Feedback Thoughts

 Feedback Thoughts:

How to get past negativity bias - This article definitely stood out to me the most, more than any of the others because of the way that the author describes the brain as something that is extremely moldable and fixable. I like to support the theory that our brain can be rewired to look at the world in a different way. The author focuses on a method that forces us to relive a happy moment and then attach it to a negative emotion in order to hardwire the positive experiences in our head. This in turn will make us happier and less critical of ourselves. Often times we focus on the small bad over the larger good. This is the wrong way to live, and rewiring our brains can help us leave this habit behind. 

Why it's so hard to hear negative feedback - This article talks about how we as humans tend to shy away from someone or something that will critique us in a negative manner, and how we should instead crave these critiques to better ourselves. The idea is that we avoid certain people sometimes in the workplace or classroom that will tell us that we are doing something wrong, or will tell us how we can do something better. I have definitely found myself doing this throughout my life whether it was in basketball practice or the chemistry lab. In basketball practice I would try and shoot at the goal farthest from where the coaches sat so they could not critique me, maybe because I feared what they would have to say. In chemistry labs I used to shy away from my TA and never make eye contact while doing an experiment because i feared the TA would walk over to my desk and tell me I was doing the experiment wrong or I could do it better another way. The idea that we should crave rather than shy away from positive criticism is something that I will now try and incorporate in my life, and hopefully it will make me better at whatever that is i do. 

Diagram of the human brain - a very complex organ

Topic Brainstorm

Brainstorm Ideas

Reincarnation: The topic of reincarnation has always fascinated me but I have never known truly what the details of it are and how these beliefs differ across different cultures and religions. My interest in reincarnation was sparked back in high school, where one of my Spanish teachers had believed in reincarnation, claiming that he would become a musician in his next life. The idea has been around for centuries and was held by profound historical figures such as Plato, Socrates, and Pythagorus. I would definitely like to learn more about the topic throughout the semester. 

Temples: I find Hindu Temples extraordinarily interesting. They take many different shapes and forms but always have the universal theme of connection between man and the divine. The concept of temples and architecture being used as a supplement to worship is fantastic and it is something I would enjoy diving into. Many temples incorporate all aspects of life from fire and water down to femininity and masculinity, among many many more. 

Vishnu and Lakshmi: Vishnu and Lakshmi are two major components of Indian Epics, being some of the major deities of Hinduism. Vishnu is known to protect the Dharma and their principles in times of destruction and chaos, while Lakshmi is known to lead you to your ultimate goals. I think the story of these two deities will be something interesting to learn about over the course of the semester. Their reach also goes beyond just Hinduism, with their stories transcending into other religions such as Buddhism. 

Krishna: Krishna is one of the most prominent and widely known deities of Hinduism and is celebrated every year by Hindus. He is referred to as a supreme god, and is respected amongst all Hindus. There are many stories about Krishnu and I would like to learn more about his legend. 

Krishna

Week 2 Story: The Malnourished Forest

My Portfolio  

Deep in the dense forest there lived a community of the most respected grasshoppers, beings that were widely respected all across the lands far and wide. The grasshoppers had been there for centuries, far before any other animal had lived there. Being veterans of the forest, they had become friends with all other species that resided there. One day an intense storm hit just above the forest, leaving many animals displaced with some of them arriving in the forest, a peculiar place for any foreign species. Of the displaced animals, one was a colony of green tree frogs. In their previous habitat, they were the most feared species, partly due to the fact that they were such talented hunters, using their green bodies to hide within the depths of trees and shrubbery. The frogs came into the forest, and encountered a family of pythons. Initially worried that they would be swallowed up, they decided that they first should try to befriend them.

