Na-Ima-Sthae at Home

Lakshmi Rubs Vishnu's Feet Because I only have 16 points left until I am finished with this class, my reading notes for this week are just to learn as much as possible! It was so nice not having to think of stories while watching the video. I just got to learn a lot!  Kurma’s Secret: wealth eludes the insecure Lakshmi Goddess of wealth Everyone worships her She is the food, clothes, and houses that we have  Does not discriminate  Humans worship devas because they are known as the ones that will release Lakshmi so she can come and help All the wealth Indra had should have made him feel secure and happy, but he felt more insecure instead He was insecure in his relationship  He doesn’t trust his wife bc he doesn’t trust himself  His wife does leave him because she is driven away by his behavior Lakshmi then leaves and Indra lost all of his fortune Righteous conduct, wealth, and pleasure are the gifts of Lakshmi that announced her arrival ...

Cat in a Turkey Costume I'm all backed up and ready to spend thanksgiving with my family!!! I really enjoyed the video that was posted about the effects of gratitude. Within that video gratitude was defined as "The quality or condition of being thankful, or the appreciation of the inclination to return kindness." Even before thanksgiving began to approach, I realized that I am TERRIBLE at 1) Being thankful towards the Lord and all he has done for me (which is a lot) and 2) Telling others that I'm thankful for them outside of a time that makes sense. This has been something I've been trying to work on this semester as a way to be more aware of the blessings in my life. Thanksgiving shouldn't be the one time a year we appreciate what we have in front of us!! I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving break!

Yamuna and Balaram (start at 2:43) Matsya’s Secret: Secret mar of vishnu is on the head Save me from the big fish and I will save you- Big fish story Law of the fishes Vishnu takes form of a fish to interact with human kind and draw attention to jungle law  No rules in the jungle Only the fir survive  Humans judge uaniamls but they are driven by a need to survive Only humans can imagine a world where might is not right Men interfere with nature which has its roots In empathy We fear the fear of the little fish and do something to allay it.  Story of river goddess who is requested to go to the kings place so he doesn’t have to go to the river every time he wants to bathe. The goddess gets mad and the king has to be aggressive in order to force her to come back with him.  Two story ideas come to mind. First, I could tell a story as the beginning of creation with everyone living in a jungle style, and then an animal I can name Ma...

Fastforward to 1:20 to get to the good stuff This week I decided to change my note taking up a bit so that I could learn as much as possible when watching the video. So below I have provided my rough notes that I took while watching the video. Mohini is the female version of Vishnu  enchantress, temptress, but not a nymph  Known for being bale to seduce sages and demons  Gender is a vehicle to communicate metaphysical ideas.  Material: tangible that can be perceived through the senses  Typically representing using through female form  Spiritual: Intangible reality that cannot be perceived  Typically representing using through male form  Apsara enchants to distract humanity from spiritual reality Mohini enchants to draw humanity’s attention to spiritual reality within material reality Spiritual reality and material reality is best expressed through the interdependence of a man and woman. These two things are best explained as a...

 Kuvalaypida Hello, My name is Kuvalaypida. Many of you know me as the big, bad elephant that tried to kill your beloved Krishna. The story you know, however, is very one sided. Today, I will clear my name so this history can no longer follow me. My story starts back many years ago when I was just a child. Rumors had been going around the elephant herd that King Kans had shown a recent interest in our kind. As the days went on we started noticing the young elephants from our herd were starting to go missing. My mom became very scared that she would lose me. I was unable to go anywhere without her. One evening when I was laying down with my mother I heard a noise from the bushes. I whispered, “Mama?” My mother did not wake. I wanted to know what was making the noise, so I walked towards the bush. When I peaked my head inside the bush, I found myself staring straight into the eyes of a man. Before I could make a sound him and a few other men grabbed my trunk and took me away. I w...

The Savior of Dharma : In this story Krishna wants to marry Radha, but his mother refuses to let him. His mom seeks out his father's help, but Krishna refuses to listen. His father seeks the advice from the family priest who then goes on to tell Krishna the truth about his past. He reveals to him that he is unable to marry Radha because he is to fulfill a greater prophecy, and that he was not really the son of Nanda and Yashoda. I think this story could be told from a kid's point of view when he find out he is adopted. I think that would be an interesting way to tell the story! Krishna Kills Kuvalayapida : In this story Kans tries one last effort to kill Krishna. He created an evil plan to put an elephant, Kuvalayapid, at the gates of the palace to stomp on Krishna and Balram. When Krishna and Balram arrived at the gates, Kuvalayapid tried to attack Krishna, but Krishna grabbed its trunk and flung it out of the way. Refusing to give up, the elephant ran back at Krishna, but...

