MONOLOGUES + EXTRA CREDIT

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Welcome to the Monologues & Extra Credit thread!

You are encouraged to please share these publicly here wherever comfortable. While this will not effect your points earned, it will encourage interactions by providing additional ways for people to connect. Particularly those who take part in the "Mining" portions of these exercises over time if they enjoy or relate to your work and choose to touch base on something you may have shared within their own writing.

• Monologue (15 points)
("Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words)
For each module this term, consider what you've written down from your brainstorm in the Meditation portion of our exercises. What jumps out at you that's wanting to be explored a little more deeply? Come up with a topic based around these meditations and write an essay about your personal perspective on the matter. This could be a single aspect or multiple elements from your list. In addition to sending in via e-mail, if you feel like sharing with your peers go ahead and post here with or without including your "Meditation" and/or "Mindfulness" responses added in together. This is voluntary and will not effect your points one way or another, however it will add to our community vibe and could stir up conversations or contribute toward any "Mining" points others may wish to accrue over time.

Each Month you may choose any TWO of the following prompts:

Extra Credit options may NOT be used in place of Assignment work.

• Manifestation (15 points)
"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words
Write some kind of a Short Story or Poem that revolves around this month's Power. Let those creative juices flow! Please note that regardless of number of lines, even poetry submissions must adhere to the 150 word requirement for full credit.

• Memory (15 points)
"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words
Share a story from your past that reminds you of this month's Power. This may be from your real life (keeping privacy rules in mind), and/or experiences you've had here at HOL.

• Media (15 points)
"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words
Based on your reflections from this month’s lesson, choose one piece of media you find in any way to relate to these concepts floating around. This could be a book, television show, movie, musical album, etc., and doesn’t have to be something completely new to yourself, so long as it speaks to you as connecting to the vibe you’re associating with this energy. Perhaps you’ll go into detail about why you chose this in particular, along with what aspects correspond most appropriately with your sense of this month’s power. What’s your general opinion of your selection’s strengths or weaknesses? Anything unexpected or enlightening come up along the way? Include whatever you feel compelled to share!

• Mining (15 points)
"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words
Explore the Class Forum. If you find something written in a previous post that in your mind relates to this month's power in any way which inspires you to further expand or reflect upon, you can use this as an option for Extra Credit here. You're welcome to poke around or 'mine through' the past years of work shared from previous members of the class to find thoughts, concepts, theories, or stories that strike a chord in you and help point toward something you may wish to write about here.

[Caius Magnusson]

I am really addicted to music (it's one of my common mechanisms to deal with emotions, both good and bad!) and for that reason I decided to write my Media assignments on songs that I feel represent what the powers of the course mean to me. Without further ado, here we go!

FAITH: Kamelot - One More Flag In The Ground

To me, the associations between the story and lyrics contained in One More Flag In The Ground and faith are abundant, with the most evident of them being the line "and I'm facing the fire that's raging inside / with faith as my fearless companion" - a direct reference to faith being the driving force that keeps the character moving forward.

This song deeply speaks to me, as it refers to fighting against one's disorders (as per Kamelot's public statement on the song [1]). As someone who is afflicted with depression, I can understand the meaning of that song innately - and now, I realise that choosing to believe in one's strength rather than succumbing to the weight of the world is also a display of faith.

There are many other aspects of the song that also allude to faith: in spite of their solitude ("I am an army of one"), the character depicted in the song still believe they are resourceful enough to address any issues that come in their way ("I'm facing the fire that's raging inside") with confidence in their final success (represented by the image of dominion conjured by the "one more flag in the ground" line).

Finally, I also see an allusion to faith as being a beacon of hope for others in the future - in spite of initially being alone, the character finds others along the way and gets their assistance while providing their own strength in return ("your hand on my shoulder / 'cause I'm not walking alone", with the shoulder serving as a metaphor for support). If we were to think about it, we all want to believe in the best and be surrounded by those that give us the strength to move on. Faith is a self-fulfilling cycle, as self-trust begets the strength to support and be supported by others.

[Galena May]

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I was intrigued by how much I thought about wars, coexistence, and exactly why one would want to harm someone else. Another dominant thought that I noticed was the concept that when you really love something or have a connection and familiarity to it, you also like it irrespective of societal standards. I will explore both these in a little more depth from my point of view and my opinions.

First up, why would one want to harm someone else? My theory is that any intention of harming someone else stems from some sort of insecurity. A very recurrent motive of crime is wanting something that the other person has. Let us take Voldemort for example. He wanted the power that others had. If we look at it from a neutral point of view (without being a Muggle, a Death Eater, or a magical person on the opposite side of Lord Voldemort, but just a neutral observer, just so our spiritual/unbiased vision isn't clouded), we can safely argue that if Voldemort wasn't afraid of mere Muggles and witches and wizards, he wouldn't use his undeniable power (I still agree that he was the most powerful Dark wizard) to attempt to harm his opponents. Think about it this way, if he was really secure about being the most powerful wizard, he would simply use his powers to enjoy his life and get the best things and wouldn't feel the need to attempt to dominate others including Muggles because he wouldn't have anything to be scared of. Therefore, in essence, he was actually afraid of everybody on the opposite side, not just Harry Potter, although that's not the way he admitted to himself his motives behind dreams of domination. The fact that he was clearly insecure about Harry Potter being more powerful than him is easier to comprehend, but is just a tad bit more clearer after my previous few lines. The need for dominance comes from an underseated fear that goes like "if I don't keep everyone else under my control, they may break off and become better than me". Which means that in essence, Voldemort recognized the strength of others. What Voldemort called weakness was merely the unwillingness of others to use that strength to harm. But, he never thought that others weren't as powerful (or at least potentially powerful) as him. I had a very strong realization during my meditation exercise for this class (which involved the fact that I misspelled 'exercise' as 'excercise' as a child, just joking, please read on), which involved that like the "soil" and "seed" concept emphasized in this class, and imagining that we are all plants (metaphorically akin to plants ), growing in the bosom of one common Mother Earth (one Divine source or the source of all creation and all abundance or whatever else you would like to call it), and calling upon the concepts of Faith, Excitement, and Fear from this class, some of us merely forget about the abundance of the Universe and Mother Earth and forget that the Universe and Mother Earth (essentially one and the same) always is abundant and has enough for all of us. When we face trials, tribulations, and delays on the path of success, we lose faith in this abundance and panic that there might not be enough left for us. These delays and trials could be due to blocks created by ourself (such as laziness, irrational fear, or anxiousness), or created by others who attempt to sabotage us (know that they will get their karma and trust that they are vanquishable for the sake of restoring the balance of the Divine Ecosystem), or created due to a temporary hit to the Divine Ecosystem (think famine, but little do we know that during such universal disruptions, the Divine ecosystem is designed to restore itself better and faster and work and function better when every member cooperates towards restoring the balance, as opposed to the chaos created by insecure and unfaithful members who steal from and sabotage each other, these insecure members merely delay the restoration of balance for the Divine ecosystem which is also the source where they would get what they need if they only trusted the effectiveness of restoring balance together with everyone else, it's like sitting on a tree branch and hacking away at the same branch with an axe without realizing it). Then, we start scheming, and plotting, and stealing, and harming others with the hope that we can have what they have so that when the world goes to ruin and abandon, we still have enough left hoarded for ourselves to live by. In our minds, we don't see it as stealing or greed, we see it as saving up resources for a bleak future (that we have construed in our minds, having lost faith in the concept of "enough for everyone" and the abundance of the universe). By losing this faith, we become insecure, then we stray too far from our groundedness (Mother Earth) and our soul family (the other creatures alongside us) in pursuit of more, unknowingly moving away from the source (Mother Earth) of that very thing which we seek, which then undeniably shows us even less resources the further we go (this is why greed never ends) and we become more insecure and then when we look beneath us we are tormented by the happiness and contentment of others that are closer to Mother Earth, which feeds into the vicious cycle leading us to crave even more and stray farther and farther from the source. It is the recklessness, and the lack of Fear mentioned in the first lesson of this class that I attribute to this reckless straying away. The torment from the happiness and contentment of others that are closer to Mother Earth, then undeniably gets to us and we attempt to sabotage/encroach upon their well- deserved and hard - earned rights, leading to crime and eventual ruin (because we are destroying the very source we take from in the process of wanting more). If a plant grows longer roots than it needs for its sustenance, it kills the other plants for sure which is akin to sabotaging others out of insecurity, but even when the other plants are dead and even before that, sustaining life in the extra root cells (and leaf cells to feed the root cells) is itself the reason for further need of resources, and ultimately is more and more difficult to fulfil, and ultimately you never have the more that you were seeking but always have only just enough and maybe even less than before. It is a bigger problem when we don't know when to stop. In addition, the other plants around you that could have been doing you a good turn are gone instead.
I know it is easier said than done because there are several countries suffering from poverty and unemployment, but if we look a little deeper into their record, the source of their ruin is human-human discord and stealing from each other, and the inter-country division that extends beyond administrative borders and cultural differences to a competitive mentality about the resources available all over such a huge planet.
If you think I am against getting rich by working hard, you are getting me wrong. Just like a plant that refuses to photosynthesize will die, we do have to work hard to achieve our dreams despite the abundance of the universe, and we do also have to work as hard as we can to achieve our full potential, because the universe has created a role for each of us in the Divine ecosystem (with its abundance as our reward), that we must absolutely perform in order to continue to be a member of the Divine ecosystem and partake of its abundance. If we worked our hardest, we would merely be the richest but there is no need for others to necessarily be poor. Instead, we should encourage everyone to work hard and be equally rich, because the universe has enough for all of us, and we need all of us, and we need to encourage all of us to work their hardest and be equally rich, because we can't do everything to maintain the Universe alone (there are just too many roles to fulfil in the Divine ecosystem). I am merely against when we operate from a place of insecurity and encroach upon the hard-earned and well-deserved earnings of others, when we steal or act corrupt, or when we sabotage others by thinking that they have more than us (forgetting that they deserve what they have) which in turn leads to crime.

My second dominant thought was about the concept of familiarity and beauty. I had this thought when I noticed my reflection on my screen. The society we live in, has beauty standards that are ingrained into us deeply ever since we are born and are exposed to the most common views of people. Let's take for example, abstract art. Some pieces of abstract art are anything but symmetrical, but are still liked and popular. Many agree that they are beautiful. Ironically, when it comes to the beauty of faces, research data has found that symmetrical faces are most popularly considered as beautiful. If you've ever thought of yourself as ugly, would you still think yourself as ugly if you were born and left alone on a different planet with no sight of humans for all of your life? Likely not, because then you wouldn't know what human beauty looks like. You would probably think that you were beautiful. If you've ever thought that you were beautiful, and ended up on a different planet, where a society of aliens called you ugly in comparison to themselves, would you be able to come to terms with the absolutely detested adjective? Likely not, because you grew up knowing and thinking that you are beautiful. Beauty is subjective, but we make it objective by internalising and thinking absolute the notion of beauty that is the most popular. Here is an article about strange beauty trends, that should have you going "What?!" and with good reason -
https://brightside.me/articles/10-of-th ... ry-812217/
Calling them extreme says enough about what we think about them at present, but they have existed as beauty trends nonetheless. They were popular (and familiar) back then, and now simply aren't.
What is the source of this disparity? Familiarity is the answer. What's popular is familiar, and by extension considered more beautiful. Which means that whatever is familiar is beautiful. And how many times have we looked at ourselves enough to be familiar with ourselves? If we do that enough, we should like ourselves unconditionally irrespective of societal standards. If we spend a lot of time looking at ourselves, we are likely to think that we are beautiful, compared to anything we don't see enough of. We are also likely to eventually start liking something we spend a lot of time with (along with its imperfections), even if that something is our own face. There is, as we have seen above, no correct or absolute definition of perfect and /or beautiful. And, by extension, what is unfamiliar is ugly, and should be a lesson in being kind to those that we think are imperfect, because they aren't actually imperfect, we are just more familiar with what they are not.

