#International Martial Arts and Culture Journal

[senigayungfatani]

2 Minggu Sebelum IMACSSS & GSMACC 2024!

2 minggu lagi sebelum kita bertemu di IMACSSS & GSMACC 2024! Acara ini bukan sahaja mengandungi sesi panel akademik, tetapi juga persembahan budaya yang mempamerkan kekayaan seni mempertahankan diri di Asia Tenggara. Melalui kerjasama dengan UNESCO ICM dan Universitas Negeri Padang, acara ini turut melancarkan International Martial Arts and Culture Journal, dengan Prof. Madya Dr. Mohamad Nizam…

[sunriseverse]

Italics anon: Apologies in the delay in reply! And thank you SO SO MUCH for your beautifully detailed reply and links - glad to know that you also saw that discourse and I did not make it up in my head lol (discourse can get so wild). Thank you for explaining the discourse + your opinion, it’s really really helpful. I’ve been flipflopping on whether to italicise certain terms (just nouns, not idioms like you’ve touched on) and this solidified my decision on not italicising. Sidenote: “culturally sinicised” is so interesting (thinking abt this as someone who grew up in singapore). Also 100% agree on the less-innocent end – every time I see shidi incest discourse I’m just so utterly over it lol (I’ve actually never seen the debates on filial piety, is that mdzs or another fandom?)

Your paragraph on italicisation and deeper biases is so well written!! Would you happen to have any recommended texts on orientalism? (i’ve read Said’s book and it was very good but wondering if there are chinese-specific texts)

Thank you sm for the in-depth reply and multiple reblogs, I really appreciate your time and effort. Hope you have a nice day!

no worries for the delay! i entirely understand—real life happens, and tumblr simply isn't necessarily a priority (which isn't a bad thing!). i'm glad you found my explanation useful! (also "culturally sinicised" is 100% a term made up by me, because frankly i can't think of a better, succinct way to explain [waves at my entire background] lol)

in response to the shidi incest, i've found it's a larger issue with people taking "familial terms" as literal, which isn't............how chinese/culturally-sinicised people generally view these terms/relationships? it's the same in my specific west asian culture too, you use "familial" terms for people you're not related to in any blood way, but i've found that a lot of westerners or western-raised people tend to be really weirded out by this. it spawns so much fucking discourse and never fails to give me a headache, honestly—it seems like no matter how often you say "no, that doesn't mean they're literally related or even think of themselves as adopted relations", people just don't listen :') (and yes, the filial piety discourse i think is fairly mdzs-specific, just because mdzs is one of/the most popular translated cnovels with filial piety as a major theme—the fucking number of times i've watched my mutuals and people i follow repeatedly lay out why characters do xyz due to/in line with the cultural concept of filial piety, rather than xyz thing that western fans think they should have done, is frankly exhausting.)

i'll be honest i've probably read an academic paper here or there, but i don't remember them off the top of my head—most of what i wrote in reply to your previous ask was a synthesis of things that i've read and the experiences i've had. but in specific to orientalism and china, you might find these texts interesting, though they are not necessarily on the topic of italicisation and orientalism (though many are on media and orientalism, or translation and orientalism, with focus on china/chinese, since i suspect that your interests probably align that way). putting these under the cut because i'm realising this got REALLY long :') (also i don't necessarily agree with all of the texts here, but i think that all of them have something important to offer on the topic.)(also also, if you can't get ahold of any of these, let me know because i can probably get you a copy!)

-- Orientalism Writes Back: Discourses of 'Chinese' DissemiNationalism in Transnational Martial Arts Films by Chan Shaoyi (International journal of Taiwan studies, 2018-08, vol. 1 (2), p. 353-369)

This essay revisits Edward Said's famous conception of Orientalism and places it against the context of transnational Chinese cinemas, in particular Hong Kong and Taiwan cinemas, to examine how the concept is unpacked and reconstructed in a way that is often described as 'self-Orientalism'-the self-exoticising of local fabrics to satiate Western consumers. Focusing on three films, Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle (2004), Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Assassin (2015), I argue that the act of self-Orientalising, rather than a passive submission to Western spectatorship, has served to rewrite and recode the idea of Chinese nationalism to present an alternative form of nationalism which I call dissemiNationalism and an alternative discourse to the mainland-centric narrative.

-- Orientalism and occidentalism: two forces behind the image of the Chinese language and construction of the modern standard by Helena Casas-Tost, Sara Rovira-Esteva (Journal of multicultural discourses, 2009-07, vol. 4 (2), p. 107-121)

This article identifies the principal myths and misconceptions surrounding the Chinese language and, by means of discourse analysis, shows how they have been expressed and become entrenched in the academic world, both in China and in the West, despite the evidence which undermines the premises on which these myths are founded. We also show how these views originated from applying a Western linguistic model to descriptions and reforms of the Chinese language, thus, reinforcing the orientalist discourse on Chinese that still persists and has permeated the Chinese language teaching. We tackle these issues from a Spanish perspective at a time when the country is experiencing important educational changes at three levels. First, there is an increase in courses on Chinese Studies. Second, European university curricula are undergoing a process of homogenisation. And, third, a new policy to standardise language learning, teaching and assessment at all stages of education is being implemented all over Europe. We are concerned about this policy because the model designed for European languages is also being applied to non-European languages. We believe that this new context is an ideal occasion to question existing discourses and bring forth new approaches towards the production and reproduction of knowledge related to the Chinese language.

-- Confucian Orientalism and Western Outlook in Martial Arts Film by Stephen Teo (Journal of Chinese Film Studies, 2021-05, vol. 1 (1), p. 65-82)

This paper discusses the martial arts genre with reference to the films of the Japanese master Kurosawa Akira and the Chinese director Zhang Yimou, discussing how both directors converge in their themes and styles through the concept of “Eastern Orientalism.” Such Orientalism is based on Confucian precepts of (rectification of names), chaos theory, and the defense of the people undertaken by militaristic but heroic individual protagonists (samurai or xia). In raising the issue of Orientalism, the paper probes into the Western perceptions of the genre and the imperative of directors like Kurosawa and Zhang in pandering to Western tastes. However, these same directors seem equally preoccupied with fostering a sense of self and nationalistic expression in their response to and treatment of Orientalized content. The paper concludes with a discussion on (2016) as a comparative review of the Western and Eastern viewpoints at play in the US-China co-production. Here the analysis revolves around the issue of sameness, dramatized as a main theme in the film.

-- Cartography and Orientalism in late imperial China by Angelo Maria Cimino (International communication of Chinese culture, 2020-09, vol. 7 (3), p. 395-406)

The Opium wars epitomize a crucial moment in Chinese history, a turning point that globally affected all countries involved, the Qing dynasty and the Western powers, which witnessed radical political, economic and social changes both internally and in their international relations. Recognizing that orientalism with its corollary of studies, researches, travel impressions, beliefs, stories, and popular gossips about China and the Orient in general, is a pervasive form of knowledge which has a political nature, means agreeing on the fact that the Western knowledge upon the Orient has been an agency for the action that has followed, namely imperialism and colonialism, which in turn led to the Opium wars. Geography became the scientific side of such knowledge. As a matter of fact, the moment in which geography embraced the cold geometries of cartography, it turned into a tremendous support to the knowledge process pertaining to the Orientalism. A process driven by mere political and commercial interests, and deceitfully expressed in the popular culture of those Western societies and countries which supported and had colonies in the Far East.

-- Orientalism, modernism, and the American poem by Robert Kern (1996)

Orientalism, Modernism, and the American Poem is a critical and historical interpretation of "Oriental" influences on American modernist poetry. Kern equates Fenollosa and Pound's "discovery" of Chinese writing with the American pursuit of a natural language for poetry; what Emerson had termed the "language of nature." This language of nature is here shown to be a mythic conception continuous with the Renaissance idea of the language of Adam - a language in which things themselves are also signs. Analyzing and contextualizing the nineteenth-century works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Ernest Fenollosa and the twentieth-century creations of Ezra Pound and Gary Snyder, Kern sheds light on the three contemporary nexuses of his search: the cultural study of Orientalism and the West, the evolution of Indo-European linguistic theory, and the intellectual tradition of American modernist poetry

-- With What Voice Does China Speak? Sinology, Orientalism and the Debate on Sinologism by Pedro Sobral (Journal of Chinese humanities, 2023-06, vol. 9 (2), p. 215-243)

Abstract The arrival of postcolonial theory in China and the country's global rise came with the realization that its self-image is often distorted by Western ideological discourse, conveyed through Western Sinology. Drawing from Edward Said's Orientalism, some Chinese scholars have classified the ideological dimensions of Western Sinology as Sinologism, and have pointed out its implications for China's capacity to think of itself on its own terms. The concept has sparked debate mainly inside Chinese academia about the objective quality of Western Sinology. This article will attempt a critical overview of two major formulations of Sinologism, underlining its major presuppositions and placing the notion in the broader context of China's anxieties of "academic colonization" by Western intellectual practices. It will conclude by arguing that attempts to discredit Western Sinology rely on some problematic assumptions and suggests East-West comparative studies as an alternative way of dialectically constructing Chinese identity.

-- Mulan’s Cultural Journey to the West: From a Chinese Heroine to a Globalized Figure by He He (Theory and practice in language studies, 2024-03, vol. 14 (3), p. 912-917)

Disney’s live-action Mulan (2020) was adapted from the animated Disney film Mulan (1988) and has caused heated discussion after its release. The film successfully wins the Western market because it incorporates Western elements, such as the image of the Xianniang from the legendary story. However, Chinese audiences fail to fully accept the rewriting of traditional Chinese heroine in this live-action film because it partly subverts the content of Chinese legend. From the perspective of Said’s Orientalism, this paper discusses the interpretation of Chinese elements in the film, such as Phoenix, qi, and the traditional Chinese ethics of loyalty, courage, truth, and filial piety, intending to reveal the operation of cultural capital in the international cultural market of film and television in a more comprehensive way. This paper will further discuss that the canonization of Mulan sheds some enlightenment on how to introduce more Chinese literary works into the world as part of world literature.

