HannahMScrapbook3

Hannah MacKnight's Self-Realization Digital Scrapbook
This is where I will explain the journey I took to self-realization. My goal was to take steps towards enlightenment by giving up something I do every day. I will also be following Siddhartha's journey in the book //Siddhartha// by Herman Hesse. I described my journey in the following.

=With the Semanas=

[[image:ascetic.jpg width="203" height="258" align="left"]]The Assignment
To understand how the Semanas in //Siddhartha// tried to reach enlightenment, we gave up something we enjoyed using every day. I chose to give up Pinterest. While it is not a necesity, it tested my ability to find other outlets for stress management during the busy week.

Getting Started
The first few days without Pinterest, I honestly did not notice. I had a lot of homework and an away field hockey game, so I barely had time to sleep, let alone sit on Pinterest for hours. This may not have given the most accurate results as to how I would react to my days without Pinterest though, as I found out later in the week, "the world tasted bitter" (Hesse 14) without Pinterest.

Mid-Week
By the middle of the week, I was starting to feel the effects of not being able to use Pinterest. I would get home from practice, eat, shower, and start my homework. By eleven o'clock I was ready for a break, but I could not get on Pinterest, and I already don't let myself use Facebook while I am doing homework. Realizing that "I will grow tired" (11) quickly, I had to find a different outlet for the little energy I had left to keep me going on my homework. The only thing I could come up with was to run, to keep myself moving. As you can imagine, it was not graciously accepted by my sleeping family members when I started running on the treadmill at 11pm, so that only worked one night.

By the End
Nearing the end of the week I felt a huge urge to get on, "the dreams and restlessness of the soul came" (5) out, and made me want to hop on immediately. Luckily, I fought the urge and found sleep more appealing. The last day of the challenge for me was a Saturday, the day I typically do minimal homework and just relax...and get on Pinterest. This specific weekend though, I had to adjust my schedule so I was doing the majority of my homework on Saturday, and waiting until Sunday to relax and do nothing. This slight change, as minor as it was, completely messed up my mindset, making my atttention span so much worse than it usually is. As you can imagine, I was very pleased when my week was over. While I was proud that I made it through the week, I was very excited to get my usual routine back.

=**Awakening**= Siddhartha reached awakening after he spoke to the Buddha in his grove. Through his conversation, he realized that he needed to believe in and follow himself, not just the thoughts and beliefs of others. To Siddhartha, awakening looked "beautiful, strange, and mysterious," (Hesse 39) as he saw the world in a new light. In my picture I drew Siddhartha on his path to awakening and beyond. He started at the beginning of the path where he was simply looking for a cure to the suffering that he had recently discovered. At this point, he is right by the river, but is looking in the other direction. The river "passed for the first time across Siddhartha's eyes," after his enlightenment. (39) He then started to travel and found the Buddha in the grove, where he realized that he should follow himself. In this drawing, he then travelled on the path, through the mountains and on until he reaches the river again. The colors used in my picture symbolized what Siddhartha saw during his awakening. "All this yellow and blue, river and wood" are represented in the picture as part of his path to awakening, and eventually enlightenment.

=Kamala=
 * Name:** Kamala
 * Location**: The Pleasure Grove (52)
 * Eyes**: Grey
 * Hair**: Dark Brown
 * About Me**: I am a very "clever and observant," (51) tall woman, with dark hair and eyes. I have an abundance of experience if you are ever looking for a meaningful kiss, which is why there is never a lack of company in the Pleasure Grove.
 * Hobbies/Profession**: I enjoy spending time with people, and helping them learn from me, and allowing them to teach me as well. Some people come purely for assistance, such as when people come to me and ask, "fair Kamala, can you not give me a little advice?" (55) OF course I am very open to helping them and any others. I also enjoy accessories and obtaining new ones, or creating my own, which allows me to express my creative side.
 * Looking for**: I am looking for a guy who has "fine clothes and shoes, fine shoes, and plenty of money in his purse and presents for Kamala." (54) I would enjoy having a guy who is open to learning from me, as I am to him.