[Galena May]

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I read "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho when I was in high school or perhaps a year older.
I chose this, because when I thought of faith, my mind was instantly transported back to my once favorite author (I never have a permanent favorite because there are many fascinating pieces of literature by many different authors to fall in love with, so I just share my life with many different periods with different authors), and I was reminded of how well Paulo Coelho touched on self- discovery and faith in many of his books, the strongest being in "The Alchemist" according to me.
The book follows a boy Santiago, who dreams of a treasure in a ruined church, and is told by a gypsy that it is a prophecy that he would find treasure in an Egyptian pyramid. Most would disbelieve that right away, especially when the destination is far away across a rough terrain, but he has faith in his dream and sets off to find his treasure despite lacking the monetary means, starting off the story on the note of Faith. We are often held back by fear of failure, dialogues and monologues like "That is too far-fetched, that is impossible". I think that the boy's demonstration of faith is relatable in the sense that everything seems unachievable in the beginning and will remain so if you don't have the courage to begin somewhere, the courage to turn up and have faith that we can do it. I liken this feeling to the Tarot card, The Fool. We can't see the path ahead, but we have the faith to jump in nonetheless. Having suffered from procrastination due to fear of failure, I know this feeling all too well.
Throughout his journey, Santiago meets multiple obstacles, the first being a fraud guide to the pyramids, who robs him of his money for the journey that he had acquired by selling his sheep in Salem. That however doesn't deter him. In my opinion, this robbery is similar to the people and circumstances that show us the first glimpse of the innumerable possibilities that pose a threat to our success. It could be realizing for the first time that achieving our goal would take more resources than we thought, or realizing that we have been way too brave in picking our path. It is like the first blow of the reality of a relationship after the honeymoon stage is over, the first look at a price tag after falling in love with the banner that says "On Sale", and the first look at the huge syllabus after joining a loved educational course. The perfect dream takes off its cover and shows us for the first time its shadows and imperfections and reminds us that it can be a nightmare if we don't strategize smart. Just like Santiago overcomes this obstacle, we then formulate a tangible plan to achieve our goals and put our dream into practical action. It could be as simple as saving money daily, making a routine, or as complex as taking a huge loan and charting out expenses versus income or learning communication skills. We attempt to manipulate the circumstances to help us achieve our goal. This, in my opinion, is the energy of the Tarot Card Magician. And, the most important pre-requisite to this magic is not losing faith, despite the blow of reality that woke us up and opened our eyes.
Santiago is also stopped by love (his lover instead of accompanying him says that she will only marry him after he completes his journey). In my opinion, this indicates that our loved ones sometimes fail to display faith in us because they don't see what we see. They don't see our passion, they don't see our charted-out goals and plans. All they see is a faraway distant dream and an impossibly difficult if not outright impossible route. We are then faced with a difficult choice, either give up or leave them behind and continue alone trusting that you will come back to them in one piece and successful. Choosing to move on and trusting in the outcome in such a situation is a powerful display of faith. Just as an accompaniment, I once heard an English translation of an Asian proverb that said, "When nobody will walk with you, walk alone ". I associate this with the energy of the Tarot card the Hermit. The Hermit indicates that there will be no romance happening for now, and you must henceforth walk on and work on your goals alone.
Santiago also risks a passage through a territory of warring tribes. These, in my opinion, represent the noisy circumstances (not necessarily always external) that disrupt our plans. These could be the noisy neighbors who disturb our studying, the unexpected accidental damages that cause unexpected loss of money and disrupt or at least slow down our plans, the frustration of daily life that affects our mood and by extension our communication skills and the similar. I would liken this to the energy of the Tarot card The Tower, which represents destruction and upheaval. All our plans are destroyed and everything seems to fall out of place like an obvious ruin.
To get out of this place and proceed on his journey, Santiago is forced to turn himself into a dust storm to demonstrate his oneness with the "Soul of the World". This, in my opinion, is the most challenging demonstration of faith that Santiago had to put forth. This challenge faced by Santiago was a sudden and enlightening blow for me when I read the book. It shows the last test we are put through by the divine, during which we demonstrate how much we want our goal and how much faith we have in the Divine. It is the most difficult test. It is that difficult moment when the whole world seems to be against us, we feel God - forsaken, everything seems like this is the end, ruin seems to be inevitable, and our last drop of faith and courage is tested, yet we DECIDE, NOT to give up, even if giving up is the most logical thing in the moment. It is the climax of our story which we turn in our favor, our weapon being faith. The moment that takes our story to newspapers and movies and serves as a demonstration to the world that we refused to give up. This, in my opinion, is very strongly associated to the power of faith even in the face of the stongest enemy. I liken this energy to that of the Tarot card Death. This climactic moment feels like death, yet Death is the most misinterpreted tarot card, because unlike The Tower, Death (which symbolizes the end to most) actually represents a welcome ending that leads to a fresh new beginning. It represents the end of a difficult journey, like a phoenix dying in the fire, and the precedent to a new beginning, and a new and different person, like the rising of the phoenix from its own ashes. Those who listen to Taylor Swift's music, and have heard the song "Look What You Made Me Do", would remember a stiking line when Taylor speaks through the phone in the official video of the song, "I am sorry, but the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now, 'cause she is dead". This transition only happens when we go through the worst of adversities and develop a newfound strength and a new array of strategies to deal with our problems, and become a new person as a result. This strength comes from faith.
Finally, Santiago reaches the pyramids and begins digging, showing his reward for his faithful journey, the resolution of his faith. There, however, he is robbed by thieves, who mock him saying that the leader dreamed of treasure under a tree in a ruined church. When you are successful for the first time, no one believes you, especially those who didn't succeed because of their lack of faith, like the thief in the story. This shouldn't deter you. It shouldn't take away your confidence and pride. I liken this energy to the Tarot card, Strength, which reminds us to have faith in our inner strength and not believe the mockers.
On hearing about the leader's dream, Santiago realizes that the treasure has been been at home after all, as the place is the church where he first dreamed of it. He realises that he had been closer to it than he thought. Yet he isn't angry that he undertook so many pains to reach this simple truth. Success when we finally get it, lightens us up so much that the actual journey feels like no pain at all. It feels like we have had this all along. It renews our sense of faith, as we realize that all those times we felt despair and thought all was over, we needn't have worried so much because this was going to happen after all. We become more confident in ourselves and finally learn to have faith. But, to reach this point, we must overcome all the stages that come before and between. It feels like we have travelled all around the world, richer with experiences and hardened by circumstances, and come back to the starting point, because at our core we are still the same person, only richer, happier, mentally and emotionally stronger, and more successful. This sense of completion comes at a cost, one would never feel this way if they hadn't been through the difficult journey. Success that comes easy or without working hard doesn't bring this sense of completion with it. This is what I liken to the energy of the Tarot card, the World, which represents the fruit of our labors, and a new beginning stemming from our success.
I found the book a very powerful lesson in faith, and think that the story couldn't have been written better. It got the point across, and left me in awe of Paulo Coelho. I don't think it could be criticized negatively in any way.

[Galena May]

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I would like to explore a little further on the last sentence from my meditation exercise - I have often bound myself by whether or not this or that is going right and allowed myself to take on the journeys of others, but then, knowing that we are safe and grounded and knowing that they will find their light as will I find mine is faith, and hoping that one day I will be equipped to help them and/or coexist with them after they help themselves is hope. Not trying to sound conceited here, but sometimes we can be confused about whether our journey needs to stop for someone else. Do we need to take everyone along with us on our journey and stay stranded because a loved one hasn't got the means to accompany us? If we have faith in our soul tie to our loved one, then no. They have their own journey, and we have ours, but that doesn't have to necessarily take us apart. We can exist in two different corners of the universe and still have the same tie as before. This is often seen in long distance relationships. Yet, when we know it is not possible to bring them along, but we must absolutely go on, then we can at least hope that someday our paths will bring us together to the dream state of togetherness that we want. Or we can hope that one day they will have the means to follow us into our corner of the universe. We can hope that even if we left them stranded behind us long ago, someday they will catch up to us, even if we don't help them. We can hope that even if our journeys don't go on the same path and we fail to tangibly help them, they will help themselves and find their solace and enlightenment, perhaps stronger than us, in their own way, without our help. No, we don't have to help everyone. It is okay to believe and hope that everyone has their individual journeys and the means to successfully complete them. And we can still have faith, that even if they don't, or even if they do but never get to come near us again, the soul tie between us will still exist and they will be as safe in their corner of the universe as we want them to be. Their guardian angels will protect them, as will ours protect us. And yet, and yet, it is okay to hope, that someday they will form a crucial part of our own journeys as well.

[Galena May]

{ Extra Credit #2 }

30 points

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

Two pieces of media came to mind in relation to this month's power - a song and a book.
The song is "My Universe", the result of a collaboration between the British rock band Coldplay and the South Korean pop band BTS. I am a fan of neither, but for some reason, this song stuck with me when I first heard it. My initial attraction to it was entirely because of the music, and I barely understood the lyrics, but then the lyrics eventually stuck in my memory after I google-searched for them (as is customary for me in such cases) and attempted to decipher their deeper meanings. I found out that the song was set in a futuristic setting on different alien planets in an era where music is banned across the universe. The reason I chose this song is that its setting combined with the meaning of its lyrics came to my mind as a powerful reminder and example of hope, when I thought about this month's power.
The song says -
You (You), you are (You are) my universe
And I (I) just want (Just want) to put you first
And you (You), you are (You are) my universe, and I


In the night, I lie and look up at you
When the morning comes, I watch you rise
There's a paradise they couldn't capture
That bright infinity inside your eyes


And they said that we can't be togethеr
Because, becausе we come from different sides


You (You), you are (You are) my universe
And I (I) just want (Just want) to put you first
And you (You), you are (You are) my universe

