It's the perfect way to know what's going on, and subscribing is a great way to support us.

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Judy ChicagoThe End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction, Reviewed - Washington City Paper

If you're interested in a more stable, peaceful, or calm life, meditation and mindfulness may be a way to improve your sense of well being. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Michigan Medicine OB/GYN Dr. Frank Anderson, who also co-founded "Ann Arbor Open Meditation," about how a sense of awareness and being in the present moment can help you feel more balanced and choose to respond versus react in stressfulsituations.

Listen to the full interview.

About Ann Arbor Open Meditation

Drop-in mindfulness meditation session, open to all, every Thursday 7:30-8:30 pm, atThe Lotus Center, 2711 Carpenter Road, Ann Arbor, MI.

Appropriate for beginners or experienced meditators.This a secular meditation group with no religious affiliation.The leaders vary from week to week and are experienced meditators from a variety of traditions, primarily Buddhist.

We predominantly teach mindfulness techniques with some concentration and loving kindness meditation. There are two 20-minute sittings the first is guided and the second is silent with time for short discussion and questions.

Guided Body Scan Meditation by Dr. Frank Anderson

Click below to hear a "Guided Body Scan Meditation" with Frank Anderson.

If you wish to contact Dr. Anderson, send him an e-mail here.

Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support.Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.

Like 89.1WEMUonFacebookand follow us onTwitter

Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter@LisaWEMU, or email her atlbarryma@emich.edu

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Art & Soul: The Art Of Well Being - The Merits Of Meditation And Mindfulness - WEMU

Contrary to popular opinion, an ill-paid, grumpy clerk at some small-town motor inn did not turn away Mary and Joseph during the busy season. Thats good pulpit fodder but poor Bible reading.

On orders from Caesar, Joseph had taken his pregnant fiancee to stay with his family for their tiny part in an imperial census-taking, and since the familys guest house was stuffed with other visitors (i.e., there was no room in the inn), the expectant mother required emergency accommodations.

Also contrary to popular opinion, the one called Jesus was not born in a barn. More than likely, mother birthed him in a cave, not far from the family residence but isolated enough for some privacy and perhaps even an odd feeling of coziness. Gospel readers will not miss the interest, since Jesus liked to pray in caves and was buried in a cave, too. Here is where a storyteller might ask us, Now, where do you usually find buried treasure?

And dont assume that a mother laying her baby in an animal feeding trough (she laid him in a manger) to be an insult or indignity, but rather, do assume it to be an infant kinship with all living creatures. Ask a good farmer sometime how he feels about his cows and horses and even chickens and pigs.

The fact of Jesus coming into this world in fragile, earthy, almost obscenely ordinary circumstances does find its way into most press releases and church newsletters. This is fortunate, because the scenario carries with it a crucial paradox. Ninety-nine percent of the time, God will never be where you expect. The people you overlook, the places you pass by and all your tattered and embarrassing humanness that you carefully hide? There lies the bed for the coming child of Christmas. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

The Rev. Eugene Stockstill is pastor of Ebenezer United Methodist Church and Myrtle United Methodist Church in Union County.

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MEDITATION: Don't miss the coming of the child - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

If the holidays leave you more stressed than centered, some experts say daily meditation sessions can help. The only question: Who has time to meditate when it takes 20 minutes just to find parking at the mall?

Perhaps a more practical approach is Immediate Gratification Meditation. Try these tongue-in-cheek chants to maintain your serenity or at least your sanity all season long.

Holiday Mantra 1:

I see the best in all houseguests.

When hosting overnight guests, youll want to make them feel at home. And when they feel too much at home, youll want to mutter this mantra under your breath. Chant it in the bathroom and relax as you remove wet houseguest towels from the floor, plunge a toilet clogged with foreign houseguest matter, and extract a clump of houseguest hair from the shower drain. Chant it in the kitchen while custom-cooking meals that conform to their many dietary restrictions, and washing an endless stream of dishes while they attend to urgent Facebook updates. Finally, chant this mantra in the living room, and welcome the feeling of calm that comes over you as you figure out what they did to the remote control to make it stop working.

Holiday Mantra 2

I celebrate the unique gifts of others.

Chant this mantra instead of chanting, I can tell that you put zero thought into this present. Neutralize negativity as you unwrap an Amazon gift card from your spouse. Express gratitude for that re-gifted bottle of prosecco selected especially for you by the person you gave it to last year, after someone gave it to you the year before. Float above mobs at the mall like a songbird, chirping this mantra as you try to return a sweater that is three sizes too small and did not come with a gift receipt. Remember, this mantra is easily recited in workplace settings as well. Try it during Secret Santa ceremonies where everyone is only allowed to spend 10 bucks. Before you know it, youll find your Zen when Muriel in Accounting gives you another bar of soap/pair of wacky novelty socks/box of Tic Tacs from the checkout counter at CVS.

Holiday Mantra 3

I will be my best self once were done celebrating.

This all-purpose mantra is best chanted when holiday traditions take their toll on your tranquility. Begin by whispering it when selecting and/or decorating a Christmas tree with the pathological perfectionist of your choice. Later, allow yourself to chant it in a louder, more expletive-strewn manner when the tree topples to the floor, shattering each delicate ornament and strangling you with a string of twinkling lights. This versatile mantra may also be chanted while preparing traditional holiday treats such as the Hanukkah latke, which translates from ancient Hebrew to: labor-intensive potato pancake that always comes out soggier than the frozen ones from Trader Joes. And when its finally time to gather together for your holiday feast, recite this mantra with a powerful aperitif. You will attain instant inner peace when your seating plan is ignored, and youll marvel at the colorful conversation between Uncle Mo in the red MAGA cap and cousin Cathy the climate change researcher.

Holiday Mantra 4

Everything will be different next year.