=Samsara=

My Daily Life:

 * Wake up
 * Eat breakfast
 * Go to school
 * Go to practice
 * Do hours of homework
 * Finally go to bed

Quote from Siddhartha:
"He had become rich. He had long possessed a house of his own and his own servants, and a garden at the outskirts of town, by the river. People liked him; they came to him if they wanted money or advice." (Hesse 75)

The Analysis:
My days start in a fairly similar pattern every morning. I wake up anywhere between 3:30 and 7:00 depending on my homework, and pull myself out of bed. This may be the most challenging part of my day, especially when I have to get up and do homework, because I have absolutely no motivation. I then eat breakfast and head to school. When I ride the bus to school, I tend to get frustrated by the amount of time and traffic that the bus involves, since I was used to riding with my sister last year. After 7 long hours of learning, I go to practice. I "enjoy" that (as much as is possible) for two and a half hours before heading home to do countless hours of homework. If I have time, I go to bed for a nice, sometimes way too short, rest before waking up and doing the same things all over again! I can connect with Siddartha in the respect that people "[come] to [me] if they [want]" (75) advice or general support. While it doesn't happen on a daily basis, it is pretty routine, as it was for Siddhartha as he was travelling. In general my daily routines cause me to be stressed, which can prevent me from reaching awakening or happiness.

=By The River= =media type="custom" key="21324846"=

Song:
The River by Good Charlotte

Lyrics:
"Baptized in the river I've seen a vision of my life and I wanna be delivered"

Quote from the Text:
"'Before I go on my way, Siddhartha, I should like to ask you one more question. Have you a doctrine, belief, or knowledge which you uphold, which helps you to live and do right?'" (141)

Analysis:
This song explains how when someone realizes the spiritual power around them, they are intrigued to search and follow it. At the end of __Siddhartha,__ when Govinda meets Siddhartha again, he is intrigued and wants to learn more. He floods Siddhartha with questions about how he reached the point that he did. In "The River," they explain how someone who finds the spirit or "[sees] a vision of [their] life," will want to pursue it. This can easily be traced along with Govinda. When he saw Siddhartha and realized what he could be, he was so inspired that he immediately started questioning Siddhartha in order to learn, in an effort to reach the same point, or to "be delivered."

media type="custom" key="21325006"

Song:
Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake

Lyrics:
"Cry me a river Cry me a river-er, yea yea Oh The damage is done So I guess I be leaving"

Quote from Text:
"He wished passionately for oblivion, to be at rest, to be dead." (87)

Analysis:
In the song "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake, it is explained that "the damage has been done" and they decide to leave. This is very similar to the time when Siddhartha is by the river and decides he does not want to continue, that he wants to die right then. Whereas in the song they are realizing that what damage has been caused is reason for giving up, in __Siddhartha__ he begins to realize that he is stuck in Samsara, and just wants to stop. media type="custom" key="21325072"

Song:
Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff

Lyrics:
"Yes, I've got many rivers to cross But I can't seem to find my way over  Wandering, I am lost  As I travel along the white cliffs of Dover"

Quote from Text:
"'For I must tell you that I have no money to pay you for taking me across the river.'" (103)

Analysis:
In __Siddhartha__, the river symbolized life and emotion, among other things. In this song, Jimmy Cliff is explaining how the many "rivers," or obstaces in his life are really holding him back, he "cant't seem to find [his] way over." In __Siddhartha__, there were certainly many obstacles for the characters (particularly Siddhartha) to face. Some were mental similar to what is being described in the song, and some were physical. While the song is most likely describing internal stuggles rather than the trouble of actually crossing a river, the quotation from __Siddhartha__ expresses the literal trouble of crossing a river when you don't have a way to pay the ferryman. There is a simple connection between these two ideas, which allows people to understand what Siddhartha really went through, both physically and emotionally.