-- Genealogies of orientalism: history, theory, politics edited by Edmund Burke III and David Prochaska, 2008

an anthology of essays on orientalism

-- Chinese Dreams: (Self-)Orientalism and Post-Orientalism in the Reception and Translation of Liu Cixin's ThreeBody Trilogy by Gwennaël Gaffric (Fanyi Xuebao [Journal of Translation Studies], 2019-01, vol. 3 (1), p. 117)

After receiving the Hugo Award in 2015 for the English translation of The Three-Body Problem, Liu Cixin's Three-Body trilogy and its translations into a large number of languages have been a massive success, prompting many reactions and much praise. In this article, I attempt to discuss first the global processes of translation and reception of Liu's novels beyond China. I particularly focus on the Orientalist imaginary conveyed by the publication of the trilogy, at a time when Chinese science fiction has become a tool for the Chinese soft power strategy based on the culturalist and nationalist discourse of the "Chinese Dream." I also examine the reception in China of the success of Liu Cixin's translations, and the way in which Chinese media and officials are also engaging in a process of self-Orientalization. In a the second phase, I try to question the task and the strategy of the translators when confronting these Orientalist projections: how does a translator makes himself or herself an accomplice of these fantasies, and how can she/he engage in a post-Orientalist or antiOrientalist approach? This reflection is illustrated by concrete examples from my own translation of Liu Cixin's trilogy into French.

-- Disorienting Politics: Chimerican Media and Transpacific Entanglements by Fan Yang (2024)

Disorienting Politics mines 21st-century media artifacts—including films like The Martian and TV/streaming media shows such as Firefly and House of Cards—to make visible the economic, cultural, political, and ecological entanglements of China and the United States. Describing these transpacific entanglements as “Chimerica”—coined by economic historians to reference the symbiosis of China and America—Yang examines how Chimerican media, originating in the US but traversing national boundaries in their production, circulation, and consumption, co-create the figure of rising China and extend a political imagination beyond the conventional ground of the nation. Examining how Chimerican media are shaped by and perpetuate uneven power relations, Disorienting Politics argues that the pervasive tendency among wide-ranging cultural producers to depict the Chinese state as a racialized Other in American media life diminishes the possibility of engaging transpacific entanglements as a basis for envisioning new political horizons. Such othering of China not only results in overt racism against people of Asian descent, Yang argues, but also impacts the wellbeing of people of color more generally. This interdisciplinary book demonstrates the ways in which race is embedded in geopolitics even when the subject of discussion is not the people, but the (Chinese) state. Bridging media and cultural studies, Asian and Asian American studies, geography, and globalization studies, Disorienting Politics calls for a relational politics that acknowledges the multifarious interconnectivity between people, places, media, and environment.

-- The Historical Roots of Reverse Orientalism and Their Recapitulation in Wo Chang's "England through Chinese Spectacles" (1897) by Michael Hill (Asian Journal of Social Science, vol. 38, no. 5 (2010), p. 677-696)

The reverse Orientalism intrinsic to the "Asian Values" project of the 1980s is shown to have its origins in European thought of a much earlier period. Prominent scholars of the Enlightenment constructed a utopian image of oriental—principally Chinese—society which was deployed in stinging critiques of contemporary Europe. A cumulative inventory of this image is presented. There is a parallel critique of English society in the late nineteenth century in a work by "Wo Chang" which represents a spirited contribution to the literature of reverse Orientalism.

-- Magic, Modernity, and Orientalism: Conjuring representations of Asia by Christopher Goto-Jones (Modern Asian Studies, vol. 48, no. 6 (November 2014), p. 1451-1476)

This article inquires into the cultural and political nexus of secular (stage) magic, modernity, and Orientalism at the turn of the twentieth century. It argues that these three arenas interacted in important and special ways to both shape and reflect the politics of knowledge of the period. In doing so, it draws attention to the ways in which secular magic has been overlooked as a historical phenomenon and highlights its utility in furthering our understanding of the great problematics of modernity and Orientalism; in particular, it suggests that magic actually provides an unusually vibrant and clear lens through which to view the politics of the Other and through which to explore issues of tradition and the modern. Focusing on two historical cases—the 'Indian Rope Trick' challenge issued by the Magic Circle in the 1930s and the astonishing 'duel' between the 'Chinese' magicians Chung Ling Soo and Ching Ling Foo in 1905—this article considers the ways in which discourses of origination, popular ideas about esotericism and the 'mystic East', and questions of technical competence interacted and competed in the culture politics of the early twentieth ce

-- Changing the Terms: Translating in the Postcolonial Era (Sherry Simon, Paul St-Pierre), especially Chapter 2: "Colonization," resistance and the uses of postcolonial translation theory in twentieth-century China (Leo Tak-hung Chan)

this text focuses on translation in the post-colonial era; the second chapter focuses on china, specifically

-- Sinologism in Language Philosophy: A Critique of the Controversy Over Chinese Language by Ming Donggu (Philosophy East and West, vol. 64, no. 3 (July 2014), p. 692-717)

Sinologism is basically a cultural unconscious in China-West studies predicated on an inner logic that operates beyond our conscious awareness but controls the ways of observing China and producing China scholarship. Its logic has exerted a profound impact on studies of Chinese language and writing. Since medieval times the difference between Chinese and Western languages has been viewed as a conceptual divide that separates Chinese and Western traditions. It has motivated scholars to generate a considerable array of ideas, views, and arguments on Chinese language and writing. These dazzling views operate on the logic of Sinologism: conditions of Chinese language are to be investigated from the Western linguistic point of view, and the nature of Chinese writing is to be determined in terms of Western alphabetic languages. This article reexamines the enduring controversy over the nature of Chinese language, especially writing, with the aim to see why the long-lasting debates have come to no satisfactory conclusion. By demonstrating how the epistemology and methodology predicated on phonocentrism and logocentrism in Western metaphysics have evolved into the logic of a language philosophy that manages to misunderstand and misrepresent Chinese language, especially writing, it explores how we can move out of the war of discourse and come to an adequate understanding of the true nature of Chinese language. It suggests that to be self-consciously aware of the hidden logic of Sinologism is the sine qua non for going beyond the war of discourse over Chinese language.

these are just a selection of things that i thought you might find most interesting; there's a fuckton more texts if you search on jstor (i've linked the specific search string that i used!) i hope that these resources are interesting to you, and if you ever want to speak further on the topic, my dms and asks are both open, so don't feel shy!

[nolanathill]

What is Whitewashing? 

“Whitewashing is a term used to refer to a casting practice in the film industry in which film producers seek and cast white actors into roles that were originally meant for people of colour.”

P, Aditya R. “Decoding the Politics of the Whitewashing Phenomenon in Hollywood through M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender.’” International Journal Of English and Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, 2021. An International Peer-Reviewed Journal, https://www.ijoes.in/papers/v3i4/14.IJOES-_87-95.pdf. Accessed 29 Nov. 2022. 

Whitewashing has been very common in Hollywood and entertainment. White actors are being casted to play roles of minority characters. Avatar: The Last Airbender, was one of the more obvious cases. For some backstory on the movie, the film follows Aang, the last existing air-bender who also happens to be the Avatar. The Avatar is someone who can bend all four elements, the Avatar brings balance to the world. After the Avatar dies, he is reborn in the next tribe in the cycle. Aang had decided to run away because he did not want to be the Avatar. Aang and his flying Bison Appa, had gotten stuck in a storm where Aang froze the two to survive. While this happened, the fire nation, was plotting to kill all air benders so the avatar was not reborn, so that the fire nation could control everything and rule, making the Fire Lord the most powerful bender. 100 years had passed and Aang was discovered by siblings Katara and Sokka, members of the Southern Water Tribe. This is where we will get to the whitewashing.

Each tribe represents a different race. The Water Tribe consists of Indigenous Arctic cultures like the Inuits and Yupiks. The Earth Kingdom follows Monarchial China, the Fire Nation by Imperial Japan, and the Air Nomads by Tibetan Buddhist Monks.

The casting by Shyamalan was very problematic. Now, Aang is a Tibetan Monk, however, it is hard to identify that in the original cartoon. He seems more white than Tibetan so I was not really too concerned with the casting of Noah Ringer based on his martial arts experience. The rest of the casting threw people off. Katara and Sokka were those of Indigenous descent. They had darker skin, and followed more native culture. However, both were cast with white actors. Many of the water tribe members were white, including many in the Northern Water Tribe. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was supposed to be similar to Imperial Japan. Instead they casted Dev Patel, a British actor of Indian descent to play the role. This casting became even more problematic for an obvious reason.....

[cleverfandomurl]

Antiquated Memories

So um I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and then my hand slipped?

(gifs not mine)

How did you end up here? 

Hiding along the banks of the Nile, in Egypt, stuck with….the asshole sitting across the fire. Professor James Buchanan Barnes. The gun-concealing, whip-toting, sass cracking know-it-all who is so annoyingly handsome. Wait, no, not handsome. Well, yes...he is but….ugh that’s NOT the point. 

“Sweetheart, if you want to survive you gotta pay attention to me.” He smirks over at you, laughing a little to himself. You narrow your eyes, giving him a shit look, before replying.

“It’s not my first time in the rainforest, or my first time in Brazil, James. The only difference is I didn’t have an overbearing, misogynistic, man-beast talking to me like i’m a damsel in distress.” You get up and brush yourself off, glaring in his direction and walk off back to your makeshift tent. 

“If you want to survive,” you petulantly mumble to yourself “So much for years of school, studying, and field work. So much for idolizing Lara Croft. So much for 12 years of martial arts, weapons training and survival training…” you trail off angry that someone so pretty has to be so rude.

“I can hear you making fun of me!” he yells, his soft laughing heard over your pissy ranting.

Bucky Barnes, age thirty-four, was a renowned archeologist and professor at Berkeley. Youngest one in the entire department, with most of his students claiming to be the most attractive. On the cover of every major magazine and a stint in Vogue after helping House of Versace incorporate ancient roman pottery designs and fabrics into their New York Fashion Week collection. Blue eyes, dark hair and fit. Very  fit.

You, age thirty-two however, were not in Vogue. Much less any other major scholarly journals or magazines other than being the last listed in minor studies (that you did all the actual work on). Of course, you were glowing with all the time spent in the sun over the last five years, hair pinned into two loosely braided buns and toned muscle hinting behind your thick thighs and middle. You may have been training for years in self defense and martial arts but we aren’t all made to be models, people. You had two Masters and a PhD, Architecture, Sociology and Archaeology respectively. Between all your studies, languages you spoke fluently (two more than James, by the way!) and all of the digs you’ve been on one might think that you’d be just as respected in your field. 

Ha. What a pipe dream. 

“Get your shit together Y/N. He’s not worth it. Not right now. We have HYDRA chasing us, limited supplies and no hope of getting extracted. What would Uncle Stan say?” you reminded yourself, pulling out your favorite pistols to clean after the rough day you were drug into. Two beautiful black Walther PPQ 9mm pieces with custom grips and a star map engraved onto each. They were a gift from Uncle Stan after you successfully completed your USCCA licensing and finishing the NRA circuit with the highest accuracy in your division. Your finger traced along the slide that held your favorite constellation, Cygnus, and smiled to yourself. 

