Meaning Archives - Page 6 of 8

Uppercase INTENTIONS

March 7, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell Leave a Comment

Love intention plate — Love intention (Photo credit: Pilisa)

Intention is one of those words that has to cover a lot of ground. By that I mean we tend not to make very good distinctions when we use it. Intention can refer to anything from our most informal plans all the way up to major goals and even life purpose. More often, though, intention gets the casual treatment.

I intended to do it, but didn’t because…

I didn’t intend for X to happen.

I intend to take care of that this afternoon.

There’s nothing wrong with using intention that way, but it does rob the word of power. Do our intentions amount to nothing more than completing tasks on our to-do lists? While I don’t want to downplay the value of completing things and doing what we say we’re going to do, there’s more to intention than that.

I don’t think it works to approach making a difference in the world the same way we approach dealing with meeting a deadline. But I suspect we often do. Maybe the result of treating all of our intentions equally is that we end up with an equally weak commitment to following through on them.

Since an intention to gas up the car on the way home from work, an intention to improve one’s bad habits, and an intention to create a meaningful life are not all of the same order, having a way to distinguish among them might be useful. We could refer to our day-to-day intentions as lowercase intentions and our larger, purpose-driven intentions—the ones that require our conscious choice—as uppercase intentions.

As it turns out, defining, declaring, and attending to uppercase intentions makes it so much easier to follow through on lowercase intentions.

Writing toward Clarity

February 28, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell 2 Comments

Journal writing is such a beneficial practice in so many different ways. One of the things it can help with is clearing the clutter that inevitably fills our minds. It can help clarify intentions or goals and then assist us in staying on track. It can also aid in sorting through confusion, deal with difficulties—even trauma—and help us develop more calmness and serenity.

Writing daily, even for as little as 10 minutes, can do all that and more. There is certainly nothing wrong with just writing whatever occurs to you or is bothering you or comes out of the end of your pen. But having a focus makes journal writing even more powerful. Starting out with some kind of question or writing prompt, maybe just a keyword or key phrase, focuses your mind, which allows you to get in touch with whatever is swimming below your surface thoughts. And using a multi-part exercise can help you go deeper to reap even greater rewards.

The keys to writing toward clarity are:

Regularity

Some people find it easier to write every day when they attach their journaling to another activity or to a specific time of day. Do whatever works for you.

Focus

If you can’t immediately come up with a keyword, key phrase, or anything specific to focus on, try sitting quietly for a few minutes to see what shows up. Go with that, even if it doesn’t “make sense” in the moment.

Depth

A simple three-part exercise is to write a question at the top of a blank page and write in response to it for 8-12 minutes. Reread what you wrote, select a sentence or phrase, and write it at the top of another blank page. Write in response to it for 8-12 minutes. Finally, reread both pieces, find a question (either one you asked in your writing or one that occurs to you now), write it at the top of a blank page, and write in response to it for 8-12 minutes. Then reread all three pieces.

There’s such a wealth of journal writing resources in books, journals, and on the internet that you don’t have to worry about running out of ideas to spark your writing.

The Way of Habits

February 24, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell Leave a Comment

New Year's Resolution — New Year’s Resolution (Photo credit: AlaskaTeacher)

Just as trying to make the one right and perfect choice is a hopeless task that’s likely to leave you mildly dissatisfied at best and exhausted, confused, and depressed at worst, there’s probably no one right and perfect way to change or begin habits. I’m a big fan of Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) because his ideas make sense, are backed by research, and they work (I’ve used them). The more you know about how the habit loop works, the better your chances are of succeeding in having the habits you want and not having the habits you don’t want.

Another idea, however, is to make very, very small changes. This idea is explained by Leo Babauta in his blog Zen Habits:

Actually doing the habit is much more important than how much you do.

If you want to exercise, it’s more important that you actually do the exercise on a regular basis, rather than doing enough to get a benefit right away. Sure, maybe you need 30 minutes of exercise to see some fitness improvements, but try doing 30 minutes a day for two weeks. See how far you get, if you haven’t been exercising regularly. Then, if you don’t succeed, try 1-2 minutes a day. See how far you get there.

If you can do two weeks of 1-2 minutes of exercise, you have a strong foundation for a habit. Add another week or two, and the habit is almost ingrained. Once the habit is strong, you can add a few minutes here and there. Soon you’ll be doing 30 minutes on a regular basis — but you started out really small….

Your mileage will vary, but on average most people get farther with a habit when they start small. One glass of water a day. One extra vegetable. Three pushups. One sentence of writing a day. Two minutes of meditation. This is how you start a habit that lasts.

I think this method can work if you’re especially resistant to doing something or if you tend to overreach, fail, give up–and repeat the cycle.

