On Pain

I have always heard that pain is all mental. Any time i get pain, i always try to get rid of by thinking of something else, but it never works. I would love to get rid of certain pain, but I'm not sure how much good it would do. If i took away the pain of aches from muscles, i would probably push my muscles too hard, but then i could go a lot harder than I normally would. I want to feel no pain so i could get my body to its athletic potential. The only problem is that i would not want to go too far and break my body down. There are other pains too, like mental pains from loss of loved ones and friends, those are sometimes worse then the physical pain. Those are the pains that hit you the worst. When i was 9 I lost both my maternal great grandmother and my paternal grandfather on the same day. It was the most pain i felt in my life. It was like as if it broke me down physically and i couldn't do major physically activities it was so much pain and i didnt like it. I hope i never feel that pain again.

On Laws

I think that a good set of rules and laws can make a stabalized society. Certain things should have laws and somethings should be up to ones own free will. The point of laws should be for safety and protection, and order throughout the society.The difficulty with laws is to make sure that they don't interfere with peoples rights. Laws need to protect peoples freedoms. A law needs to be a sensible decision that is for the better of the people. A law that does not do people good is an injustice within itself.

On Joy & Sorrow

Joy and Sorrow. Joy and sorrow are opposites and they use each other to effect each other. The more sorrow that one feels the more joy they can feel in the end. It is like the theory of ying and yang, that opposites fuel each other. There are lots of joy but there is only one true joy, and that is love. There are lots of sorrow but there is only one true sorrow, and that is loss. These true things can cause the real pain and real happiness of life. The lowest lows create the highest highs and vice versa. My greatest pain was losing my grandfather and great-grandmother on the same day. My greatest joy was my parents bringing home my baby sister from the hospitals. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows shape us and those are the moments that show who people are.

Source:http://0.tqn.com/d/taoism/1/0/0/-/-/-/yinYang.gif

Prompt #19

I like giving things. When I give things to other people, I always feel happy or warmth inside. What I like even better than giving things I like getting things.  Getting things is a great feeling because then I feel like I can amuse myself for a long time. Because of my ADD, I always am looking for something to entertain myself. It is just something that I do. When I got my Xbox, I was really excited because I knew it was something that would be able to entertain me for a long time. One of the big things in Judaism is called "tzedakah". It is charity, and there are ten ways of tzedakah. The number one way is to give to someone to prevent them from getting poor. This is important because one time I gave was for my bar- mitzvah project. I donated 1000 books to local schools and hospitals that were in need. It is a time I felt good about giving. in the books and on the inside cover, I put my name and who it was donated from, and every now and then I see one of my books floating around and I always get a smile on my face.

Source: http://www.artsjournal.com/bookdaddy/Home_Photo_books.jpg

Prompt #18

No Love- Eminem Ft. Lil Wayne



















Source:http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/japan-surrenders-world-war-2-ends-11.jpg


Like the song above shows, love has its ups and down. Countless people have tried to capture love and I don't know what love feels like, but out of what I have been told, love is undefinable and you only really know what it is after you have experienced it. Love is something that happens and I believe once it happens that you will not have a care for other things except for you and your lover. It is the ultimate happiness and nothing surpasses it.

Prompt #17

The Superior man is he whose mind can control his senses; with no attachment to result he engages in the yoga of action.

When i read this, i instantly thought of something that happens to me all too often. Before i go to bed, i usually think of "what happens when you fall asleep. I never remember myself falling asleep. I just tend to usually end up drifting Away. Then i think of my breath. When i think about my breath, i always feel like i end up constricting it and end up not using it to its full potential. But when i forget about my breath, it flows and it makes it easier to fall asleep. I just need to forget my breath but once i start thinkning of it, it is so hard. I usally lay there trying to think of other things untill i fall asl.....

Prompt #16

When th mind constantly runs after the wandering senses, it drives away wisdom, like the wind blowing a ship off course.

This is the religious definition of ADD. I know exactly what ADD is because i have it. When I don't like what i am doing 100%, i will get distracted. People tend to realize it when i play music. I tend to be a "ten second dj" because i am always changing the song to the next one. But when it comes to something i like, i can do it for as long i want without getting bored or distracted. This is why some classes in school are harder then others. I don't like writing so when i am writing i tend to get distracted very easily, but i like politics so i tend to excel in my history class. Theses are just a few of the things that define me. ADD has defected almost every aspect of my life. ADD has even affected my thinking cause i will always lose my train of thought.

Source:http://blogs.voices.com/buzz/music-notes.jpg

Prompt #9

From India to Indonesia, there was a slight change in Elizabeth. In India she was consumed by the little things like on page 174 when she was being bitten by mosquitoes and it was itching her a lot. In India she tended to pay attention to the smaller things and make the smaller things into a lot bigger of a deal. In Indonesia, she starts to see the bigger picture, like on page 251 when she talks about craziness. Her writing style changes to a more standard book style then from her previous sections.

Prompt #8

Richard talks about controlling your thoughts like choosing your clothes. He means that we can control the things that we think. An example would be to control yourself to think positive rather than negative. Another example would be to control your mind to keep yourself calm in intense situations. This is hard thing to do, but with a lot of hard work and practice, it can be done. The mind is very complex, as showed by creating entire alternate reality simulations when you are asleep, and you don't even know that it was fake until you wake up. The mind can do extraordinary things as long as it has the proper training and time. So, with a little meditations, your thoughts can be controlled and be under your will.

