IzzyPSB

=Izzy's Scrapbook= This is the place where I will write about the journey I follow to self-realization. My goal is to gain wisdom and takes steps towards enlightening myself. I will be following the journey of Siddhartha, the title character of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, as a model for my own journey. The steps I have taken follow.

=With The Samanas=

[[image:http://www.blueskyresumes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/is320.jpg width="223" height="152"]]
=The Assignment= To get a feeling for how the Samanas, Indian ascetics that are found in the novel Siddhartha, try to reach enlightenment, we gave up something we enjoy for a week. I chose to give up Facebook, because it's technically not something I need. Technically.

Beginning
The first day of giving up Facebook, I also had a chemistry lab to write up, so I kept starting to log onto Facebook but catching myself. It was really hard to remind myself not to check in because it is one of the main places I keep in touch with friends and make plans and things like that. I missed chatting with people on Facebook, and talking to people who I've moved away from. With some of my friends, it was the only way that I can stay in contact with them and know what is going on in their lives. To me, "here a messenger's call seemed to be, sounding, consoling, mild, full of noble promises" (Hesse 12). This describes my situation very well because Facebook seemed to be tempting me to go on and make plans or to see what other people were doing.

Mid-Week
Around Thursday, I was really tempted to go onto Facebook because I wanted to make plans with some of my friends. It was really hard for me to not just log on and make a group with some people. Instead, I had to text or call them to make plans to hang out or go to a football game. It was hard to tell myself not to open the browser and click on the bookmark. By the fourth or fifth day, though, I wasn't really thinking about it as much because I had homework to do, and I was hanging out with friends. I was, "burning with pain, burning with thirst, and he stood there until he no longer felt either pain or thirst" (8). This describes it because at first I really wanted to go on, but then I just kept it up until I didn't really need to go on any more =End of the Week= By the end of the week, I was really busy with friends and homework and family that I didn't really think about Facebook anymore. I learned that it was hard for me to deny myself, even something as dumb as Facebook, if you don't replace it with something else. I had a very hard time in the first few days because when I get home I check Facebook, and as the week goes on, I make plans on Facebook, etc. But when I was able to do other things, like be with friends or go places, I didn't have a hard time giving it up, because other things were occupying my time. I think that this is a very valuable thing to learn and could be very useful to know. Like Siddhartha said, "Are we gaining knowledge? Are we approaching salvation?" . I think that this definitely applies to my experience at the end of the week because I did gain some knowledge about myself and the way that I am able to give things up.

=Awakening=

The Quote
What does Siddhartha's "Awakening" look like? Is this the same thing as reaching Enlightenment? In the text, Siddhartha becomes awakened to the world around him after leaving the Samanas and Gotama (the Buddha). He sees "the world for the first time. The world was beautiful strange and mysterious. Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green, sky and river, woods and mountains, all beautiful, all mysterious and enchanting, and in the midst of it, he, Siddhartha, the awakened one, on the way to himself. All this, all this yellow and blue, river and wood, passed for the first time across Siddhartha's eyes. It was no longer the magic of Mara, it was no more the veil of Maya, it was no longer meaningless and the chance diversities of the appearances of the world, despised by deep-thinking Brahmins, who scorned diversity, who sought unity. River was river, and if the One and Divine in Siddhartha secretly lived in blue and river, it was just the divine art and intention that there should be yellow and blue, there sky and wood -- and here Siddhartha. Meaning and reality were not hidden somewhere behind things, they were in them, in all of them" (39).

Analysis
In my picture, I chose to include lots of "trees", "mountains", a "river" and a rising sun. I decided to include the "trees" and made different shades of "green", because that is what Siddhartha sees when he is awakened, and it says that he sees the "forest". I drew some "mountains" in the background and coloured them grey and "blue" because in the description of the beautiful world that Siddhartha sees, there are "woods and mountains, all beautiful, all mysterious and enchanting". I drew a "river" with "blue" because Siddhartha sees that when he is awakened. I drew a sun because he sees the "sky" and sees "yellow", so I made the sun rising with beautiful oranges and "yellow" and reds. Hesse chose this setting for the awakening because of the symbolism of the river and mountains. During his awakening, he became aware of the beauty of the earth, and the forest and rivers symbolize calmness and learning.

= Kamala  =



About Me (looks):
I have "a very fair, very soft, very clever face, bright-red lips like a newly opened fig, eyebrows well tended...dark eyes clever and alert, a long, fair neck...and fair hands" (28).

Hobbies / Profession (actions):
I am a "well known courtesan" (52), and I teach my ways to others.

Looking For (speech, effect on others) :
I am looking for a man who has "clothes, handsome clothes, and shoes, good-looking shoes, and a lot of money in his purse, and gifts for Kamala" (30). I also like young men with "scent in their hair" (54).