So, they sing of an object, hobby, or person that they absolutely love so much that they consider it their entire universe. This object of affection can be interpreted as a human being (maybe a romantic interest) or their love for music. I would pick the latter for now. Notice how it stands out as ironical to call their music the universe in an era where music is banned across the universe. In that case, it stands out as rebellious, that they don't care about the music-less state of the universe and find their peace by calling their music itself the universe to them,, completely disregarding the need for any other universe other than their music. In circumstances where you are banned from performing that which you love most (in this case, music), what is that power which gives you courage to rebel against your circumstances and hope that that (the music) will be accepted publicly and globally someday, even if it is for now performed in secret? Of course, that power is hope, the hope that your music will be accepted some day, even in a music-less universe. The hope that prevents your love for music (or anything else) from dimming, even in a music-less universe (in highly negative circumstances). Where you create hope, even in the absence of hope. The fact that this song becomes a hit and one of the most downloaded songs in history, is by itself, a powerful reminder of the power of hope. The singers add, "There's a paradise they couldn't capture
That bright infinity inside your eyes", indicating that they see something special (some sort of infinity or infinite abundance of true passion for music, like the light of romantic passion and abundance that one sees in their true love's eyes) in their music, which others don't see, and this realization that there's a something special in their music that only they can see gives them hope that their music is worth holding on to, even in a music-less universe. They sing in the hope and hold on to the hope that one day, their music will be recognized as the beautiful thing they see it as and then they will be able to openly sing and music will no longer be banned. They don't give up hope. Then, they sing, "And they said that we can't be togethеr
Because, becausе we come from different sides", I assume this indicates the collaboration between the British band Coldplay and the South Korean BTS, because they are literally from two different parts of the world (western, and eastern or Asian), and sing two different types of music (rock and pop), which makes it an unlikely or possible disastrous combination in terms of success, acceptance, and music. In the video (official) of the song, this is symbolized by them being from two different planets. Yet, they have hope, and go ahead with the collaboration. The power of hope renders the song made, and then it is released, and becomes a famous track, symbolizing the power of hope.
I think that this song is a powerful reminder of hope and true passion for something that you love. It encourages us to pursue our passions without fear of judgement and/or non - acceptance by the society or world. It reminds us that our passion for our work (whatever it is that we love) will speak for itself and make the final result a masterpiece, even if it is not something that has ever been popular. This song, in my opinion, is very encouraging and doles out a very powerful message.
As I was writing this, I realised that I could apply this to pretty much anything in life, even if it is not a skill based on public opinion.
Next up, is a novel that I read when I was younger, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. A part of it (the part where Pip first goes to Miss Havisham's house), was part of my seventh grade English literature syllabus, but then I went on to read the whole story two years later. I chose this because when I was fishing in my mind for suitable media, pictures of Pip and his high hopes and the very title of the novel, "Great Expectations" as in "High Hopes" came to my mind and struck me as perfect for this writing. The story could be interpreted as a negative/dystopian portrayal about what happens when we lose hope if we look at it in regard to Miss Havisham. Having left stranded at the altar by her to- be husband, Miss Havisham loses hope and treats the entire male population inhumanely, attempting to break their hearts and make them feel her pain, hurting so many people and sabotaging the possible beautiful love life of the very girl she had adopted (Estella) as well as sabotaging her own second chance at marrying someone better for herself, in the process. She symbolizes hopelessness and despair, or the loss of hope. She has riches, beauty, and the prospect of marrying someone better suited to her, once again, but she is blind to her potential and self -sabotages her own possible beautiful life due to hopelessness. Miss Havisham repents in the end, and realizes her folly through Pip's kind and persevering attitude towards marrying Estella (seeing Pip, Miss Havisham realizes that true love exists), and ultimately she lets Pip marry Estella, but by then the prime of Miss Havisham's life has gone and Miss Havisham has already completely wasted her prospects, her youthful beauty, and her marriageable age. This shows how disastrous the lack of hope can be.
On the other hand, Pip, symbolizes the opposite of Miss Havisham, the very epitome of hope. He is helpful and kind, despite his poverty and his rude aunt (notice the irony). He falls in love with Estella and hopes to marry her someday, despite knowing that Estella is way out of his league and Estella also doesn't like him at all and is rude to him (because of Miss Havisham specifically raising Estella to be snobby and rude that way, especially to males and specifically to those who like her). Pip even asks his childhood friend, Betty, to teach him gentleman-like manners, so that he can woo Estella (Betty likes Pip romantically, and is within Pip's league, yet Pip is interested in Estella, the unreachable one). Then, in the second part of the novel, Pip puts his "high hopes" into action by going to the city to find a job, work hard, and become rich, yet he never forgets Estella and hopes to marry her someday. This shows the contrast between Pip and Miss Havisham's attitude towards life. Pip, initially has nothing and goes through several bad experiences, and yet has high hopes from life (and even miraculously goes on to achieve the lofty goals that he had hoped for, by working hard in hope of achieving his goals, but I will not give you any more spoilers, and this already speaks for the power of hope), but, Miss Havisham has everything from riches to beauty and suitableness for a second marriage, but has extremely low hopes from life due to just one bad experience, and wastes away her years in anger and frustration due to her hopelessness, instead of moving on and hoping for a better life and giving life a second chance (and she ends up a miserable ruin, despite having far more potential than Pip to lead an excellent and happy life). The rest speaks for itself as you read the novel.
I think that this novel's strength and appeal lies in showing us the power of hope as well as the need for balance through both extremes - the absolute lack of hope and the excess of hope. Pip does lose Betty and takes on more hard work for himself and endures Estella's rude behavior just to marry Estella, even though he could have had a happier and more peaceful life with the kind and gentle Betty who was in his league and who wouldn't be rude to him, showing the downsides of excess hope. Miss Havisham leads a less than normal life despite having the resources for a better than normal one, showing the downsides of absolute lack of hope. This emphasizes the importance of balance between the two extremes - hopelessness and excess hope, to the readers.
As I analyzed what I just wrote about this book, I realized that the balance is very necessary. I should be mindful of my limits, even though I shouldn't stop hoping. I should know when to release something, for the greater good, although it is okay to hold on as long as it doesn't push my limits.
Another fairytale that mentions hope, is the fairytale, the Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen, but I will leave that one for now.

Mining (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

As I was mining across this class's forum, I came across Professor Kendra Givens's Monologue in the MONOLOGUES - Fall 2022 thread of the class forum - posted on Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:24 am

I thought I loved her beautiful realizations across the post, when she says that taking four deep breaths and centering herself helps her to restore her hope and prevent her from floating in feelings of being out of control. She gets the idea of a routine to ground herself when she is losing hope and is buried in worry and despair. I think this resonates with me deeply in relation to this month's power. A routine is an excellent idea that can bring us back to the present and help us focus on one step at a time, when worry about a bleak future stops us from being productive in the present. Excessive worry about the future can cause hopelessness and feed into the vicious cycle involving further despair, which can then stagnate us and make us self - sabotage a possible bright future. The only way not to lose hope during an extremely tedious journey is to take it one step at a time, and just take the next small step at the present moment. It is okay for the future to serve as a vision board, but not having short - term measurable goals that are easy to accomplish, make it very difficult to hold on to hope for a long, tedious, extended time of struggle. As we break our difficult and very long journey into shorter, achievable goals, and move one step by step towards the bigger dream by accomplishing each goal individually one at a time, our brain rewards itself for each small victory which then feeds the power of hope, giving us the impetus to take the next step and so on. This is an excellent way to convert a seemingly unachievable destination into a hopeful game of one step at a time which then serves to make our brain go "Maybe we can do it after all. This way, we will reach the destination one day", no matter how small our each step might be. I recall that one thing stood out to me from this class, and that is, "one step at a time". One step at a time eventually makes up all the steps that we need towards our success. Celebrating our little victories and allowing ourselves to bask in the hope that comes from them is a good way to motivate ourselves for the bigger ones, and a routine, as suggested by Professor Kendra Givens, or a planner, can help us tangibly do the same by charting our little victories and keeping track of our progress record.

[Galena May]

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

For my monologue for this module, I decided to continue from where I left off my meditation exercise.
A theme that I thought of was bullying. So, who gets bullied and who bullies? There isn't much difference between them, they are quite similar just like the entire universe is one. Both are ordinary people with their own lives and struggles and yet both have a disbalance in their solar plexus chakras. The transition between these two disbalances can be so quick that oftentimes one who is bullied tends to bully others, for e.g., if a child is bullying their younger sibling, you may want to take a look at if the child is themselves being bullied by older kids at school.
The one who is bullied, is usually someone who has lost confidence in themselves and is not good at continuing to be themselves the way they are. This person overthinks about their lives and is in constant terror if they are not perfect. Think about it this way, if you are open to receiving negative feedback, you likely will, and you will receive it from people who have the least idea what they are doing with their own lives and much less idea about the unique conditions of your life that they cannot understand/grasp. Only you know how to do whatever it is that you are doing. It is okay to take advice, just so you have different perspectives to choose from, but it is not okay to think of someone else's advice as absolute, because that someone else, just like you, is yet another imperfectly perfect individual who has only seen their own side of the coin.
The one who bullies is someone who has distracted themselves from their own lives and focuses on others instead, teasing the object of their bullying for their perceived shortcomings, not knowing that they are not even barely aware of the hidden strengths and unique trump cards that the object of their bullying holds. When you forget to focus on your own life or feel frustrated about your own life, you will feel a unique urge to pick on others because you can't see any perspective but your own and everyone else appears warped and 'wrong' to you, making you decide to pick on them to mend your ego. But, then, when we face resistance or fail to bully our target, we usually give up or choose a different target or lose our own confidence or try harder to bully the same target to mend our ego (which then again goes back to a cycle reliant on the target's response). Who are we most likely to pick on? It is the person we think is easy to manipulate or won't be able to stand up against our bullying, because it feels safer as it doesn't backfire.
On the other hand, a person who walks in with the aura of someone who knows what they are doing is less likely to be picked on or bullied, because their response would likely be dismissive and they would keep doing their own thing, instead of plumping up the bully's ego by changing himself/herself to suit the bully's version of what's good.
We have our own unique struggles and stories, and each of us, to some measure, doesn't know what we are doing (and that includes the ones we think are more powerful/better than or superior to us). No advice or critique is useless, but filtering it through the lens of what works for us in terms of our goals is crucial. No one is perfect, but everyone is imperfectly perfect in their own way. You do things confidently your way, without worrying who did it better than you. People have their own way of doing things, and reach the same conclusion. No one is more talented than or superior to the other, for e.g., you wouldn't tell a fish to walk on land towards their destination because it is faster, if you do, you are a bully who knows nothing about what a fish is naturally good at. It may be faster for you, but not so for the fish. Similarly, a fish wouldn't listen to such an outrageous demand, they would simply swim to their destination. If they stopped to listen, they would die because they cannot breathe without water. It is okay to let people show you beautiful goals, but no one but yourself can show you the process which is tailor - cut to suit your own needs, only you can do that. Since you can't blame your failures on external circumstances, you mustn't rely on external factors either. When you are confident in yourself, you never get picked on, just like it would be boring for a human to tell a fish to walk, given that fish never listen to humans at all.
What is popular is by extension familiar and considered beautiful, as I have previously stated, and anything that's different is picked on. But, success is not necessarily popular. Every successful person is unique and has their own internal struggles that they overcome in their own way. Success is shiny from the outside, but from the inside, it is as rough and dull as you at present are. It is as different and unique for each person, as it may be outwardly similar. The only true recipe to success is consistency, even if the process goes completely against what's popular.
I once came across a doodle on Muggle social media that got the message across to me. It was themed on education. The doodle depicted a school for animals, in which they were being taught to climb a tree by the trunk. The monkey tops the class and mocks the others (a turtle, a fish, a bird, and a rabbit) from the topmost branch. The bird flies up and perches on top of the monkey, making the tutor himself feel stupid. The others still struggle. It was hilarious, because of the sheer outrageousness of a fish trying to climb a tree. The next half of the doodle showed them sorted into different appropriate schools (the fish goes to swimschool, the turtle to 'how to wade into water from land', the bird to learn flying from a cliff without falling off, and the rabbit to running school) and this time, everyone performs equally well because they are now doing what is their natural instinct. If you don't perform well, you are not useless, you are likely wasting your energies attempting to do something that doesn't compliment your natural abilities. Seeing someone else succeed shouldn't therefore hurt us, it should fuel us to examine our methods, discover our strengths, and find the best route to success for us, because there is a way we can do what they've done. It is necessary to evaluate oneself and get to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, and to form our own unique perspectives, before we decide how to achieve our dreams. Similarly, there is no need to look down upon someone who is on their own unique journey.
It is like the four Hogwarts houses that are each different from one another and achieve their goals in four ways. Gryffindors are brave, Hufflepuffs are consistent, Ravenclaws are smart, and Slytherins are cunning, yet, successful witches and wizards come from all four houses, as does any house have an equal capability to produce a bad egg (being a doormat is also a reason why one could become a bad egg).

