by Amanda Linehan on July 3, 2009
photo credit: striatic
“Art is the elimination of the unnecessary” – Pablo Picasso
Just as there is a time to create more of what you want in your life, there is also a time to destroy what you don’t want. When you think about improving your life you often focus on the things you would like to have but don’t. You then focus on bringing those things into your life.
But you don’t often think about the things you already have in your life that you need to get rid of. Many times you carry a lot of stuff with you that has outlived it’s useful life. When that happens you need to destroy parts of your life before you can create more. Read more... (841 words, 2 images, estimated 3:22 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 29, 2009
photo credit: tanakawho
“Every event in life can be causing only one of two things. Either it is good for you, or it is bringing up what you need to look at in order to create good for you.” – Deepak Chopra
When you feel “stuck,” the first thing you want to do is struggle. Flailing about, throwing your weight around, trying harder and harder, pushing against the resistance you feel. Only these things don’t get you unstuck. In fact, they tend to make you sink deeper into whatever problem you are trying to solve. Read more... (989 words, 2 images, estimated 3:57 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 25, 2009
photo credit: erix!
“I would not look upon anger as something foreign to me that I have to fight…I have to deal with my anger with care, with love, with tenderness, with nonviolence.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
There is something about acceptance that seems a little “weak” to many of us. Why accept a certain situation as it is, when what we want is to change the situation into something that we like better? Because acceptance is the foundation for any powerful and lasting change that we want to make. When making a change you have to start from where you actually are. That may be good, bad or just plain ugly. Read more... (858 words, 2 images, estimated 3:26 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 22, 2009
photo credit: K. Kendall
“Every guilty person is his own hangman.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Guilt is a heavy feeling. It’s like lugging around a large, unwieldy trunk full of stuff you don’t need or want, but can’t seem to put down.
The worst thing about guilt is that even though the circumstance has passed, you keep carrying it around with you. And that trunk just seems to get heavier. Discover how to put the trunk down and forgive yourself.
Guilt’s Message
All of your emotions carry a message with them; telling you to do something that needs to be done. So what does guilt tell you? Read more... (649 words, 2 images, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 19, 2009
photo credit: erin MC hammer
Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other. – Carl Jung
For many of us, love is an elusive thing. Oddly enough, as there is no shortage of it in the universe. We enter into relationships – with a romantic companion, with friends, with our family members, and, yet, maybe we have love and maybe we don’t. Or maybe we are not even sure. Read more... (636 words, 2 images, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 15, 2009
photo credit: jasonb42882
“Sleep is the best meditation.” – Dalai Lama
A lot has been written about meditation – how to do it, it’s benefits, it’s history. Today I wanted to share with you a quick guide to mediation based on my own simple practice.
I first learned to meditate in college from one of my professors. He had set up a meditation room in one of the dorms and every week a small group would meet to practice. This was about 8-9 years ago now, and I have been practicing off and on (I’d like to make it more “on”) for that amount of time. Read more... (660 words, 2 images, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 11, 2009
photo credit: *clairity*
“The spider’s touch, how exquisitely fine! Feels at each thread, and lives along the line” – Alexander Pope
When I was in college I studied abroad my junior year. At the University I was attending, grades for your courses were determined by one oral exam at the end of the semester. There were no other assignments and, therefore, no other grades. Your success or failure on the exam was your success or failure in the course. Read more... (557 words, 2 images, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 8, 2009
photo credit: MR+G
“This is my depressed stance. When you’re depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you’ll start to feel better. If you’re going to get any joy out of being depressed, you’ve got to stand like this.” – Charlie Brown
You know those days when you just feel depressed? I’m not talking about diagnosed Major Depression, I’m simply talking about that blue feeling we all get from time to time. Read more... (800 words, 2 images, estimated 3:12 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 4, 2009
photo credit: stage88
“In my end is my beginning.” – T.S. Eliot
We often get stuck on the idea that an “ending” means we’ve lost something. We see endings as what we will no longer have, and not what we will gain from the “beginning” that takes its place.
At work, I have been part of a group for the last two years. We work in all different areas of my organization, but we also have been working on projects together and we get to share other experiences too. This ended a couple weeks ago, and while this means that our partnership is over, it also means that we are all able to go on to other experiences. Read more... (512 words, 2 images, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)
by Amanda Linehan on June 1, 2009
photo credit: nolifebeforecoffee
A few weeks ago I asked Look Far’s readers two questions:
- What are some practical tips for seeing people for who they actually are?
- How can you let another person tell their story first without trying to tell it for them?
This was in response to a comment I received on a post called Use Your Eyes; Learn To See. Here’s what you said:
Notice the “lens” you are seeing through – What kinds of things “tint” your lenses? We all have different life experiences and necessarily this makes the lens we see through different. How is the lens you are looking through impacting the way that you see others? Read more... (519 words, 2 images, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)
