Tech Tip: Embed Tweet

For this week's Tech Tip, I chose to embed a tweet and Wow, I am so impressed! This is so cool. I chose this tweet posted by OU Daily and also re-tweeted by Professor Laura Gibbs because I thought it was very powerful and an impressive display on the part of OU's students.

"There’s still a lot of work to be done."@OU_Unheard recalls the SAE incident: https://t.co/KY41sOu4p3 pic.twitter.com/Nx5i4ZnJPg

— OU Daily (@OUDaily) March 7, 2016

Epics of India Reading Plan

During Week 9 I would like to finally watch Nina Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues." I am also very interested in watching the film series "Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art - Gods and Goddesses."

During Week 10 I want to read the Buddhist Jataka Tales. I have always been interested in Buddhist ideas and feel that they really resonate with me. I also think that they could be beneficial to my storybook theme of karma, as this is a core belief in Buddhism.

I am also open to reading suggestions, specifically those that may help me write my Storybook (that have to do with turtles, sea-life, and/or karma).

Bhavacakra. Source: Wikipedia.

This image depicts the samsara, an important symbol to Buddhists. Samsara means cyclic existence or wheel of life, and can be compared to the idea of karma. This is also an important concept in yoga.  

Blog Reflections

I have so enjoyed my time spent on Blogger in this class. Although it is sometimes hard to make the time for this everyday, I have always found it to be very rewarding.

There are two blogs in particular that I would like my blog design to look more like. These include Jessica W.'s and Madison B.'s. I just think these two ladies did a wonderful job with the aesthetics of their blogs. They also customized them to make them more complex. This makes it all the more enjoyable to read their blogs!

Learning Challenge: Grant Snider's Interior Life

This is so true!! This is what yoga is all about and what we learn about in my yoga teacher training. People are very surprised to learn that the physical aspect of yoga is miniscule compared to the mental and emotional aspects. 

Source: Learning by HEART

An unkept mind can be very dangerous to our mental health, especially that "I'll deal with it eventually" space where we push everything that we don't want to deal with when in reality we should be dealing with it head on! This is much easier said than done but it doesn't hurt to TRY.

Growth Mindset: Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

I was very intrigued by Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. It seems like everyone would be great in at least one aspect of these intelligences, which makes everyone unique and special and important. I think it would be very beneficial if people were familiarized with these multiple intelligences. For example, I am good at caring for others but I am not so good at drumming. I think this class can make me better at reflection. What are your strengths?

Source: Growth Mindset Memes

Week 7 Review: More Midterms...

Unfortunately, my midterms have received nearly all of my attention for the past few days. Thus, I'm sure my Epics of India course feels like the unloved child. Still, it is a source of motivation just as this meme is!

Source: Cheezburger

Week 7 Reading Diary: The Mahabharata Part C

Again, this idea that it is a man’s obligation to protect women appears in Krishna’s Visit when Draupadi inquires, “Is it not the duty of a husband to protect his wife?” The theme in both The Ramayana and The Mahabharata is consistently that those who have everything must deal with the loss of everything. This is a really interesting theme because it shows the values that our meant to be emphasized through literature and that is not the value of material things but of values of integrity, honor, and truth, as the quote below illustrates.

I absolutely LOVE what Yudhishthira preaches, “Anger is sinful; it is the cause of destruction. He that is angry cannot distinguish between right and wrong. O fair Draupadi, one should forgive every wrong. Forgiveness is holiness; it is Truth; it is Brahman.”

The characters of these stories must find this truth by abandoning their attachments to worldly things. The value of such qualities, for example patience, is emphasized again in The Himalayas.

What a beautiful depiction of the life of a hermit in Arjuna and Shiva.

I was intrigued by the explanation of Hanuman's presence on earth even still today, which was provided in the reading guide for Bhima and Hanuman. It is quite humorous that Bhima was unable to lift Hanuman in the form of a monkey. As Hanuman explains in this section, I also believe that humanity's fall away from universal truth is responsible for disease and many other calamities.

Hanuman in monkey form. Source: Flickr.