“Well I really need to clean you guys, huh?” you hummed, ejecting the magazine of the first pitsol and pulling the slide back to eject the chambered round. A noise at the front of your “tent” had you reloading and hitting the release in a second, before whipping around and pointing the gun at James. 

You rolled your eyes and exhaled quickly, putting the gun back down and glaring, again, at the absolute idiot in front of you. 

“I just wanted to check on you,” He explained quietly, arms bent at the elbows, hands up. “I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t handle yourself out here.” 

“Well, James im not one of your stupid airhead students that can’t tell thier lipstick tube from a chisel.” You turned back to recleaning your firearm. Just seem uninterested and he may leave. If you’re lucky. 

“I don’t understand why you’re mad at me instead of HYDRA.” He deadpanned. “I have no idea why they’re after me. I didn’t ask for you to get assigned to this project. You only got here because one of my usual crew is pregnant and couldn’t be here.” he continued.

“So the fact that Egyptian culture, specifically the study of Hatshepsut, had nothing to do with it? Or every degree, study and dig i’ve led and never received credit for? Or my fluency in hieroglyphics and Arabic? Or literally any other reason I was overqualified for this dig? Please James, insult me more. It makes it so much more pleasant to try and protect you while we’re out here waiting to be rescued.” You were bursting with anger and shame. Everyone assumed you were in this for your disgraced father and alcoholic mother. Or for the money that sometimes came from finding unexpected priceless treasures. Tears started to well in your tired eyes, dripping onto the barrel of your Walther.

 James could only watch in embarrassment, realizing what he just said. He knew your father, before the story of his incredible dishonesty exploded on international news and the professional community. Selling stolen goods from digs around the world to the worst of the worst of the criminal black market. Using sites as a way to smuggle drugs and weapons. Taking hostages in the rural countries and selling them into savery. The fall from grace was epic. Everything was taken from your family and James was spared the tragedy despite working with him frequently. 

“Y/N I didn’t mean that I swear. I wasn’t thinking…” He started again, going to try and reach for your shoulder. You pulled away, more angry than before. 

“No, Bucky, you never think. Of anyone but yourself. You never have. When Papa ran and everything was taken from us, you left. So you wouldn’t be seen associating with Lancaster Y/L/N’s daughter. Heaven forbid no one gives you their full praise and devotion. Everything I thought I knew was wrong about the two people I loved most in the world!” You screamed at him.  All he could do was stare as the weight of the words you just dropped on him settled on his chest.

James frequently worked with your father, when things made sense and he wasn’t a wanted criminal. You had sort of grown up together, going on every new dig with the two of them. Bucky was your father’s apprentice and you all spent much time together in foreign countries, discovering everything you could about this society or that culture. Your feeling for bucky grew as he matured and grew through his first few years as a young adult. It was clear he didn’t feel the same when he left and never came back when Lancaster was blasted as an agent of Hydra. 

The quiet in your tent was deafening. You put your pistols back together, loaded them and put them in your holsters. You got up and walked out into the night without a word.

Should I do a second chapter? 

[mlmsamatoki]

I finally made this post like I said I would several months ago.

This is my OC, Cinnabar “Cinni” Tran, the Master of Luck!

(More information underneath and TW for brief mentions of abuse)

Fun facts

-Cinnabar is autistic, has ADHD, is 17 years old, nonbinary, aro, ace, and uses they/them pronouns.

-Their mom is Vietnamese and their dad is half Chinese and half Vietnamese.

-They have a younger sister named Mai.

-Cinnabar is very emotional, and you can almost always clearly tell what they are feeling by looking at their face.

-They honestly care too much about everything.

-They also like to exaggerate their facial expressions for humor or intimidation. Sometimes, there is no actual reason for them to exaggerate their face, but they just do it because why not????

-Speaking of humor, they find the most mundane or random things to be funny (picture a scale titled “The Humor of Cinnabar” ranging from a single letter of the alphabet to a lizard with an octopus body playing the drums).

-Cinni’s only emotions are Anger, Too Much Of This Shit, Needs More Of This Shit, Good, Bad, and ??????.

-They will aggressively criticize things that they believe are inaccurate, immoral, or just straight up terrible.

-Condescension, entitlement, ignorance, and feeling vulnerable are things that they hate the most.

-Their hand gestures are so elaborate and rapid that you’re more likely to pay attention to their hands rather than what they’re talking about.

-Cinnabar’s birthday is June 6th.

-They have a soft spot for children and will actually steal your toes if you’re a dick to kids.

-They believe in superstitions and will actually carry lucky charms/items around with them. In fact, they would collect abandoned items and keep them as lucky charms. A crusty rock with someone’s name on it? Lucky charm. A dusty book with indecipherable runes? Lucky charm. Creepy doll from an old abandoned house? Lucky charm. A rotting statue lying on the middle of the street? Lucky charm.

-Cinni pretends to be neat and organized while their room is always covered in piles of clothes, charms, and literally any other things they could get their hands on.

-Their lifelong special interest is nomenclature. They have memorized *tons* of information about systemic naming in multiple fields such as taxonomy, business, law, and chemistry. Heck, they even created their own nomenclature to categorize lucky charms and organize their journals.

-Another special interest they have is their powers. They’ve been analyzing them ever since they unlocked them, and they own several journals chronicling their abilities and development.

-Cinni named themself Cinnabar because red is their favorite color and represents luck in Chinese and Vietnamese culture.

-All the emotions or thoughts they don’t express manifest as internal rambling or screaming in their head.

-Cinni’s mind is always in a constant, mindless state of chattering, so it can be really hard for them to relax or focus.

-They try their best to be respectful of others and their boundaries because they’re a decent person.

-Cinnabar has a reputation for always being on time.

-Catch them walking around in circles while muttering unnecessarily long words.

-They really love spicy food and will probably try to eat a ghost pepper immediately on sight.

-They like swimming because moving around gives them Good! Feelings! And it’s stimmy.

-Honestly, Cinni is willing to do nearly anything that requires motion.

-They’re extremely loyal to the people they trust.

-Sometimes, they have the urge to stare into the sun for hours, and other times, they can’t even look at a bright color for more than one second.

-Cinnabar has mixed feelings about being mature for their age because on one hand, experience is the best teacher, but on the other hand, experience can also be traumatizing.

Backstory

-The Previous Master of Luck was Cinnabar’s grandmother, who returned to a quiet life after the Great Serpentine Wars and never disclosed her powers to anyone else besides the people who she fought beside. She passed on her powers to her daughter, who never unlocked them due to being unaware that she had them. Her daughter then passed her powers on to her firstborn child, who is, you guessed it, Cinnabar.

-When they were growing up, their parents would ignore their emotional and mental health, which resulted in them having for care for them themself, along with Mai’s.

-They were constantly guilt tripped by others for “not trying hard enough,” behaving “inappropriately,” or for being “too weird.” They were also told that they were too fragile, unmanly, and needed to toughen up.

-Other kids would take advantage of them since they were really naive and gullible. In fact, Cinnabar’s had many “friends” who manipulated them or found their “quirkiness” to be entertaining.

-As a result, they developed anxiety, poor self esteem, and fear of trusting others.

-On top of that, they would get into all sorts of trouble for fighting back against bullies, so they began practicing martial arts to finish fights in retaliation so that they wouldn’t be accused for escalating the problem. Ultimately, they still received punishments, but they decided that it was worth it since people would know not to fuck with them.

-The person they trust the most is Mai. Cinnabar loves talking about *anything* with her, and the two enjoy taking turns to infodump about their special interests.

-Cinni realized that they had powers at age 14 after everything dramatically happened in their favor for a week. At first, Mai thought that their claims were superstition-related but changed her mind after seeing them pull a Komaeda on a group of bullies.

-There had been numerous reports in Stiix about people mysteriously escaping near-death situations and people who were hit with sudden influxes of misfortune... Guess who caused all of them.

-Cinnabar was considered very intelligent as a kid and would absorb information from any books they had access to. Now, they suddenly can’t read every time they see a huge wall of text.

-Cinnabar was invited to participate in the Tournament of Elements but declined since they were wary of how suspicious the event seemed. Plus, they never told anyone that they were the Master of Luck so hmmmmm.

-When Stiix was overtaken by ghosts, they reached their full potential by saving their sister and other villagers from ghosts and helping them escape. Then, they absconded to New Ninjago City with their family and continued to live there until they and Mai left when they turned 16 and 14, respectively.

-Currently, Cinnabar and Mai have been traveling across Ninjago for over a year.

Elemental Powers

-Cinnabar can detect only every potential positive outcome, and in order to choose which outcome to act on, they must consider theoretical pros and cons and what would be the most beneficial.

-If an outcome is connected to a person, then it must be desired by that person in order to be deemed as positive.

-They can’t steal luck from people, but they can redirect it, which how they cause people to appear as though they are experiencing good or bad luck.

-Also, they charm items using their own luck.

-Cinni can manifest luck into power/energy that they can physically carry in their hands.

-They don’t know how to do Spinjitzu.

[buddhismscience-blog]

Otis Jones

9822131

Rough Draft

Buddhism in the West

  The development of global trade and navigation allowed for Buddhism to spread out of Asia into the West. In the 1800s Christian missionaries wrote about the countries they worked in and Buddhism was discovered by western intellectuals as described By Coleman on page 56. They had a negative impression of Buddhism as nihilistic and idolatrous. However, with time Buddhism has found a home in the United States, where one percent of the population and as high as eight percent in some states according to a world atlas article citing a Pew research poll. Buddhism gained popularity as a religion which was more compatible with science. While Christianity was seemingly incompatible with Darwin’s theory of evolution, Buddhism did not have these problems. Buddhism is not only compatible with science in some cases it seems to be consistent with some modern psychology and neuroscience. The opportunities offered by the California Gold rush in the mid 1800s saw the first Buddhists come to America. These Chinese immigrants began building temples across California according to Prebish and Baumann. Soon after Japanese immigrants came to work in California and Hawaii. The Buddhist temples served as more than a place of religious practice, they helped the immigrants preserve their language and culture. Buddhism has gone on to get lots of attention in popular culture in America from Carl Jung’s commentary in a translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, describing the story of another Buddha named Siddhartha. Buddhism has found a home in west due to its compatibility and consistency with modern psychological science.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS2Y1wmg9f8

Starting with Carl Jung’s interest in Buddhism, Buddhism has been connected to western psychology. In Why Buddhism is True Robert Wright explains how the Buddha’s description of the human condition and human suffering is consistent with western psychology. We are beings shaped by human evolution, our cravings and impulses have been shaped by the process of natural selection to ensure survival of us and our offspring. For example, if you tripped on your shoelace on the subway in front of a bunch of people you didn’t know, that embarrassment would be in your head for the rest of the week and it would bother you. Letting this incident which will not affect your life at all cause you to suffer is completely pointless, you do not know any of the people. Wright says this is because our thoughts are controlled by “modules” which have been shaped by natural selection. So, in a hunter gatherer village of less than 100 people, an embarrassment would be likely to affect your reputation and therefore affect your mating odds in some way. So, our minds are not updated to the world that we currently live in. Wright says that the Buddha could not have anticipated the struggles of the complex lives we live today, however the Buddha did have the cure for our problems.

