Final Blog

I think my work for this class was very creative. I challenged myself to find information on supernatural subjects, I did research into subjects I would have never done on my own. I learned plenty of information that gets overlooked otherwise. I find it very useful in my life, for example I didn’t really understand much about exorcism. Now I understand the process that has to be taken in order for a true exorcism to take place. I also think it’s important to learn what goes on in the supernatural world we often overlook.
I also had lots of fun finding the archetypes and symbols. I loved learning about the monomyth, thresholds, adventures, and everything a monoyth must include in order being a hero’s quest. For an it’s motivating to recognize these things as you are reading you story. It’s important to be able to recognize archetypes in videos and in images. Finding the true communication behind each symbolic image and video is so profound and interesting. For example in the Macbeth image I posted I found it so interesting to be able to find symbolic meanings for mirrors, body posture. The video also was so interesting to analyze, in fact it was challenging. Very important and useful to have learned how to find archetypes and symbols in videos as well. The one I enjoyed the most was the final project I finally learned what is behind T'ai Chi something I always wanted to research , amazing the information I learned this subject , I am very motivated to practice this art of human mind development even thou I know its a difficult task to develop.
I really enjoyed how my teammate will, bik found the symbolic representation in the image of the Macbeth withes in a image of the three witches dressed in kimonos. I found it interesting how he defined the witches as being serpents and their kimonos representing something important was to happen. They were to do a ritual, their hand posture represented this. They way he described his symbols and how he assimilated each symbol to the image was nicely done and I think very accurate. I learned that it is a lot of work put into many images we just look at for a few moments without analyzing the symbolic representations which give a whole new meaning to each image. Another teammate Chris Bik did the photo of Naruto in PJS he defined this image with the innocent archetype. He told a little of the story of naruto, how naruto became an orphan because both his parents died and how a whole town hated him but he over looked all the hatred and helped as much as he could . Then he made the connection between the photo and the story, along with how it related to the innocent archetype.
In conclusion I think this class allowed me to grow in many areas i needed to increase my knowledge in. Iam grateful for having taking this course.

Final Blog

I think my work for this class was very creative. I challenged myself to find information on supernatural subjects, i did research into subjects I would have never done on my own. I learned plenty of information that gets overlooked otherwise. I find it very useful in my life, for example I didn’t really understand much about exorcism. Now I understand the process that has to be taken in order for a true exorcisim to take place. I also think its important to learn what goes on in the supernatural world we often overlook.
I also had lots of fun finding the archtypes and symbols . I loved learning about the monomyth, thresholds, adventures , and everything a monoyth must include inoder to be a heros quest. For a its motivating to recognize these things as you are reading you story. Its important to be able to recognize archtypes in videos and in images . Finding the true communication behind each symbolic image and video is so profumd and interesting. For example in the Nacbeth image i posted i found it so interesting to be able to find symbolic meanings for mirrors, body posture. The video also was so interesting to analyse in facr it was challenging. Very important and useful to have learned how to find archetypes and symbols in videos as well. The one i enjoyed the most was rhe fianl project i finally learned what is behind T'ai Chi something i always wanted to research , amazing the information i learned this subject , i am very motivated to practice this art of human mind development even thou i know its a difficult task to develop.
I really enjoyed how my teammate will, bik found the symbolic representation in the image of the macbeth withes in a image of the three witches dressed in kimonos. I found it interesting how he defined the witches as being serpents, and thier kimonos representing something important was to happen. They were to do a ritual, thier hand posture represented this. They way he describrd his symbols and how he asimilated each symbol to the image was nicely done and i think very accurate. I learned that it is alot of work put into many images we just look at for a few moments without analysing the symbolic representations which give a whole new meaning to each image. In conclusion i think this class allowed me to grow in many areas i needed to increase my knowldge in. Iam grateful for having taking this course.

