Final Post

Sub plans: Write a final blog entry about how you will take the lessons from this class into the rest of your lives. When done, you can go to the library and take out books to read over Thanksgiving vacation

I mentioned at the end of class yesterday that the unique part of the east meets west class is that I have learned life lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Meditation is something I will now always have with me to create peace in my mind when things are chaotic, and the idea of samskaras will always guide me when I want to start or change my habits. When David came in to talk, he flooded my mind with new ways of viewing life. For example, not working for the reward but working for yourself. Also for a college supplement the question asks what is the risk in finding yourself and why is it hard for some people to do. For this question I plan to go into detail about what our "real" perfection is and how it's hindered by our flaws or reincarnation. These beliefs will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Prompt 17

The one quote that really stuck with me from chapter 3 talked about no expectations- Without concern for results perform the necessary action;surrendering all attachments, accomplish life's highest good. To me this means achieve accomplishments for yourself, not for the reward. Life is full of different pressures and expectations and it's very easy to get carried away by these two things. College for example is not something everybody wants to do after high school, if that is the case one should not focus their life on getting into college because it is not their highest good. Whatever that person wants to explore or focus on, is what they should be excelling in to their highest potential. This quote translates to "work to please yourself, not someone else." That is how I read it and I couldn't agree more. When we all work to our highest potential that is what makes the world a better place.

On Pain

"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding." This quote has so much truth to me. The times I feel I am in most pain is when I lose a sense of familiarity and understanding of a situation. This is why death is one of the most painful things a human can go through. Knowing someone for a long time and losing that sense of familiarity is what hurts the most. Pain is also self-chosen and the healing is internal. People have a strength within them that can heal any pain, but healing cannot be forced. It is a power within us all that we can only use until we have understood the pain that we have gone through.

On Reason And Passion

There are many situations in my life where I need to decide whether what I feel in my heart is right, or if what is in my head is right. Reason and passion seem to always conflict. This chapter opened me up to the realization that reason and passion is what drives our lives. Reason guides our ship and passion can burn it. I should let my soul direct my passion with reason, whether it will burn me or build me. We all have beliefs and reasons for doing what we do- the most important thing is that we listen to both sides and not just one. That is what takes us on our own personal journeys of life.

Talking

Talking is blocking the peace with your mind. Thoughts cannot process when one is talking all the time, instead, thinking is blocked. People talk in fear of being alone, or speak of things that reveal who they are without knowing. I know a lot of people who seem unassured of who they are, and those are the ones that talk the most. If they gave themselves a moment to collect their thoughts, even the simple thought of who they are, they would see a different side to themselves. They may easily understand other people, but in order to gather the thoughts to observe ones self, aloneness is key.

On Freedom

"For you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment." To me this quote means you are not completely free until you cease to wish for anything that has to do with freeing yourself. You live your life with complete fulfillment. Freedom can also be yearning to discard fragments in ones life. It is not always gaining something, but at times freedom can be a desire to lose something. There are somethings we cannot change, laws, the weather, or the people around us. It is our conscious decision to choose to care about these uncontrollable things. When one starts to let go of desires, freedom is all that is left.

Final Project

Our final project reflects what we've learned about yoga and what yoga means. It's definition is not "working out" or even "stretching". The definition we used in class is unity. Unity with ones self and unity with the world around them. Yoga relieves stress physically and mentally as well as meditation. In our final project we will talk about what meditation and active yoga has done for us as well as well as it's main purpose in life. All the different topics we've discussed this year ties to emotions, thoughts and ones "being." All these aspects weave into the practice of yoga in some way, shape or form. For example, samskaras, chakras, and religion all tie into yoga.

Crime

In crime there are two scenarios that create a mans character- one is the god-self- like an ocean it is pure and like the sun it is pure, but there is also the being of man within all of us which makes conscious decisions and knows right from wrong. He knows the crime and the punishment of the crime. Our crimes reflect who we are as a people, not just as individuals. We are one and there is no "lower than the lowest." The prophet compares this to a tree in which the leafs turn colors making the entire tree turn a different color. You cannot unweave good and bad because they come hand in hand.