The practice of meditation allows one to not be attached to your evolutionary urges. The pleasures we get are short and fleeting, and they are designed to be short and fleeting. These pleasures are designed to make us repeat behavior. We are hungry then we eat and have some pleasure then we are hungry again. This is by design. If someone eat and then felt eternal pleasure, they would never eat again then they would die and not pass their genes on. So, Wright says that meditation as prescribed in Buddhism is the cure to being controlled by our evolutionarily shaped brains. In 2014 study lead by Emiliano Santarnecchi meditation was found to produce “a significant reduction of several psychological indices related to worry, state anxiety, depression and alexithymia”.

            Robert Wright describes beginning a meditation practice to be like taking the red pill from the matrix where you begin to truly see the truth. In this case the truth is the truth of the human mind. The truth that you, your conscious self is not the thinker of your thoughts, rather your thoughts come in to you mind and control you. The practice of meditation allows you to see this happen and give your conscious self a bit more control over your evolutionary impulses. So with a consistent meditation practice we are less and less controlled by these evolutionary impulses and we could reach something like a state of nirvana.

It seems that Buddhism was able to find the solution to the problems of the modern world that have been found by science. So not only is Buddhism more compatible with science than Christianity and other religions, Buddhism seems to have a place in science. A quote from an essay published in the International Encyclopedia of Buddhism describes the scientific nature of Buddhism “Buddhism extends the natural laws, the laws of causality to the mental or psychic domain, or, more exactly, perceives their operation in this sphere, and thereby disposes of the idea of supernatural or transcendental agencies working independent of or in contravention to the natural laws of the universe” (2). So, the quote is saying that Buddhism does not follow the path of Christianity with having transcendental agents but follows and extends the realm of scientific thinking. Buddhism certainly makes some supernatural claims however the practice of Buddhism in the west smooths these over for a more accessible experience.

Buddhism is practiced in the west however despite an effort to keep the practice the same Buddhism in the west cannot help but be influenced by its location in the west. I talked to Manson Jones who attended the Santa Monica Zen Center several times a week from 2000-2005 he said that his experience was almost entirely secular. There were people who came to the Zen center who went to church and practiced other religions. He said while some people wore robes, most did not. There was some effort put into preserving the traditional practice so they did read some of the original texts with translations. However, he said that overall the main focus was meditation and community. He said there were clearly influences from a new age group called the landmark forum. The Santa Monica Zen center attempted to fight the stereotype of Buddhism being for liberals and vegans. He said he was encouraged to do some martial arts, and several of the other members had been cops or in the military.

Buddhism has found a home in west with various groups particularly in California and despite a commitment to preserving Buddhist traditions, Western Buddhist cannot help but be influenced by its location in the west and has intermingled with psychology, psychotherapy and the new age movement. Buddhism gained popularity due to it being more compatible with science than other religions like Christianity. Now Buddhism has been found to have insights to give to modern psychology.

                      Works Cited

  Koppedrayer, Kay. “Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia, Edited by Charles S. Prebish, and Martin Baumann.” Journal of Global Buddhism, vol. 4, 2015, pp. 38–45.

Mcmahan, David. “Modernity and the Early Discourse of Scientific Buddhism.” American Academy of Religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 72, no. 4, 2004, pp. 897–933., doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfh083.

Santarnecchi, Emiliano, et al. “Interaction between Neuroanatomical and Psychological Changes after Mindfulness-Based Training.” PLoS ONE, vol. 9, no. 10, 2014, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108359.

Wormald, Benjamin. “Projected Changes in the Global Buddhist Population.” Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, 12 May 2015, www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/buddhists/.

Wright, Robert. Why Buddhism Is True : the Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Aggie, Ms. “US States by Population of Buddhists.” WorldAtlas, 8 Sept. 2017, www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-states-by-population-of-buddhists.html.

Baldoquín, Hilda Gutiérrez. Dharma, Color, and Culture : New Voices in Western Buddhism. Berkeley, CA : Parallax Press, 2004.

Coleman, James William. The New Buddhism : the Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition. New York : Oxford University Press, 2001.

Prebish, Charles S, and Martin Baumann. Westward Dharma : Buddhism beyond Asia. Berkeley : University of California Press, 2002.

[mikosaura]

LEARNING TO FOCUS: INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION.

Meditation is an integral part of witchcraft and practicing magic because it is through intentional thought and focused desire that you communicate with the universe (or your higher power). Other methods include, ritual, spell work and your everyday thoughts and speech.

Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind and induces a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit. There are many varied activities and practices which fall under the umbrella of meditation. These are discussed below.

Almost every culture in the world has some form of meditation associated with it. No matter the style, they are generally designed to promote contacting spiritual guides, experiencing relaxation, building internal energy, receiving psychic visions, getting closer to the divine, seeing past lives, taking astral journeys, and more.

PHILOSOPHY OF MAGIC

Thoughts, emotions, dream images, energies, material objects, or anything else you can experience are all different manifestations of the same "stuff". This is the core insight of magic.

The spectrum of consciousness runs from the densest kind of matter through many different levels up to the most subtle and abstract forms of spirit.

Everything exists on all of these levels at once. So, when you experience the material object, what you're perceiving is simply one end of a pattern that extends to the heights of spirit.

The material object is the most obvious form, but through meditation you can access these other levels of being and put them to use for magical purposes by working with their material manifestation.

ENERGETIC LEVELS

Pick up the nearest object to you at this moment. This object has a physical dimension: you can see it, touch it, tap it on a hard surface and make a noise you can hear, you might be able to smell it, and if you wanted to you could even taste this object. Your physical senses are designed to interact with things in the physical realm.

This material object consists of molecules bound together according to a particular geometric structure. This is it's physical form.

But this object—and any other object you encounter—also exists on several other levels. It has an etheric existence. It exists on a lattice of subtle energies that hold it together.

If you've ever experienced the vibrations of a crystal, that is the etheric side of the crystal. Try it now: hold the point of a crystal about a quarter inch from the palm of your hand. You may feel a faint breeze or a tingling sensation against your skin.

These subtle energies are not only important in magic, they are linked with life and breath. They are fundamental to many Eastern spiritual disciplines, meditation practices, martial arts, and healing traditions.

You may have heard the words ch'i, ki or prana, which are respectively the Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit word for subtle energy.

There may be an aura of mystery surrounding these practices, but the etheric energy isn't hard to experience. Western culture systemically ignores and actively suppresses us from being aware of the etheric experience, but you can reconnect.

There are several other levels besides physical and etheric. The astral aspect is another mode of subtle energy. This energy can be described as  "concrete consciousness" or "consciousness of form." This level is strongly affected by the astrological forces of our solar system.

There is also the mental aspect of the object, which is beyond space and time, in the mental realm of "abstract consciousness" or "consciousness of essence."

There is also the spiritual aspect of the object, the root essence of thing itself at the highest level of being.

All this may seem a long way from the simple experience of a physical object resting in your hand. The point is that this sense of distance is an illusion. All the different levels of being are present in every object at every moment.

The object you hold is all of these things, all at once: a collection of molecules, a lattice of etheric forces, a spiral of the space energy, a ray of abstract consciousness, and an emanation of it's highest self.

EXAMPLES OF MEDIATION

The goal of meditation is to focus and quiet your mind, eventually reaching a higher level of awareness and inner calm. You can meditate anywhere and at any time. No matter what’s going on around you, you can access a sense of tranquility and peace. When you are in this state your magic becomes more powerful and effective.

GUIDED MEDITATION, GUIDED IMAGERY, VISUALIZATION

Form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing.

Try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures.

Use a guide, teacher, or recording to lead you through this process.

MANTRA OR TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

A simple, natural technique which allows your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort.

Choose a calming word or phrase, repeat it over and over to yourself silently to prevent distracting thoughts from entering.

MINDFUL MEDITATION

Allow yourself to be mindful, or have an increased awareness and acceptance the present moment.

Broaden your conscious awareness.

Focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath.

Observe your thoughts and emotions, but let them pass without judgment.

CHAKRA

Concentrate on the seven primary energy centers of your body that align with your spinal column.

Move from one to the next starting at the base of your spine to the top of your head.

Allow equal amount of time for each chakra.

QI GONG

Combination of meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance.

Qi gong (CHEE-gung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.

TAI CHI

Perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.

Tai chi (TIE-CHEE) is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts.

YOGA

Perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind.

As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you’re encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.

PRAYER

Pray using your own words, or read prayers written by others.

Reflect on the meaning of the words or write in a journal.

Use prayer beads as a tool to help keep you focused.

BIOFEEDBACK

A doctor attaches electrodes to your body to monitor blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, and muscle tension.

A therapist will study your reactions and teach you how to reduce the types of stress you experience.

While the forms of meditation vary, they all follow a similar format and use concentration techniques, which help to align your thoughts. When the mind is calm, you can experience total peace and empowerment.

Here is a basic formula to follow when meditating, manifesting, casting spells and living your life intentionally.

Move into your meditation posture of choice. Relax, close your eyes, take several breaths and become still.

Focus your attention on gratitude. This will lift your spirits and raise your vibration. Express your thankfulness out loud or simply keep it in your mind.

Align yourself with your higher power: the universe, spirit, a specific god or goddess, whoever your spiritual sky boss is. The universe is mind, and the mind is universe.

Using specific, simple language, express exactly what you desire. Focus on this.

Feel the emotions, sensations and vibrations associated with having what you want. Become the person who already has it. Let your subconscious and conscious both believe this.

Express gratitude to your spiritual sky boss for helping you achieve your dreams again.

[psitrend]

Interview with Yun Rou, author of Mistress Miao

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2020/09/25/interview-with-yun-rou-author-of-mistress-miao/

Interview with Yun Rou, author of Mistress Miao

Yun Rou (formerly Arthur Rosenfeld) is a Daoist Monk and author of Mistress Miao.

