Feedback Thoughts

Thoughts on the Feedback Articles

The first article I looked at was looking at the fixed mindset can hold us back when it comes to feedback. We already talked about the fixed mindset, it is the mindset where we believe our intelligence and abilities are fixed. You believe you can not get smarter so when you are getting feedback it can feel like they are directly attacking your intelligence/abilities. Since with a fixed mindset this feedback could feel like your intelligence or abilities are not enough. The other article I touched on was the seven ways to crush self-doubt. I only found two tips that I thought were not common tips as well as helpful. The first tip that I think is incredibly important is the idea of being vulnerable to a trusted community. It is hard to find people that you can truly trust, and it is even harder for us to be vulnerable. If you can get past these troubles and find people you truly trust then opening up can be incredibly beneficial. I feel like the idea of opening up is talked about when it comes to mental health, but opening up can be beneficial on many issues that you face. The other tip I also really liked was to treat your work like an experiment. In that frame of mind there is no failure, you can only learn what works and what does not. This takes failure completely out of the picture.

Links:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-26/fixed-vs-growth-mindset-at-work-and-in-life/9897782

http://www.spencerauthor.com/seven-ways-to-crush-self-doubt/


PHOTO: If you've got a fixed mindset you could struggle more than others to adapt to change. (Getty: Peopleimages)

Topic Brainstorm

Topics

Kumbhakarna the giant by Amar Chitra Katha

Creation Stories

I chose this topic because I am always interested in how other cultures and religions try to explain how this world was created. This is also the topic I am probably most knowledgeable going into. I read the creation storybook that was posted on the class website, so I already know about some of the creation stories. I would be interested if there are any other hindu creation stories not mentioned in the storybook.

Supernatural Characters

I am a fan of supernatural characters in other cultures and the similarities in characters between cultures. In multiple cultures you see shape-shifting, man-eating characters. You see this in the skinwalker in Navajo culture and the goblins that we read about in the Jataka. I also had read the plot synopsis for two of the supernatural characters. The giant, Kumbhakarna, and the magician, Mahiravana. I would want to take some of these supernatural characters and write them as cryptids and write about their stories as a cryptid hunters' notes.

Gurus and Sages

Gurus and sages are the wisemen you see in many cultures. I want to see how the Indian epics take on the role of sages. I have no prior knowledge on the sages in Hindu culture, I chose this topic because it interests me. I have no prior knowledge so I am unsure how to tackle how I would retell this story topic. I would probably attempt to retell the story in modern day.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is a very interesting topic, multiple religions have had the belief in reincarnation. I have already learned a bit about reincarnation in hindu mythology. I am not well versed in reincarnation within Indian epics. My current idea for retelling is to discuss reincarnation from a first-person perspective. 

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yama

http://ackguide.blogspot.com/2015/04/guide-kumbhakarna-vol-528.html

http://ackguide.blogspot.com/2015/06/guide-drona.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaikeyi

Week 2 Story: Captain's Warning

Captain's Warning

I have long since retired, but I was once an accomplished captain. The seas are a treacherous place, so those who survive long enough to retire are looked at for advice. The younger sailors are always looking for tips to survive, they want to know what to look for, how to read the waters, and areas to avoid. I have always done my best to make sure young sailors learn as much possible, but I have gained the reputation as a crazy old man. They think I am crazy after the story of my shipwreck; what they don't understand is that it is all true, even though it sounds crazy. I know I am not crazy as many of my shipmates all remember these same events. You can think me crazy too, but you should be warned. Heed my warning, it could be the difference between life and death. 

A nasty storm hit us after we the harbour, we had not gotten far and the storm came out of nowhere. Our ship was thrown against the rock off the coast of Ceylon. We were a larger cargo ship and we had a large crew, but only 500 of survived. The next morning as we were trying to recover what we could and patch up ourselves a large group of women came with food and clothes. We had crashed not far from their city luckily. They had a bustling city full of people. The women in the city were numerous, but there were few men. We saw only a handful in the pastures and working the fields when we entered the city. We were being nursed back to health and many of the women were seeking husbands. We sailors all settled down and married one of the women eventually. We were living great lives for a while. This next part is where I lose many people, as much as it sounds crazy I want you to know.
IT IS ALL TRUE!

