Week 14 Storytelling: A Caterpillar Named Devi

There was once a beautiful caterpillar who was smart and sweet. Her name was Devi. Her dream was to become a mother and have little caterpillar babies after she found a handsome and kind husband. Devi knew that she would make an excellent mother. She was ready to nurture and devote all of her time to bringing up strong young caterpillars. All day she fantasized about this life she hoped to create one day… when the time was right.

Devi would name her first daughter Saraswati, who would love to read and learn. From the day Saraswati was born, Devi would read to her, feeding her insatiable desire for knowledge. Of course, this would lead to Saraswati’s adoration of music and the arts.

Devi would name her second daughter Parvati. Parvati would have a gentle and nurturing demeanor. She would have the biggest most caring heart, much like her mother’s. Parvati was especially loyal and her presence provided a constant comforting warmth.

Devi would name her third daughter Lakshmi. Whereas Parvati’s energy was constant and comforting, Lakshmi’s was highly active. She would be proactive and successful in both her mundane and spiritual life. Lakshmi may not be a traditional woman but she would be a powerful woman.

Well Devi waited and waited for a husband. She had faith that he would come but time was passing and she was getting tired and anxious. Eventually Devi decided that she should take a nap and rest up for her long-awaited husband’s arrival. She made a cocoon around her tired body and fell fast asleep.

Source: How Stuff Works: Animals.

When Devi awoke from her much needed nap, she felt like a new person. Devi thought, “That is exactly what I needed, a nap! Maybe now I will find a husband.”

But when Devi began to emerge from her cocoon, she realized that that there was something very wrong… she had taken the body of another animal. She was no longer a caterpillar!

Devi didn’t know what to do. After awhile, she worked up the courage to fully exit the cocoon, and she didn’t know what to think. She was no longer her beautiful citron green color. Now she was the most brilliant purple, and she had two wings… did this mean that she could fly?!

She decided to give it a try and with a flutter of her two wings, she took off. No longer did Devi have the desire to find a husband. She was so much more now: a goddess!

And it just so happens that she had all of those qualities she hoped for her children within herself.

Source: Pinterest.  

Author's Note: This story is based off the goddess Devi. I learned a lot about her from Chapter 5: Devi's Secret from 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devout Pattanaik. The concept of the goddess as the divine feminine is very important in Hinduism. The goddess represents raw energy that can be funneled into creating a family or protecting life. The divine feminine is infinite power. Similarly to my story of the butterfly, Kanyakumari was supposed to be married but after her groom never showed, she spun all of that pent up energy to becoming the powerful woman that she had always been meant to be, even if it wasn't exactly how she had imagined her life. Furthermore, I based Devi's children on three more goddesses, Saraswati, Parvati, and Lakshmi. 

Week 14: Shiva's Secret

In 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik, the main idea of Shiva’s Secret is that withdrawal leads to destruction.

Shiva is commonly known as the destroyer. Rage and anger are often associated with the act of destruction but Shiva is calm and composed, which is confusing to many people. But, according to Pattanaik, this confusion is due to our negative connotation of this verb. Shiva is the destroyer of Kama, Yama, and Tripura, or the destroyer of desire, death, and the three worlds. There is nothing negative about this sort of destruction.

Shiva destroys desire by destroying Kama, the god who makes us want for things. Therefore, Shiva wants for nothing. Shiva destroys death by destroying Yama, the god of death. Shiva destroys the three worlds - the earth, the atmosphere, and the sky - by destroying Tripura. Thus, Shiva destroys our desire for life, our fear of death, and our need for the world around us.

Ash is a byproduct of destruction and also happens to be a symbol of an immortal soul. On Shiva's forehead are three vertical lines of ash, which you can vaguely see in the picture below. It also happens to look a lot like an eye in closer up pictures, which I believe has to do with the third eye or evil eye. These three lines represent inertia, lack of movement, and a state of dissolution.