Chant this year, next year, and all subsequent years.

___

Dan Zevin , a Thurber Prize-winning humorist, is author most recently of ``Very Modern Mantras: Daily Affirmations for Daily Aggravations (Running Press Adult). You can follow his teachings on Instagram @modernmantras; Twitter @modern_mantras; and his website, danzevin.com.

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Chant or rant? Surviving the most wonderful time of the year - Associated Press

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey recently wrote about a 10-day silent Vipassana programme he had attended on his birthday at Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar. Elaborating on his experience with the 2,500-year-old meditation form, Dorsey tweeted, Imagine sitting on a concrete floor cross-legged for an hour without moving. Pain arises in the legs in about 30-45 minutes. Ones natural reaction is to change posture to avoid the pain. What if, instead of moving, one observed the pain and decided to remain still through it?

Dorsey is not the first Silicon executive to take up the programme a number of top-ranking executives across the world and in India, though to a much lesser degree, are taking up Vipassana considered to be a fairly gruelling technique.

So what is it about Vipassana that is drawing people to it? We speak with Ramnath Shenoy, Vipassana meditator for over 25 years and a volunteer teacher with the Vipassana International Academy, to find out more about the ancient form of meditation, rediscovered by Gautama Buddha and propagated by Burmese-Indian teacher of Vipassana meditation, Satya Narayan Goenka.

What is the ultimate purpose of Vipassana?

Vipassana is a simple, scientific way to achieve real peace of mind and to lead a happy, useful life. Vipassana means to see things as they really are. It is a process of mental purification through self-observation. We all experience agitation, frustration and disharmony in our lives. When this happens, not only do we suffer ourselves, we make others miserable too by our behaviour.

We all want to live peacefully, within ourselves and with those around us. Vipassana enables us to experience peace and harmony within, by purifying the mind, freeing it from suffering and the deep-seated causes of suffering. Step by step, the practice leads to the highest spiritual goal of full liberation from all mental defilement.

In today's world, where distractions are numerous, how can one practice mindfulness?

I think distractions have always been there in one form or the other. We have to accept this fact and try our best within the circumstances. By the practice of Vipassana, one learns to tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand.

It is the lack of mindfulness that makes us do things which lead to our suffering. By practising mindfulness, we train our mind to be aware and thus do the right action at all times and in all situations.

Vipassana trains you to be non-reactive to sensations - how can this be achieved?

The first step is to be aware of sensations, this itself is a big challenge!

To achieve this, one practices concentration in the first three days of a Vipassana course by observing one's own breath, without trying to control or change it in any way. Once concentration is developed, one practices awareness of ordinary, physical, bodily sensations. One then practices equanimity towards these sensations - not to react with craving or aversion but to accept them as they are. At the experiential level, one understands the impermanent nature of these sensations and one accepts them with calmness. We use these sensations as a tool, to break the habit pattern of generating craving and aversion.

For all this, of course, one has to join a 10 Day course where the technique is taught systematically and one learns under proper guidance.

How should you prepare yourself to practice Vipassana? Should any precautions be taken?

There is no special preparation required to practice Vipassana. One just needs to go with an open mind and with the firm determination to try it out with all sincerity.

With regards to precautions, one has to be careful not to mix techniques. For 10 days, you have to give Vipassana a fair trial without mixing it with anything else you may have learnt. Also, if someone has the habit of smoking or drinking, then one should try to give it up sometime before the course so that there arent any severe withdrawal symptoms during the course.

How does Vipassana help one deal with grief or death?

No purpose is served by crying over the demise of a dear one - that person is not going to come back. By such an action, we generate misery for ourselves and also send thoughts filled with misery towards the person who has passed away. The whole atmosphere around us gets permeated with this misery.

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Vipassana trains the mind to remain equanimous and face all the challenges of life. Rather than generating misery, we learn to remain calm and generate goodwill, for the departed one and for the members of the family.

Vipassana, as a form of meditation, is still not that popular, why do you think that is so?

Although taught by the Buddha over 2500 years ago, Vipassana was lost in the country of its origin. About 50 years ago, my teacher, Mr Satya Narayan Goenka came to India and conducted the first course in Mumbai, primarily to teach his mother and a few others. There was so much demand for more courses that he ended up moving to India!

Since then it has been spreading, first in India and then around the world. Vipassana is now taught in all continents, at over 200 Centers around the world. One can only put in one's efforts to establish oneself and hopefully, more and more people will benefit from this technique.

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Vipassana for the soul: What this ancient meditation form is all about - Yahoo Movies

A very important birdis said to be gettingin the way of Kanye West's construction of a reported "meditation structure" in Wyoming.

An Associated Press report that'smaking the rounds via a wide variety of headlines states that the "imperiled" Sage Grouse bird is slowing the process behind West'sconstruction plans for his Wyoming ranch, which is located in the Cody area and is approximately 50 miles east of Yellowstone National Park property.

Following West'srecent change to include residential space in the construction of the structure in question, local officials denied the project, with concerns now being raised about state regulations issued as part of an effort to protect the Sage Grouse.

The population of the Sage Grouse has seen a sharp decrease over the years, with areas deemed to be their favored habitat protected by restrictions on certain kinds of development projects.West's project, which will reportedly see a ground-level roofing structure with a large opening, lies within a "key habitat for the birds" area.

"It's so broad, it can stop development . . . [This]ought to be concerning to everybody with the impact it has to potential development in Park County and any county in Wyoming," West-repping attorney Colin Simpson said in a statement to Cody Enterprise earlier this week.

Now, per the Enterprise report, West's project requires a density and disturbance analysis to ensure it meets Wyoming Game and Fish compliance.

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Bird Gets in the Way of Kanye West's Construction of 'Meditation Structure' in Wyoming - Complex