This class made me aware of ecovillages, communities focused on sustainable living. In her article, A Whole New Way of Life: Ecovillages and the Revitalization of Deep Community, Karen Litfin discusses what ecovillages are, how they interact with the rest of the world, and their importance in facing climate change. She mentions these communities are not protest-oriented but rather affirmative…. Read more »
If there is anything I learned this quarter about contemplative exercises, it is that mindfulness is a state of mind itself and once you think about it, you break the concentration. I determined that being led in a practice in a group setting brought me more individual focus, rather than hearing a practice online on my own. For me, mindfulness… Read more »
Lately, I’ve started actually reading the newspaper again. Every day it is a reminder that I am connected. I picked it up a few days ago, and the recent decision on Net Neutrality hit me. The current administration and our descent into privatization, benefits for corporations, and a very divisive cultural standard upheld by our president, make me question which… Read more »
In class we were asked to think up what would be our perfect world. In my perfect world I was sitting on top of a green hill with one tree, and the image I came up with I believe I had imagined once many years prior when reading a book I enjoyed as a kid. In the this place if you… Read more »
Arrogance is not an uncommon trait. While it is relatively easy for individuals to adopt a heightened sense of self, I had never before considered how a language could exhibit such arrogance as well. In her chapter “Learning the Grammar of Animacy,” Kimmerer underscores the linguistic connection between English and humanity’s perceived superiority by asserting that “the arrogance of English… Read more »
More times than not, I’d arrive to our class flustered and frazzled. In order to be on time, I’d have to race from across campus during passing period (a typical freshman mistake). Given my state of mind at the start of class, our contemplative practice were welcomed moments of meditation. A few minutes to collect myself and calm down made… Read more »
The life of a 21st century college student seems to move in fast forward. In my first semester as a college student, I have never been so busy and stressed. The constant barrage of homework, tests, and essays added to the ever-constant worry of admission into my major often puts me on edge. In this sort of mindset, it is… Read more »
I have never thought of power as both a noun and a verb. Before reading Active Hope, I considered “power” to be something that an individual has or acquires, usually because they have more of something compared to the rest of the population. Macy and Johnstone defined this as “power-over”. “Power-with”, on the other hand, suggests that “the whole is… Read more »
This class as I’m sure most everyone else will say, was transformative. Karen was right about the U path that she brought up in class one day. Through the quarter, I’ve fallen into massive depressions, going as far as skipping all of my classes due to lack of motivation to continue. Its like my philosophy professor once said, “What sane… Read more »
Our action project was a struggle but through pressure, like carbon, turned into something wonderful in the end. We had an intense start with lots of motivation and ideas flowing like a river. We wanted to find our place to make an impact on the immediate world around us and we felt like we had all the power in the… Read more »