Three is a very important number to the god Shiva, where he is the destroyer of three things, the third eye is made up of three lines, and he holds a trident of three blades.

Shiva. Source: Mythology Wikia.

Week 14 Reading Diary: The Orient Pearls

For the final week of reading diaries, I chose to read The Orient Pearls by Shovona Devi. I really enjoyed these Indian folk-lore tales.

I began my reading with "A Feast of Fists," which is about karma. On the second page of this story, Shovona Devi writes, "Suffering is the badge of mankind. Indeed, these mortals bring down suffering upon their own hears by sheer demerit, and suffer they must, do all you can, until they have passed through the usual cycles of birth, death, and rebirth, again and again, working out demerit by merit in the process, and thus paving the way for final absorption into the Deity, the source of their being. So why trouble about these wretches?"My favorite part about this passage is the question that is asked: "Why trouble about these wretches?" If eventually everyone gets what they deserve for the actions that they have done on this earth then this is so true, why worry about others' bad deeds? It is not our problem. The only thing that we should worry about it paving our own way for, as Devi puts it, "final absorption into the Deity, the source of their being." I especially love this because it includes almost everyone - not just those of a certain faith.

In "A Feast of Fists," a starving brahmin begs the gods for mercy on him and his starving wife. The gods respond by providing the man with a gold mug that can replenish any food to which one's heart desires. The brahmin is so joyful and shares his blessing with hungry children who end up replacing the holy gift with an identical but mundane gold mug. The brahmin returns to the gods to ask why the mug no longer provides food and they discover that the mug has been switched. They give the brahmin another mug that, instead of yielding food, yields punches. The family who stole the mug tried to get food out of the new mug but ultimately receives a few black eyes and returns the original mug.

Next, a king takes the mug away from the brahmin to serve all of his guests. The king becomes very greedy and pompous having this mug in his possession. The brahmin arrives at the king's castle with the "mug of fists" and the king greedily takes it as well. To his surprise, he isn't given any food by this mug but a face full of punches and a lot of embarrassment from all of his onlooking guests.

Gold mug. Source: Pinterest. 

Week 13 Review

I thought this very a good way to look at stress. With five finals coming up and countless other work I have to do, there is going to be stress no matter what. So rather than get bogged down by stress these next few weeks, let's harness it as motivation.

Let the stress energize you. Source: Cheezburger. 

Week 13 Reading Diary: Devi's Secret

In 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik, the main idea of Chapter 5: Devi’s Secret is that desire and destiny create life.

As this semester wraps up, I wanted to use my Reading Diary posts to continue learning about Hindu gods with my favorite method: The 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art video series. I have come to love this educational tool because, at least to me, Devdutt Pattanaik does an incredible job of making what could be a very boring topic very interesting!

There is actually a very sad story associated with the goddess Kanyakumari. As it goes, she was supposed to marry Shiva. On his way to the wedding, he came across a giant rooster, which he took as a sign that the wedding had been canceled. Yet, Kanyakumari waited and waited in her wedding attire for Shiva’s arrival, which never came. The most interesting part of the story to me was that Kanyakumari held incredible feminine power (what is known as raw energy) that would have been diluted upon marriage and maternity so that she may provide for her family. But in the case of an unmarried goddess, this energy is used for protection and in Kanyakumari’s case, the ability to destroy demons. 

Because goddesses represent the material world, it is only fitting that feminine power not only are able to nourish the household but also to protect the household – as that is equally vital. For this reason, goddesses have the power to channel their energy into either of these roles. I just love all that Devi represents - she is the ultimate goddess! All of the images of her really portray her incredible femininity:

Devi. Source: Dolls of India.