Final Project T'ai Chi

T'ai chi has been around for thousands of years. T'ai chi was born in search of ‘the highest form of life of the human mind "an invisible power that guided movements in Chinese history for centuries. It influenced the Chinese culture in totality, this harmonious, respectful, disciplined practiced became a way of life for many Chinese. Initially looked at by the Chinese culture as a philosophical foundation, developing into martial art, T’ai Chi was developed by various monks into the yin (yielding) and yang (action) harmony the positive and negative physical energy. The Ch’I is the balance between the two essences of yin and yang and once the Ch’I is found and developed the “sheng , jing and li” are developed thru disciplined exercises that acquires the mental and internal power that our human body is capable of producing. They also developed it to imitate movements of animals in harmonious coordination of body movements. Our universe is programmed in such a way that the yin and yang exchange their essence. The human nature is programmed to acquire one of the two essences. With T’ai chi, we learn to balance them out in our body to a harmonious result and this brings about the unlimited development of the human mind. T’ai Chi soon became a powerful influence amongst all social classes. High authority sought out the counseling of the T’ai Chi Masters for their governing. This invisible power took hold of Chinese history and created a way of life for their culture including the making of codes and laws T’ai Chi masters became a symbol of wisdom, acknowledged mainly for their harmony, peace, respect for the elderly and charity. The principle of T'ai Chi the ultimate state of mind was considered to be just like being a powerful ruler, and the thought of basic natural human nature was forgotten. Therefore the principle soon began to deteriorate and political struggles arose. The practice of T’ai Chi was known to be a powerful tool and the masters did not want it to fall into the wrong hands of authority. They were summoned to teach those in authority, in order to protect society. They had no choice but to pass it down silently and secretively to the male family members. Different styles of T’ai Chi were born according to the family surname. Secretively T’ai chi was kept alive and passed down from generation to generation. The original T'ai chi instruction had to be modified in order not to teach the corrupt authority the true practice, this authority obligated the masters to teach them this powerful tool. The exercise of “the highest form of life in the human mind and body” T’ai chi, this invisible power this theory demonstrated the abilities that the human body is capable of developing beyond the commonly “conceived potential. T' ai chi too many Chinese people is the unlimited human mind development, especially in that era of time it was seen as a way to be powerful in an invisible fashion.
The author of “The Essence of T’ai Chi” Master Waysun Liao studied T’ai Chi with a wandering Taoist in a Taoist temple in Taiwan. He is the founder of a Tai Chi Center and has forty years of training.
T’ai Chi is an interesting mental elevation quest that if practiced with discipline can take you to encounter mental and physical powers you never thought you could develop.
The universe according to Taoism has an eternal power that moves it, which is called the Ch’I, the Ch’i balances its power between the yin and yang. The powers of yin and yang are the maximum nature of all objects within the universe. The Ch’I is responsible for avoiding conflicts between the two powers. Ch’I “determines” mental and physical conditions. Most people recognize this as “the nature of things”. In order for the enrichment of T’ai Chi to become effective in our mind the concept of Ch’I must be well comprehended. It’s the foundation of the T’ai Chi theory. The meaning of Ch’I is “air” “power” “motion” “energy” or “life”. Together with T’ai Chi it’s the “grand ultimate” energy has three levels the living organism, the function of the mind, and when the Ch’I is purified it elevates to the ‘shen” the spirit. This power that is generated from the Chi is called the “jing” an internal power. The energy of powerful imagination and directing this flow of energy to your body is accelerated and unlimited things can occur. Acquiring the Ch”I is like crossing a threshold that has always been there for you to cross over. Meditation with a certain body posture in a state of almost sleepiness , listening to yourself breath, your pulse until you feel your body’s natural rhythm are key principles to cross over this threshold. You connect yourself with your spirit and imagine a string pulling up your “crown point” the top of your head. With an intense breathing pattern you inhale into a bit below your navel. This is your first encounter with the Ch’i. The adventure of harmonizing your body and mind can be attained now that the Ch’I is found.