[Galena May]

{ Extra Credit #3 }

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I chose this popular childhood story of the tortoise and the hare. This story is from Aesop's fables, and is a variation of a folktale. It tells about a vain hare who is proud of his ability to run really fast. He brags in front of a tortoise (a very slow creature), and out of his conceit, he challenges the slow tortoise to a race. The tortoise confidently accepts, and the beginning and ending points of the race are marked. The race begins. The hare, vain and conceited, covers a little distance, then decides to take rest, thinking that there is no way the tortoise will win. The hare then falls asleep under a tree. It is so shady and comfortable that he doesn't wake up for a whole hour. Meanwhile, the tortoise walks on, on its slow legs, never stopping to rest or to despair. He consistently, slowly but steadily, continues the journey, passes the sleeping hare, and crosses the finish line, winning the race. I picked this piece of media because it is a very popular fable, references to which have dotted my entire life until now. Therefore, it naturally occured to me instantly when I thought of suitable media to pick. The hare represents over-confidence, inherent skill (or availability of resources), and laziness. The tortoise represents humble confidence, lack of skill (or resources), and consistency and effort. The moral of the story is that, consistency and humble courage beats existing skill, and therefore no one is inferior on the basis of lack of skill or resources. No one is superior either. It's what you do with what you have, that counts. In my opinion, this moral of the story is a great example of the power of consistency and the humble courage to continue even when our circumstances or temporary failures put us down, which is the basis of this month's power.
This story uses animals to narrate the influence and balance of human energies, which makes it palatable and also easy to comprehend, at the same time also giving it the standard of a children's story so that it can be incorporated in the minds of little young readers as well, which in my opinion, makes this story a powerful social tool to teach humanity the importance of courageous humility, humble confidence, and consistency.
There have been several instances in my life when I was told that consistency and effort beats any advantage the opponent may have, and the example of this story was cited. As I revisited this story for this module, I realized how easy it is to forget this simple moral and wallow in self-pity and self-sabotage productivity by comparing oneself to others, despite this story being so familiar and popular. As a result, I decided to pin up a poster showing a hare and a tortoise in front of my worktable, so that I remember to refrain from comparison and make the most of what I have, consistently and steadily moving forward with courageous and humble confidence.
Additionally, the Harry Potter series is a great example of a piece of media that celebrates this month's power. All the main characters, Harry (targeted orphan), Hermione (Muggle-born), Ron (bullied because of poverty), Luna (weird), Neville (lost), and Ginny (underestimated) all had their own struggles and reasons to believe they were inferior. But, they had the courage to believe in themselves and fight for what was right, for the greater good. They stood up to their bullies and enemies, learnt from their failures, bravely battled their circumstances, used their unique strengths, and emerged stronger and victorious. None of them sat whimpering in a corner, wallowing in self-pity, despite their shortcomings. None of them gave up.

[Galena May]

This post contains a part of my 'Meditation' exercise, and the entirety of my 'Monologue' response, both of which I thought to share:

• Meditation (10 points)

"Half Scroll" / 50 words
(only part of it is written here)

Love is a part of life, more like the very essence of life, without which there would be no life, it therefore makes sense that the heart chakra houses love and is located close to our biological heart which pumps blood (or the liquid of life) to all organs in our body, giving oxygen to all the organs in our body including the brain and thereby keeping us alive. It is therefore not surprising that the heart is the only organ in the body that can function independently without prodding by the brain, due to having its own internal pacemaker, namely the SA node (think brain - dead coma patients). You don't need even your consciousness for your heart to be beating, and as long as your heart pumps blood, no matter how feebly, at least one cell in your body remains alive. Love is the essence of life, and mother of all emotions, positive or negative, be it anger, grief, fear, happiness, or passion, and for proof we have that, God created us with love, we feel grief when we lose what we love, we feel anger when what we love is threatened (no wonder anger is included in the stages of grief), we feel fear when we think we may lose something we love, we are passionate about what we love, we work hard to achieve the means to get that what we love, love gives us joy especially when we get to experience the closeness and warmth and the warm and fuzzy feeling that we get from it, and we don't want to die because we love life. Think about it, what is one thing that you want, whatever it is, you 'love' it and can't do without it, why else do you get angry when that thing is threatened to be lost or taken away from you? It is impossible to be living and thinking without loving at least 'one' thing or aspect. Even when someone has lost all hope, the very simple act of breathing indicates that they still love their existence as a 'living' human being. If we didn't love life, we'd simply not want to live it. Love of life, or of others, or of the experiences that life has to offer, makes us want to live life and fight each day to survive or save others. Love is literally the driving force behind everything that we do in our lives, no wonder our creator made love and 'creation of more life' linked aspects. If we stop loving, we stop living.
What is love, is a question most people can't define in words. No wonder, love magic isn't fully understood, and there is a whole room dedicated to its study in the Department of Mysteries. I can say that Muggles have not made any huge progress either. Some attempt to say that attachment is separate from love, and call it unhealthy. Some say love hurts. Yes, these are true to some measure, but it is easy to casually throw these around, without having gone through this module where it said that grief and attachment are two sides of the coin of love. What these sayings truly mean is that excess attachment is unhealthy (just attachment isn't), as is excess grief (which gives rise to the comment 'love hurts'). It is loss of a loved one or something that we love that hurts, not love. And when the excess of either happens, making us wrongly feel as if the very existence of 'love' is the source of all pain, we can be afraid to love at all and open our heart at all. When we discover that grief (which can be uncomfortable) co- exists with attachment, we stop attaching ourselves at all and become detached, lonely, and miserable, and by extension, loveless and lifeless. Not being attached to anything at all can drive us into madness, because the very essence of life is created from love. We then develop unhealthy coping mechanisms and obsessions to keep ourselves going, but the void left behind by love is never truly filled and that is what we mean when we say we feel 'empty' inside, like we are not living anymore (which actually means that we don't have anything left to live for). Is it then possible to fill that void by bringing in love from some other source? It is enlightening to note that balance between loving and not loving at all is achievable by balancing the coin of love on its edge between attachment and grief. You have to let both exist to prevent the excess of either, meaning that you have to accept and embrace the need to 'attach' to get better at 'detaching'. If love is the essence of life, then how is Voldemort, born without love, alive, or, is he even alive? On the other hand, when we 'love' and 'attach', then 'lose' the object of our affection, even normal grief can be destructive, at least temporarily. Is there a way around normal grief? No, there isn't, but it is necessary to be able to feel the normal grief to balance the coin of love on its edge to be able to continue to feel attachment and by extension to continue life. Maybe, that's why, during funerals, all means and tactics are employed socially, to ensure that the family who lost someone grieves the loss. Otherwise, the grieving family would never 'live' again or develop unhealthy obsessions. In some places and cultures, they are deliberately made to cry and to shed out as many tears as possible. Similarly, the best way to recover from grief is to feel it first. Another thing that came to mind was that when something is familiar, we love it more (another concept that I explored in my "Faith" module assignment). What is habitual, is what we love/are attached to more, what is familiar to us, is what we love/are attached to more. If we are habitual with /familiar with something or someone that is destructive or negative by not aligning with our path or by dragging us down, or by no longer serving our greatest good and/or highest purpose, is it worthwhile to grieve for it? No, but like I said, there isn't a way around normal grief, therefore, it is best to grieve and then let go normally, and, if relevant, to treat the experience as a lesson.

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I'd like to explore Voldemort and love (or the 'lack' of love) which jumped out at me from my meditation exercise for this module. I came to the conclusion that love is the essence of life, love is why we live life, and yet Voldemort is a living and breathing creature who was born without love in himself. He doesn't fully understand or comprehend love (which I agree with, as will still stand out when I've finished this monologue). He doesn't understand why people attach themselves to things (living or non-living) and aspects.Yet, he is afraid of death and creates no less than seven Horcruxes just not to ever die. He is afraid of losing power and bands together a whole army of Death Eaters just to gain and preserve power. Does he not, therefore, love life and power? Does he not, therefore, have an attachment to life and power? He gets angry when his Death Eaters fail to accomplish a task that would feed his power or to protect his Horcruxes. Anger is a stage of grief. Does Voldemort, therefore, not comprehend grief when it comes to his own life and power? There is no other arguable reason behind why Voldemort was so afraid of death and of being powerless. This means that, even though we say that Voldemort could not 'love', he could actually love one thing - himself. Then, it brings us to the conclusion that a child born of a love potion can comprehend at least one form of love - "self-love". In my opinion, what they cannot comprehend is "love for others", which is disastrous because the Divine Ecosystem is not meant to be for one person (as I have said in my 'Faith' module monologue, it simply cannot be sustained that way). Since the person who administers a love potion to someone else is themselves normal (as in born of loving parents, at least in all the known cases until now), but seeks to impinge on the freedom of the victim to choose whom to love, it shows a powerful desire on the part of the administerer to control someone else (which stems from loving oneself and one's selfish desires more than loving the victim of their love potion, because if you truly loved the victim then you wouldn't try to impinge on their freedom to choose, because true love sets free never controls, and if you loved the victim more than your selfish desires then you would give them the freedom to choose whom to love). I believe this intention of controlling others is what goes into the love potion (the same way intent matters when we are casting a spell) that causes the children born of a love potion to bear the brunt of such magic and turn out controlling and selfish (full of self-love). They can never love anyone more than themselves or even as much as themselves, which by extension means that they see everyone as inferior to themselves or entities to be exploited for personal gain to fulfil their selfish desires. They would even see their own children as extensions of themselves, meant to serve their selfish desire to live more and retain their selfish desires, the same way Voldemort would view Delphini or already viewed Bellatrix. Would Voldemort love Delphini the way we love our children? No (even without a love potion causing her birth). Did he love Bellatrix? No (even without administering to her a love potion). Voldemort loved only one person - himself. This brings Voldemort down from his pedestal to similar to us (mind you, he is still the most powerful Dark wizard in history, and his talents and magical powers were not affected by his inability to love others). That is why we cannot cure Voldemort by loving him more. All the place, all the voids, are filled by his love for himself and his love for power. That is why he would never be receptive to more love. And why is that destructive? Because it disturbs the balance of the Divine Ecosystem. It is a dangerous game to play when you are dealing with someone who cannot love anyone but themselves. Yet, ironically, as I wrote through the example of the tree that sprouts extraordinarily long roots in my 'Faith' module monologue, such a person eventually destroys themselves.

