DylanHSB

**Dylan** __**Henderson's Self Realization Project**__
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 Samanas**

 * 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 carrots, because it's technically not something I ** need **. Technically.



[[image:http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/photos/carrots.jpg width="249" height="188" caption="Photo of Carrots"]] Getting Started
The first few days of giving up carrots was very difficult. I think what made it most challenging was that before this I thought that I needed carrots. Every day I would carry 4 carrots with me to school and eat them at lunch, my friends called me the bunny man and it had become like second nature. It felt like I was missing something and I just missed the taste and benefits it gives to my health. For me, "Life was torment" (Hesse 7). The struggle was real and I felt like I was being tormented.

Mid-Week
Things are bad. It feels like I'm losing my vision by the second and my connection with bunnies is going away. I can hardly fathom what Siddhartha went through. I feel like Siddhartha, "He took the path of liberation from self through pain, through voluntary suffering and conquest of the pain, of hunger, thirst, fatigue" (Hesse 8). I can feel the pain mentally and physically. This is all voluntary. I thirst for the taste of carrots to calm my hunger. I need carrots.

By the End After five days of carrot withdraw I thought I had been been pushed to my limits. But as the day went on I finally came to realize that I don't need carrots to survive. I feel different, "Now, I am no longer the man I was" (Hesse 22). I feel like a new person and that my previous needs are no longer required. I have come to realize that there are more things to life than carrots or video games or whatever you may rely on.

** Analysis ** I used blue and green to show peace, nature and tranquillity. I drew mountains and trees because that is what Siddartha saw. Also behind the mountains is an orange sky because the day is coming to an end but the forest is coming alive and the river symbolizes that life goes on just like a river always flows. Finally I drew Siddartha meditating on a tree stump because he is embracing nature and trying to find answers.


 * Name:** Kamala


 * Location:** A grove outside of town


 * Eyes:** My eyes are "dark" and "clever"(28).


 * Hair:** Black

I have a "very clever face"(28). I have red lips that are "like a newly opened fig"(28). I maintain my eyebrows and attract men with my beauty.
 * About Me (looks):**

I spend time in my grove and I am an eloquent speaker. I teach men the "joys of love"(28). I am experienced and professional.
 * Hobbies/Professions (actions): **

**Looking For (speech, effect on others) :**
In order for my to have any interest in a man, he needs to have "fine clothes" (30), "perfumed hair" (20), and "money in their purses" (20).

**Samsara**

 * My Daily Life**

1. Wake up 2. Take shower 3. Eat breakfast 4. Drive to school 5. Hang with friends and learn

6. Eat lunch 7. Learn some more 8. Drive home 9. Eat a snack 10. Play basketball 11. Eat dinner 12. Watch TV 13. Go to bed

= The Comic! =

=Analysis:= I usually do the same sort of things everyday. First I wake up at about 7:30. I then eat breakfast and take a shower and brush my teeth and do all the fun stuff to get ready for school. I go to school from 8:55-3:45 and while there I learn and eat lunch. When I get home from school i go play basketball outside for a little and when i go back inside I usually feel "dull and tired"(78). After that I eat my dinner and do my homework. Finally I watch tv until about 10:30 and go to bed.

=The River= media type="custom" key="24523426"

Lyrics:
But I remember us riding in my brother's car Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir At night on them banks I'd lie awake And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take Now those memories come back to haunt me they haunt me like a curse Is a dream a lie if it don't come true Or is it something worse that sends me down to the river though I know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight Down to the river my baby and I Oh down to the river we ride

Quote From Text:
"But today, of all the secrets of the river, he saw just one, which gripped his soul. He saw: this water flowed and flowed, it kept on flowing, and yet it was always there; it was always and at all times the same and yet new every moment!"

Analysis:
In this "The River" by Bruce Springsteen, Bruce sings of missing a memory down by a river. This is like when Siddhartha goes to the mango tree while, "recalling his father, recalling Govinda, recalling Gotoma"(45). This happens to many of us when we see or go to a certain thing and all we do is begin to think about a great memory from that place.

media type="custom" key="24523512"

Lyrics:
If the rain comes they run and hide their heads. They might as well be dead. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">If the rain comes, if the rain comes. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">When the sun shines they slip into the shade <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">(When the sun shines down.) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">And sip their lemonade. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">(When the sun shines down.) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">When the sun shines, when the sun shines. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Rain, I don't mind. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Shine, the world looks fine. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">I can show you that when it starts to rain, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">(When the Rain comes down.) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #676767; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Everything's the same.

Quote From Text:
"For that, he had had to go on enduring those hateful years, enduring the disgust, the emptiness, the meaninglessness of a barren, lost life, to the very end, to the point of bitter despair, until Siddhartha the voluptuary and Siddhartha the avaricious man could also die"(54).

Analysis:
The Beatles sing "Rain"in which they run and hide from troubles instead facing them and knowing everything will be alright. Siddhartha said that, "The world had a bitter taste(8). But even when going through "bitter" times you must keep your head up and don't stray from your path. media type="custom" key="24523552"

<span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">Dont go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers
<span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">And the lakes that youre used to <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">I know that youre gonna have it your way or nothing at all <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">But I think you're moving too fast <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Dont go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">And the lakes that youre used to <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">I know that youre gonna have it your way or nothing at all <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">But I think you're moving too fast <span style="font-family: proxnov-reg,arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5;">Come on

Quote From Text:
"Siddhartha reached the long river in the wood, the same river across which a ferryman had once taken him when he was still a young man and had come from Gotama's town. He stopped on this river and stood hesitatingly on the bank... Why should he go any further, where, and for what purpose?"

Analysis:
TLC sings one of my favorite songs about waterfalls. The message of this song is to don't jump into something too fast or chase after things of no importance. When going through life you should be like Siddhartha and think, "Why should he go any further, where, and for what purpose?" Because you should not waste your time on silly things or jump right into the deep end. First you need to put your foot in the shallow end and get a feel for the situation.