Sunday, October 28, 2007

fourth chunk

Forth chunk

My reaction to Lang before starting this unit was that I felt he was saying some very insightful thoughts. His ideas were not shocking to me because I’ve read articles dealing with similar topics, however he was the first to discuss alienation to such a degree.
My reaction to Lang now that I’ve done this unit is that of understanding. As I said before, I got what he was saying. I recognized his theory for what it was and then carried on. But doing this unit really brought it home for me. I gained a deeper grasp of his words.
I believe that Lang’s point of our forgetting of childhood – not only the content but also the flavor is for the most part true. The nature of memories is that they become blurred and muddy over time – a form of mental corrosion. We are then left with bits and pieces, sometimes not even sure if they really happened or if our minds had created it for no apparent reason. I myself have memories of dreams that seemed so real that the barrier between real life and them has broken down. And this is how it is for my childhood. I am certain of some memories in their realness, yet there are others that I have to question.
Pictures play a great role in helping keep a hold of memories. They serve as great anchors of thought, allowing us to recapture what was lost. I remember, as a part of this project, going through boxes of pictures with my mother. Almost each one seemed to bring back a memory of me from the deepest depths. Her face just lit up. Yet for me, only a few really brought me back to an event, but I was able to remember little chunk of things in the pictures be it a toy or a place, so everything was not to dead and dull for me.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Sensory Awareness - First Draft

When I was taking part in the various sensory awareness exercises, my attention was brought to many new experiences. For example, during the exercise in which we had to find our way back to the class blindfolded, I noticed how many other senses became enhanced when we lost the use of our eyes. My ability to hear took its place as my main source of information, along with my memories of the area I was in. In addition, there was a nagging feeling I had. I was more aware of things around me just from their relation to my body, however even if nothing was near me, it merely felt like I would walk into something. It is hard to put into words but it was as if the air was more active and my skin was noticing the signals. The last item of interest was that I felt some sort of tingling in my eyes. In addition to this, either in my mind’s eye or in the back of my eyelids I swear I saw when I paid attention, little golden sparks dancing around. I’ve noticed them before, and they only seem to be there if the tingling sensation is present. And as many times as I’ve seen them, I never really stopped and asked why they were there. I suppose that I just looked over them as useless information.
After doing the sensory awareness exercises, I do find Laing’s points to hold true in many aspects. It is very important to be in the here and now. This has the potential to greatly increase the value of our lives. However, I also I think that there is a greater advantage to be gained by having enough wisdom to know when to be physically aware and when to be the so-called “floating mind with a body”. In the world that we live in, there are times and events that call for certain responses from us mentally. For example, school. Some activity need for you to physically aware but the majority of them calls for us to be making good use of our mental being. Even as I am righting this now, I can feel some parts of my body, but overall my awareness is rooted within my thoughts. But in times when one is just walking down the street or waiting for something, it may be better just to relax and take in all that is around you, instead of just being trapped in your head.