Siddartha Quotes 3-6

The third quote that I chose to talk about is " You are the first woman to whom Siddartha has spoken without standing with downcast eyes. Never again shall I lower my eyes when a beautiful woman meets me." This means Siddartha thought woman were beneath him and he realized that this was false. Now he values people more on what kind of person they are rather than their outer appearance. I can apply this to my life by not judging others by how they look or first impressions. I can get to know people more instead of judging them.
The fourth quote I chose from Siddartha is "At times he heard, deep in his heart, a very faint, still voice that quietly admonished him, quietly lamented, so it could barely be perceived. At such times he became aware for an hour or so that he was living a strange, that he was doing nothing but playing a mere game, that although he might be serene and might sometimes feel joy, true life was nevertheless passing him by without touching him." I think this means that Siddartha was making a mockery of life. The only reason he was living the way he was was to fulfill meaningless desire that he didn't really care for much in the first place. Without trying to fulfill his true desires, he wasn't living life they way he wanted to, so he would never truly be happy. I can use this in my life by never giving up on my hopes and dreams, and not settling with whatever easiest or just with whatever I think is the most profitable. I have to live life the way I want to so I become self-content.
The fifth quote I found that I think is important is "And it now appeared to him that it had been his inability to love anything or anyone that had previously made him so ill." This is referring to when Siddartha wanted to learn the "childlike joy and childlike folly" from the child-people. He wanted to fully give in to the love he had for people but he couldn't achieve that until he felt it for his son. When he fully gave into his love for others, in gave him happiness, desire, and a purpose. Without love he felt kind of empty inside. I can apply this to my life by remembering to love others and not block people out of my life. If I don't love my family and friends I will feel like there is something missing from my life.
The last quote I chose from the book is "When someone seeks, it is all too easy for his eyes to see nothing but the thing he seeks, so that he is unable to find anything or absorb anything because he is always thinking exclusively about what he seeks, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by that goal. Seeking means having a goal. But finding means being free, remaining accessible, having no goal. You venerable one, are perhaps really one who seeks, because, pressing after your goal, you fail to see many a thing that is right before your eyes." I think this means if you have only one goal and that is all you want to achieve, then you will miss a lot of great opportunities. This is because if you are only searching or trying to achieve one thing in life, then you are not going to pay attention to anything else in life. If you don't pay attention, you will lose out on a lot because you are not paying attention to your surroundings. I can learn from this by not fixating too much on one goal so I don't miss out on other important things in life. If I focus too much on a goal, then I won't pay attention to what's going on around me so I will probably lose a lot of good opportunities and I won't be very open to other things besides my goal.

Siddartha Quotes

The first quote I chose from the text is "Everything in your teachings is perfectly clear and fully proven; you show the world to be a perfect chain, never and nowhere interrupted, an eternal chain fashioned out of causes and effects. Never before has this been seen so clearly, never so irrefutably presented; truly, every Brahman's heart must beat more jubilantly in his breast when, through your teachings, he sees the world as being perfectly interconnected, without a gap, clear as a crystal, not dependent on chance, not dependent on gods." I think this means that Siddhartha admired that Gotama's philosophies because they were based off of facts and things he saw with his own eyes. They were not dependent on gods and chance, things you can't see and prove, like other philosophers knowledge was based off of. I can use this in my life by not just believing what I hear from others, but trying to test these theories or by doing research and looking at the facts. This way I can prove everything I know and fully believe it is the truth.
The second quote I chose from the text is " I was afraid of myself, I was running away from myself! I was seeking Atman, I was seeking Brahman, I was determined to dismember my self and tear away its layers of husk in order to find in its unknown innermost recess the kernel at the heart of all those layers, the Atman, life, the divine principle, the Ultimate. But in so doing I was losing myself." I think this quote means that Siddhartha realized that in his quest to find nirvana, he had been trying to get away from himself and was losing everything about him. He had been trying to get away from the world and him as a person. I can apply this to my life by remembering to never lose myself in trying to fulfill my ultimate goals and desires in life. I should never let go of who I am to try to achieve my goals because if I do not achieve my goals by still being me, I won't be happy with life.