Once you have successfully attained the Ch’I your yin and yang are balanced and your life energy can be developed into a high frequency that gives you the power you are seeking. This gives you the “grand ultimate” once you have coordinated your " jing” internal power achieved by the Ch'i. With plenty of disciplined practice, and breathing exercises with each posture, the "Jing' can be generated from the Ch'i. The physical body force called "li" is strengthened as well. Your skeletal structure should feel in mid air, your energy starts to accumulate into your bones as you breathe.The power of your generated energy, should feel like vibration waves and electrical shocks. That increase your body force tremendously and your fighting ability in Martial Arts is empowered.
Mental elevation with the Ch’I gives mightier life energy. Imagination is one of the key principles in the development of this energy, the Ch’I becomes a disciplined use of energy that is produced thru the practice of: “relaxation, breathe control, concentration development, coordination, meditation” (37). Mental elevation is a difficult task to accomplish, the mind can take you to feel things that are really not happening and this causes the energy encounters to be held back. In The T’ai Chi practice one has to be attentive and very sensitive to what they feel during the practices.
The physical powers developed with Tai Chi practice, become well coordinated with your mind and body movements. The entire body moves as in one coordinated movement or “system” that is “mentally alert” increasing your ability to shift the body in whatever direction it needs to aim. Waysun states “In all of this, you must emphasize the use of the mind in controlling your movements, rather than the mere use of the external muscles. You should also follow the T’ai Chi principle of opposites: when you move upward , the mind must be aware of down, when your moving forward, the mind also thinks of moving back, when shifting to the left side, the mind should simultaneously notice the right side , so that if the mind is going up , it is also going down” (68). The body and mind flow together like a body of water. The nature of human life has often been seen as metal, wood, water, fire, and earth by the Chinese culture. Each with a symbolic meaning: metal symbolizing firmness, wood symbolizing mobility and strength, water and fire are opposites and both symbolize powerful action. Earth symbolizes the “calmness of the origin”.
T’ai Chi is a state of perfect harmony and balance within your internal powers that enable you to be as one system with your “natural awareness”. This exercise becomes successful gradually with abundant practice and discipline, involving a great mental alertness and sensitivity of what you feel in during your exercise. Waysun claims “Even the mosquito finds no place to land on you without causing you to move. “ This level of sensitivity allows you to have a great defense mechanism in the martial arts and in all areas of your life. According to Waysun “Four ounces of strength to defeat one thousand pounds” (86). The internal force developed with Tai Chi is tremendous; timing is also a key factor that is accompanied with the body coordination. According to Waysun “If the mind and internal energy can be freely exchanged, then there is much satisfaction in performing smoothly and dynamically: this is called exchanging negative and positive. Mastering the exchange between internal and mind energy “freely” your T’ai Chi body movements are effective and effortless.
In conclusion your mind develops into a harmonious state of alertness, a single aggressive movement is responded to immediately, with the quietness of a beautiful mountain and the flow of a body of water. The body in coordination to the mind as one system with the internal power of the spirit.