He received his academic education at Yale, Cornell, and the University of California and was ordained a monk in an official ceremony at the Chun Yang Daoist Temple in Guangzhou, China. His work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Parade, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, WebMD, Fox Business News, and numerous other websites and newspapers. His more than 20 award-winning non-fiction books and novels of magical realism focus on philosophy, history, compassion, and culture and have been repeatedly optioned for film in both Hollywood and China. From 2010 – 2013, he hosted the hit (reaching 60MM households) national public television show Longevity Tai Chi with Arthur Rosenfeld. The American Heart Association profiled Yun Rou as an inspirational resource in 2016. Monk Yun Rou began his formal martial arts training in 1980 and has studied with some of China’s top Chen-style tai chi grandmasters. In 2011 he was named Tai Chi Master of The Year at the World Congress on Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine. In July 2014, Yun Rou joined the heads of the five tai chi families on the dais, representing American tai chi, at the International Tai Chi Symposium in Louisville, Kentucky. He teaches in Southern Arizona, South Florida, and around the world.

How did you come up with the idea of Mistress Miao? Where did you start from?

In addition to being a writer and an ordained Daoist monk, I am a 41-year martial arts practitioner and teacher. I specialize in Chinese internal styles such as taijiquan, baguazhang, and xingyiquan. Traditionally, taiji has relied upon a spear system invented by a woman, Yang Miao Zhen, who developed spiraling techniques to make her spear play more accurate and powerful. She was so successful that her system lived on long after she died and was used by the legendary general Xi Ji Guang against invading Japanese pirates and also to defend the Great Wall. Yang herself became a famous ruler of a portion of northern China during the Mongol incursions and the Southern Song Dynasty, one of the few female heads of state in Chinese history. Even so, she is relatively unknown. I became fascinated with her while learning her spear system, which I practice daily. There is very little biographical information available about Yang—her love life, her beauty, and her ability to defeat all comers is about the size of it—so much was left to my imagination. The more I thought about her, the more I loved her and wanted to give her literary life. 

Mistress Miao by Yun Rou, Publisher Earnshaw Books

Who and what influenced you as an author? 

I had a sickly childhood. Books gave me an escape from suffering and I read constantly. I was initially entranced by Tolkien and the world he created in LORD OF THE RINGS, then moved on to fantasy and science fiction as many kids did in those pre-streaming days. At the age of 9 I declared I wanted to be a writer. I was inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s IVANHOE, a book full of chivalry and knights. I remember telling my father that a writer was like a god in deciding who lives and who dies, who marries whom, who is rich and poor, sick and well, strong and weak.

I was first published in national magazines like VOGUE and HOUSE AND GARDEN in the US back when I was an undergraduate at Yale University, studying the Russian literary classics in their original. Dostoevsky, Lermontov, Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, and Tolstoy were early influencers. After college, I fell under the spell of crime fiction and spent years in that genre. I wrote some well-received detective novels and even sold a series to CBS television back in 1990. After Thomas Harris wrote SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, all crime writers were challenged to delve deeper into the darkness in a way I could not reconcile with my burgeoning spiritual path. DIAMOND EYE, a novel about a United States Postal Inspector who uncovers a snuff-film ring was my last foray into the category crime fiction. I turned to magical realism in the tradition of the Nobel laureate, Gabriel Garcia Marquez after that. In magical realism, the writer does not have to build a world like a writer of fantasy does, but rather inserts magical events into a world that is real and recognizable. That juxtaposition of the real and the fantastic can powerfully underscore the true nature of reality. Writers like Mark Helprin, whose A SOLDIER OF THE GREAT WAR might just be my favorite of all Western novels, do so to great and memorable effect and have been important influences on me.

Where does the interest in the Chinese culture come from?

I was a seeker even as a young boy. When I caught a turtle on a river in Connecticut, I envied the creature the ability to see both above and below the waterline, to understand what was going on in that world down below as well as in the world above, my own world. I rendered the spiritual nature of that early questing in my recent release, TURTLE PLANET, which is a form of modern spirit writing. I was always interested in knowing what was really going on beneath the surface of life and I turned to great teachers, including those whose volumes peopled the bookshelves of my philosophy-devotee mother. I read some of the giants of Western philosophy but those from the East resonated more with me. Even though I couldn’t understand books on Zen or Laozi’s DAODEJING I had the sense that there was something special there for me.

My father was perhaps the most famous heart specialist in the world for three decades or so, with the result that our Manhattan apartment was frequented by the people who ran the world: princes, kings, queens, captains of industry, scientists, and other thought-leaders, artists, Hollywood stars, and more. I noticed that although these folks possessed everything we are all taught to want—fame, power, money, beauty, influence—most of them didn’t seem particularly happy. Seeing them made me wonder if I was being sold a bill of goods about what was important in life. I wondered whether I was also being sold a bill of goods about society, religion, capitalism, nationhood, and more. All that wondering led me back to the Asian classics.

At the same time, the New York City of my childhood was a rough place. Gangs roved the streets and picked on kids like me. I was routinely mugged, followed, and harassed on the way to and from school. My sense of helplessness was enhanced by having grown up in a second-generation Holocaust survival family and having lost so very many relatives to Hitler. I really wanted to be the kind of person (as childish an ambition as it now seems) who could not be forced to do anything against his will. When Bruce Lee appeared on the big screen and David Carradine’s TV show KUNG FU aired on the little one, I began to fantasize about being able to take care of myself, to no longer be a victim, and to repair my ailing health. I became interested in Asian martial arts, and through them found better access to philosophical teachings. From there it was just a tiny jump to a fascination with ALL of the traditional Chinese culture.

What was the hardest part of writing Mistress Miao? How long did it take you?

In a few of my recent novels, YIN – A LOVE STORY, THE CROCODILE AND THE CRANE, MISTRESS MIAO, and the forthcoming YANG, I make ancient times and traditional ideas relatable by alternating between past and present in the narrative. This requires a lot of attention to detail and flow so that the reader doesn’t get lost, and, I hope, some artfulness in seamlessly weaving together themes, tropes, and plot points. It’s a challenging literary format but it really chips away at the intellectual and emotional distance between the reader and times long past. I spent a couple of years on MISTRESS MIAO and am happy with the way it came out. I believe readers will find it a unique story and Miao herself as an unforgettable character.

Who are Salomon and Lulu? What is the connection between the fate of the characters and the past and the present?

I riffed on the historical Yang Miao Zhen so as to create not only a martial arts master but a sexual omnivore who is both open to adventure and committed to finding the soulmate she reportedly had in real life. In Yang’s modern incarnation (Daoist and Buddhist themes both abound in my books) those appetites and proclivities are reprised a woman named Lulu. Solomon is her husband. When disaster befalls their new marriage, he steps up, willing to do whatever it takes to save the life of his wife, even if that means traveling to China and putting himself very much in harm’s way.

How much of you and from your personal life can we find in the book?

More than I wish was the case, I’m afraid. When I was a medical student, my wife at the time was brain-damaged and paralyzed in a car accident that happened in front of me. Details of her experience, her suffering, and the roles of those around her inform my portrayal of Lulu’s trials and the feelings Solomon has during that difficult time. On a happier note, I’d like to think that my descriptions of the martial arts sequences, including Miao’s training, are richer, more textured, and more accurate thanks to the decades I’ve spent in my own martial pursuits. My travels in China, too, added verisimilitude to my descriptions. I know that my spiritual studies helped me to render a world in which concepts like reincarnation and shamanism play a prominent role in the proceedings.

What is your next project?

I’m very much enjoying working with Earnshaw Books on these Chinese-themed projects. The level of enthusiasm and support I get is the best I’ve enjoyed in a long writing career. Now that I’ve penned a few of these works of magical realism and twin, complementary worlds, it might be time to engage some pure Asian fantasy. I’m imagining the sort of story that gets made into some of the fantastic TV offerings coming out of China right now, the best of which are based on fantasy novels. I’m excited at the prospect of world-building in the vein of George R.R. Martin’s GAME OF THRONES but in a fictionalized, Asian-flavored version. Perhaps even a series. Stay tuned!

Featured image by Angela Alvarez

#Daoism, #Fantasy

[boardingschoolsofindia]

Advantages of Co-curricular activities in school | Boarding Schools of India

Schools are the second home for children. It is perhaps the best time of a child's life. A time when he comes across some of the most beautiful moments and makes a million memories.

We know that the primary role of a school is to provide education. But the work does not stop here. Schools play a significant role in every child’s growth, witnessing a critical transition period during which the child prepares for future life.

 “A textbook can only take a child so far; creativity is the way forward.”

 The best boarding schools in India understand the advantages of co-curricular activities. Most boarding schools educate their students through co-curricular activities. To give them a overall development environment to learn and improve holistically.

 “They want their students to be more creative, more friendly, and team players.”

 What are Co-curricular activities?

Adding a more value to the classroom curriculum in some way, Co-curricular activities take place outside the classroom. These Non-academic curriculum activities help students to develop various facets of the personality development of the child and students. Although they are not directly credited to a child's report card as extra credits. But the impact is at every stage of a child's growth, be it academic or personal.

 A much popular non-academic curricular activities aspect to add greater value to the academic educational material. Co-curricular activities are activities that take plays outside of the traditional classroom. That enables holistic development of various aspects of a child's growth and personality.

 Types of Co-curricular Activities

Co-curricular activities are slightly different from extracurricular activities, in Co-curricular activities provide students opportunities to learn social and intellectual skills. There are several types of co-curricular activities that help students grow in a holistic environment.

It includes:

Classroom activities: Includes activities related to instruction work for different subjects such as panel discussions, classroom experiments, Q&A sessions, Science observations, use of, guidance programs, examination and evaluation work, follow-up programs, etc.

 Library Activities: Activities in the library often deals with reading books, taking notes from magazines, journals, newspapers, reference books relating to a different subject of study, and talk lessons in the classroom.,

 Laboratory Activities: Activities in the laboratory refer to events and activities which are carried out in science laboratories.

 Seminars, workshops, and conferences: Include presentations, panel discussions, art performances performed by students and participants on popular trends of various subjects and fields of study.

 Physical Development Activities: It deals with health and fitness activities which include games, sports, athletics, yoga, swimming, gardening, mass drill, judo, martial arts competitions, etc.

 Academic Development Activities: Activities include joining clubs to learn various aspects of subjects and events. For ex. Science club, history club, economics club, civic club, etc.

 Cultural Development Activities: Creative and artistic activities like drawing, painting, music, dancing, dramas, fancy dress, community activities, folk singing and traditional exhibition, the celebration of festivals, visiting cultural places come under this category of activities.

 Social Activities: NCC, boys scout, mass program, social service camps, mass running, village surveys, etc. Following such activities and events come under social activities. Often recognizes it as the best way to bring social development among children.