=Samsara=

My Daily Life
1. Wake Up 2. Walk To School 3. Learn 4. Go to Cross Country Practice 5. Go to Flute Lesson 6. Eat Dinner With Parents 7. Do Homework



Analysis
My weekday schedule rarely changes. I wake up at 7:00 Monday to Friday. I am always tired when I wake up because I "had gone to bed long after midnight" (44) the night before, due to my ever increasing homework load. It is probably not good to stay up this late, but I can't really do anything about it, other than stop participating in after school activities. After eating breakfast and such, I walk to school, where I spend the next seven hours at a desk. After, I go to cross country practice, then my flute lesson. I think that this definitely has a positive impact on my life, because they help me clear my head and work out some of the energy that has been building up since 9:00 in the morning. Later, I eat dinner with my parents and do my homework/go to bed.

= The River =

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Song: "The River of Dreams" by Billy Joel
I go walking in my sleep From the mountains of faith To the river so deep I must be looking for something Something sacred I lost But the river is wide
 * Lyrics**: In the middle of the night

And it's too hard to cross And even though I know the river is wide I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore And try to cross to the opposite side So I can finally find out what I've been looking for In the middle of the night

I go walking in my sleep Through the valley of fear To a river so deep <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I've been searching for something <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Taken out of my soul <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Something I would never lose <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Something somebody stole <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't know why I go walking at night

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk any more <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Until I find what it is that I've been looking for <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the middle of the night

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I go walking in my sleep <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Through the jungle of doubt <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To a river so deep <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know I'm searching for something <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Something so undefined <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That it can only be seen <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By the eyes of the blind <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the middle of the night <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not sure about a life after this

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">God knows I've never been a spiritual man <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Baptised by the fire, I wade into the river <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That runs to the promised land <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the middle of the night

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I go walking in my sleep <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Through the desert of truth <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To the river so deep <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We all end in the ocean <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We all start in the streams <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We're all carried along <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By the river of dreams <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the middle of the night"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quote From the Text:
“Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river, from the twinkling stars at night, from the sun's melting rays. Dreams and a restlessness of the soul came to him.”

Analysis:
Siddhartha gains knowledge from the river, and he seems to be "searching for something" (BJ). Just like in the song, he wants to find something, and the river is giving him "dreams and a restlessness of the soul" (Hesse).

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Song: "Standing Knee Deep in a River" by Kathy Mattea
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Lyrics**: " Friends I could count on, I could count on one hand With a leftover finger or two I took 'em for granted, let 'em all slip away Now where they are I wish I knew

They roll by just like water And I guess we never learn Go through life parched and empty Standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst

Sometimes I remember sweethearts I've known Some I've forgotten I suppose One or two still linger, oh, and I wonder now Why I ever let them go? They roll by just like water And I guess we never learn Go through life parched and empty Standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst

So the sidewalk is crowded, the city goes by And I rush through another day And a world full of strangers turn their eyes to me But I just look the other way

They roll by just like water And I guess we never learn Go through life parched and empty Standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst

They roll by just like water And I guess we never learn Go through life parched and empty Standing knee deep in a river and dying of thirst"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quote From the The Text
"Tomorrow, Govinda, I will leave you".

Analysis:
SIddhartha has to leave many people throughout the story, including his father, Govinda, and Kamala. The song is also about leaving loved ones.

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Song: "Take Me to The River" by Al Green
I don't know why I love you like I do After all these changes that you put me through You stole my money and my cigarettes And I haven't seen hide nor hair of you yet
 * Lyrics**: "

I wanna know Won't you tell me Am I in love to stay?

Take me to the river And wash me down Won't you cleanse my soul Put my feet on the ground

I don't know why she treated me so bad Look at all those things that we could have had Love is a notion that I can't forget My sweet sixteen I will never regret

I wanna know Won't you tell me Am I in love to stay?

Hold me, love me, please me, tease me Till I can't, till I can't take no more Take me to the river

I don't know why I love you like I do After all the things that you put me through The sixteen candles burning on my wall Turning me into the biggest fool of them all

I wanna know Oh won't you tell me Am I in love to stay?

I wanna know Take me to the river I wanna know I want you to dip me in the water I wanna know Won't you wash me in the water Wash me in the water Wash me in the water Won't you wash me in the water Feeling good"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quote From the Text:
"Why did he, the irreproachable one, have to wash off sins every day, strive for a cleansing every day, over and over every day?"

Analysis:
In the song, the singer is saying that he wants to be washed "in the water" (AG). Siddhartha also goes to the river to cleanse himself, because his sins need to be washed away.