EmilyJSB

Emily's Self-Realization Digital 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 = == The Assignment To get a feeling for how the Sanamas, 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 clean my room everyday because its something you should do, but I normally don't. ==

My week wrapped up: Cleaning my room completely- vacuum, mop, dust, make my bed, wash my mirrors, shut my desk. It was strange mostly because I don't usually do these things. Towards the end of the week it started to seem pointless because there was nothing to mop or vacuum up, but that also made it a lot easier and less time consuming. My life improved because I'm allergic to cats yet 6 of them live in my house, so having a really clean room helped my allergies out. "May you travel this path to the end. May you find salvation" (Hesse 30) I hope to continue this at least once a week so i can breath again. Breathing is important right?

Getting started: It was really hard to make myself clean so much everyday. I was annoyed because I didn't feel It was necessary to clean like this. Everyday when I got home I would Mop, Dust, Vacuum, Make my bed, Wash my mirrors, and shut my desk. The first day all of these were necessary because they hadn't been done in about a month. But the second day? Was it really necessary? It was really hard to make myself do these tasks. Not because they are difficult but because they are not exactly fun and a bit time consuming. Mid-Week: Because I'm allergic to cats and we have so many at my house, cleaning really started improving my allergies. I wasn't breathing in cat hair or sneezingall the time anymore! "you have come to the right place" (Hesse 26) I am getting there!! End of the week: I feel great!! My room is so clean and enjoyable to be in. I actually want to be in my room now! You know that awesome feeling when your rooms clean and you have your music playing and you have all of your windows open so you only have natural light flooding your room? That's what I had all weekend. It was glorious. And because cleaning my room was technically homework I suddenly had time to do it! I know I'm not going to continue to do this everyday but maybe like once a week or so. "Join us then and walk in bliss; put an end to suffering" (Hesse 29) I put an end to my suffering from allergies!

= 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: I drew my setting for what Sidhartha sees very bright and colourful In the book it is says that he sees a lot of blue greens and yellows. It also says he saw a lot of mountains. So instead of drawing a bunch of small mountains in the background I tried to draw him on one. I made the light shine on the worn down and weak Sidhartha to show that he is reaching for enlightenment.

= Kamala = Name: Kamala

Location: I live in India

Eyes: My eyes are brown with the whites bright as can be (50)

Hair: My hair is...(pg).

Hobbies / Profession (actions):
What does Kamala do for a living? How does she like to spend her time? What character traits do we learn about her from how she spends her time? Include at least one PROPERLY INTEGRATED quote.

Looking For (speech, effect on others) :
What does Kamala want in a man? Look at her requirements for Siddhartha - what does she tell him he needs? What character traits do we learn about her from what she says and how she effects Siddhartha? Include at least one PROPERLY INTEGRATED quote.

The River media type="custom" key="24583378"

**Song:** Big River by Johnny Cash

 * Lyrics: Big River, I'm gonna sit right here until the day I die **


 * Quote from the text: **


 * Analysis: When Sidhartha was with the Samanas that is what they were doing, they were sitting, not taking care of themselves, only eating what is given to them and only drinking when it rained. They were sitting there, waiting to be enlightened until the day they died. Now that he's back to the river, **


 * S **** ong: **
 * Lyrics: **


 * Quote from the text: **

Analysis

media type="custom" key="24583650" "No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow, And as long as it does I'll just sit here  And watch the river flow."
 * Song: ** **Watching The River Flow by Bob Dylan**
 * Lyrics: **


 * Quote from the text: **


 * Analysis: **