Growth Mindset Challenge

Almost weekly for this entire semester, I have dedicated time to a post about Growth Mindset. This is an opportunity that I have thoroughly enjoyed, especially as a strong advocate that we can change ourselves by changing our mind. Everything that I have read tells of just how incredibly malleable the human brain is. We have infinite potential to become whatever we want to become through our mind. Whatever you believe in or whatever method you use I believe can affect you in real ways whether it be through the music you listen to or through meditation. Even the Bible says through God and prayer, you can regenerate and renew your mind. This is similar to the practice of manifestation, which says that through repetition and concentration on a mantra or goal, you will eventually reach that goal or at least have a much better chance of reaching that goal. Anyway, I have been writing about Growth Mindset and although I have learned a ton, I never really understood what it was all about, so in one of my final Growth Mindset posts I thought it would be beneficial for both my readers and myself to include this very helpful diagram:

Growth Mindset. Source: GrowthMindsetMemes.blogspot.com.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T.

For this week's Learning by H.E.A.R.T. Challenge, I chose to watch John Spencer's video, We Need a Bigger Definition of Creativity. He is so right that we have a very narrow-minded definition of creativity where we see only those who are painters or writers as "creative." He says that in actuality, creativity can mean mashing up ideas into innovative ways, thinking differently about data, finding unique solutions to practical problems, tweaking things in unusual ways, or even hacking systems. It can mean exploring ideas, navigating information, and designing systems. Especially as an accounting major, this video gave me lots of hope to lead a creative life. Watch it here:

Tech Tip Cheezburger

For this week's Tech Tip, I chose to use Cheezburger to create a meme. Of course, I decided to make the caption something about the end of the semester being right around the corner, so I wrote "Only two more weeks..." on my image. Although I didn't use a cat like the Tech Tip suggested, I used a super cute pup. This was a fun Tech Tip! Here it is:

Source: Cheezburger.

Week 13 Reading: Shri Krishna of Dwarka Part B

For this week’s reading diary, I chose to read Part B of Shri Krishna of Dwarka re-told by C. A. Kincaid. In Chapter 8: The Syamantaka Jewel, I thought that it was interesting that Krishna didn’t think Satrajit, a “mere noble,” was worthy of the Syamantaka necklace. It was quite sudden that just as soon as the evil Prasena put on the jewel he was killed and then the same thing happened to the evil lion. These stories are always so entertaining. For one, the nursery rhyme was so cute:
"Baby Bear! Baby Bear! The jewel is yours to keep and wear. For he who would take the lovely thing must first fight Daddy, the great Bear King!"

Next, it was quite humorous to me that the Bear King Jambavat and Krisha struggled against one another for 22 days. After all of the business about Krishna’s importance in Part A of Shri Krishna of Dwarka, I can’t believe that people actually thought his end had came from his want for a necklace but then I remembered that he was not fighting for the necklace but for his own clean reputation, which is why he returned that necklace he fought so hard for to Satrajit.

It is so strange to me that all of the characters’ first reaction is usually to kill. Satrajit merely gave his daughter’s hand in marriage to Krishna as a thank you gift (this was normal at this time) and all of the sudden everyone wanted to kill him because they also wanted his daughter… and they did kill him. 

Here is a comic cover that shows Krishna fighting for the Syamantaka necklace. 

Source: ExoticIndiaArt.com.

Week 13 Reading: Shri Krishna of Dwarka Part A

For this week’s reading diary, I chose to read Part A of Shri Krishna of Dwarka re-told by C. A. Kincaid. As always, the author introduces the concept of good and evil, yin and yang, darkness and light in Chapter 1: The Coming of Krishna, when Lord Vishnu brings two hairs – one white and one black – to life. He creates Balarama, a serpent incarnation of Shesha, out of the white hair and Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu himself, out of the black hair. These Indian epics have taught me something about revenge: it is always the monster who possesses such great vengeance within himself. I was reminded of this by Prince Kansa who is a demon. I think there is something to be learned from this in real life – the power of forgiveness. How ugly it is to be filled with vengeance and how wasteful it is to spend so much time and energy on this black hole from which nothing good comes. In this reading, the power of the galaxy is once again mentioned: “at midnight on the eighth day of the dark half of Shravan when the constellation Rohini was visible in the heavens…” I love how much meaning is placed on this!