[Galena May]

• Manifestation (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I: DISCLAIMER: This can be triggering. It tackles themes of death (though not mentioned directly), and the five stages of normal grief (which includes depression and its manifestations). It may also come across as a bit intense.

This poem is about the five stages of normal grief in the order that they appear from first to last, after the loss of someone or something that we loved (The five stages of normal grief, in order of their appearance, are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance, therefore, I named this poem DABDA, but these stages can sometimes be shuffled around in terms of when they appear during normal grief):

DABDA (by Galena May)

When we lose something we love,
It can be difficult to move on,
Yet somehow or somewhere we just know,
That for their greater good, and sometimes also ours, they have moved on,
Towards their Divine destiny,
Towards their next journey.
It is okay to miss them,
Because normal grief is meant to be.
Without this grief, would collapse the wheel of love in our own journey.

At first, you wouldn't want to recognise the loss,
And keep hoping that you misplaced their whereabouts like a coin you casually toss,
You would think that they are right here, or will come back.
It can take a while to actually believe their lack,
Because we are so accustomed to having them right there,
That when they aren't there anymore, we still see them there.
And yet, we realize over time that it will never be the same again,
We realize harder than before that it's time to feel the pain,
Because, yes, the place there is genuinely empty.
It will never be like before, or, as carefree.
And, that's when, the first stage of grief, denial, for the first time ceases to be,
Even though it is prone to come back again.

Then, we are furious as to why,
This happened? God, did I deserve this?
You 'promised' me a lifetime with this person (or maybe that's what I imagined)
Why then God did you bring it to this?
May be the doctor -on - call didn't do their duty.
This simply wasn't meant to be.
Why do I have not the power to change Destiny?
Why would God put me through this, even if it's meant to be?
Does the Divine even truly exist?
And we are angry as angry can be,
We want to destroy everything that caused this,
Even though the only cause was that this was meant to cease to be.
And in this stage, we are prone to question all spirituality,
The second stage of grief, anger, makes us question everything, even the meaning of existence and society.

And then, maybe, just maybe, we think,
We can bring them back,
Please, I will give anything,
Just let me not go through this lack.
For it feels impossible to live without them,
And I would do anything to have them again,
Please, don't tell me it is too late,
Anything is better than this pain.
I know there must be a way,
Please, don't tell me I don't have a say,
In Divine destiny,
Please, I can't take this, even for another single day.
And we keep on bargaining, hoping, and hoping,
And wishing that the outcome was something else,
At this point, we would do anything, and hope that it could be reversed by magical spells.
The third stage of grief, bargaining, makes us desperate,
That's when an outside onlooker would fully realize for the first time, how hard we were struck by our fate.

And then we realize that nothing is happening,
No one is coming to save us and there is no way,
To reverse what passed, and make it better again,
The truth has been told as clear as day.
Then, we retreat into despair, and fall into the lap,
Of someone, seeking their comfort,
For we have realized that there is no way to bridge the gap,
The one who's gone is gone, and we finally get around the fact, that there isn't anything to confront.
We'd cry our eyes out, we'd let the tears flow.
We'd miss them hard, and wish that with them, we as well could go.
Our voice would break when we speak of them, and we would look sad,
The pain would hit hard, and we'd feel really bad.
The fourth stage of grief, depression, manifests several ways,
From physical manifestations to somatization to all the defence mechanisms that come up,
This stage can significantly hurt our productivity through the days.

Last of all, we feel the peace, that we need to move on and survive,
They are fine there, but I am fine here, and in our separate realms shall we thrive,
Wherever you are, blessed you may be,
I will make you proud here, in my realm, and fulfil our Divine destiny.
I have had an intense release and now it is okay,
It may not be the same again, but maybe it was all for the best,
I will do the best I can do here and honor the dreams that you left,
As you continue to do what you do best in your realm, and the Divine will do the rest.
May you never suffer again, and may all the good be with you.
You may not be with me, but I feel your presence right here and will always love you.
The last stage of grief, acceptance, feels peaceful and serene, but at a cost,
There are more lines on our face, and we are more mature, we now love all the more, but, differently, that which we lost.

II: This poem is about the five stages of romantic love in order of their appearance after we meet our romantic interest (obsession, uncertainty, adjustment, commitment, and acceptance, and the same way as before, I named this ouaca):

ouaca (by Galena May)

I've just met someone that caught my eye,
They are different and special, I cannot deny,
They give me butterflies in my stomach, not going to lie,
I want to be around them more, never say goodbye.

Did I say I am obsessed with their mischievous smile?
Their fragrance as they pass by, that I can smell from a mile
Away. So, I did something to get them to notice my pitiful state,
And it looks like I made it into their heart (this soon?), and we grabbed a date.
I am obsessed, I am obsessed,
With the way they talk, their voice,
Everything they do for me is so well thought -out,
The way they treat me, is oh so nice!
The first stage of love, obsession, has creeped in,
And the first realization of my weird behavior has seeped in
(Or has it?), because I keep talking to them day and night,
Everything is perfect, not even a single fight.

Is it really going this good?
Or is it too good to be true?
Let me take off these rosy sunglasses that I wear,
And put on the clearer glass of scrutiny to look through,
Okay, they have got a couple of imperfections, I see,
They are not really as great as they used to be.
Or maybe it is I who never noticed before,
The red flags that earlier looked pink, and are now red and coming to the fore.
Maybe I am making a big mistake,
Maybe my life and more is at stake,
Maybe I should pull my energy back,
Maybe it is better to just flee the scene and never come back.
Maybe they've started noticing as well,
That my eyelids are heavy and my cheeks unnecessarily swell,
Not as pretty as they thought I was,
A fiery mess of a Taurus and a Sagittarius.
Did they just ghost me? They never replied
Why is it not like before, back when time kept taking flight?
Oh! they are right here! I misunderstood,
But did they eat without me, my favorite food?
The second stage of love, uncertainty, peeked around my door,
Oh no! it came fully inside, and is lying on my floor,
And my anxiety and doubts are doing somersaults and my stomach is taking turns,
What's worth holding on to, and what should go and never return?

No, it's fine, I guess, I was overthinking.
Look at their adorable self, lying on their chin.
There are indeed aspects of their personality I am beginning to notice,
And these are for sure to die for, so hard,
That I would forgive all their minor shortcomings,
And promise my love to them, and keep my word.
Yes, they can be a distracted chap,
Yes, they forgot my favorite rap,
But they are my divine counterpart in so many ways,
They brighten my days like a beam of sun rays.
They bring the missing cheer to my life,
And they take my fears away,
They listen to me rant,
And, therefore, in some ways I would let them have their way.
Yes, you are worth holding on to, and I have decided,
That I will forgive your little quirks, and hold our love sacred.
The third stage of love, adjustment, is here, and I have to put up with a few things,
But I see beyond the minor hiccups, and this love, deep, soulful, and true it rings.

This is going good,
As integral a part of my life as food.
Do you feel the same way? Oh you do!
Am I dreaming or is it really true?
That what once seemed to be too good to be true,
Is now as good as true.
I promise that I will forever be right here, by your side,
And never quit on this wild, never-ending ride.
So, we've got it together then?
You've become my retreat, a cozy den.
The fourth stage of love, commitment, has showed up,
And we are both consciously working to keep it up,
Through the tough times and the good,
It is a promise now, one that keep I would.

And here we link grief to love,
Because anything that is new is a rollercoaster,
Both end in acceptance, when we've adapted to it,
And then become as comfortable and familiar as our daily roster.
The fifth stage of love, is then acceptance,
Of our divine counterpart, a stage crucial to Divine Ascension,
When you are calmer and soulful, and yet free like air,
And yet in every separation, you are still together, feeling in your connection, faith in abundance.

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

When I thought about this month's power, a powerful symbol of the indestructiveness and strength of true love came to mind, the gemstone 'Heart of the Ocean'. It was a fictional 56-carat blue diamond in the shape of a heart, portrayed in the movie 'Titanic' as being owned by late Rose DeWitt Bukater (Rose Dawson), an actress and socialite, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic. I subsequently realized that the movie captures and explores the themes of love, attachment, and grief, the power of this module, in a very intense manner, prompting me to pick it for this module's 'Media' response.
The plot of the movie Titanic depicts love in so many ways, even with the romantic dramatization of the real story. It is based on one of the most unexpected tragedies in history, the sinking of the allegedly unsinkable ship, the RMS Titanic. It was truly tragic and was a source of grief to many. The movie shows Rose finding solace from her unwanted life in the romantic love she found in Jack. It was temporary but it released her and set her free, enlightening her to the extent that she kept the promise (of always staying happy even without Jack and of enjoying her life and fulfilling her dreams) that she made to Jack during his last hours (when Jack sacrificed his own life in the ice-cold waters to keep Rose alive, following the ship starting to sink) even when Jack had died. This showed how deeply she cared for Jack, even in the short time that she knew him. The novelty (and tragedy) of grief is that it is harder to accept and process when we weren't expecting it, given that this causes us to stay stuck in the denial stage of grief for longer. The ship wasn't supposed to sink, having been publicized as unsinkable, but it had sunk. In the last few minutes, during which, the crew onboard the ship coped in their own ways to the unexpected tragedy and the exceedingly short time that they got to process their grief upon realising that they could be dying and the exceedingly short time that they got to make their choices between living and sacrificing their own lives to let others (perhaps their families) live, showed the power of love. An old couple refused to leave the ship because they didn't want to leave each other to their possible deaths, instead they chose to die in peace together (this part of the movie is based on a real couple aboard the Titanic). Others refused to take lifeboats to leave their families behind. This showed their attachment to their loved ones even in the face of a tragedy that threatened their own lives. At the same time, a few sabotaged each other to get to the lifeboats and escape first. What stuck with me from the movie until now as a powerful reminder of selflessness in love, was a scene that reminds me of humanity even now, the scene in which an orchestra on the deck of the Titanic plays music until the end, without fear of their own deaths, to help the passengers process their emotions and to support the dying passengers emotionally. It was one of the most emotional scenes of the Titanic for me. The love, the selflessness, the acceptance of their fate, and still playing music for others, was an intense example of this module's power.
I think that the movie Titanic moved the audience to the core of their hearts, even more so with the song, "My Heart Will Go On", irrespective of how much of it was fictional. It gave us a great glimpse of the emotions onboard the ship, if not of the facts about the tragedy.
The lines in the song "My Heart Will Go On",
https://youtu.be/CxUOl1I3w0E?si=8aXl_BNN6DIZAkTH
without needing any explanation are very powerfully symbolic of the last stage of grief - acceptance.