Prompt #15

Site: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1374/1261081882_555bd6328a.jpg

"I am a bamboo tree. I am underground. I am still growing. I am growing all around."


My bamboo tree is underground. No one knows when it will sprout, not even me. I hope its soon because it will be a beautiful plant. It will go in so many different directions. So far, life has been a roller coaster, it has its highs and it lows. But, soon enough, that seed that is growing, will soon sprout and will be a marvel. The creativity, hard work, and help.  It is still being watered, being shown how to work hard, how to be creative, and how to help people. It is on the path to do great things, but soon enough, it will start making its own path. A new road for people to follow. With strong roots and a strong core. People will have a new choice. This may sound like I am boasting about myself, and there is a little bit of exaggeration, but this is all taken from what people tell me. Whether or not I believe it is a different story. I'm not sure how much of this is actually true, but I try and use this as a means of motivation.

Prompt #2

I like Eat, Pray, Love because I can really relate to some of the things she does. When she has the epiphany that she wants a spiritual teacher, it was like a light bulb going off in her head. I feel as though I have these epiphanies a lot, especially when i realize that i like a song. When I realize I like a song it is like a light bulb going off in my head. I fully enjoy light bulb moments because they give you a blast of thought that can trigger so many ideas.

Prompt #12

I is who you are and who you want to be. No one can define who I is. It is something that you define on your own. It is something that represents you. It is who you are. You define your own I. It is who you are and you can define it your own way. Your I is your road path and you are the construction worker paving the road to where you want to go.

Prompt #11

• Talking on the phone
• Facebook
• Texting
• Procrastination
• Sibling Rivalry
• Music
• Eating
• Hating School
• I don't like winter

Prompt #7

The yoga for me was a little hard because I am very active with sports, and my bodies muscles are trained for strength and not for flexibility. When we would do poses I could feel the stretch and I would push myself to hold it so next time we do it that pose, it would be easier. Another thing that was difficult for me was my balance. It was hard to balance in certain positions. I think it was because my body and mind were not that relaxed at that time. My suggestion is that we meditate to relax ourselves and then do the yoga cause it should end up flowing better.

Prompt #6

I have not found my soul mate. I don’t think I have come even close. The closest thing that I have is probably the connection that me and my best friend share. We are always open with each other and never hesitate to tell each other anything.  We have a friendship on a different level. My friend has been able have me do things that I have been scared to do or open up in ways that I haven’t before. She is not my soul mate but she is my best friend and we will always be there for each other.

Prompt #5

At temple on the high holidays, nobody likes being there.  Most people come for the one 5 min prayer that is a memorial for the dead. They come early cause they don’t know when it will start and they leave right when it’s finished.  I am one of the people that stays for the whole services. That means I am there for a long period of time and when you’re sitting in one place for 5 hours, your mind tends to wonder.  I tend to think of a T.V. show like avatar the last air bender. Think of how cool it would be to bend the elements. Or what I'm going to do over my friends house after services, or maybe even the next time I can eat. But this is the time when I should be reflecting to g-d about myself, not thinking about nick shows. This is when I need to buckle down and pray, cause I need it.

Prompt #5

At temple on the high holidays, nobody likes being there.  Most people come for the one 5 min prayer that is a memorial for the dead. They come early cause they don’t know when it will start and they leave right when it’s finished.  I am one of the people that stays for the whole services. That means I am there for a long period of time and when you’re sitting in one place for 5 hours, your mind tends to wonder.  I tend to think of a T.V. show like avatar the last air bender. Think of how cool it would be to bend the elements. Or what I'm going to do over my friends house after services, or maybe even the next time I can eat. But this is the time when I should be reflecting to g-d about myself, not thinking about nick shows. This is when I need to buckle down and pray, cause I need it.

Prompt #4

Me: Ok let’s start my homework now. We are going to start with the math.

Mind: Yuck. I hate when we do homework. Can’t we just play online games for a little? There are new games up today.

Me: Yes, but only after we finish math history and English all need to get done and they aren’t doing themselves.

Mind: ok, let’s try to do it as fast as possible because I want to see the new games.

Me: well I want to try hard to and not just rush through it

Mind: Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say.

Me: what page was the math homework on again?

Mind: www.addictinggames.com

Me: Ha ha very funny

Mind: I know, the games have a little math

Me: I really need to get this done and I promise that we can go play games after

Mind: hmm… I wonder if there is a new episode of family guy on T.V. tonight

Me:  I just need the math homework so I can do the work and then we can do whatever we want.

Mind: are you sure, do you promise?

Me: Yes just tell me the page and I will do the work and

Mind: ok but I really want to play games and watch family guy when you’re done

Me: ok I promise just tell me the pages

Mind: ok it’s on page 176…

Prompt #3

Meditation in today’s class was really peaceful. I feel that every time we do the meditation, I go a little bit deeper and come out a little bit deeper, almost like hypnosis, but not quite that far. This is just a super uber relaxing experience and I enjoy doing it every time. The breathing and slowing of the breath is very relaxing and gets me calmer and calmer. When my breath slows, it slows everything about me and around me. It almost pauses my life and gives me time to sit back and clear my head and start thinking clearly again.

Prompt #1

I expect this Class to be a chill class. I don't have any other expectations because everything is very broad, but gets to specific points. I have very little knowledge of things that we are learning and will be learning. It is all a new experience.