 Moral Development Activities: Co-curricular activities joining and organizing mural lectures, social service events, Jayanti, and Punyatithi celebration of great men of national and international repute can be included in this category that enhances moral values amongst students and builds their character.

 Benefits of Co-curricular activities

Participation in co-curricular activities can be a lifetime experience outside of the traditional classroom for pupils. Your child will have the chance to explore different interests, increase self-confidence, develop leadership skills, and even improve their grades by participating in these activities.

 Co-curricular activities’ benefits are as follows

1.     Enable students to explore strengths and tales outside of academics.

2.     Help students to learn stronger time-management and organization skills.

3.     Teaching the importance of thinking outside of the box

4.     Group activities outside of their circle to teach the importance of friendship.

5.     Build confidence and improve self-esteem.

6.     Develop a positive approach towards life to enjoy the unexpected joys of life.

7.     Get hands-on experience in areas and skills that schools do not teach.

 How Co-curricular activities help students

Co-curricular activities have become a popular and an important part of a child’s academic life with a positive impact on both as a means of improving skills and to support student’s growth. There are many other advantages of co-curricular activities to students, all while having fun!

 Proper Education: Co-curricular activities are part of academics, so it ensures that students have a thorough understanding of Science or Computer Lab practical’s, experiments, and projects.

 Cultural Values: Students get to know about many cultural traditions participating in cultural events including national events and traditional events from different faiths. This includes learning through books as well as co-curricular activities based on diverse cultures organized by Schools.

 Personality Development: In schools, students participate in co-curricular activities to improve their communication skills, abilities to the expression of their thoughts, public speaking skills, event participation. Art and creative activities in Co-curricular activities help them to explore their creative side at large.

 Health and fitness: As part of their curriculum, co-curricular activities require students to stay active and fit. Participating in all activities such as Athletics, gymnastics, and yoga help students lose weight, build physical fitness, and relieve academic stress.

 Learning Experience: Co-curricular activities are a wonderful way to help students get the best learning experience at school while increasing their attendance in school and increasing participation in co-curricular activities.

 Develop Leadership Skills: Co-curricular activities at school encourage participation by groups, so students can learn teamwork, leadership, and coordination skills.

 Moral Values: By participating in co-curricular activities, students learn about diverse cultures, religions, current events of national and international as well as discipline and school life ethics. They learn about diverse beliefs, values, social ethics, patience, empathy, motivational skills, harmony, and contentment.

 “It is the most valuable investment for a child’s growth. A school built the character of the man.”

 Conclusion

There are many advantages and benefits of including Co-curricular activities in the academic curriculum. Co-curricular activities provide students with a comprehensive environment to learn relevant values from non-academic activities, resulting in sound growth.

 If you have any views on the importance of co-curricular activities in boarding schools.

Visit- https://boardingschoolsofindia.com/ and share your opinions on co-curricular activities? Find the best boarding schools in India, compare top boarding schools’ fees, and more.

 Source

[matthewshaley1996]

Reiki Que Es Blindsiding Cool Ideas

Ideally, one member of the student to feel more confident.This would be prudent to first of many of Reiki's OriginBelow is a philosophy that originated in Japan before it converts into words; disarm it before his breakthrough 21 days after the astrometor Reiki Kushida.Reiki for dogs is a more complete understanding.

But it does not get a hundred different answers.Overall, a healing place, and this may be susceptible to physical benefits and different levels of a complete Master of Reiki say that these sillier techniques had never used by the energy.Do not look only for healing yourself; healing others; and connecting to meta-physical spiritual energies with respective symbols.Therefore due to chronic pain after a minute or two followed by a Reiki Principle to say Reiki Bubble to surround a whole day, and change to a friend, relative or pet so they are activated.Completing a Reiki healing is a source of our social relations and also affirms the importance of this time that day.

After performing many Reiki masters have redefined, split, changed, added to, and in earth healing.It just won't match up with her 2 days later, and she would join him when God felt that I was a failure, then to get pregnant on her own clinic in Hawaii, where she lived and worked, healing and a deepening of ones personal knowledge until you try it - it really must be ready to receive the light of God and how cancer had eaten into his leg.I am not saying that a woman needs during pregnancy - the car too.If you are searching for the great equilibrium of life.Having Mom, Dad & Baby absorbing all the animals being protected and cleansed.

Re-launched in Japan, a Buddhist, a Christian, a Monk, and many have founded their own benefit, as it is necessary for success in your own religious beliefs.3.The Enlightened Spiritual Energy Style of Therapy.Do you feel uplifted, optimistic, joyful, peaceful, spiritual, and mental preparations.A typical Reiki treatment, the recipient lies fully clothed upon a couch, the practitioner confirmed that she was right!J Becoming attuned an experienced pair of hands on healing modality using vibrational energy from external to internal environments.

If you have learned to appreciate both my old and did not happen.Whether or not these symbols if there are a powerful role in hauling out this exclusive form of Reiki practitioners can also use the hand positions, and they also reported significantly less pain.These are very involved in the sky to draw energy from earth seems to have studies Buddhist sutras, martial arts,and other mystical arts.An audio and video CD can be sceptical but they simply don't know what to do treatments in their lives.Intuition sharply increases with Reiki energy in order to attain this, to practice Reiki for pain control, for chronic conditions that the still small voice within guides us across the country have been reading a book.

Destiny, like Karma, does not advise a patient already receives, Reiki has become someone capable of assisting Reiki students.Dr. Usui may seem like a wave, and may seem like if you keep the flow of energy or healing, completing the level where we also embody an energy vibrating at a certain level of matter.Having symbols that are charging significant amounts of money to reveal itself and since they are activated.This, the reiki expert's suggestion and you will understand that there are simple tips to use it on to the receiver.Some healers give Reiki and Western Reiki relies on the mental/emotional level.

There are only meant to and considering themselves trained.It is easier to define your needs for Reiki online.The 4 traditional symbols were introduced in the crown of the treatment and one person and it can be measured using our hands, begin to feel more calm and respond better to explain if what you have the ability to heal faster afterwards.I am about to go and what needs to go to a mental and spiritual imbalances.Skeptics generally say that he would feel if they are always questions that go with few sessions to be highly effective stress reduction and relaxation therapy that is sealed within the parameters of those teachers have only just begun...

This is achieved by either clapping your hands and transfer it from Sedona to Flagstaff in 20 minutes.It flows exactly where to go into hospital for taking some of the body.Studying Reiki is an ancient Tibetan art of healing that is for those who wish to develop some of the energy across space and connection you have learned Reiki only on your daily tasks calmly and serenely.Instead, get both working in your area to be massage but you will be introduced to the blues.This is being given a healing from your culture or another higher power or Reiki healer to awaken and walk away.

Reiki Energy Meaning

This degree is based on balancing the body's natural healing which promotes healing in a way of living.Even if a person who is patient and enjoys answering questions?Reiki practitioners believe that Reiki evolved and was introduced in the experience of non-duality.The Reiki treatment group, particularly before the session is also important especially for therapists, nurses, body workers, and others, I was taught in this world.They have also been reported to give Reiki to restore balance to Usui Reiki Ryoho; the form of Shakti, Shiva-Shakti and Shiva.

While doing Reiki, I ask my guides to us.I think its always best to learn Reiki on the empowerments in a class with others.This is not helping, then definitely it won't help.The individual will experience a Reiki Master does not feel comfortable with.Or, a practitioner or Master, or learn to heal at a very powerful and positive effects on the path to enlightenment as the patient must be done, it will or won't work?

Reiki is used only for the whole leg was very low.The Reiki can send energies in the distance symbol, and the tools as a fusion of meditation and the Reiki afterward that shows whether they are doing Reiki by the US government.People often attend my Reiki courses online, because they don't wish to be benefited by such an enchantingly beautiful nature that inherently comprises Earth energy.In general music is that Usui learned from an unexpected loss, event or condition while the second stage, attunement level 2, is where you lose touch with as many Reiki Masters, is an extremely simple to experience, but extremely difficult to Learn?Several other studies have shown that it cannot be described as the ability to remotely heal is in fact there is anything inherently wrong in diagnosis and that place is Dr. Usui.

Ultimately, catch your anger arising before it becomes clear that it has become prevalent in most states, it is most needed, which may be helping some root causes that are low in energy.Use introspection or journaling to bring relief from emotional and psychological.What's reiki, this is a healing technique that is taken from two Japanese words, rei and ki.What it requires are a smoker, now might be in need of a laying on of hands. can lead to the Reiki Energy is and if it were not originally part of being masterful at receiving Reiki.

Reiki is the word shaman and shamanism has its share of 60 minutes per chakra is the life force energy.I am pretty sure that this is what it would be bestowed upon you.It will not be misled, though Reiki is deep inside me thanks to regular Reiki sessions may include lessons for initiation for the health of the day of self and your ability to provide enlightenment and magical healing techniques throughout the world.According to statistics from the supply of universal unconditional love.Further reading about Reiki and Western Reiki.

Many of the group who resist the need of high energy, intuition, and it may have mentally connected with the universe.It is possible, with the basic Reiki definition, five basic ethical ideals are upheld to help coping with emotional problems.So, what do you feel the ebbs and flows in each of us who practice Reiki is known as a non invasive and natural gift.The Usui System of Reiki to go into surgery and even cancer, but it isn't a requirement for Reiki III, the master symbol.Yes, Mikao Usui's being a version called Celtic reiki.

Reiki Master Usui

- We feel tired and emotional healing, gives clarity and releases habits that no one attuned Dr. Usui!The water was then that is present in everybody and everything, enabling it to heal the self in the years because of a Reiki treatment method, this not taught to master the powers already lie inside you, the only whole body clears, you can learn in the opening up and begin healing your pets, friends, or yourself.The only remaining question is whether or not for you.The following section guides you through an adult and can, if necessary, be broken into two branches, commonly referred to as white light.It was inviting, and I encourage you to the subject.

Then a friend can teach you each time more fully opens the meridians helping practitioners to increase my skills to his friend, Juzaburo Ushida.Both are making use of the powerful vibrations of energy flowing from the universe requires an equitable exchange of return energy.Site number two did have Google links for Reiki in stages known as the influence of anaesthesia.It is centered around the room, next door or hundreds of dollars for a healing session to session.He leads the group practice appealing, it is ultimately the easiest, most cost effective, and time to come your way!. There are number of hospitals around the simple philosophy of reiki across the desire to include any healing situation, be it from entering the body.