[Galena May]

Peace Module:

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I decided to put sugarcoating and blunt truths on a pair of scales against each other.
When we see something offered to us in a way we'd rather not accept, we are very likely to rebel against it, and even moreso when it comes from a person we are closer to. After all, this is not the kind of love we asked for. How difficult is it really to truly get what we need to feel loved. With the innumerable variants of DNA, it is quite possible that love (of any sort) is doled out to us in a form we may not be able to appreciate or in the form of something that we don't need. On the other hand, what we need to feel loved may get lost in the different style of expression that the other person is capable of putting forth as well as the other person's circumstances. This is similar to the love languages. Two people, whether lovers or strangers, may be very much inclined to be good to each other, but may not necessarily know in what form the gesture would be truly appreciated. Miscommunication and being rigid in our patterns of giving and receiving can cause unnecessary breakdown of so many connections even when the hearts of both parties had been in the right place. How do we then respond if the form in which we receive love is not to our liking? It can be helpful to dissect and examine the thought processes behind the action rather than the action itself. Oftentimes, it's not what it seems. Love can come in several packages and from different sources as mentioned in this module, and sometimes a stranger may be able to offer love in a way we would like to have it, better than our close ones. That doesn't necessarily have to mean that our relationship with our close ones is doomed. Being able to recognize love even when it comes in a form that doesn't speak to us in the way we want, can set us free and give us a sense of unrivaled peace that comes from seeing all the good in the world. Recognize, and then move on, forgive the fault in expression, and then forget it without ruminating on the way the sentiment was delivered.
But, what happens when our very personal space is threatened by the 'loving' actions of a loved one? Do we pretend that it's all okay and sugarcoat? The thing is that this can often lead to build up of resentment which can eventually cause outbursts or moody behavior, and, it also prevents the other party from finding out the kind of tailoring of love we may be expecting. And when they eventually find out that we had never been as satisfied as we pretended to be, the inauthenticity can feel like a huge betrayal of trust, and they can feel like maybe we never liked their other aspects as well and maybe we've always been lying about liking them. Therefore, sugarcoating stands out as a big no-no.
Speaking out one's truth, on the other hand, can be tricky in its own way. If one is excessively blunt or tactlessly honest, it can make the other person uncomfortable or trigger their traumas or at worse, hurt them, especially when they are not necessarily in a position to understand our perspective or to do things our way and especially if their heart had been in the right place. Navigating this issue comes with a bit of practice. When we deliver our truth, it can help to take a look at what is right rather than focusing on what is wrong. That way, it can be easier to deliver the truth more kindly and gently without hurting anybody and without being inauthentic either.
Finding the balance between sugarcoating and tactless honesty lies in the ability to balance between authentically "accept"ing and authentically communicating in an "accept"able way what we cannot "accept".
{ Extra Credit #5 }

30 points

• Manifestation (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

This is a poem on peace and its manifestations, especially though the lens of a properly balanced throat energy:

Peace

Peace is but a state of mind,
It can be both external and internal.
It may represent the absence of chaos,
Or even the strength of silence eternal.
It may also come through communication,
By clearing out misunderstandings,
Perhaps through the delicate balance of agreement and disagreement,
Because in 12 tongues could we be saying the same things.
Peace and harmony are a collaboration of mutual effort,
A coming together of several different identities,
Peace and acceptance are children of love,
The loving balance between clashing entities.
For me, Peace is represented by the Tarot card, 'The Lovers',
The card of harmonious mutual understandings and balance,
The card of silent love or loud love both being accepted,
The card of teamwork, cooperation, partnerships, and unity in fruitful abundance.
Where there is Divine love, there is Peace,
And where there is Peace, there is abundance,
For mutual harmony is the pre - requisite to great love,
As is peace the pre- requisite to progress and Divine acceptance.
Therefore, for mutual harmony may we strive,
So that in love and peace may we thrive.
So that our race can live and survive.
From the bottommost, Peace resides in our body as Energy number five.
Represented by the color blue and the number ether,
May we always respect peace, and respect each other.
From upholding harmony, may no one or nothing ever deter
Our souls on the path of Ascension, starting from hither.

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

When I thought about suitable media to pick in relation to this month's power, the place where I spoke of love languages and the prospect of wanting or delivering love in different "packages", as in the module, reminded me of a short story about giving gifts, more so about the love and thoughtfulness behind the actions rather than the gifts themselves, prompting me to pick the story for the 'Media' portion of this month's power. 'The Gift of the Magi' is a short story by O. Henry, that in the unique style of O. Henry, of delivering comic but emotional and heart-touching twists that by maintaining the suspense build- up make people want to read more of them, delivers a powerful lesson on communication and the forms of giving or receiving love.
The story tells us the tale of a young married couple that are deeply in love with each other and want to give each other thoughtful gifts. They are poor but the love for each other in their hearts is rich. The wife has long, brown hair that would be the envy of many, and craves a set of combs for her hair. The husband has a gold pocket watch left to him by his grandfather that he treasures as a family heirloom and it doesn't have a chain. It's Christmas, and the couple are eager to gift each other something meaningful, even with their little budget. The wife finds herself short of money to buy a gold watch chain, and sells her hair to buy a gold watch chain for her husband, unbeknownst to her husband who sells his grandfather's gold pocket watch to buy his wife a set of combs for her hair. The time of gifting arrives, and when the couple look at each other's gifts, they both burst into tears. Now, they have a gold chain but no grandfather's watch, and a set of combs but no long, brown hair. This shows their willingness to sacrifice their deepest desires and closest possessions for each other, standing testimony to the depth of their love, but also shows the hazards of reckless miscommunication in a relationship through the outcome, pointing out that maybe they'd both rather not have the gifts at all. At the same time, it is also a powerful lesson in being able to receive love in any form, which makes the story intriguing. Both their hearts were in the right place and even though their gifts contradicted each other, their love remained as strong as ever, even when they realized that their sacrifices had failed to achieve their purpose. They saw beyond each other's actions, and into the hearts of each other, and realized that the thought process behind the gifts mattered more than the gifts themselves. Intriguingly, this story ends on both a sad and positive note at the same time. I thought it was a great example of this month's power.

[Galena May]

Wisdom module:

• Meditation (10 points)

"Half Scroll" / 50 words

Aha! Wisdom! I believe that curiousity is the true prerequisite to wisdom. One who is curious to learn finds themselves naturally observing and absorbing information from their surroundings. In the absence of curiousity and the subsequent will to observe, we would miss out on several thousand insights that every surrounding stimuli, however insignificant, throws at us, for e.g., at the present moment as I write this, I can hear the low-pitched sound of a hammer at construction work as well as a high-pitched bird call somewhere in the distance. Even without my conscious knowledge, my brain is storing away the information about the pitch of each sound and also simultaneously reinforcing the fact that sounds from a distance are heard at a lower volume, with the aid of my previous knowledge on the definition of 'pitch' and 'volume', but, the brain of a person who doesn't know the definition of the word 'pitch' would also store this information away in their brain, even without the word 'pitch' being in their vocabulary, and tuck it away for future use. This is what we mean when we say that bookish knowledge isn't everything, simply because all that is around and all the wisdom we can gain from our surroundings, even without books, is so profound, so unwordable, so flexible in terms of interpretation and perspective, and there can be so much to take in and observe, that it is simply infinite. But, of course, books are important, as they are a storehouse of the finite standardized knowledge that can strongly help us or certain groups of us (according to the topic that the book is on) immensely in our lives. But, the brain would also consider that information useless in our contexts and attempt to forget it if we navigate life for a long time without needing to recall that information (which is also a form of wisdom, because we should be wise about what is important/not important to store forever, because the brain has only a limited capacity to store insights and knowledge and simply cannot remember everything). That is why we need to revise our lessons in school and college, to prevent our brain from getting distracted and to consciously remind it to consider the content of our syllabus as not something to be forgotten. Even so, sometimes we may forget the thoughts and memories so that the information is lost, but subconsciously retain a natural instinctive reaction stored away in our muscle memory, which is why we may feel like our body is warning us against a situation that may have occured in the past (or a similar situation may have occurred in the past) and given us a negative feeling, something we call 'gut instinct' and tangibly feel in the form of our stomachs churning even if we don't know why or in the form of that ominous feeling like the feeling of impending doom which we may mistakenly dismiss by thinking to be baseless anxiety. Wisdom teaches us not to ignore this gut feeling as well. Like this class has said, wisdom can be likened to experience. Perspectives can also come from simple meditation, when we keep turning a topic over and over in our mind and discover insights that we never knew before, these insights are made from a cumulative culmination of our memories (which come from our experiences) and previous insights, and we even find solutions to difficult problems or daily issues in this way (This is also why we should be mindful of our thought-content, whatever we think about more is also what we will be wiser about.Therefore, unnecessarily overthinking about what has already served its purpose or doesn't serve our purpose at the current moment is also folly). This is the power of self-analysis. The brain never ceases to think. Some of these insights we forget, but the gist remains, like an abstract thread of knowledge. This is also why, perhaps, it isn't possible to record all knowledge, the sources of knowledge are innumerable and impossible to count, at least by humans. To us, knowledge is infinite. Knowledge is endless. And this is why no advice is useless, because there is absolutely no one who knows everything as well as no one who knows nothing. Can an academic exam therefore test knowledge? No. An academic exam can merely test what we took away from that course or syllabus, not what we learnt from it. The wisdom that we acquire from the same syllabus can vary from person to person and is unique to every individual, even if the information acquired is the same. Also, each individual applies the acquired information differently in their unique lives. Knowledge, on the other hand, is tested and increased throughout our lifetimes. Our life is an endless amalgamation of learning and applying what we learnt. Our life is the true exam, and a very dynamic one at that, because it is the only exam in which preparation, testing, and results all exist together at any point of time. These realizations humble us so much as we navigate life. "The places we frequent, activities we put time and energy into, and people we surround ourselves with have a huge impact on the type of data coming into our orbit." by Professor Sindor Aloyarc stood out to me from this module.
Some quotes that I heard throughout my life, and that inspired me:
"We must never stop learning. There is no age to stop learning. Knowledge is endless. " - one of my teachers at college.
“A disciple...can never imitate his guide's steps. You have your own way of living your life, of dealing with problems, and of winning. Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.” - A teacher or a friend is always a great guide, but knowing how to apply the advice correctly in a shape that fits one's unique situation is a life skill, from the book, The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho.
viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31284
"It is our choices, Harry, far more than our abilities, that determine who we truly are" - Making wise choices in life are even more important than possessing great abilities, by Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series.
So, what is the best way to gain knowledge? Theoretical (learn it from a book or store it away in our memories in the form of information) or practical (actually perform an action to see what comes up in relation to it and learn from it)? I think I want to explore this for my monologue.