Joy and Sorrow

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy can contain." To me this goes hand in hand with the saying what goes down must come up. We would never feel achievement without feeling disappointment fist. People cannot accomplish their goals without failing in some shape or form first. Some people think of sorrow like water, it fills you up and will flood you, or consume you in the end. But in reality sorrow is just a shovel emptying you out, creating room for the happy things in life- hence the feeling of emptiness when one is sorrow. With so much sorrow, it is easier to appreciate the little things in life because there is so much space to fill.

active yoga

I really enjoyed doing the active yoga in class because it wasn't very new to me, but I haven't done it in a long time. During the yoga I could feel every limb in my body stretching and the little poses such as children's pose were very gratifying after a minute of stretching my body to infinity. After the yoga I felt a little head heavy and my head started spinning a little, but I am aware that it goes away after active yoga becomes routine. My legs were also very sore from stretching my hamstrings- I hope to do more yoga now to make the soreness go away and replace it with flexibility. I also hope we can do more active yoga in the class!

Marriage

I love how Marriage starts out in the prophet- "You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days...But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you."Love is not meant for two seas to join into one, the prophet explains marriage as a sea between the shores of two soles. Fill each others cups but do not drink from one cup. This excerpt is full of the "rules" to marriage. The main/most important rule is that the two individuals are able to keep their identities while sharing their life with someone else.

Giving

On Giving

When I give back it gives me the opposite feeling of receiving, it does not make me happier because I have gained something, but it makes me happy because I feel a sense accomplishment. I volunteer at sportsmens tennis club and wrote my short essay about the sense of accomplishment I feel from teaching children to play tennis. Making a difference does not mean ending world hunger, it can simply be hitting a tennis ball over the net that gives one a huge sense of purpose. I really like the section of giving because it emphasizes that everyone deserves a necessity from the greater good which is a universal truth- whether it is food or personal health.

Bucket list

1. Manage a successful band/start a record label

2. Adopt a puppy from an animal shelter

3. Drag race

4. Get a tattoo

5. Be on stage during a bands concert

6. Do a back flip

7. Be on a TV show

8. Live in London for a month

9. Sneak backstage at a concert

10. Throw a massive party

Love

I really liked this section due to the ways it described love and how to act upon it. "When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Through the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you." This is saying be patient with love for it will hurt and it is strong. People tend to turn away when love hurts and the book guides you to stay in love instead of turning from the pain. I also liked the quote "when you love you should not say, 'God is in my heart,' but rather, 'I am in the heart of God.' We are in gods best interest which is why we fell in love in the first place. The prophet then goes on to talk about the pain of love and understanding it while you are in love. It does talk a lot about the pain, but it is the sacrifice we make for something so amazing.

Prompt 16

Prompt #16

Select your favorite passage from Chapter 2 in The Bhagavad Gita. Retype it on your blog; then, explain it in your own words. Write a paragraph or two about why it speaks to you and how it could be relevant to your own life.

My favorite passage in Chapter 2 is "When the mind constantly runs after the wandering senses, it drives away wisdom, like the wind blowing a ship off course." This quote completely resonates with me because I get distracted very easily and it always gets the best of me. From homework to chores to my social life, I'm always finding distractions to get myself out of situations I don't want to be in. At the end it takes up the valuable time I should of used. A more healthy distraction I've recently taken up is painting. When I feel my mind is racing so much that I cannot do any work I work on my art which helps settle my thoughts unlike facebook or finding new music online. It's common that I will make excuses for myself at the end of the night if I don't finish my work. I always feel guilty about it later and that some form of karma will catch up with me. It's a battle I commonly struggle with. The karma that catches up with me is the results of my action- if I don't complete my homework, I don't get the practice I need and without putting time into practice I'm setting myself up for failure.

Prompt 15

My bamboo tree is still germinating. I will not feel it has sprouted until I get into college because until then I do not know where my future is taking course. The future is completely unknown which is a scary thing after 17 years of knowing where I'm going to be the next year. Even though I moved from Wisconsin I knew I would still attend high school and take the same courses I would take at my old school. College is completely different and I have no idea what to expect in the experience. Today I am watering my tree by pushing myself to make my future less unknown. This is done by studying, focus, and self-control to reach my full potential and if I do, I will reach the college of my choice. Once my tree sprouts I hope for it to sprout fast because I like to know what is coming next and looking forward to new things. I want as many new opportunities as I cant get the second I plant my foot on a new campus.

prompt 12 (second try)

What do you think is the definition of the word "I"? Who is the "I" that you are referring to when you say, "I am hungry," or "I am tired," or "I like techno" or "I hate techno"? Come up with your own definition and try to write as poetically as you can, much like the example Kyle shared with us in class today.