The leader of the frogs, Jeffrey, called out to the pythons, “Hey! My colony and I are new here, I’m Jeffrey, do you mind showing us around?” To his surprise, the python called out “Welcome to the forest Jeffrey and friends! It would be an honor!” The python showed them around, but when Jeffrey laid eyes on the grasshoppers, he felt a rush of excitement knowing that he and his colony would be eating good tonight. The grasshoppers had heard tales of these frogs and how their favorite meals were grasshoppers, but they thought “surely these frogs will respect us just as every other predator in this forest.” Jeffrey called out to the grasshoppers, “Hey! So nice to meet you, I have heard many things about this beautiful forest.” The grasshopper called back, “Welcome! We hope you find comfort in our beautiful forest.” As the night went on, the python was becoming seemingly hungry. The python pulled his friend, the leader of the grasshoppers aside, “I am getting hungry, and I do not believe the colony of frogs has good intentions for you and your people.” The grasshopper replied, “I hope you are not planning to eat those frogs, my friend. We have become so respected in this forest, do you know how? Because we respect every creature that we come across, predator or not, our kindness for them blinds them from their hunger.” The python and the grasshopper carried on. At dusk, the Jeffrey informed his colony of his plans to murder and eat the grasshoppers for dinner. The colony of frogs was taken back, shocked with Jeffrey’s intentions, especially after how kind the grasshoppers had been thus far. The rest of the frogs did not tell Jeffrey they were against his plan, but everyone in the colony had felt the same way. But Jeffrey was overcome with hunger. The colony had set out to go to the house where the grasshoppers had resided, but a couple of the frogs had snuck out before departure and informed the grasshoppers of Jeffrey’s intentions. Jeffrey and the frogs had reached the estate, and Jeffrey was keen to eat the leader of the grasshoppers that had shown him such a pleasant time earlier in the day. Jeffrey asked to speak to the leader, and the younger grasshoppers had told him to head up into his secluded home above the leaves of the tree. As the other frogs had not agreed to take part in such evils and eat the grasshoppers, they stayed down on the ground. He exclaims “Grasshopper, I came to tell you how beautiful your forest is, thank you for showing my colony and I the warmest welcome!” he replied, “you are very welcome Jeffrey, the whole forest is excited to have you here.” The grasshopper had noticed that Jeffrey was inching closer with every word. The grasshopper had known Jeffrey was getting ready to eat him, so he exclaimed, “I heard you were hungry!” Jeffrey, now confused replies “ah yes, I had just come to ask you what the best restaurant in the forest was” still inching closer and closer. The grasshopper, “oh Jeffrey, I was not speaking to you, you don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Behind Jeffrey in the room was the hungry python, his mouth watering at the sight of a delightful and tasty grasshopper. “That is right, I am!” exclaimed the Python. With a blink of an eye, Jeffrey was in the stomach of the python, shredded into pieces. The grasshopper said, “stupid frog, never trust an animal who cannot control his stomach, let alone his mind.”

Authors note: The story is based on one written by W.H.D Rouse, with some various differences. 

Bibliography: The Giant Crab - W.H.D Rouse

Green Tree Frog 

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

 Reading Notes

The Cunning Crane and the Crab

    This story was probably my favorite of all of the stories. I am not exactly too sure why that is, but maybe it is because i have a pond right by my house and could picture a crane sitting there and eating the fish. The common theme between all the stories is deception, and the fish in this particular story were deceived by the crane. The story says a lot about desperation, and how when you are at your lowest point, in this case for the fishes near death due to the pool drying, that you will trust anyone to help you out of that hole. It shows that we do not look twice to see if the person helping us is trying to take advantage of us, or is really doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. I like how the crab knew from the very beginning what was happening and was able to see through the crane. It was also interesting how the crab did not think twice about the crab getting on his back, and shows that sometimes greed and ego can take over ones self. In the crane's case, his ego was through the roof because he felt like he just deceived an entire colony of fish and was unbeatable, but in doing so his ego caught up to him and pushed him away from using logic, just because he had been on a large winning streak. The greed caught up to the crane because he kept wanting more and more. I really enjoyed this particular story, as well as the image that was provided. 

The crab who deceived the Crane

Week 2 Reading Overview

 Indian Epics Reading Overview:

I am choosing the public domain edition of the Ramayana due to a couple reasons. One of the reasons i chose this over the other is because it has an audio option, which is very convenient as i do quite a bit of driving daily. The other reason is because it includes illustrations which i believe will be beneficial in making the story come to life. 

Two comics:

Krishna: Retold From The Bhagawat Puran

    This comic caught my eye because the description talks about Krishna's "miraculous birth" and later on talks about a battle with a serpent. It looks like an intriguing comic and I definitely would like to read more about Krishna's story and how his life played out. 

Pareekshit: Son of Abhimanyu

    I chose this comic because like the last one, it too has a story about a snake. The story revolves around a snake that will in one weeks time, attack a man, so the man builds a palace and recruits guards to protect him from its evil. The story is definitely interesting. 

Two videos:

Symbols of Divinity | EPIFIED 

    This video stood out to me because i have always been interested in learning symbology and the different meanings that they all possess. In fact, this semester i am currently in a communications course and we talk about symbols and how they can be used as a way to communicate different ideas and beliefs, which i find really intriguing. 

Sanskrit in 60 seconds | Epified

    The video regarding Sanskrit caught my eye because I visit Pakistan often, and I have always wondered if there are any similarities between the native language of Pakistan, Urdu, and Sanskrit of India. Although I am not too sure if Sanskrit is still spoken/used, it is a neat thing to learn. 

Sanskrit writing