Pilgrimage
class on top of
the business building
As we grow older, and increasingly feel more
comfortable in our own skin, it is only natural to become more curious. We
insist on questioning the existence of man and his purpose in life. We seek
knowledge and truths that will not only inspire, but that will instill a sense
of place and understanding within us. We wonder what is in store, and what will
be the journey of our lives; what will be remembered when we are forgotten.
Although each day I think of these things over and over, I remain unsatisfied
and lacking answers. However, this course has presented me with a challenge: to
hammer my thoughts into unity; to seek answers and truths, while encouraging me
to become more self-aware of, and reflective about, my learning styles and
creative processes. This class, both as a whole and as individuals, is on a
mission to accomplish these tasks. As we stand atop the business building, we
are individuals, yet linked together, and have the ability to function as a
collective unit. We are encountering similar experiences and discoveries within
the course that will help us to mold and shape our lives.
my road map presentation
While Pink Floyd preaches,
"we donÕt need no education, we donÕt need no thought control,"[1]
I find that this course encourages the exact opposite. Discovery learning
combined with the primary course goal, hammer your thoughts into unity, has
given me the opportunity to further explore myself,
and my learning styles. The road map assignment was my first encounter with
discovery learning. As I began to make the map of my life, and my journey up
until this point, I was forced to re-explore the events and places in my life
from a different angle, that of an observer. Another instance that introduced
me to discovery learning, was the Jung Test analysis from A2, which enabled me
to identify and adapt to my creative and learning styles as a writer. I was
characterized as an active writer; which means that I enjoy writing from
experience and tend to leap into the writing process. Perhaps this is the
reason why I greatly enjoy the in-class writing assignments- they give me a
chance to write about the things that I see as they appear in front of me, at
that moment.
me at waller
creek
Also, I take an imaginative and
personalized approach to writing, while exhibiting decisive and structural
characteristics as well. I tend to create original writing patterns, and enjoy
exploring subtleties, as well as complexities. Furthermore, I personalize my
work and like to communicate personal values, including many human examples in
the content of my work. I am also quite decisive throughout the writing
process, and often follow a set agenda until my work is complete. Also, when
given the opportunity, I prefer to narrow my topic options down until I have
reached a satisfactory topic. The Jung test informed me of the traits my
personality type is likely to exhibit; and presented me with a new way to
explore myself.
me at the
botanical gardens
While
reviewing my learning style I became interested in the ways in which
concentration and meditation played out their roles. Ram Dass defines
meditation as "systematically observing the mind itself" in order to
become "more familiar with the ways in which we are denied the experience
of full concentration."[2]
This reminded me of the meditations we have done during the class field trips
to Waller Creek and Tanaguchi Oriental garden. At the first, Waller Creek, the
class scattered throughout the area to have a private mediation. Although we
were not given an assignment, I had the urge to write. I was completely
comfortable and found that the words were flowing more easily than ever. For
once, I did not allow myself to be "carried away by [my] thoughts,"[3]
but instead forced them to merge together into ideas, ideas rich with clarity.
While meditating in the Tanaguchi Garden I experienced a similar unity. Despite
the numerous distractions it was surprisingly simple to "to find
tranquility in the midst of trauma,"[4]
which is a necessary step in achieving clear thoughts. The garden was peaceful
and refreshing; sitting there, I was able to narrow down my thoughts and work
towards hammering them into unity.
At both Waller Creek and
the Tanaguchi Garden, I effectively used the ability to meditate and
concentrate in order to obtain a crisp thought process. During this clarifying
process I became "absorbed in the act of writing" which allowed me to
"reach a sense of unified flow from one moment to the next."[5]
Flow, the key to feelings within writing, enabled me to get in touch with a
more emotional type of writing. Also, flow provides another way to connect with
the reader and his or her feelings. When the moment arises, and I am truly in a
state of consistent flow, each thought and emotion is released within me. I
feel free to express myself and connect with the environment around me.
Furthermore, with flow, comes honesty, reality and truth. Readers seek this
type of raw writing; therefore, flow will make my work easier for the reader to
relate to. Becoming more aware of my learning and writing style will aid me in
accomplishing the goals on my list and become a more experienced writer.
Furthermore, since my goals list was last updated, evidence of my progress is ample. My reading, writing, and speaking skills are improving with each word formed. Although I remain a novice, I have improved as a re-writer and proofreader; dictionaries and thesauruses have become very good friends of mine. In addition, my computer abilities have also improved, if only slightly. While my skills continue to be a bit unimpressive, I did not expect my computer illiteracy to decrease as significantly as it has this semester.
In this course, I also hoped to learn more about the arts, a goal which is met during each class session. Appreciation of various kinds of art is a significant portion of a good education, and I admire that this course covers such a wide range. Lastly, I set a goal to find out more about myself. My favorite thing about this class is that I am constantly discovering new things about myself that I would have possibly overlooked had it not been for this course. These explorative opportunities have helped me gain a better insight into myself, and I am thankful for that. In addition, I have added to my list two new goals. First, I would like to take advantage of educational opportunities and gain as much knowledge as possible. When a worthy experience arises I want to take it, carpe deium, seize the day. The more excursions I open myself up to the more knowledge I will gain. Furthermore, I want to retain the things I hear, see, and learn. The second, inspired by Dass, is not to conform to any type of model of self. I am what I am, and it is impossible to be anyone or anything but myself. This should make it easy not to be anyone else, and ensure that I am true to myself, and to others. While these tasks comprise a lifetime effort, I am eager, ready to apply myself accordingly.
As for my pilgrimage, it
has already begun. I wish to seek truth in life. To know true love, true
happiness, true spirituality, and true awareness of the world and myself. I
know I will eventually find these truths because I will not give up until I
find them. I know I will achieve a comforting sense of enlightenment on my
journey by observing the people and places I am confronted with throughout my
life and simply soaking it all in. Feeling and recognizing love, happiness, and
spirituality when they find me, and taking the experiences they bring with me
forever. These things cannot be evaluated by anyone but myself, however, I feel
confident that I will know when I have reached them, if I reach them. Although
my pilgrimage will never truly reach an end, I will know in my heart if it was
a success, for I will be content and the truth shall set me free.
To those who will come
after me I encourage them to know and to be. Always seek knowledge because a
good education will take you far. Allow the things you learn to become a part
of you, a part of your being. With knowledge comes wisdom, which according to
Socrates is supreme happiness. You must also seek out yourself, and know the
true you. Throughout life "we seem to cling to one dimension of our
identity" by "defining ourselves narrowly and defensively."[6]
The consequence of this action is that we diminish what we have to offer each
other. We build self-images for ourselves that are so definite that they hinder
us more than they help. Therefore, you must train your mind to see past these
labels and identities so that you can have a sense of self-awareness, not to
mention an awareness of the world you live in. Once you have removed all models
of self image, there will be a moment of clarity in which you realize "we
donÕt have to be anybody in particular...we are free simply to be."[7]
Old Word Count: 1251 (words) – 93 (quotes) =
1158
New Word Count: 1552 – 93 (quotes) = 1459