Constellation of Rohini, located within the constellation of Taurus. Source: AstroVed.

I was so shocked by the vivid massacre of all the baby boys that occurred in Chapter 2: The Childhood of Krishna. I did enjoy the explanation of how Nanda and Yashoda came to raise Krishna and Balarama as their own children. The story of Putana who took the form of a beautiful woman and would then poison the baby boys was awful! I don’t understand how some of these things were thought up, but I know that in the end good will conquer evil.

Week 12 Review

Finals are coming so soon and it is kind of terrifying! Just as equally terrifying if not more so, was Amy Burvall's mash-up of Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl called Black Death. Although this video was quite informative of the historical catastrophe called the Black Death, it mostly just caused me to have nightmares (kidding, kind of).

Here it is:

Week 12: Famous Last Words

As it is called the Famous Last Words blog post, I thought it was only fitting to include a quote for thought. This is one of my favorites by Roald Dahl:

Source: Uplift My Mind. 

"If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." This is one of my favorite quotes because I truly believe that your thoughts dictate your actions and also those vibrations you give off, or your persona. It's the theory of mind over matter. Furthermore, some people believe that by manifesting your dreams or goals they are more likely to become your reality. Manifestation may not be for everyone. To be honest, I find it very difficult. But, it makes sense that if you really dwell on an aspiration, it is more likely to become a reality. That is not to say you can just sit around thinking about this goal you want to reach but if this goal is at the front of your mind as you go about your daily tasks, it shouldn't be surprising that you are more likely to prioritize with that end goal in mind.

I think I believe in this idea that your thoughts can change your reality so much because of the book that I read called Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf. I talked about this book in both my first Growth Mindset blog post as well as in my Deserted Island Books Learning Challenge post. It is an easy read and Dr. Leaf provides such revolutionary ideas supported by research that I would recommend it to just about anyone. The book proposes the idea that positive thinking leads to growth, while negative thinking hinders growth, and I couldn't agree more! This isn't to say that I am positive 100% of the time but I do try to think positively and catch myself when I start to have negative thoughts.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T. Challenge

I am always trying to do one thing a day to make myself a better person or just for my own well-being. This could be as simple as enjoying a mug of warm tea. Some days I will practice yoga - this is one of my favorite options but this semester has been too busy for me to get to do it often. And sometimes, I volunteer, which is always so fulfilling. You can even try the whole "pay it forward" idea where, for example, you could buy the person in line behind you at Starbuck's coffee and hopefully they will in turn do something nice for someone else. And even if they don't, at least you made someone else's day a little better. So when I ran across this image on Professor Laura Gibbs' Learning by HEART blog, I was very excited.

Source: Learning by HEART.

I just love everything about this picture: read books, limit television, stay close to friends and family, let your heart be your guide. And I am a HUGE advocate of exercise. I have to exercise or else I get so cranky - it's actually crazy what I big difference it makes in my life!

Growth Mindset: Resiliency

For this week's Growth Mindset challenge, I read an article from The New Yorker called How People Learn to Become Resilient by Maria Konnikova. One reason I believe that resiliency is so important is because of its role in emotional intelligence. According to Management by Angelo Kinicki, emotional intelligence is "the ability to monitor your and others' feelings and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions." Furthermore, recent research shows that those with high emotional intelligence are more likely to be associated with:

1. Better social relations for children and adults
2. Better family and intimate relationships
3. Being perceived more positively by others
4. Better academic achievement
5. Better psychological well-being 

All of these byproducts of high emotional intelligence are traits that employers look for in their employees, because, to name a few reasons, with these traits you are more likely to get along with your fellow employees and also because if you are not distracted by your emotions, you can work more efficiently. Resiliency plays a huge part in emotional intelligence because if something negative does happen to you, it is important to be able to bounce back quickly and not let your emotions get the best of you.

