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Browse every published article connected to Layne Schmidt, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Layne Schmidt, or search within this exact expert archive.
I grew up hearing that moods were something that came from God. I’m not sure how anyone came to that conclusion but that was what was passed down to me. Something, somewhere along the line got interpreted into the idea of a heavy or dark mood was a “gift” that you needed to go through in order to become a better person.
Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes. I woke up with that phrase rolling around in my mind – Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes. A little mantra that I didn’t consciously decide to recite so I’m going to call it a gift from the Universe (or whatever benevolent source you like to think is out there). I’ve fallen into some ruts in how I do my mornings and although I love the idea of ritual – if the ritual no longer has impact it quickly gets reduced to nothing more than a habit.
Where do you wish to spend your energy? On things you have no control over or on things you do? I’ve been collecting “tools” for a long time now. Tools that help me discover more about myself as I pursue a stronger sense of who I am and what I want to offer the world. The most recent tool I added to my collection came as a result of hearing a quote from Katherine Lucier. “Do your work lovingly. Pay attention to the details. Let go of the attachment to the outcome.” Have you ever been attached to the outcome of a particular situation?
I can make things happen. I’ve been doing it for a long time. My partner lovingly (and sometimes accurately) calls it stubbornness but I prefer to call it stick-to-it-iveness, perseverance, a strong work ethic or what my mother used to call good old fashioned elbow grease. The feeling of procrastination used to drive me up the wall. I often felt lazy and I managed to heap all kinds of ugly stuff on top of that feeling that really ate away at any sense of self esteem I might have had at the time.
Have you ever altered your behavior in an attempt to make someone else feel better? If you have, you may be pleased to know that you’re entirely normal. We’ve been trained since the moment we were born to put others needs ahead of our own. Perhaps our parents (or care-givers) wanted us to be quiet when we wanted to be loud, or they wanted us to wear something we didn’t want to wear, or eat something we didn’t want to eat and they were sometimes relentless until we complied.
Follow your bliss, words attributed to Joseph Campbell philosopher, writer, explorer and a man way ahead of his time. I’ve always loved the sentiment – but sometimes; bliss feels like its a million miles away and it’s pretty hard to follow at that distance.
We bought country property a few years back and as with many rural acreages; ours came with a whole bunch of out-buildings that served a variety of purposes at one time – but no longer functioned at that state. In a word – they were hazards and we began the process of tearing them down, redeeming the brittle barn wood where we could and burning the rest.
Have you ever wanted someone to be different so that you could feel better? When a boss is impatient, a love unkind or a salesperson is rude – do you find yourself retreating into a bad mood as a result of their words or attitude or can you navigate those situations and stay happy? Most of us have grown accustomed to thinking that if someone else changed we’d have an easier life. Have you ever stopped to notice how much you count on others for how you feel? Do any of these statements sound at all familiar? • I’d enjoy work if only… • This relationship would be better if…r
Beauty so often gets distorted as a value of exte al conditions but beauty is also an internal quality that shines when we are being true to ourselves.
Do you ever wonder where it all began? Perhaps you know exactly. Personally, I don’t have a clue but it appears now and again. The cool thing is its changing. I’m talking about a phenomenon called Arguing for Your Limitations. It’s an interesting thing to pull apart don’t you think? When do we do it? Where do we talk ourselves out of trying something new because we assume it won’t turn out well? I’m on a quest to get more people to believe in the limitlessness of their own abilities and I’m beginning with me. If you think you can do a thing orr
We recently brought a wild horse into our family and my mate has been applying a training method called Natural Horsemanship. This method encourages the trainer to observe where the horse is at in their understanding and begin the teachings from there. For example, our new charge had never been touched by a human so the first step was to attach a stuffed work glove to a long stick and gingerly touch Cricket with the surrogate “hand” as she walked by. It startled her at first but she gradually got used to it and the lessons increased from there.
There is remarkable power in positive thinking. And learning to reach for better feeling thoughts can absolutely change your life experience. But what if you’ve got a particular topic in your life, that no matter how hard you try to change the thought pattern you don’t see any significant changes in your experience? Chances are you’re caught in a subconscious thought-loop that is as old as you are and it might take a bit of exploration to get rid of it for good.
Did you grow up thinking Entitlement was a dirty word? Are you uncomfortable with individuals who walk around with a strong sense of it? Some of the things I grew up hearing about “entitled” people were that they were full of themselves, too big for their britches or their heads were too big. Sound familiar? Not exactly flattering descriptions are they?
I’ve managed to get myself on an email list that sends me all kinds of information on the latest and the greatest ways to improve my life. I’ve programmed my computer so that all of these emails and notifications go into a separate folder and when I have time I go through them to see what I might find interesting. The last time I went through it I had to laugh. I’d guess that 75% were offering something instantaneous. “Our program can help you lose the weight in 10 minutes”, “I can make you rich in 4 easy lessons”, “Find the love of your life in 14 Days”.
We recently brought a wild horse into our family and my mate has been applying a training method called Natural Horsemanship. This method encourages the trainer to observe where the horse is at in their understanding and begin the teachings from there. For example, our new charge had never been touched by a human so the first step was to attach a stuffed work glove to a long stick and gingerly touch Cricket with the surrogate “hand” as she walked by. It startled her at first but she gradually got used to it and the lessons increased from there.
We bought country property a few years back and as with many rural acreages; ours came with a whole bunch of out-buildings that served a variety of purposes at one time – but no longer functioned at that state. In a word – they were hazards and we began the process of tearing them down, redeeming the brittle barn wood where we could and burning the rest.