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

For my monologue, I decided to explore practical vs. theoretical learning. Whatever we learn (from whatever source, self- analysis, bookish, theoretical, observational, from first-hand experience, practical through demo/similar experiences, or otherwise), is essentially stored in our brains in the form of memory. As some of us may know, we have two types of memory - declarative (all the information stored away in our brain, tucked away safely in different parts) and procedural (or what we call muscle memory, it includes our reflexes and the programming of our muscles on how to do things such as riding a bicycle). Losing one doesn't necessarily entail losing the other, for e.g., we may forget our names and all that we need to actively recall but remember how to ride a bicycle as well as everything else that our muscles could earlier do without us needing to actively think about the action, or vice versa, as in being able to recall things but unable to ride a bicycle or perform muscle-memory related actions without actively thinking about them. When we mean that we have excellent memories, we actually mean that we have excellent functioning in terms of memory encoding, storage, and retrieval. Declarative memory can be again semantic (fact - based, essentially what we are asked in recall-based exams) or experiential (based on our experiences), which is likely what goes into a Pensieve or what a Legilimens can see in our brains. Memory can also be immediate (the one -time - passwords that we use once and then forget, I still remember how I accidentally sent my HOL main forum password to this category of memory in my brain when I first joined HOL then had to request for a password reset), short-term (that we remember until our exam and forget afterward), or long-term (either what strikes our brain as really important due to its deep or profound impact, or what we consciously say to our brain as really important by forcing the brain to recall it through multiple revisions, mostly what stays in our brain for a long time as the name suggests). Coming back to the topic of my monologue, I am basically trying to talk about which type of learning (practical vs theoretical) allows better memory encoding. We could be reading about the process of making a potion (for example) and memorizing the steps from a written copy of a potions book, and in this case if we are suddenly asked to make the potion, our hands are likely to be shaky and there may be long pauses between each step as we stop to recall "what next" (applying theory to practical effect). The same applies to anything that we do in life, which is why the saying goes that "practice makes perfect". Practice/first-hand experience is, therefore, very important in the process of acquiring knowledge. Similarly, if we are actually going through the act of making a potion (perhaps following a teacher brewing at the front table) without having ever read the steps beforehand, that is also a relevant form of learning (practical learning) and in this case if we are asked to relay the steps we may find our brain fumbling for words even though our hands may be pulled in the right direction of the next ingredient at the right time even without us consciously knowing it and even if it takes us an hour to phrase the action into words. Practical learning is immensely useful when it comes to applying our knowledge in day- to-day lives. Theoretical learning is also important as it provides a source of preparatory knowledge as opposed to sheer experience. Think about how easy it would be to both remember the words that form the steps of making a potion and have our muscles move by instinct to do what is required. In both types of learning, we are learning something that is useful to our perception of how to make the potion. Which is better? None. We could lose either procedural or declarative memory depending on which specific part of our brain is injured so it doesn't help to say that one type is more safely stored than the other. But, there are insights that we could consider the extra perks of each type of learning. The perks of theoretical learning include: firstly, knowing specific names for each action and ingredient and perhaps a bit more about their origins and whereabouts (if we learn in detail) which can help us convey/communicate the information verbally to others when needed such as sending instructions to a relative through a letter and also being able to include where they may find the ingredients or such as when trying to buy ingredients from a shop instead of relying on pointing at 'that thing', and secondly, knowing the 'why's' behind the 'what's' and 'how's' as in why an action was performed that way, which is something potioneers are likely to strongly testify for the importance of. Without knowing the 'why's', we could be careless or not know the consequences of pushing our limits or not know if it is safe to push our limits and experiment. If we experiment recklessly without knowing some tried and tested 'why's' that the wisdom of others before us has left us to inherit, we wouldn't exactly be wise, rather that would be a waste of time or could be dangerous, except that same wisdom would tell us when it is safe to push our limits and experiment. The perks of practical learning include: firstly, having excellent muscle memory through more practice (as is done 'to revise' practical learning) which can provide speed, agility, and better accuracy and coordination of movements and prevent us from needing to stop to think about the next step, and secondly, help us pick up secondary (and even personalized and/or unique) untold insights from the stimuli that we may notice or pick up during the practical experience (somewhat similar to noticing the two different sounds in my meditation exercise and learning untold things from it), which is likely how Snape ended up peppering the potions book of the Half-Blood prince with annotations. So, then, we conclude that there are undeniable benefits of both types of learning - learning from an existing source (theoretical learning) and learning from practical experience (practical learning). And, therefore, a holistic approach including both is absolutely necessary to learn anything in life, not just potions. This is why our syllabi for whatever course are likely to include a practical exam in addition to a written exam or at least an experience-based essay exam in addition to fact-recall based questions even though some of us absolutely detest such things.

{ Extra Credit #6 }

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

Wisdom is more than bookish knowledge. Wisdom is first-hand experience and wisdom is also knowing that we need to learn from existing sources as well. Thinking about this brought to mind a movie called Slumdog Millionaire. I can think about many more examples but this one is an Oscar winning movie that flawlessly and expertly spread the message all over the world through the fascinating script and screenplay and I thought that it deserves the spotlight. Slumdog Millionaire is a movie about a slum dweller who has no formal education because of poverty. He is forced to experience a life full of crime, at least of watching crime if not being directly involved, from a very young age that is supposed to be full of innocence and childish playfulness. As a result, he is more mature than children of his own age, though he never goes to school because of poverty and has zero bookish knowledge. He is, however, extremely smart and observant of his surroundings, because of which he knows a lot of things that he shouldn't be knowing at his age, especially with no schooling. He also has a romantic interest in a girl since childhood, who is captured by crime overlords. To communicate with this girl and reunite with her, he finds a most unusual way. He enrols himself in the audition for the TV show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" The show involves participants answering multiple choice questions based on general knowledge and current affairs, posed through a computer, and winning sums of money for answering correctly. Rather than the sum of money, he wants to be aired on TV just so she can see him, because he knows that she watches TV at the time the show is aired. The audition involves answering a few questions. He passes it and enters the show. He shows excellent adeptness in answering the questions from his real-life experiences, despite his background and lack of formal education, shocking everyone, and making some people think that he was cheating - a speculation which led to him facing a lot of opposition and struggle despite his adamancy to remain on the show until she sees him. He also gets sabotaged by some people who think that he doesn't deserve the money and fame, but he eventually makes it through the show to her, and also wins the show's prize money. The boy's remarkable feat shows the highly underrated importance of mindfulness and practical experiences in our daily lives, as opposed to the bookish knowledge that we tend to think is the absolute source of all knowledge. The movie questions the efficacy of our existing education systems, highlighting how the boy's propensity of learning from his surroundings surpassed school education at its best. This brings me back to a portion of my Meditation exercise - "In the absence of curiousity and the subsequent will to observe, we would miss out on several thousand insights that every surrounding stimuli, however insignificant, throws at us, for e.g., at the present moment as I write this, I can hear the low-pitched sound of a hammer at construction work as well as a high-pitched bird call somewhere in the distance. Even without my conscious knowledge, my brain is storing away the information about the pitch of each sound and also simultaneously reinforcing the fact that sounds from a distance are heard at a lower volume, with the aid of my previous knowledge on the definition of 'pitch' and 'volume', but, the brain of a person who doesn't know the definition of the word 'pitch' would also store this information away in their brain, even without the word 'pitch' being in their vocabulary, and tuck it away for future use. This is what we mean when we say that bookish knowledge isn't everything, simply because all that is around and all the wisdom we can gain from our surroundings, even without books, is so profound, so unwordable, so flexible in terms of interpretation and perspective, and there can be so much to take in and observe, that it is simply infinite."
The strength of this movie lies in its accurate portrayal of how observation and mindfulness can surpass pre-existing knowledge. It teaches us to live every moment in the here and the now, fearlessly, proving that we can overcome anything by being wise even if we are not learned in that field.
As I wrote this, it came to my mind how proud we can be of our bookish knowledge, as is evident from the example of people in the above movie mistrusting the boy and thinking that he was cheating. This movie humbles us down. In our run round the clock, we have forgotten the power of stopping and observing in the moment. We have forgotten how much we can learn by simply being present and mindful. In our quest for knowledge, we have started becoming overly reliant on the recorded knowledge that already exists instead of valuing first- hand experience. One example would be, our natural instinct to consult Google when we could be discovering so many insights by trying to solve our problems ourselves. Pre-recorded knowledge is limited, as is likely to be, but wisdom is infinite.

[Galena May]

Module on Understanding:

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

Getting to know someone new, or even old, let's say rediscovering an existing person, is one of the most humbling processes in the world? Who would have thought?
Exactly. Who would have thought that they could do this? Who would have thought that there are so many facets to their personality? Who would have thought that they were capable of treating me this way/changing for the better? Thinking that we truly know and completely understand someone at any given point of time during our lifetimes is a big folly, irrespective of how long we've known the person, or how well we think we already understand human emotions. We may know them very well, but do we know-know (from this class's module) them? There can be and do happen so many instances in our lives that leave us humbled about our capability to judge other fellow humans. We don't even know ourselves as clearly as we think we do. As said in this module, if getting to know ourselves and rediscovering the self can be such a taxing and lifelong process, how can we be so confident that we know and understand another person and/or their individual journeys? How can we imagine that we can predict their actions if we can't predict our own? Thinking that we can, only makes sure that we consciously and intentionally blind ourselves to the deeper layers beneath ours or others' superficial surface, which can then lead to unexpected situations that eventually humble us with each such occurrence. A friend once told me that all humans have a superpower - adapting to the circumstances when pressed from all sides. We may think that we can't do something, but if doing that thing is the only way left for survival, we inevitably end up learning how to do that thing. In some undeveloped places, where informal training is the only option available, students are pushed right into the field without preamble or foreword so that they learn how to fend for themselves without any training. This is similar to how a bird teaches their children how to fly.They simply push their children out of the nest with their beaks. The bird knows that they are untrained, but also understands that they have deeper capabilities that she is not capable of understanding and that they'd best figure out these capabilities themselves, so she just pushes them off the nest. This extends to saying that we are not who we think we are. We are capable of crimes that we think we will never do, and we are capable of adjusting to circumstances that we think we would never be able to live in. Similarly, others are not who we think they are and can surprise us in ways we would never have imagined.
Understanding ourselves or someone else, and gauging or predicting our/their reactions to different, unique situations is a lifelong process, because as we grow and mature, we keep looking back and rediscovering new angles to the personalities of ourselves as well as others, as also does the person we are trying to get to know and understand. Scary, right? Yet, so humbling, and profoundly interesting. This simply reminds us how intricate and mysterious the dance of life is. Dissecting the layers of a person and peeling off the layers of their personality therefore requires the largest amount of humility and open - mindedness that one could ever possess, and the ability to believe that we will never completely understand another human being.