Works cited:
Waysun Liao " The essence of T'ai Chi" .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwNXaQwjEr4

Blog Entry 3.5

                                        “Coraline"


      In the book  “Coraline “  by Niel Gamin,  I  consider the main character to be on a hero's quest.  The  First  typical elements  of a hero's journey that Joesph  Campbell identified are seen in the first chapter of the the novel .  Coraline Moves into a new home with her parents , she visits her new neighbors Miss Spink and Miss Forcible then she meets the old man that is training a mouse circus . Her parents are always very active and hardly have time to spend with her , she finds herself bored and desires to explore .   She visits her neighbors Miss Spink and Miss Forcible then she meets the old man that is training a mouse circus.   After exploring the outside of her new home she starts feeling bored again .  Together with her mother she finds “a string of keys from the top of the kitchen door frame” (8).   In this string of keys she discovers an old   black key that captivates her attention more than the other keys.  “They went into the drawing room. She unlocked the door with the key ....the door didn’t go anywhere it opened to a brick wall”(9).  That night in the middle of the night “Coraline” heard a strange noise in her room . It was a shadow  she decided to follow where the shadow , it led her to the drawing room where the door that had the brick wall was.  The door was mysteriously somewhat opened . This was a clear invitation to enter the door but it had a wall of bricks.
     Her calling to adventure began that night she dreamt of  black shades singing to her “ We are small but we are many ,we are many we are small, we were here before you rose, we will be here when you fall.”(12).  Her unconscious   was seduced by the black shades showing her the slightly opened door.  
    In chapter two she has a conversation with the old man he tells her the mice have a message for her “Don’t go through the door”(16).  Her curiosity to go through the door is motivated but she decides to go around the house and explore  a little more .  She visits Miss Spink and Miss Forcible  , her neighbors had clairvoyant powers they saw  that she was in danger by looking at the black tea ,they were drinking.  She receives her magical amulet the stone with the hole in it, from Mis spink and Miss Forcible.  
     Her first threshold takes place in this chapter she goes through the door the brick wall disappears allowing her to enter the other world . She has her first meeting with the Goddess of that world  when she gets greeted by her other mother .  She goes back to her real home to find her parents  have disappeared.   A black cat tells her where her parents are .  
    She then receives advice from her protector “the black cat” when he accompanies her on her second entrance to the other world  looking for her parents that are trapped in the other world. The black cat tells her she should challenge the other mother ,in this way she would have the ability to find her parents and get them back, in this quest she found three children that were trapped as well she promises to help them too.  
     She challenges the other mother in a game if she loses she stays in that world forever and if she wins she gets to leave with her parents and the three children. She goes on a hero's quest to find the lost souls of the children and her parents that are alive but trapped. She is successful  in finding two souls on the third souls she receives the ultimate boon when the black cat helps her recover the last soul that was in the grip of a rat.  Identifying the hero's journey elements helps the readers understand the why the hero needs to find the elements that  make the story  uplifting.  We should care as readers because we can get into the adventure  with motivation.



Works Cited:
www. mythichero.com
“Coraline” Niel Gaiman

Blog entry 3.3

For my final project i will be making my research  on a fiction  book . I really had a difficult time deciding on what to do.

Blog Entry 3.2 Macbeth - Getting Away With Murder

     I found this macbeth video to be entirely full of symbols . At first we see Macbeth looking at his reflection in water . His facial expression indicates a  sentiment of regret.   Macbeth touches the reflection so that it goes away .  The thought of  commiting treason is displayed when we see him grab the sword  tucked into his belt on his back.  The vision of the murder he is contemplating on carrying out is  displayed  when he covers his face feeling shame and guilt  when he sees a vision of a sword in the air.  He is haunted by this thought of killing the king in his visions . lady macbeth continues to  convince him of killing the king.  He finally gives into her idea. We see the symbol of blood on his hand symbolizing he commited the murder. He shakes his head no ,this symbolizes his gulit.The mirrors  show a reflection of who he was and the stages of his life as a king he is shown in despair, with a feeling of guilt, and shame. We see lady Macbeth laughing  and we see him alone in anguish , the invisible sword  and the crown falling on the ground  at the end of the video symbolize the loss of power .

Macbeth Entry 3.1

Macbeth in this image reflects his determination to rule and get his will done.  He is dominating with his thoughts. I chose this image because he became king without expecting it , he  defeated  the strongest forces in the land ,  perhaps deep down inside he always wanted to be king.It also fits the archetype of  heroism .Usually kings feel they are the saviors of their land.  The archetype of ruler  is reflected in his facial expression , the determination to get his will done . Believing in his forces to accomplish defeating the opposing forces. Power which is symbolized by the crown on his head. The rings  are symbolizing seals of fidelity ,devotion ,eternity, and engagement to bring victory to his land. He is sitting on a throne in command   this  is symbolized by his body posture. The robe symbolizes the tenacity to defeat his enemies and his controlling, authoritarian status . The shield represents guardianship and  part of his armor.He has his palm over a one of the figures on the shield those figures of lions  symbolize endurance.Overall the photo indicates his role of  perseverance as a king. The mirror  is a reflection of  his current life and how he contemplates how he will move forward, he looks as if he is king but he is not fulfilled with his accomplishments, it looks like his is carry a sense of guilt.