Perception is key to resiliency. Source: The New Yorker. 

How do you perceive everything that happens to you? As my mother always says, you can look at your glass half empty or half full.

Tech Tip: Reverse Image Search

For this week's Tech Tip, I used Google's reverse image search where you can upload an image and google will give you its source. This tip could be very handy in the future so I am glad that I learned about this neat tool. Here is the image that was provided by Professor Laura Gibbs to practice the reverse search:

A scene from The Ramayana. Source: V&A Collections.

Google also provided me with a source for this from Pinterest where I learned that this image (circa 1820) depicts Rama sending Hanuman to Lanka. 

Week 12 Reading Diary: Ardhanari’s Secret

One of my favorite ways to learn in this class is videos. I think I enjoy this especially because in an online class sometimes it is nice to be able to learn in ways that more resemble a classic learning setting. Although this class has taught me to be proactive in critical reading and analysis, it is still nice to be able to be taught through visuals and audio such as in a video.

For this reason, I decided to continue my study of the 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art videos. I definitely recommend these videos as I have found them to be highly engaging and informative. The main idea of Ardhanari’s Secret is that God is stillness within, goddess is movement around. One thing I found interesting is that the male trinity is associated with verbs, which include creating, sustaining, and destroying (this last one really caught my attention) while the female trinity is associated with nouns, including knowledge, wealth, and power. Because the gods can create, sustain, and destroy, they are doing and, therefore, active. The goddesses, on the other hand, are passive. From this a patriarchal society would see women as passive objects, the one to whom things are done. Their attributes – wealth, knowledge, and power – can be created, sustained, and destroyed.

There is another side to this argument though and that is that the gods and goddesses are dependent on one another. Just as a female holds life within her, she cannot reproduce without the activity that a male provides. Obviously this brings to surface the ever-debatable question of gender superiority. But I don’t think that is the point. I think that the point is that both genders are equally important because whether active or passive is better, does not matter. What matters is that both are necessary for life and progress. This made me think of a quote that I saw earlier this morning: 

"The worst enemy of life is not death but stagnation. Movement will set you free.” – Andrea Balt 

From this, I once again gather that if it is movement that will set us free, we must, both male and female, work together in balance. This idea of balance is important in Eastern cultures. For example, these ancient Hindu ideas of gods and goddesses align perfectly with the Chinese philosophy of yin yang (one of my favorites!):

Yin and Yang. Source: PreventDisease.com.

I also wrote about these ideas of balance in my Week 11 Reading Diary: The Churning of the Ocean. In this story of Vishnu, evil, as in the asuras, and good, as in the devtas, both occupy the earth and thereby bring balance to it as in the yin and yang. This is Vishnu’s concept that detached engagement brings order. I think this encourages toleration – that we shouldn’t feel the need to change others who are different than us but that we should accept them and live peacefully on this earth, a very Eastern concept. I would really like to learn even more about balance and the yin and yang because I truly believe it is essential for a happy life. I think that the source of the above image, PreventDisease.com, says a lot about how essential balance is to a happy life. Another picture on this website made me laugh, so I included it as well:

Source: PreventDisease.com.

Week 12 Reading Diary: Bhagavad Gita

For this week's reading diary, I read the Bhagavad Gita provided by the International Gita Society. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important Hindu scriptures and was originally written in Sanskrit. It is actually part of The Mahabharata, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed The Mahabharata so much.

My yoga teacher training has familiarized me with the Bhagavad Gita. This text is especially important to yogis because of its synthesis of the yogic ideals. It is even referred to as the “Yoga Handbook.”

At the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 1: Arjuna’s Dilemma provides just that: the internal conflict that Arjuna is having to deal with. Also in this chapter, Krishna is introduced as Arjuna’s charioteer. At this point in history, war was the norm – this is the way everything was dealt with, and Arjuna made this radical observation – why are we causing pain to those we love and respect over material things?