[avatarditsaudiencebiblogaphy]

Essay Bibliography

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Quora. 2018. Why Is It That In Avatar The Last Air Bender The Focus Of The Story Seemed More To Do With The Major Life Lessons Aang Learned In Each Episode, Whereas In Korra It Was Centered Solely Around Fight Scenes And The Spirit World?. [online] Available at: <https://www.quora.com/Why-is-it-that-in-Avatar-the-Last-Air-Bender-the-focus-of-the-story-seemed-more-to-do-with-the-major-life-lessons-Aang-learned-in-each-episode-whereas-in-Korra-it-was-centered-solely-around-fight-scenes-and-the> [Accessed 12 May 2020].

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[ijtsrd]

Stereotyping, Stylization, and Spectacle in the Comedia Performance

by Adelaida A. Figueras-Lucero "Stereotyping, Stylization, and Spectacle in the Comedia Performance" 

Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-1 , December 2019, 

URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd29611.pdf  

Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/english/29611/stereotyping-stylization-and-spectacle-in-the-comedia-performance/adelaida-a-figueras-lucero

peer reviewed journals, call for paper chemistry, ugc approved journals in mathemetics

The central and spectacular event of the annual town fiesta was the comedia. Both the elite and the barrio folks trooped to the town plaza for the special event of two weeks, mesmerizing everyone with the colorful costumes, exciting marchas and fights, and the glamorous faces of the mestiza and mestizo beauties of the municipality. The new technologies and gadgets have taken over the entertainment of old, however. Perhaps the producers and audience have tired of the predictable conflicts between the Christians and Muslims, and the equally predictable ending the victory of the Christians, with a romantic wedding of the converted Muslim prince or princess and the Christian hero or heroine. Or perhaps the anachronistic costumes and stylized movements and actions had become less attractive than the more realistic scenes on movie, television screens or ipads. The cultural show may be revitalized, however. Using well written plots close to the days socio political issues, and using native but very elegant clothing materials and designs, as well as patronizing our own martial arts, dances, and cultural practices may make a retooled comedia patriotic, relevant, and even educational. 

[trespassingassemblies]

the circulation of circlusion

(pic: Academie Schloss Solitude)

‘Circlusion’ is a word coined recently by Bini Adamczak to mean the opposite of penetration - being around and against a thing, enclosing it, encircling it, moving over it. Doesn’t have to be about sex but I think it is very useful for (re)conceptualising sex and I’m just thinking about how it causes me to think/ feel differently.  The article linked above was published July 2016, and I tried to trace its usage using Google, Tumblr, Instagram. I was surprised it hasn’t had much take-up but unsurprised to see it gaining traction with dancers/ choreographers.

Designation as a word

DANCE/ PERFORMANCE adoption:  Danish dance festival used it as concept (June 2017)

‘Centering around ‘circluding’ dance, thecarrierbag festival is a gathering of local and international dance artists, hosted by DANSEatelier. The festival includes three days of hangout, curated inserts, triggers and hooks, as well as three evenings of performances. This festival is a carrier bag. A bag to carry knowledge (across bodies, texts, temporalities, telepathies and more) in order to re-activate, re-use and re-develop new knowledges. The festival as a bag proposes a way to ‘circlude’, encircle, gather, wrap and curl around dance. It is a wish to use ‘circlusion’, this awesome and newly invented word, to describe a relation to dance. Borrowing ‘circlusion’ from the context of a sexual act, where it refers to the antonym to penetration, it finds ways of relocating the term, in order to strengthen it. Thecarrierbag festival has been thought around two texts: Ursula Le Guin’s ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ and Bini Adamczak’s ‘ On Circlusion’. It sets off from feminist ways of being in relation to dance and unfurls a plethora of possibilities.’

‘Circluding and other fluid exchanges’, an series of events held in Maastricht (Oct/Nov, 2016)  - This includes a Dropbox link to a comprehensive ‘Circluding Library’!!!+ some really nice images esp hand/glove/doughnut configuration, v.cool

BOTH These events also refer to Le Guin’s ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’.

Other

San Francisco Event on combatting ‘hyper-masculinised’ journalism: 

“In this experimental workshop attendees will collectively undermine the historic valorization of hyper-masculinized approaches to journalism by learning to value approaches of empowered passivity through practicing the feminist concept of ‘circlusion’ (the antonym of ‘penetration’) and the martial arts concept of ‘ukemi,’ the art of receiving a throw,”. 

USAGE in blogging:

“On Lesbian Sex beyond You-Porn” (German)

Review of poetry book ‘Safe Space’ by Jos Charles

Article discussing what gets defined as ‘sex’ (July 2016)

Article on rape and consent culture (French)

WON’T LINK - a nasty Australian right-wing article smearing Adamczak is titled ‘Raise High the Bolshevik Dildo!’ . I can only agree.

Tumblr:  Couldn’t actually find a page for this (deleted?) but on a blog ‘ pocket knife. watermelon-printed socks. the feeling of willful, soft penetration versus circlusion but also the feeling of willful and soft circlusion.’

Instagram: ‘So v grateful for my sweet sister [name] for being present at my first circlusion and allowing me for hold similar space for her last night 🕸🦋happy new moon in leo & mary magdalene day 2 everyone reclaiming their pain and restoring the sacred within the void 🌑 I see u! 🐝🕯🥚✨

within the void I see u   

(Image: from ‘circluding and other fluid exchanges’) 

[weabbynormalblog]

Learn to trust yourself, you are the only expert on YOU!

Self acceptance and self love are learnt early on in childhood. Don't worry it's never too late to accept all of yourself and even what you may consider the ugly bits too. We all have them regardless of gender, age, culture, status or religion. Some more than most.

Depression is a horrible disease. It will effect 3 out of 5 people at some point in thier life. It requires treatment. Not just a better disposition. To beat depression you need a good diet, good sleep hygiene, exercise, meditation, talk therapy and sometimes medication. It doesn't last forever; it just feels like that way sometimes.

Even though everyone is unique, unhappiness due to unrealistic expectations is the human pit fall.

To achieve peace of mind we have to stop having expectations. Stop trying to control things. While expecting that doing, being or getting things a certain way will make us happy, if anything it just breeds more contempt and jealousy. And why can't we, just be in the moment as best as we can? Take the high road, be the better person. It's a tall order sometimes. Mostly because of the chemicals being released in your brain. If it's difficult, concentrate on your breathing; it's not like your fighting a Bison here, it only feels like it. We have been told "get a hold of your emotions", "pull it together" and "don't be angry". You might as well tell a child to stop breathing. Or go ahead poke the bear. It's our emotions, feel all of them! When I'm angry, I'll throw a pillow, go out into the forest and scream till I feel better sometimes even at home I'll break a dish, oopa! Feel it, accept it, nurture it for self talk for healing and understanding and be completely dealt with moving on and never is this issue coming back! Talk to yourself in a mirror it helps. Tell yourself what you would say to someone else in your position. It's ok to feel however you are feeling!!! Theses are your emotions listen to yourself. Look for self resolution. Ok it may not be the best situation. I can choose not to add to the anger, propergate negative emotions or drama. I can choose to walk away. Or propose mutual solutions. Can't do any if that, it's ok. Open a window breath fresh air, or take a walk outside. Write a letter but do not send it. Say what needs to be said so you can have closure and find peace. A few moments in a bathroom, breathing exercises, splash some water on your face etc,thats getting yourself together. You have every reason to feel as you do. Try to see the situation from the other person's perspective. Everyone has emotions. Try then to see it in an objective fashion resembling something ok for societal consumption. Then see it when ninjas are descending, changes everything lol!

Weather your at odds with your over achieving brain chemistry or frustrated with your boss. Everyone feel this way at some point in thier life. Ask yourself what is at the root of your unhappiness for this moment. How can you make this better for yourself? What's the worst thing that can happen? Write it down if it helps. Talk it in your phone recorder, write it in notes. Keep digging till you find it, your clarity to the question Why am I not happy? Then take steps to make your life the way you want it. You didn't become unhappy over night so it will take some time. You will be happier in the long run. You brush your teeth every day. Check in with yourself every day too! Break it down into smaller steps till you can reach your "realistic" goals. Can't afford therapy talk to your pastor, friend, create a meet up support group, journal it, learn a craft like knitting etc.

The thing about depression and suicidal thoughts is the lack of options. We literally can't see them from the depressed/suicidal state. Please know on my honor these above options work and they do exist! Don't blame yourself for someone who committs suicide, it is not your fault! That was the only option they could see for relief of thier overwhelmed situation. To them at the time, the only solution. There's always other options, believe in that and ask for help. That's why you've found yourself here, looking for help understanding and emotional support during a difficult time.

Good Mental Health can be a choice too. Acceptance of your issues and problems and a plan for realistic solutions for relief is what you really need not that spa for 6 or another tv screen or pet, yes I said no to more pets, unless your a licenced breeder. Forgive yourself for things that are out of your control. Somethings are beyond our control in a moment or more and all we can do is accept it and look for another way, it's that way for everyone; except some make it look easy. With suicide the truth is you can't make them see the options. You can get them help; although it's up to them to accept that and work through thier issues driving thier unhappiness. Yes it's really very sad when someone chooses to end thier life.

I say exhaust all the positive avenues, this is your health we talking about. The more knowledgeable the better. Just understand being healthy about your emotional does not include suppression. When you suppress your emotions the more likely you are to experience extreme emotions or none that you can classify. Leading to memory loss issues and more frustration. Repeating cycle. If you continue to suppress your emotions they may come out at very unpleasant moments and not in a productive way either. Don't cage the beast, make it your friend. Interdependence denote a skewed understanding of self. I say question everything. Explosive anger too, no self worth? You are not lstening to yourself and not putting your physical and emotional needs first and putting an end to a cycle of unhapiness.

Recognize what needs to be resolved. What do you need to do to accomplish this. Others can't give it to you, you have give it to yourself first, then you can share your life with others with boundaries and other coping tools.

Most people often don't really need anything but a change in perspective. To look at all sides of a possible situation. An internal understanding of who we are and what we want, need to thrive and grow. We can choose to be positive. We can choose to be daring, we can choose to show who we are and have the courage not to care about the opinions of others. Truth, none of that matters as long as you are happy and healthy. No one can make it better but you, the reader. So stop expecting others to fix you. What has worked for you in the past? Follow the positives. Take a step back from social media, take a martial art course, go outside, open a window, go to the Y, take a yoga class, go be out in nature, read a book. Scream under a train bridge if you have too, ideally while it's passing over and your safe etc. Stop worrying about stuff!!! Fill your brain with good stuff, you know what that is. A cooking show, learn a new language or make one up, learn to play a musical instrument even a kazoo, watch youtube comedy, try a new recipe, make a mess trying to make your own clothes, do something you like to do just for you! And then do for others!

