Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part A

The Mahabharata: Reading Notes (Part A)

I was really delighted to come across something familiar in this week's reading when I read about Drona's Test. Drona is the guru for all the Pandavas and Kauravas, as well as his own son, and he trains them all, putting them through various tests. One day, Drona tasks the boys with shooting a fake eagle he has placed in the trees. All of them miss, with the exception of Arjuna who is able to focus only on the center of the eagle's head.

Arjuna Taking Aim (Web Source)

Although the version I heard was a little different, this story still resonated strongly with me because it was a lesson I really took to heart over the past year as I have prepared for the MCAT and applying to medical school while working full time. The story as I have heard it involves a similar series of questions and answers between Arjuna and Drona (although at the time I heard the story, I was not familiar with these names), but the final answer Arjuna gives is that he can only see the "eye of the parrot". This story represents the immense focus that is required to accomplish a task and highlights the lesson that in order to accomplish a task, you must be able to find one point to focus on and then work towards that specific goal. Trying to define goals too broadly will end in misfires, but if you focus on a small piece of the goal at a time, you can sometimes find that you will not only accomplish one small thing, but potentially the entire thing if your aim is focused.

Another story I really liked from this reading was the story of Draupadi. This story interested me because its another story that ties together the concept of past lives with current circumstances, which is a big theme for my storybook. During Draupadi's swayamwara, Arjuna wins her hand and is then told he must share his new wife with his four other brothers. In a past life, Draupadi had been married to five men and had hoped to meet them again in another life. I also noticed that Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, was at the swayamwara, and I am interested to see what role he plays in this story.

Bibliography:
Narayan's Mahabharata
Online Reading Guide Part A: Narayan's Mahabharata (Web Source)

Week 4 Review: "Call me Laura"

I promise to try harder with this one! It is very difficult to break habits and even though I know you are wanting to be called by your first name, it is a difficult task. I promise to take a second look at the emails that I send you and try to break that habit.

Literal Change is Hard Meme (Web Source)

Learning Challenge: Learning By H.E.A.R.T. Meme

I chose a meme to talk about for this week's Learning by H.E.A.R.T. I was looking through the assignment pages when I came across this meme:

Procrastination Panda Pumping out Those ATPs (Web Source)

This meme really speaks to me as a science major. There are definitely days where I am tired and want to consider the fact that my body continues to enact all its various metabolic processes for the day an accomplishment.

Wikipedia Trail: From Saraswati to Brahman

Saraswati
I was initially interested in learning more about Saraswati because I was considering the Hindu Trinity as the topic for my Storybook Project. I was specifically interested in the love story she has with Brahma. So...I clicked on Tridevi next.

Tridevi
I wanted to look into this article because I wanted to see if there were any more connections between Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati that I had not yet considered. I found a really interesting image while looking at the article and I could really see myself using this image in my storybook later on.

 

Tridevi (Wikimedia)

Brahma
After reading about the Trinity, I clicked on Brahma, Saraswati's significant other. I didn't find as much as I would have liked on his romance with Saraswati, but I did find a lot of interesting factoids about Brahma and all the various ways I had seen his name before. It was interesting to see the different ways in which his name was used to create new words or represent different ideas.

Brahman
The last article that I clicked on was Brahman. I was hoping to learn more about the differentiation between Brahma and Brahman and found out that Brahman actually refers to the "highest Universal Principle" or the "Ultimate Reality". I thought this could be an interesting idea to pair with Maya which is an alternate reality.

 

Growth Mindset: Throwback to Finals Week of Spring 2016

After completing the Feedback Focus assignment this week, I was reminded of a time last semester that I felt completely overwhelmed by everything I had on my plate. It was the weekend before finals and two weeks before I took the MCAT. I felt like I needed to study literally everything for every single remaining second until I had completed everything in front of me. And then, I decided to do something crazy....

Meme I created to remind myself I could do it (Christen O'Neal)

...I took a break. I made this meme and I felt like it was really applicable to anyone who ever feels like everything is just way to big for them to accomplish. Because, even though the stack of papers may be larger than the stapler, the stapler still conquers the papers by organizing them into that stack. By recognizing that I needed a system, I felt less overwhelmed and got back on track with studying for finals and continued my relentless MCAT studying.

Bibliograph:
Growth Mindset: A Powerful Way to Learn by Laura Gibbs (Web Source)

Feedback Focus

Reading Out Loud
Although I liked the idea of reading each of the stories out loud, I found it very difficult to find a time and a place where I could actually do so. I already follow through with reading stories from beginning to end and then giving them a second read through, so I feel like my method is typically focused. I do feel like when I am reviewing my own work, I really have to read it out loud in order to get a different perspective. If I am not understanding a story, I might utilize this technique to similarly gain a different perspective.

Copy and Delete
There are definitely occasions that I have used this technique, especially for denser readings. I really enjoy the stories I read in this class, so I don't think I will need this technique unless I come across a particularly confusing story.

Use a Timer
I have not used this technique before, but I actually really liked it. I tend to be very goal-oriented, and sometimes this makes giving real, focused feedback difficult because I am more concerned with completing an assignment than with the actual feedback process. This is one of my biggest pet peeves, but I cannot deny that I am occasionally guilty of doing the same thing. I know others can tell when the feedback is not coming from a place of curiosity and rather a place of haste because I know that I can tell when others do the same to me. This method really made me dedicate a specific amount of time to the reading and this made the feedback much easier to write.

Jackie Gerstein (Web Source)

Tech Tip: Google Site Website (Nakshatras of the Trinity)

My storybook website is up and running! If you want to take a look at it, click here.

The storybook is inspired by some of the most dramatic stories of the Hindu Trinity. Each character must battle the mistakes of their past in order to create a new life for themselves. However, some will find that their crimes against others are too great to dismiss, and will transcend time itself to deliver karma.