This image depicts Arjuna and Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Source: WordPress.

The book continues to spill over with Arjuna’s beautiful revelations. The second chapter, Transcendental Knowledge, reads “It would be better indeed, to live on alms in this world than to slay these noble personalities, because by killing them I would enjoy wealth and pleasure stained with their blood.”

The Bhagavad Gita then goes on to describe those paths a person must take to reach self-realization, which he defines as knowing “one’s relationship with the Supreme Lord and His true transcendental nature.” These include:
1. Path of Service
2. Path of Renunciation with Knowledge
3. Path of Renunciation
4. Path of Meditation

These paths culminate in self-knowledge and enlightenment. Many yogis live by this literature, following these paths in order to eventually reach enlightenment. The Bhagavad Gita could even be considered one of the world’s first self-help books.

Week 11 Review

I feel like all I want to start all of my Week in Review posts with an "I'm so stressed because..." Is this just because it's Sunday and I am suddenly thinking about everything coming up in the next few days? I am not sure nonetheless, I never in my life want to take eighteen hours in one semester again. Ever.

Stressed. Source: Relatably. 

Growth Mindsest Challenge

For this week's Growth Mindset Challenge, I chose to evaluate schools for growth. One program that the University of Oklahoma offers that I just recently discovered is the Design Your Own Major. I think it is great that individuals can choose between multidisciplinary studies or the planned program in order to get exactly what they want from their education. It is true that not every person will fit the mold of the typical student and therefore they shouldn't be required to try to fit the standardized education standards of that same person. You can read about it more at the University's website here. I also included an image that I think depicts these ideas well:

Source: Pinterest.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T. Challenge

For this week's Learning by H.E.A.R.T. Challenge, I chose a time management strategy called the Pomodoro technique. This week's to-do list seems never-ending so I am going to put this technique to work and will get back to you next week to let you know it went. One thing I was wondering is if there is any specific reason why you should take a longer break between every 4 pomodoros?

Pomodoro technique. Source: Learning by HEART

Tech Tip: Known Profile

For this week's Tech Tip I created a Known Profile, which you can view at this link.

I made my avatar an image of a turtle for two reasons:

1. This is the theme of my storybook. 
2. I am known as a turtle by many of my friends because they think I move slowly... and I do but I like to live this way. 

Sea Turtle. Source: Scuba Tom.

Week 11 Reading Diary: The Churning of the Ocean

For this week’s reading guide I am going to study a variety sources in order to learn more about the god Vishnu. Kurma is Vishnu’s turtle avatar who happens to be the main character of my storybook.

I started out my research on Vishnu by watching Vishnu’s Secret, the 6th video in the series 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik. The main idea of Vishnu’s Secret is that detached engagement brings order.

Next, I read the guide to The Churning of the Ocean, which provides the story behind Vishnu’s avatar Kurma. As the story goes, Durvasa received a floral garland from an apsara, which is some kind of feminine spirit similar to an angel. Durvasa gifts this garland to Indra, king of gods. Indra then gives the garland to his elephant Airavata who tramples it (see Indra and Airavata in the image below). Known for his short temper, Durvasa is enraged by Indra and Airavata’s lack of reverence for the ethereal garland and dispels the strength of the gods. This causes the natural world to grow weak.

Indra on his mythological white elephant, Airavata. Source: Wikipedia. 

The natural world is occupied by both devtas, or gods, and asuras, or demons. Because Durvasa has taken away much of the gods’ strength, the asuras are able to take control of the natural world. Amrita, the nectar of immortality, makes the devtas immortal and comes from the “ocean of milk.” Likewise, Sanjivani Vidya allows the asuras to wake the dead. This makes their powers equal but opposite – thus, detached engagement brings order. Vishnu and the devtas repair the world by churning the “ocean of milk,” but Mount Mandara begins to sink. Vishnu turns into his turtle avatar Kurma, who becomes the base of the mountain on which the world sits.