But sometimes there’s a greater urgency to the situation. You don’t have time to go slow and small. You need to change and you need to do it now. When you recognize and accept the urgency, you may be surprised at how quickly you can change your habits. But that’s the key: recognizing and accepting the need to change, to either start doing something you weren’t doing or start doing something differently.

So rather than trying to figure out the best way to start or change a habit–any habit–you may first need to clarify some other things, such as how important this particular thing is to you, how urgent it is to deal with, what your past experience (if any) has been with it, and what your own personal inclinations and tendencies are. Then use that criteria to select a habit-starting or habit-changing method.

Is It Too Late to Turn Around?

February 14, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell Leave a Comment

A fork in the road Which way should i go? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed. –Lao Tzu

It doesn’t matter how old we are, we can still find ourselves traveling on the wrong road heading straight toward something we know isn’t—or is no longer—right for us. Or maybe we don’t yet fully know it, but we’re definitely beginning to suspect that something about this road isn’t right. The older we are, however, the harder it can be for us to pull up, take stock, and change direction. Depending on how far along the wrong road we’ve traveled, it may seem easier to stay in denial rather than acknowledging we’re on the wrong path. Maybe we have a heavy stake—financial, time, or otherwise—in continuing along that road.

Sometimes we can look back and see a different fork we wish we’d taken. On the other hand, we may not have a concrete idea of where it is we actually want to go. In that case, it may seem like a waste of time to even think about whether or not to stay on the road we’re already on. What’s the point? Or maybe the very idea that we’re on the wrong road is kind of embarrassing, and that’s why we don’t want to admit it. But those are not good reasons to continue putting one foot in front of the other and moving closer and closer to a destination you no longer want to reach.

Is the path or road you’re traveling meaningful to you? Can you define what that meaning is? If not, or if you’re not sure, why not step back and at least clarify for yourself what it is you’re doing. If you know you don’t want what’s at the end of the road you’re on, do yourself a huge favor: stop. If you know where it is you want to go, start figuring out how to get there.

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight. –Jim Rohn

We won’t have the opportunity to change course after we’re dead, so if that’s what we need to do, the time to do it is now.

Making Meaning Pt 2: Acorns?

February 7, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell 2 Comments

In The Soul’s Code, James Hillman wrote that within the acorn exists everything the oak tree will “become.” “Each person bears a uniqueness that asks to be lived and that is already present before it can be lived.” We are the acorns.

Each person bears a uniqueness, sure. But the older I get, the less inclined I am to go along with the rest of that sentence. It just doesn’t map onto the world I see around me. How many people in this world are just not interested in the idea of living out their uniqueness, don’t understand the concept in the first place, or are in no position to devote any attention to it? The majority? That’s my wild guess. So what’s up with that? It seems as though you have to be born into the right set of conditions in order to grasp this concept and then be able to identify and live out your uniqueness. The game is definitely rigged.

Most people, I think, either allow or are forced to let other people or their circumstances determine what kind of life they are going to live. A vast number of people worldwide allow their religious or spiritual beliefs to determine the meaning in—and of—their lives. A far fewer number undertake the quest to discover the uniqueness they are here to live and then manage to live it.

Yet people do want meaning in their lives and they want their lives to mean something, no matter what physical/material conditions they’re living in. Whether or not they can articulate it, meaning is important to almost everyone. The lack of meaning can lead to all kinds of ills—personally, socially, culturally, and globally.

But must we have a supernatural explanation for the source of meaning and the reason it is important to us? I don’t think we do. I don’t think meaning is inherent in anything. I believe we create the meaning in our lives—or we fail to create it. When we create meaning and live lives that are meaningful, we and everyone around us are better off for it. When we fail to create meaning, we are dissatisfied no matter how well off we may be. We know something’s missing; we just don’t know what it is.

According to some sages, life is empty and meaningless—and it’s empty and meaningless that life is empty and meaningless. If that’s true, those of us who were trying to find meaning or figure out our unique purpose for being here have got it backwards. Instead of looking for meaning, we need to decide what is meaningful for us and then go out and create that in the world.

A Little Zen Story

I knew a zen master. I asked him about life. He said, “Life is empty and meaningless.”

I said, “That can’t be so!”

He said, “And it doesn’t mean anything that it doesn’t mean anything.”

And I still said, “No!”

Then he said, “And that gives you the freedom to make it up to mean whatever you want it to.”

And I said, “Ahh!”

Is determining what has meaning easy? No, not for most people. But it can be a much more fascinating, creative, and rewarding game than going on a metaphysical scavenger hunt to find meaning. When all is said and done, it may actually turn out to be the only game in town.