I am still learning who "I" really is. I'm still at the age of discovery where my thoughts and emotions teach me something about myself everyday. I wish I had "I" figured out completely so I could tell you what it really is, but I'm still learning myself. I guess there are complications to who "I" am. This is what I do know. I feed. I feed off of little things and learn from the big things in life. I'm compulsive and passionate. I try to control my thoughts to control my life, but I fail. One day I will acquire the skill. The little things I feed off of will eventually become the big things in life. The more I learn about myself the more I feel this happening and I know one day I will see the big picture. I am learning about who I am.

prompt 10

In the section Indonesia, Gilbert expresses a sense of self- awareness that she lacked in India. The guru's advice that was given to her in India was used throughout her trip in Bali. For example, after a bus hits her, she realizes she needs to pray everyday not just when she feels like she is in need. "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort." This quote really stuck with me because of the truth I feel it holds. Continuing to pray after your distress is like a sealing process. By the end of Indonesia she has the dream of her and Filipe which I thought was beautiful and peaceful. She saw herself sitting in a restaurant with him in New York looking across the room at Swamiji. It seems she can finally see herself in this dream and stop searching for who she is and who god is because she has finally found him. Bali seems like the seal of her distress that had peaked in India.

13 and 14

Describe Saturday's meditation. How long did you mediate for? What type did you do? What went through your mind? Where you able to find any peace? How did you feel afterward?

Then, for prompt 14, do the same for Sunday's meditation.

Saturday's meditation was easier than usual for me because my mind was completely at peace. The easiest time for me to meditate is at night and on saturday night things seemed to be in order for me which made it easier to just focus on my breathing. Eventually I fell into a deep meditation which almost put me to sleep. When I meditate, focusing on my breathing is the most important thing to jump into. I focus on it as if it was a math problem and once I solve it the rest is easy. Sunday's mediation presented more of a challenge because I couldn't solve the math problem. I was focusing to hard on my breaths and not enough on relaxing to the point where I was over focusing. I have a cold which is part of the reason why, but I need to learn to overcome the discomfort and maybe start with long shallow breaths instead of deep yoga breaths if thats what it takes for me to reach a mental balance. In class I also focus on my breathing a little too hard to the point where I cannot find my balance- I'm going to work on this in the future.

Prompt 9

I like what Ketut had to say about facial expressions during yoga. "Why they always look so serious in yoga? You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy. To meditate you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind and good energy will come to you and clean away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver. This resonated with me because yoga is a way to clear the mend and release negative energy. Today during meditation I was frustrated because i was jittery and couldn't steady my deep breaths and my face held a frustrated expression. I would have felt a more positive energy if I had relaxed my mouth and face. Mediation can be frustrating when you cannot focus so relating with the corners of your mouth curled up can be a a good way to start instead of getting agitated.

prompt 11

Prompt 11

Make a list of your positive and negative behavioral samskaras. Then, make a list of your mental ones.

Positive/negative Samskaras

- Listening to music in the car

- rubbing my dogs belly when i get home from school

- Checking facebook

- checking my phone

- eating goldfish

- starbucks

- signing onto ichat

- think about food

- thinking about college

- thinking about friends

- thinking about death

- thinking about self discipline

- thinking about karma

- checking the weather in the morning

Prompt 10

sdfasd

In the section Indonesia, Gilbert expresses a sense of self- awareness that she lacked in India. The guru's advice that was given to her in India was used throughout her trip in Bali. For example, after a bus hits her, she realizes she needs to pray everyday not just when she feels like she is in need. "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort." This quote really stuck with me because of the truth I feel it holds. Continuing to pray after your distress is like a sealing process. By the end of Indonesia she has the dream of her and Filipe which I thought was beautiful and peaceful. She saw herself sitting in a restaurant with him in New York looking across the room at Swamiji. It seems she can finally see herself in this dream and stop searching for who she is and who god is because she has finally found him. Bali seems like the seal of her distress that had peaked in India.

Prompt 1

Prompt #1

What are your expectations for this course?

Feel free to add anything about your samskaras -- positive or negative -- that you might like to address throughout this term.

I expect to learn a lot more about yogic meditations and relaxation and use what I learn in my everyday life. I also expect to improve on my writing and create a more "gilbert" style. She speaks her mind and doesn't really sugar coat what she is trying to say- honesty and sincerity is embedded in her words. Sometimes simple writing is the best to read because it makes a story more relatable and page turning. That is one of my goals this year.

