Brad's Indian Epics Blog

From Rama to Lotus Position Rock cut sculpture depicting Mahavira in Lotus position at Samanar Hills, Tamil Nadu, India, Wikicommons My journey started at Rama  as I was reading up on him for a potential project in the future. This lead to the interesting in Buddhism  and what role he played. The major parts of Buddhism is mediation will lead directly to Zen . Reading up on Zen proposed the different ways and steps to potentially reach the Zen state. One of the positions was the Lotus Position . Wanting to visualize this I clicked on the link and now it is the header image.

Feedback Thoughts Feedback, Pixbay As outlined in the post " 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ ", it states that feel uncomfortable is healthy. Being uncomfortable is how we grow and that it is one of the only ways to truly improve ourselves. It also brings out a good point of using your weaknesses as strengths, for instance it states that being shy may mean that you are just conscientious. I think this is correct to an extent, but at some point we have to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone, which is what this article states right off the bat. This is what makes it a good articles, because it comes full circle. The second article worth noting is " Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it ". I really liked this article. In short it cites that the biggest critic is our self. This is very true, because typically an argument takes place between two or more people. However, when it is only yourself you begin to hype up these ideas and ...

Topic Brainstorm Krishna with Cows, herdsmen, and Gopis, Wikicommons Swayamvara: The concept of Swayamvara was one that I was not familiar with and did not know it existed. It is very intriguing because it allows for the woman to choose the man that she sees best fit for her. My understanding of ancient royalties was typical European practice of marriage for alliance and/or power. Swayamvara altogether is something completely different and much more romantic in my opinion because it is a willed by both parties. I can already think of a few stories I could tell about the trails and tribulations the potential suitors would have to go through to be deemed fit. It also appears that honor and class played a heavy role in the decision as there was instances of self-disqualification which adds another layer to the story. Krishna: Much like Rama, Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu. In fact Rama is the incarnation right before Krishna! Krishna was also born into a distressful situation...

Goblin Tricksters Rakshasa as depicted in Yakshagana, an art form of coastal Karnataka, Wikicommons The island of Ceylon is infamous for its deadly Rakshasa, or goblin, inhabitants. What most adventurers failed to learn was that one of the neighboring islands, Nolyec, is far more dangerous despite having very similar inhabitants. What differentiated the two creatures from the neighboring islands was their wit or lack of. The goblins on Ceylon were able to live off a steady supply of foolish sailors and only really had to rely on their disguise and simple lies. The goblins of Nolyec were far more cunning and thrived with a virtually endless supply of food and part of their success was the fact that nobody had escaped once landing. An exhibition was held by a group of villagers from the mainland. This journey consisted of a crew of 100 warriors and 10 skilled sailors. All of which pledged their life to the cause at hand, and swore to not desert. The primary functi...

Turtle falling to his death from The Turtle and the Geese , Story Source Notes: The Foolish, Timid Rabbit: I really liked this story and the moral. I think the intended message was that everything should be investigated and not be taken at face value without evidence. I think this story directly relates to the current state of the world where there seems to be a constant of he said she said fear-mongering that ultimately causes more grief than the base problem itself would. Two Turtle Jatakas: The two turtle Jatakas read very differently. The first one has a good sense of a message in that things aren't as always as you perceive them, but then shifts to how the turtle's wit and deception is a tool in saving his life. The second story has a stronger message that I believe reads as: Don't concern yourself too greatly with other's opinions of yourself or it might be at your own expense. The Cunning Crane and the Crab: This story is more detailed then the ...

Image from the Story book/webpage The Indian Story Book: Rama's Quest This story immediately grabbed as it was a story of a powerful being exiled only to have his wife and close family become personally invested. I look forward to reading this story. Ravana Ravana is an interesting character as he appears throughout Hindu stories as the primary antagonist, and I look forward to learning more about him and to find out what makes him evil. The Ramayana The Ramayana links today these two characters I have listed above, and it is largest ancient in the world. This book has remained important through many ages and must be a good read.

Time: Our Most Precious Resource,  Wikicommons Time management is very important especially for a online course that is self paced, as everything relies on your own planning and actions. One thing that really works for me is just starting things even if it means that I won't necessarily finish it in that sitting. It is also very important to try and do things ahead of schedule, hence why I am doing an assignment due 27th on the 22nd. Doing things ahead of time gives you more leeway with deadlines because it seems that everything tends to pile up and struggling to breath is not a good environment for success.  

An IBM System 360/20 computer on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich Germany. Wikicommons I think the technology usage for this class is very helpful. I am familiar with a lot of tools and websites that we will use for this class, but I have not taken another online course before. I can definitely see how these webpages and tools will be useful in finding information. I hope to make the most of all the pages.

Growth mindset: Make glorious amazing mistakes. (from the  Growth Mindset memes blog ) The Growth Mindset is new to me. As far as my studies go I am fairly confined to math, physics, and chemistry. The reason I took this class was because it was very different from my day to day studies. I always try to go out of my comfort zone and try new things and meet new people, but sometimes I am apprehensive at times and hesitate or back out. I need to work on just taking a leap of faith within reason. Since I have been at OU I have figured out how to work efficiently and what works best for me. The biggest challenge for me in the beginning was studying. Up till college I did not study and was still able to get good grades. This was still the case for a few classes that I would just need to refresh but it wasn't until this past year that studying was essential for success. It was hard at first but I challenged myself because it is important to me. I feel I have almost reached the p...

Typical industrial fractionating columns,  Wiki-commons      Hi, I'm Brad Schoen and I am a chemical engineering major. The coolest thing about chemical engineering is the how connected it is to everyday life. Many of the things I have learned in class can be applied to explain the world around us and why things interact in a certain ways. The best class I took last year was momentum, heat, and mass transfer. The professor was great and the material was very pertinent to the world around us. It was also a very satisfying class to take because it wrapped up all the things I had previously learned: chemistry, physics, and math into one interconnected topic. It was eye opening to see all the blocks fit into place and see how important math really is for modeling systems.       I am currently in the process of reading Dune , by Frank Herbert, but my favorite book/series to date is Dan Brown's Angel's and Demons . I plan to read the next insta...

Assignments: Hanuman Visits Sita in Lanka, Folio from a Ramayana (Adventures of Rama),  Wikimedia The assignments for these class are interesting. I have just started but I have already learned a lot about Indian gods. The self pacing for the assignments is also very nice.

Tales of Ganesha I am familiar with Ganesha a little bit, but the title did do a good job outlining that the story would be about Ganesha. It is lacking though in what Ganesha is doing. Thankfully the intro clears up what Ganesha is doing and where he is traveling. The writer is writing from the point of Ganesha and that makes the post more personable and a little bit more interesting. The overall design of the blog post is a little bit bland but the navigation between pages is nice and easy. Hindu Lover Online Hindu Lover Online is playing the role of a online dating site that matches others based on connection and character. The intro intertwines the Indian gods and the how they play a role in the Hindu Lover's selection by outlining and comparing characteristics strongly attached to a certain god. The other pages linked from the main page focus on specific gods or characters and how their stories add to the lover match making. The layout of the website is very easy to n...

Santa Fe, New Mexico. When I was younger my family would go to Santa Fe about every other year in the winter time. The views are scenic and the weather is enjoyable in the winter. Another nice feature was the architecture and very distinct and varying art styles. It is always a nice to place to visit. (Adobe in Santa Fe at the Plaza - Hotel Inn and Spa at Loretto:  Wikimedia Commons )

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