Kamsa : In this tale Kamsa is prophesied to be killed by Devaki's 8th child. In order to prevent that from happening Kamsa threw Devaki and her husband into prison so that every time Devaki became pregnant he could kill the infant. One by one Devaki bore a child and Kamsa continued to kill them with his bare hands. Devaki's 7th child was transferred to another woman's womb which made it appear as if Devaki had a miscarriage, but there was still one more prophesied birth left. When Devaki had her 8th child a sleep spell overcame the kingdom and the husband was able to escape the prison with baby Krishna to keep him safe from Kamsa. When I rewrite this tale I think it could be interesting to try and create a less gory storyline that doesn't consist of the babies being smashed against the cell walls. Durga Speaks To Kamsa : When Krishna's father escaped the prison with him on the day of his birth he switched baby Krishna out with another girl who had been born on the...

When watching this video I already knew pretty much every tip that she suggested. Growing up people always said to 'strike the power pose' before presenting, embrace failure, and believe that you can improve. The new thing that I learned is that all three of these tips should be used together. Through out my whole life I have heard these things separately, but have never attempted to try to execute them at the same time. As an entrepreneurship major we are required to make business pitches and presentations regularly in almost every class. I think my major sets me up well to be able to practice all these things. Before presentations I can try a "quick fix". If I am given constructive criticism then I can regonize that I can improve. Lastly, if my business idea is rejected or doesn't work out I can learn from my failure and come up with a better business idea! I really think everyone should watch the video. It's only 4 minutes long! So instead of doing a p...

Kitty When looking back on the posts from this past week I'd have to say I really enjoyed the growth mindset cat meme you posted. At my church my pastor really likes to use the frame "fall on your own sword" and it basically means to admit when you're wrong instead of making excuses. That has probably been the hardest lesson I've been learning, because I really do tend to make excuses instead of admitting when I'm wrong (I mean who likes to admit when they are wrong), but there is no growth that comes from excuses. This was just the reminder I needed to get through the rest of this semester! 

See last night I finally got to rewatch my favorite Disney movie, Meet The Robinsons (its on Netflix 10/10 recommend).This isn't my favorite movie because of any crazy plot twist or characters, but because of the overall message to embrace failure, and keep moving forward. Its part of a famous quote from Walt Disney: Walt Disney As the semester is getting closer to ending, I continue to have more and more assignments due. Being an entrepreneurship major it feels as if I'm always being forced to create new ideas. When you pitch your ideas there is always room for rejection, and I have encountered section this semester with my business ideas. Instead of getting upset about it, I remember my favorite quote and embrace my failure. As of now, all my grades are pretty much where I would like them to be with the exception of two group classes that I actually have little to no control over my grade since there is no individual work. Even if the semester goes to crap, I will re...

Image There once were two sisters, Briana and Bailey. Bailey was the oldest, which meant she was always getting new clothes, electronics, etc. Briana, on the other hand, always received Bailey’s hand-me-downs. It seemed as if they were the perfect amount of years a part that as soon as Bailey was growing out of something, Briana was growing into it. Most days Briana received Bailey’s hand-me-downs with no complaints, but one day she was struggling to find something to wear so she walked into Bailey’s room hoping to find something. When she entered the room she saw shopping bags all over the bedroom floor. It seemed that Bailey was always getting new clothes, but there were still clothes in her closet with tags on them. Briana thought to herself , “surely Bailey wouldn’t mind if I went ahead and took this dress that has been in her closet for over a month? She might not even notice it’s gone!” So she slipped her hand into the back of the closet, grabbed the hanger, and sn...

The Elephant And The Dog:  I really enjoyed reading this Jataka. The friendship between the elephant and the dog really warmed my heart. I think that the best friendships are sometimes the ones you cant see coming, or that don't make sense. I think it could be fun to retell this one this week. Since I have 4 stories for my portfolio, I may ditch the fairytales for the rest of the semester.  The Golden Goose:  This tale made my heart so sad after I read it. The dad gave his self up to be a golden goose so that his family wouldn't struggle with money anymore, but they became so greedy and fearful of returning back to their poor lives that they took advantage of him. To me this Jataka tale just has an underlying message that money really doesn't solve all your problems. The mother was doing fine financially with the golden feathers she had already sold, but wanted more.  Friends Furever