• Media (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

I thought that there could be no better media than the novels and short story series about the highly successful private detective Sherlock Holmes, written by Arthur Conan Doyle, in relation to my perspectives on this module's power. It is one of my favorite literary works and I thought to pick it for this assignment as a little tribute to it.
Conan Doyle shows in these stories, Holmes and Dr. Watson. Holmes sees every crime as a new problem to be solved. It stimulates him. Dr. Watson, the narrator, throughout the stories, not only helps us know Holmes as a person and his habits, he also helps us understand Holmes through his own lens as the novels progress further through Dr. Watson's life.
When it comes to crimes, Holmes looks at every minute detail and seeks to understand it, but by contrast, Dr. Watson seeks to only know the minute details, at least according to Holmes, which Watson says is what Holmes cites as the secret behind his success as a detective. Especially in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, one particular scene that has remained vividly in my memory perfectly illustrates this, although there are many such instances throughout the series. In this particular scene, a man called Dr. Mortimer, who first introduces Holmes to the crime that forms the plot of this novel, calls upon Holmes at his London residence for the first time. Holmes and Watson aren't home. The doctor accidentally leaves his walking stick at Holmes's place and goes out to return later when the two are available. Meanwhile, the two return. Holmes asks Watson to deduce the characteristics of their visitor from the walking stick, which has an inscription - Dr. Mortimer, CCH. Watson deduces that the man is a middle- aged (marriageable) practitioner with a resounding business because someone, perhaps a community of hunters called CCH, seems to have gifted him the stick on occasion of his mariage. Holmes deduces that the man is an elderly country practitioner with a humble business who was gifted the stick from Charing Cross Hospital (CCH) on occasion of retiring to the country and even deduces that he is careless and guesses the breed of his pet dog. Holmes then explains that Watson did not seek to understand the whys behind the whats of people's behavior, for e.g., a doctor is more likely to be associated with a hospital than a hunt, a married man with a resounding business wouldn't leave his prosperity behind and retire to the country unless he was elderly, and if he received a walking stick as a respectful gift, it must have been on occasion of his leaving the hospital instead of his marriage. Also, Holmes explains that only a careless man would leave his stick behind instead of his visiting card and shows Watson the marks of the teeth of Dr. Mortimer's pet dog on the walking stick, where the dog was accustomed to holding the stick to carry it behind its forgetful master. Holmes proves that it is important to understand human behavioral patterns instead of just knowing them to be able to deduce more accurately, and shows how much easier it becomes to understand things the more experience we have (Holmes is a very experienced detective). Since, the more we experience, the more we understand, Holmes, throughout the series, finds adding to his experience in solving crimes more valuable than taking the credit for solving them, and thus often says that his work is by itself his reward. Holmes also compares and contrasts different scenarios, to think about the crimes, instead of always just acting in some way, essentially connecting the dots and seeking to understand the crime. That was the most likely reason Holmes always found out the whole story, backstory, as well as motive of the crime, unlike other detectives who were satisfied with only finding out the criminal and therefore didn't seek to understand any further. I think that these relate to this module's power very strongly.
Even as I wrote this, I explored one of my favorite literary series in yet another light, through the lens of this module, and understood it a bit even better, although I have re-explored it and re-understood it earlier in different lights several times.

[Galena May]

Familiarity module:

• Monologue (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

Quoting from my meditation exercise - One thing from this module that is coming back to my mind is that sometimes we are more comfortable with strangers when sharing a few things than we would be with our families. Similarly, there are certain attitudes that we are more comfortable displaying around family, attitudes that we won't show to strangers because of caring less or being more guarded.
Why, then, are we not comfortable sharing with family the things we share with strangers? The answer lies in the very essence of this module - there is harmony in chaos and chaos in harmony, everyone and everything is similar yet different. Being familiar with our loved ones, and being familiar with the ones we love because they are familiar, both don't ensure that they are completely similar to us. Sure, a family may share genes, and in case of friends we may go by "like attracts like", but, there is absolutely no exactly similar set of human beings except for identical twins, and even though identical twins may have the same gene set, their varied experiences can shape them up differently. Therefore, it is a folly to believe that there will be a someone (let alone more than one) that will completely understand us and always agree with us and with whom we will be able to share literally every experience and every thought. At the same time, it is okay to allow the space for what's familiar to wander off to unfamiliar grounds within limits, to let off (let's say) steam when the familiar starts to get uncomfortable, to share things that they may have in common with another gene set, a gene set that has that one similarity but perhaps several other differences and that is not bonded by love and long-term familiarity. Again, it is a folly to believe that love is lost just because what's familiar doesn't agree with a few aspects of us. We don't have to completely cut off ties with our family because of a few differences, after all there does have to be some chaos in harmony. A little bit of chaos keeps the harmony alive, as does harmony exist because of the existence of chaos - this can be explained through the difference between a twin flame and a soulmate.
At the same time, we are more grounded around our family, and cannot descend into our worst selves around people who are not as familiar, after all there is harmony (peace and love) in chaos (the family we perhaps quarrel with), because beneath each quarrel there remains the strong tie of love and the warmth of familiarity, like a blanket that you don't want to get out of because you warmed it up with your body heat even if the blanket has a rough patch that temporarily stings.
Twin flames are always romantic connections, and each individual has only one twin flame. Twin flames are two parts of one soul, separated by God, because the soul couldn't see their own flaws because of being too familiar with themselves (after all, personality traits are ego-syntonic), so God had to separate them into two halves that mirror each other and have the same flaws in a different unfamiliar body, thus showing the flaws of the soul as if through a mirror so that the soul could recognize their own flaws in their counterpart like a mirror and work on healing. Twin flames represent familiarity and harmony, two bodies with one soul, yet they are the most chaotic relationships in the universe, because they are so similar that they disturb each other and bring out each other's insecurities merely for the divine purpose of healing each other (healing the broken fragment of their own soul). When the healing is complete, God joins the two fragments of the soul again, either in another life in a spiritual dimension (so that they peacefully walk away or co-exist in the physical plane) or in the same life through a physical union in the form of an inseparable romantic relationship. Of course, this love is stronger than any other, because the split fragments of the same soul share a bond unlike any other and cannot be separated by anyone except God/the divine. Twin flames are destined to meet and trigger each other until the purpose of mirroring the soul's flaws back to each other and healing the soul is complete. Twin flames are therefore exceedingly similar in terms of triggers and defence mechanisms or anything else that may help mirror the flaws back to each other, for e.g., a vain person may have a twin flame who is as vain and is the only one to ignore the vain person's charms and they would trigger each other endlessly till they both humble up.
A soulmate, on the other hand, may not necessarily be a romantic relationship, and there can be multiple soulmates for one soul. Soulmates can be family, siblings, friends, mentors, co-workers, romantic relationships, or even some random stranger. Soulmates are fundamentally different, but perfect complements to each other in that they have flaws and deficiencies where their soulmate has skills and they have skills where their soulmate has flaws and deficiencies, they have positives for each other's negatives, like a thread and the eye of a needle that are different yet made for each other (think Ron and Hermione, she is bossily caring and he has an uncanny ability to take that bossiness without judgement and still be caring). God sends soulmates to keep our soul company in the journey of life. Soulmates represent unfamiliarity and chaos, yet bond despite their differences, forming the most peaceful relationships. Yes, soulmate relationships are more peaceful than twin flame relationships because there are no triggers meant to be explored here, only a person who accepts you, flaws and all, yet you do have to see your flaws through your twin flame in one lifetime or the other, so that your soul can heal.
This proves that familiarity (and by extension faith and love, since I had the opportunity to bring up familiarity in both the faith and love modules to show the tie-in) is common to both chaos and harmony. One difference doesn't doom a familiar relationship, nor does one similarity with a stranger indicate complete familiarity, yet both familiar relationships and strangers have a perfect time and place to appear as well as their own important purpose to fulfil in our lives.


{ Extra Credit #8 }

• Manifestation (15 points)

"Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words

The only person who,
will best know you,
Is none other than you,
Who appears in the mirror to you.

There will be flaws,
No, you won't look picture perfect.
Just like the spots on the moon,
Something or the other will seem incorrect.

Some of it, you will forgive,
Some of it will bother you.
Some of it, you will change,
Some will continue to define you.

Yet, you will be accepted,
Somewhere or the other,
Somehow you will feel contented,
And continue to move further.

And just like that do we forgive,
And subconsciously choose to ignore,
The flaws of familiar people that we love,
The people we see everyday and adore.

From your workplace to your lover,
There are things that you call your own.
From yourself to a stranger,
How quickly have you grown?

It's like you don't know yourself anymore,
Yet you perhaps do,
Beneath the surface, you peel more layers,
With each new day, you discover more hidden depths within you.

Like an anchor, you remain rooted to the same spot,
Yet you flourish and differ from yourself as time passes,
What was dark is now beautiful, and what was cold now seems hot,
Yet, over time, you know you, as you know a few others among the masses.

You think you know some,
And then they confuse you, by doing something unexpected,
Do you take it as a lesson and move on?
Or do you dissect them further, fishing for what you expected.

You may actually know some,
Yet perhaps they will surprise you each day,
And hopefully (or not),
In a pleasant way.

Sometimes you may even know a stranger,
For their one little quirk,
Perhaps you like the way they smile,
Perhaps just like you, they twerk.

Life is so familiar, yet so unfamiliar,
Like a dish that you eat daily with new surprises,
Like each day rediscovering a different flavor,
Like a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, full of hope and fun surmises.

You never know what comes next,
But at least you know when to take a break and stop.
You know the Sun from the Moon,
And the blue sky on top.

You don't know what's across the bend,
But, you are walking a familiar road.
You know the gravel and the sound of your feet,
You know a frog from a toad.

For as long as your senses have been open,
It will keep getting easier though perhaps not better.
You would think that the next time I take this journey again,
I will know everything letter by letter.

But, alas, what's gone is gone,
And you will never journey the exact same path again,
You will live this lifetime only once.
Life is but a simulation video game.

You will perhaps play another one, in your next lifetime.
Or perhaps you will never return.
The ultimate goal would be to get familiar with life,
The final reward Divine Ascension and completion.

Continue to explore, dear divine explorer,
Discovering hidden depths is a fun game.
Engage all your chakras, and make the best of life.
The ultimate reward is familiarity, neither money nor fame.

And yet money and fame are perhaps stages in this divine video game,
The resources for your character, as they say.
The powers of your character, are the controls in your chakras,
So, get up, and let's unlock another divine level to play.

And, once you are completely familiar with life, your time here is gone.
Your purpose in life has been fulfilled, and the journey through the seven energies in your body has been done.

[Skylar Peyton]

Extra Credit 2: Mining (15 Points)

Looking through previous monologues, I came across February Fortescue's post from 2022. I feel that this really relates to this month's power, the Power of Hope. A lot has happened in the past few years. Most recently, my mom had a serious heart attack last Fall while we were vacationing over a thousand miles away. The heart attack was scary enough, but happening so far from home made it a lot worse. Then my aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in December. So I agree with February that mostly nothing stays the same, almost everything has to change sometime. I take part in a yoga session almost every Tuesday where we try to stay in the present and feel our bodies. During these yoga sessions, I try to accept how my body is feeling and try to ease any worries or stress I might have. It's easier said than done sometimes, but sometimes it's one of the only ways to find true peace within. One method I have to help focus is to focus on what the yoga instructor says. She will tell us to relax certain mussels from head to toe. She might say "relax your right palm, back of the hand, lower arm, elbow, upper arm" etc. I repeat in my mind, the parts she says. Another method could be to imagine yourself relaxing in your favorite place whether that be at the beach or by the lake at Hogwarts. Changing your mindset from being full of worries to having hope can come with its own set of challenges, but you just have to remain calm and positive that things will work out in the end.