Waking in the night my wife was no longer sleeping beside me, shortly after waking I could hear the door. What walked into my room was not my wife, it was a beast, a creature, a GOBLIN. A GOBLIN I TELL YOU. I froze and watched her as I pretended to sleep. That is when I heard her, she sung while eating something. All I could hear was, "Man's meat, man's meat, that's what Goblins like to eat!" They ate humans, the sweat that crept down my back as I had to lay down next to this vile thing for the rest of the night felt like ice. The next morning I got all of my crew together. Some of those damned fools refused to understand the danger we were in and called me crazy. The men who believed me understood that we had to get out of there. For days we planned and looked for ways to escape this damned island. 

We just so happened to be lucky though, a fairy watched over that city and it hated those goblins. The fairy had tried to save others, but none chose to believe her. We had already had our eyes opened, and needed no convincing. We happily accepted her help, she had a flying horse to carry us out of here. The horse was the size of a normal horse, although it had wings on it. There was no way it could carry all of us off this island, but as we crawled one after the other onto the horse there always seemed to be more room. My belief is that the fairy had magic to shrink us so the horse could carry us all. I chose to retire after this adventure, but some of my crew continued to sail. They continued because they did not see what I saw. 

Heed my tale, avoid this city. DO NOT LET THE GOBLINS GET YOU. Even if you crash on their island quickly escape their reach by escaping down the island. AVOID THE CITY AT ALL COSTS.

Goblin with it's favorite treat. Image obtained at http://jathakakatha.lk/jk191/pc191.gif

Author's Note

I chose to make this story from the perspective of the captain. I felt like it could add more personality to the story. This personality was given by the captain's thoughts. To accomplish this I felt like I had to add to the setting, this is down by making the captain tell this story as a tale of his past.

Bibliography

Goblin City. The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India. W. H. D. Rouse.

 https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/goblins?authuser=0

Week 2 Reading Anthology

Jatakas

I particularly liked two of the Jatakas we read, I enjoyed The Monkey who Gathered Lotuses and Goblin City. I liked them for two very different reasons, the writing in the lotuses story is much more interesting. The ending had an enjoyable twist, and the story itself was well-written. The other story I like primarily for the concept of the story, the antagonists and the setting are interesting. The problem I have with the goblin story is that the ending is abrupt and not well-written. The ending comes out of nowhere and it really takes me out of the story. I feel that if the ending was changed and better written this story would be my favorite hands down. It is a real Deus Ex Machina which ruins the ending for me. I wish the sailors' own actions could have had led to their escape, or even had their actions lead to their downfall instead of the current ending. This is why I like the lotus story, the ending arises from the monkey and his actions. The monkey exhibits the three qualities befitting a ruler and gains the respect/admiration of the ogre who decides to assist him. This ending is much more appealing as it comes from the character's actions and not a convenient plot device. 

Flying Horse by W. Robinson

The Flying horse was the Deus Ex Machina at the end of the Goblin City.

Bibliography

The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. The Goblin City. https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/goblins?authuser=0

Tayodhamma Jataka in The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers. The Monkey who Gathered Lotuses. https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/lotuses?authuser=0

Week 2 Reading Overview

Reading Overview

I chosen to read the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. I chose this edition for two reasons, one is the price as well as the fact that it does not need to be shipped to me. The other reason for this edition is that I feel that each story being told by different author's can help created a varied understanding of the work.

Comics Chosen:

Mahiravana

Kumbhakarna

I chose these comics because the contents seemed the most interesting to me, Kumbhakarna is the giant brother of Ravana. I am interested in this cultures folklore depiction of giants. Giants are apart of many myths and folklore, but many times you see different depictions of the giants. Mahiravana is a magician and king of the netherworld. I felt this character could be one of the most interesting to learn about.

Videos Chosen:

Symbols of Divinity

Ancient Technology

The videos were easier to choose in my opinion, they had topics that are highly interesting. I am very interested in the symbols of divinity in other religions, I find it interesting how other cultures try to create symbols as a way of conveying a complex idea of their religion. Another interesting topic is ancient technologies and how ancient people accomplished difficult tasks with limited tools. I am interested in archeology, paleontology, and anthropology so learning about ancient religion and cultures are very interesting.

Kumbhakarna statue at the Bali Botanic Gardens

Representation of the giant from the comic I chose, gives us an idea of the size he was believed to be.