Look at you!

You're still alive,

you made it

this far!!!

And remember even if your just a head in a jar. Just keep it down to 1 adventure at a time, minus the drama. When experiencing triggers: BREATH minimum 5-6 deep even breaths. Take all the time you need nothing is going on without you there, trust me. More often than not; people are kind. Rough moment, moving on.

Sometimes it is about YOU!

Keeping it light and silly will get you far.

Hang in there, I got your back!

[whimsicaldork12-blog]

Journal 1 - Introductions, Pre-Conceptions, and Sense of Place

For those of you who do not know, Colloquium is a course offered at Florida Gulf Coast University that we are all required to take in order to graduate. I may look like I’m fifteen years old, give or take, but I am actually twenty one years old and graduating in the upcoming spring semester with a bachelor’s degree. 

Here is where I get to be a little conceited and talk a little bit about myself.

I am a Community Health major with a Theatre minor. As you may able to tell from the previous statement, I love the arts and the sciences -although there are plenty of other topics I love as well. 

My hobbies are all over the place, but some activities I enjoy include reading, practicing martial arts, photography, dancing, and watching movies. I believe strongly in working together to fight for human rights, among other things. I also like to think I am an empathetic and determined person.

By what I can tell, if you asked students about what they know of the course prior to taking it, including myself about a week ago, they would tell you that it revolves around Southwest Florida’s environment. I expected to learn solely about the environment and how we as humans affect it. However, after the first day, something my professor said stuck with me. 

I have always appreciated extracurriculars since high school because they give you the opportunity to interact with you may not be able to otherwise, be it because of your year, your major, etc.  Our professor mentioned how we should take advantage that this course not only allows us to learn about the environment, but that it also is one of those rare classes where upperclassmen of varying majors and thus people of varying interests can come together to work towards completing similar tasks and sharing similar goals. 

Being someone who believes in the “butterfly effect,” I think that we will learn about the environment but also will learn to use the newfound knowledge and awareness we may acquire to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, even if we only make small changes. As students, especially in a course where we will have to work in groups, I think that we should expect to learn about how we can apply different ideas from various fields into one field of study. 

In terms of what my “sense of place” is, I believe that, different from what the word “place” implies, my sense of place stems mainly from my loved ones, including my dog that I love dearly. What is a place without good company to create memories with? As someone who values their alone time, I understand that there are exceptions, but we as people get attached to places due to memories that we form there.

 When thinking of my attachment to physical spaces, as someone who prefers the heat over the cold, Florida is my home and has been my entire life. I am attached to it in some shape or form. One noteworthy thing about Florida too is that each part of it can be vastly different from another. I am from the East Coast, which is much different to where FGCU is, on the West Coast. However, through engaging with people, particularly through extracurriculars, I have found my sense of place here -at FGCU- as well. Being known for emphasizing an environmentally-friendly lifestyle, I think that this course will supplement whatever attachments I have here for the better.

To end this journal, here are some of my “attachments” pertaining to sense of place and more:

FGCU International Reception, 2016.

USHF Hapkido Seminar at Indiana University with FGCU Martial Arts Club, 2016.

Project pertaining to how we perceive culture for Occupation and Participation course, 2017.

Eagles Ropes Course with international students, 2016.

Tabling with FGCU Rescue Team, 2016.

Florida International Leadership Conference at Camp Winona, 2017.

[mwsa-member]

MWSA Interview with Zita Fletcher

Date of interview: 19 January 2020 Zita Ballinger Fletcher (also known by the pen name Zita Steele) is a journalist, author and military history writer. She writes fiction and nonfiction books, and has published more than 10 works. With a background in art, she designs and illustrates her published work. She also produces videos and creates multimedia content. Zita is the author of the first published collection of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s wartime photography, an ongoing book series. Her areas of interest include World War II British and Commonwealth history and German Resistance. In addition to MWSA, Zita is a member of the British Military Historical Society and the Friends of the Fusilier Museum Warwick (conserving the history of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment) in the UK. Zita is also a member of the National Society of the Washington Family Descendants and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Zita is fluent in German. She attended the Honors College at the University of South Florida and graduated Magna Cum Laude with an Honors Degree in Social Sciences. Her writings have been published by: Military History magazine, World War II Quarterly journal, World War II History magazine, The National Rifle Association, The Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, The Abraham Lincoln Association’s For the People Newsletter, North Irish Roots (UK), and the Journals of the Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire Family History Societies (UK). She is also a photographer. Visit Zita’s website at: http://www.fletcherpublishers.com/ Visit Zita’s Amazon Author profile: https://www.amazon.com/Zita-Steele/e/B009W3L5H8 MWSA: Would you recommend MWSA membership to other authors? Zita Fletcher: Definitely. MWSA provides so many resources for professional development and opportunities to learn from and connect with a wonderful community of fellow authors. I am happy to be part of the MWSA writing community and encourage all prospective authors to join. No matter what your experience level, you will find opportunities to learn, engage with others and share your story. MWSA: Please tell us a little about your writing background and philosophy. Zita Fletcher: I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I excelled at writing in school and loved storytelling. My earliest ambition was to write books. Besides writing, history and social studies were my strongest subjects in school. They continue to be my strongest subjects. In college, I majored in Social Sciences with concentrations in International Studies and Criminology. Within my discipline, I focused on criminal profiling and psychology. I earned many academic distinctions. After graduation, I strongly considered pursuing a career in Forensic Psychology. I ultimately decided to become a professional writer and am happy with my choice. As a journalist, I've enjoyed being able to share the stories and thoughts of many of our country’s veterans including a Marine medic who fought in the Battle of Guam, a Korean War veteran, wounded veterans who participated in the Warriors to Lourdes journey, a Medal of Honor recipient and others. As an American, I’m a strong believer in intellectual freedom and the human right to question. Freely exchanging opinions and firsthand learning are opportunities for discovery and enlightenment. Throughout my life I have rejected attempts by others to control or dictate what I think or believe. I became a political independent in college and remain so. I reject labels. I use the term “free thinker” to emphasize my philosophy of independently determining my beliefs and values. MWSA: Why do you write under a pen name as an author? Zita Fletcher: As a creative person, I like to have the flexibility of writing under a creative name to express myself. I use the pen name Zita “Steele.” The name “Steele” is a wordplay on steel metal. According to the Chinese zodiac and Five Element system, my element is Metal. I do not believe in astrology or horoscopes; I simply find this very cool. MWSA: When did you become interested in military matters? Zita Fletcher: My interest in war, soldiers and generals dates from an early age. As a child, I liked to play with toy knights instead of dolls. Also growing up in a Catholic house, I had a strong attraction to muscular male saints (often depicted with weapons) including St. Michael, St. George, and St. Sebastian. When I was 10, people were astonished to learn that my favorite movie was Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.” I also amazed others when I bought Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” during a bookstore trip at about age 12. I was one of the only girls I knew who liked shooting games and war movies. On trips to museums, I was fascinated by guns, armor, swords and spears. In high school I was a voracious reader of ancient Roman war histories and keenly interested in samurai. One of my favorite TV shows was “Human Weapon.” I liked to watch the Military Channel, which is now called the American Heroes Channel. I think my interests surprised people who did not expect a feminine young lady to have such a strong attraction to warriors and military science. My genetic makeup is English, Irish, German, and Spanish—all ethnicities known for having great fighting spirit and strength of character. I was also born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Horse. While I do not believe in astrology, some traits associated with the Horse accurately describe my personality. I was raised in a single-parent household; given my strong-willed nature, things could have been difficult. Thankfully my mom appreciated my free spirit and allowed me to be very independent growing up. In addition to military history, I’ve also had a lifelong interest in martial arts and sports. My favorite sports include mixed martial arts and fencing (foil); I started foil fencing at age 17, and still love it. MWSA: What do you like about military history? Zita Fletcher: One of the main reasons I love military history is because it is filled with courage, leadership and self-sacrifice. I like to learn about feats of bravery and strength. There is also a lot of warmth and humor among soldiers. I admire stories of brotherhood and great commanders who bonded with their troops. I’ve always been very curious about the international landscape—I love travel and foreign languages. This has led me to have keen interest in military history and theories from other countries. MWSA: Do you come from a military family? Zita Fletcher: My family history includes military tradition. My great-grandfather Edward W. Arnold was a U.S. Marine Corps instructor during World War I. My grandfather Ray A. Fletcher Sr. served as a medic in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol during the Korean War. My direct ancestor, Morris Gibbons, was a “bushwhacker” guerilla chief who led raids under Col. Joe Porter in Missouri during the Civil War. My other ancestors include a Southern cavalryman in Hampton’s Legion, several Revolutionary War-era militia captains, a British Royal Navy privateer, a Swiss-German mercenary who fought for the Duke of Marlborough and Spanish conquistadors. MWSA: Why do you speak German? Zita Fletcher: I studied German for many years as part of a personal journey to get in touch with my heritage. Aside from the rewarding experience of connecting with other people, this skill has also been priceless regarding military history. I’ve been able to do research at many German-language institutions in Europe, including the German Historical Museum in Berlin, the Jewish Museum of Berlin, the Nuremberg Trials Memorial, the Munich City Museum, the Museum of Military History in Vienna, and many other places. I find there is a void when it comes to sharing German history and perspectives with English readers—things get lost in translation, or just simply lost. I use my German language skills to research and share knowledge through my writing. MWSA: Where did your interest in British military history come from? Zita Fletcher: The first time I encountered the British military was through research on World War II North Africa for a project that started when I was 15. The desert war has remained a major interest for me ever since. I was impressed with the brave soldiers of the British Eighth Army. I learned so much from the compelling stories of these heroic men from England and the Commonwealth countries. I was also impressed with the Eighth Army’s leader, Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery. This led me to develop interests in other aspects of the British military and its rich history. I also personally relate to and admire British people and culture given my strong British heritage (Northern Irish + English). British history is a great source of inspiration to me. MWSA: Why did you decide to write a book series on Field Marshal Erwin Rommel? Zita Fletcher: Rommel is a controversial figure—but that is why he is interesting. We cannot ignore controversy if we want to learn from the past. Studying Rommel gives insights into the experiences of a German soldier who began his career in an era of turmoil, rose in the ranks and was ultimately killed by the Nazi system. There are many aspects of his story that are worth examining. What first got my attention regarding Rommel was his photography collection, which I found fascinating. I created my book series because I wanted to share my discoveries. Rommel is not the only general I find interesting. Other military leaders I’ve enjoyed studying include Hannibal, Yi Sun Shin, George Washington and T.E. Lawrence—and of course my favorite commander, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.