Famous Last Words: The End.

Today I met all the requirements needed to attain an A in this class. While I still plan on keeping up with my Storybook and making sure that it is completed by May so that I can use it in my classroom this upcoming August- I no longer have to worry about deadlines or not completing the course. As I reflect back on this course, there are many nuggets of wisdom that I will keep with me forever. Some of these lessons include:

• Learning about another culture is not just about knowing the surface level themes. You need to immerse yourself in their traditions, languages, and stories. Figure out what makes each aspect so important. 
• Do your research. You also can't learn anything adequately by just skimming over the top. Spend time diving into topics and see where it leads you. 
• Don't try so hard. Learning does not need to be a difficult or stressful task. Doing more things like watching films, reading, and writing can be awesome ways to learn and express the things you are learning. 

I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been enrolled in this course this semester. It taught me a lot about who I am as a student, writer, reader, and editor. It also opened my world of thinking to online-based courses and how useful they can be. I had never partaken in a class formatted like this, and now I wish they all worked like this. I will definitely be using online based learning techniques in my own classroom this fall. 

These were my last assignments of my undergraduate career. It is crazy that after spending four years here at the University of Oklahoma, I now only have one paper and one presentation that stand between me and my diploma. 

This sums up my feeling about being done with classes for this semester!! Image info can be found here

xoxo, mt.

Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art (film) Part E

Part E
1) Vishnu's Secret Part 1: Detached engagement brings order 
-Cow is the most secret animal in Hindu
-They only give and not take
-"A gift of a cow, is the gift of life"
-The cow runs away when she feels exploited, Vishnu has to retrieve her and convince her that she will not be harmed
-Harmony between nature and culture

2) Vishnu's Secret Part 2
-Ram is the only one to be worshiped as a King.
-Krishna was not a king, but lived in a village of cow herders
-Shiva treats material reality as power- and through sensory control, develop sensory manipulation and creative visualization
-Vishnu embraces this material reality. He sees it at maya, or temptation, and disciplines the mind with asceticism so the mind is not taken away by it

"Gomata, the earth cow. Sustainer of all creatures, the great container of life." The film describes this earth cow as silently carrying the burdens of the earth. The full description can be found in the film, in the link below. 

Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devout Pattanaik
Watch on Youtube here

Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art (film) Part D

Part D
1) Shiva's Secret Part 2
-One of the only times he actually destroys something is over his wife dying.
-When he got engaged to Paverti, she had him change to a more respectable/cleaned up god
-While Shiva does not conform to the norms of society, Shiva the householder is able to recognize their importance
-The giver symbolizes the material world

2) Devi's Secret 
-Desire and destiny create life
-He groom did not come to their wedding
-She then channeled her powers into fighting demons
-Coconut and Banana trees are scared
-Desire is an important theme in Hinduism
-From the world comes wealth, knowledge and power

I had seen this image a few times in the movie and had wondered what it meant. The film goes on to describe it as "geometrical representation of the  union of material and spiritual reality. The upward pointing triangle represents stability, the downward pointing triangle represents instability." This image and it's full description can be watched in the film, found in the link below.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik
Watch on Youtube here

Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art (film) Part C

Part C 
1) Adrhanari's Secret: God is stillness within, goddess is movement around
-Male trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
-Female trinity: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Shakti
--> "Male trinity is associated with verbs- creating, sustaining, and destroying"
--> "Female trinity is associated with nouns- knowledge, wealth, power"
-This then poses an interesting question. Which came first?
-Stillness v. movement
  (white)       (black)
-Red is the color of potential energy
-Green is the color of realized energy
-Left side = change/movement
-Right side = stillness

2) Shiva's Secret:  Withdrawal leads to destruction 
-Commonly known as the destroyer, but what does he destroy
-Lives in the mountains
-He destroys karma, desire, death, and of the three worlds
-The 3 worlds: the earth, the atmosphere, and the sky
        Or could be out private world, public world, and then everything else
-3 lines of ash on his forehead stand for three worlds as well
-Also destroys the difference between the subject and the subjects, the observer and the observed
-His shut eyes symbolizes his interference of the world. He does not need it, he is self contained

I really liked this image depicting the combination of the changing and unchanging truth. This image is referred to as Ardhanari-eshwara. This image was from the film, and the link is below. 

Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik
Watch on Youtube here

Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art (film) Part B

Part B: Narayan's Secret: What dies is always reborn. 

-The world exists when he is awake
-The world ceases to exist when he sleeps


Elements that I like: 
-Similarities and differenced between Greek mythology and Hinduism
-Rebirth- very different than other religions
-Sesha, the remainder. Narayan sleeps on time, which is what time stands still.
-"Without the observer, there is no observation" So when Narayan is asleep, he is not observing, which means the observation can not be seen
-Did we create the world or did the world create us?
-Narayan awake is Vishnu --> the mind then starts to organize the world
-Things are born when we become aware of them
-Ocean being used as an indicator of that is to come

I was really drawn to this image of the 'soul'. The film describes the soul of having no definitive form,
 but instead, formless and infinite. Image is from the film (link below)

I like the idea of writing a story about nature and the ocean. Soul, the oceanographer, could draw conclusions about impending weather based on the pattern and current of the waves. From this, he could come up with what he believe the waves to be telling him.


Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik
Watch on Youtube here

Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art (film) Part A

Part A: Ganesha, People see god differently

Father: Shiva
Mother: Parvati
2 Sons: Ganesha and Kartikeya


Elements that I liked
-I really liked that during the race around world, that Ganesha only runs around his parents and claims that they are his whole world. I thought the description of how one perceives the world was a great description.
-How Hindu is compared to other religions. Before this course, I did not know much about Hindu before this class- but now I feel like I understand a lot more, which I hope will make me more understanding and accommodating.
-I agree with Mr. Pattanik that our society is laking in empathy. I liked the quote "Empathy is sorely lacking in modern times. Everything is judged. Everything is measured."  --> not all things can be explained.
-That Shiva and Parvati are equals. And that both a man and woman need to be present in order for something to be complete.
-The elephant head meaning power
-rat symbol of problems of life

I was really drawn to this image in the film 

I would like to write a story this week about these 4 characters, and maybe do a modern twist on them. I could see them all in a car going on a road trip, and the parents teaching their sons these important life lessons that they each embody.


Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik
Watch on Youtube here

Famous Last Words: Finish Strong.

Last week I wrote about getting myself back on track. That went well until like Tuesday. I do not know how it happened, but there ended up being so many things that I needed to get done this week that I had not anticipated. I am usually on top of all of my activities and school work, this seemed to be the week where everything coincidentally collided. While everything seemed to be on track school wise, there ended up being so many things that I needed to get done at work, on campus, for my clubs, and for my post-grad job. There is so much that goes into being a registered teacher, and I had no idea. I mean, it all makes sense now, but I guess I didn't really think about it before. My post this week is a reminder to myself to finish out the semester strong. I do not have much time left, so I really need to focus on making my grades, enjoying these last few weeks with my friends, and making sure that I am accomplishing everything that I had wanted to. My plan of action is to spend this evening and tomorrow morning and making sure that all my ducks are in a row for my online classes. I have the privilege of working ahead in both of them, and I need to spend the time, while I have it, to making sure that I finish them out. Second to my friends, my grades are the most important thing to me here at OU- so I need to make sure that my priorities reflect that.

I really loved this image!! The original can be found here