Epic Observations About Indian...Epics.

The idea of feedforward outlined in Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback by Marshall Goldsmith is an interesting one. I especially admire how the theory allows groups to get together and help each other even if they don't know a lot of background information about the others around them. They can simply be told what the person hopes to achieve in the future, and receive a few tips on how to achieve that. It seems like a foolproof method. Though this may not help when simply reading and commenting on posts, it may be helpful in the wider scope of life. In Presence, Not Praise by Maria Popova, the importance of process and progress is exemplified, something perhaps even more important than the concept of feedforward. Popova talked about how praising children for effort rather than innate skill was significant. This should, perhaps, be applied to all praise, and perhaps I can find a way to apply it to my commentary this semester. Cheerleader by pecanpieguy

Really, with the way that Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana interact, they would be a lovely Star Trek bridge crew, like Kirk, Spock, and Uhura. They could be lost, or exiled, on some planet somewhere. Or, they could live in modern day New York, and have weird adventures in Central Park. Either way, Sita is going to be the POV. Story one: Sita saves herself from Ravana, because she's awesome. If I go with Star Trek, she can defeat her alien captors through pure cleverness, whether she knows how to hack their system to trigger her release or she can speak their language and talks her way out of it. If they're in modern day New York, Ravana will be her stalker, and she'll mace him in the face then kick him in the crotch. Story two: Sita refuses to undergo some test to prove her purity. If Star Trek, then Sita refuses the medical scan and berates Rama for not trusting her. If New York, then Rama suggests she go to the clinic and she refuses, and they yell at each other. They k...

It was cold. Always too cold. What had it been like...to be...what was it? Too hard to remember. Too hard. Then suddenly, light. As the stone crumbled away from Ahalya's form, everything came rushing back. She had been tricked, then punished. Now a beautiful man was talking to her, and old habits kicked in, stretching her lips into a courteous, humble smile even as her hands curled into fists. " May you seek and join your revered husband, and live in his service again. Let not your heart be burdened with what is past and gone. " Rama was saying, and then he was walking away. Even before he had left, though, Ahalya had decided for herself that she would not be going back until she was ready. Ready to make him pay. That had been a year ago. Every night she woke from that nightmare again and again. She had found out by asking around that Indra's sentence had been lessened, which only fueled her more. It fueled her as she learned to aim throwing stars, hol...

Lakshmana is ready to fight everyone on Rama's behalf, which is excellent. Everyone needs a bff like Lakshmana. But also, a key part of the dynamics of this interaction is that Rama soothes Lakshmana because he's cool with Bharatha ruling. They even consult the palace astrologer before leaving on a long journey. "And he listed a series of the blackest sins for which people were committed to hell." (62) Bharatha puts Rama's shoes on the throne and rules as regent. Ravana has ten heads? And falls in love when Soorpanaka describes Sita? Ravana's uncle Mareecha says not to go near Rama. Sita wants the pretty gold deer, and Rama agrees to get it for her without thought, when he would usually think about it. Bracken House - London by Remko van Dokkum Narayan, R. K., The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Version of the Indian Epic.  (Reading Guide)

A full moon ritual needs to be done, but evil spirits are preventing it from being done in the sacred place. The practitioner asks for the help of the younger, not the older, which frustrates the older. It's stupid that Ahalya is turned to stone for the sins of Indra, who is covered with vaginas, then eyes. Gautama doesn't seem wise for a sage. It would interesting if Ahayla was released by Rama in the modern day, and became some sort of Black Widow fighter assassin and made Indra pay. "Rama said to Ahalya, 'May you seek and join your revered husband, and live in his service again. Let no your heart be burdened with what is past and gone.'" (22). And Ahalya laughed in his face and went off to seek her justice. Rama said her heart was purified, but it was never impure in the first place, for no man's hands had the power to sully her glory. I need a bed on a slab of moonstone. There's a lot of good stuff about auspicious stars. "I dream of com...