Prompt 4

Prompt #4

Think of a struggle you’ve had within yourself. Then, write a conversation between you and your own mind like Gilbert does on pages 134-136. Have fun with it while sharing your struggle -- try to add in literary techniques like Gilbert does (personification, metaphor, simile, anaphora); take some risks and have some fun.

Mind: Ok Lani it is time to practice for the ACT's because you know you're going to put it off another half hour if you don't get up now..

Me: If I don't get up now I can just do an extra section later

Mind: You know once you get it out of the way you wont need to do an extra section just get up, turn off the TV. Thats a start...if you time yourself you will be done even sooner.

Me: I don't have tutoring for another two days!

Mind: You know you save it until last minute every time. You will feel a sense of accomplishment once it is finished and you'll also make extra time to improve on anything before tutoring. Stop making excuses for yourself it hasn't gotten you anywhere

Me: Ok I'll do one section now, if I score well I will not retake it but if I don't I'll use the extra day to retake.

prompt 2

Prompt #2

For pages 1-34

What are your reactions to Eat, Pray, Love so far? If you've already heard of it or seen the movie, how does it compare to what you've heard/seen? If this is your first encounter, what do you think of it so far? What do you think of Elizabeth Gilbert's writing style? Do certain parts resonate with you? Titillate you? Make you laugh? If so, what parts? Include quotations and page numbers like so:

I loved the line where Gilbert writes, "My misery had been completely vacuumed out of me," (15). I know that feeling but had never thought of that metaphor before. It's one of my favorite aspects of her writing: deeply creative figurative language interspersed within a casual and honest account of her personal journey.

I have heard that the movie Eat Pray Love is a complete flop, but so far reading the book I am hooked. I don't intend on seeing the movie until I finish the book because I do not want to picture the movie scenes as I read. The opening chapter starts with "I wish Giovanni would kiss me...." pg. 1. She goes on to talk about the funny story of how they met. Elizabeth's writing is page turning and humorous. I love the fact that the book is about self discovery with hints of romance throughout the novel. This book is ideal for my reading style.

prompt 3

Prompt #3

Please reflect on today's meditation in class.

was not in class

prompt 5

Prompt #5

Blog about your yoga experience today. How did it go for you? How did you feel afterward? You might talk about a specific pose or about Savasana (the relaxation pose at the end).

was not in class

Prompt 7

Prompt # 7

Reread the beginning of Chapter 56, bottom of p 171, starting with "Here's what I caught myself..." to the end of the second paragraph on page 172, ending with "right where you actually are". Think of a place or a moment in your life when you struggle being where you are. Then, go into it. What happens? Why do you struggle? How can you try to "be present" the next time this happens?

This year I am constantly thinking about college. At times it gets to the point where it consumes my day to day life and all I can think about is my future. It is hard for me to hold myself back and just realize I am in my senior year of high school, but at the same time I know it's an important detail of my life. When I get into conversations with my parents about moving out I start thinking about it for hours instead of focusing on my senior year. Sometimes it takes a few deep breaths for me to remember that I am still in my last year of high school and should be having a good time. A lot of times I get scared thinking about what will happen after college because thinking about my college process leads me into thinking about my future. This thought is just extra pressure on myself, but it is a thought that is hard to control until my college process is over.

Prompt 6

Prompt #6

Reread the section on soul mates in the last paragraph on page 149. Then respond to the following three questions: what do you think of this definition? Have you had any soul mates that have entered (and possibly left) your life? How have they served as a mirror for you, as we discussed in class?

Prompt 8

Reread Richard from Texas' comment to Elizabeth Gilbert on the top of page 178 to the end of that chapter. Then, explain what he means in your own words and, just as Gilbert does, go into detail explaining a way that you can start to take control of your thoughts.

Taking control of you're thoughts is one of the most powerful things a human can do because as the book states, "your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts and you are the slave to your emotions." My day to day decisions rely heavily on my current emotions. Having control of your thoughts means you can control yourself resulting in better decision making and a happier life in general. This quote in particular stuck with me this weekend. When I had a negative thought I tried dismissing it, but it's hard to trash a thought without understanding where its generated from. The main way I am able to shrug of negative voices in my head is understanding where they are rooted from-as the book states "understanding where it came from and why they arrived and then with great forgiveness and fortitude dismissing them." Sometimes the thoughts will come back to my head, but knowing the situation front and back helps me erase it from my mind when I don't want to think about it. When I- or anyone else- does not understand a bad situation that sticks with them, we keep asking ourselves the same question, "what if?" When the "what if" is understood, their is nothing left to question and the thought is easily replaced.