Feng Shui

Feng Shui is the practice of having balance with nature and the environment. The arrangement objects and the use of the five elements are to make the chi flow well in your space for good luck, prosperity,health, etc. The five elements are water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.
For this assignment, we were supposed to Feng Shui a room in our house. I decided to Feng Shui my dining room. First, I cleaned up all the clutter in the room so the chi could flow freely. Next, I added the five elements to the room. I put the five elements in the dining room by adding plants in the corner for wood,a candle in the corner for fire,crystal-like glass ornaments on the ceiling for earth,and a wind chime by the window. For water, I couldn't move the fish tank to the dining room so I hung a painting of koi splashing in the water on the wall. I put the elements in the order of the productive cycle so the chi would flow well because the elements weren't conflicting. I also added a mirror on the table facing towards the freeway to deflect excessive chi. The first two pictures are the before pictures, the two on the bottom are taken after I Feng Shui'd the room.

Seminar Reflection

I think my classmates did a pretty good job for our first time. I admit that we could have done a much better job, though. It would have been a better conversation, if people participated more and had additional input including me. I also think we focused too much on one or two topics and got a little off topic towards the end. Overall, I think our conversation was satisfactory and that we can improve a lot with our experience now.
I think the Tao Te Ching's ideas relate a lot to our lives and the world around us. Taoists believe that messing with nature offsets the balance of Yin and Yang. The less we interfere, the more nature can run its course the way it's supposed to. I think this relates to us because for example we cause global warming with greenhouse gases and pollution. If we didn't use things that caused this then nature could function more properly. The quote "Knowing knowledge is strenght. Ignoring knowledge is sickness." also applies to us because if we know something wrong is happening and we ignore it and don't try to help in any way then we are "sick" and also to blame. We can help stop dire issues or problems happening in the world if everyone tries to help and not just tries to disregard something that is not happening to us. In conclusion, there are a lot of things we can learn and apply to our lives fron Taoism an the Tao Te Ching.

The Five Element Theory Reflection

The five elements are fire, water, wood, earth, and metal. The element that I was most like on both tests was fire. I absolutely agree with these results. I love to laugh and just have fun all the time. I also love socializing and hate being alone which also fits in with this element. Another thing that fits in with this element is that Im not very patient. Being spontaneous and surprised is also a lot of fun. I really enjoyed these tests because it was interesting seeing what elements people were most like and comparing to see if the elements actually matched our personalities. Overall, I think these quizzes matched my personality really well.

Qigong Reflection

I think Qigong would be an excellent thing to use in daily life. One way it could be used is to calm yourself down when you are angry or irritated. For example, if someone was about to yell at someone else, they could using the breathing techniques to gather their thoughts, and soothe themselves. You could also use Qigong to destress yourself from whatever problems or worries you have. I think it is a great way to simply relax. Another good way to use Qigong would be to help you fall asleep. If you can't get to sleep, just try using the breathing techniques. Overall, I think Qigong is something everyone should try practicing in daily life.

Vocabulary Test 1

The main idea of the article "Country, the City Version: Farms in the Sky Gain New Interest" is to try to build a verticle farm to cultivate plants in the city. Since its inside, the wouldn't need pesticides and chemical fertilizers. All they would need is very fertile soil, lots of sunlight, water, and a good irrigating system so the plants wouldn't start to mold or rot. They would also need to domesticate plants that grow vegetables and fruits in other areas in the city. This way, they would have a variety of foods to eat and wouldn't need to import any from other areas of the world. They would just need to codify all the vegetables and fruits they need and are going to use to begin the process of finding these crops. The determinant for making Dickson Despommier's plan come to life is if he has enough money, if the building saves enough energy, and enough people agree with this idea.
I think this is a great solution for saving energy. Using natural resources and waste water for helpful resources is brilliant. This idea is the total opposite of primitive, it could be a new way for the US to eat. It would be healthier and more energy effecient. Overall, I think this a wonderful idea and more people should learn about it and get involved.I think this article is very imformative and can teach a lot of people about this subject. Our crops could be sedentary, only used for the purposes of feeding the city the verticle farm is in. This would save a lot of money. Dickson Despommier is like a deity who will change the way we live forever. In conclusion, I really like this innovative idea.