Poem # 11 (Acrostic)

Tempting Temptations

Temptations are all around,

everywhere we look!

Maybe there beside you or

possibly passing by.

To turn your cheek

is harder each and every time.

No body can resist them for you I

guess you will have to try.

To resist temptation,

each must first must make up their

mind.

Please be careful if you choose not to

there might be something great left behind

all could be lost if you decide to go

temptress blind.

I hope you resist temptation if your heart is

on something else.

Nothing can fix some mistakes,

some mistakes will forever bind.

Blog #9:

What is a limen? I have never heard this word and therefore am completly unaware of the meaning or relivance to this class. To find out what it was I simply looked it up in an online dictionary. According to thefreedictionary.com a limen is like a phsychological threshold. This relates to this class for numerous reasons.

One way a limen relates to this class is through the Monomyth. The Monomyth has a step in a hero’s journey labeled as a threshold. A threshold according to Joseph Campbell’s the Monomyth is something someone crosses putting themselves into a dark and dangerous place or situation. There is also another case in the Monomyth of a threshold which is towards the end of the Monomyth. This particular threshold is sometype of a hurdle one must cross to get to something they want.

This limen or phsychological threshold sounds like something all to familiar. By the way it is described it sounds like it is a hurdle some one cannot physically cross. It is a hurdle that they must allow themselves to take by freeing their heart and their mind. I am one of those people who think about things to much and because of this I tend to miss out. This overconsiouness of doing something wrong is like my limen. It is holding me back from something I want to do, and I need to cross the threshold.

Poem #10

Belly of the Whale

Here I stand in this belly of a whale

I feel cold, clammy and very pale

Look at this awful hole I dug

I just brushed it off with a shrug

If I would have made with haste

I would not be stepping in this paste

I should have just kept moving

‘Cause it would have been much more smoothing

Now I’m stuck here in this whale

The only way out is a sneeze or near his tail.

Blog #8: Belly of the Whale

The “belly of the whale” is an archetype found in Joseph Campbell’s the Monomyth.  According to Campbell, this stage represents the aftermath of crossing the threshold, this is when ” he finds himself [ or herself] in the darkness of a new world.” In the ” belly of the whale” is where the hero finds their purpose and to continue their journey hence, moving out of the “belly of the whale.”  When I think of the “belly of the whale” I imagine a person just be swallowed up by whatever situation they are in. It is like the lowest somebody can be.

We have read and seen movies with people being in the “belly of the whale” part of their heroic journey. An example of this from The Painted Veil, and it is shown through Kitty. Her “belly of the whale” moment, in my opinion, is when she goes to the gentlemen she is having an affair with and tells him that Walter knows. Instead of him commiting himself to her, he says he could never leave his wife. At this point the thought of loneliness consumes her. She knows he lover did not love her as much as he said he did and she also knows she cannot go back to her husband and act like nothing happened. At this point she was stuck, in the whale’s belly. Her moving on, out of the belly of the whale, is when she decides to help the nuns, at this point she is letting go of her lonliness.

Another example of the “belly of the whale” can be found in Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus is who we look to for the example this time. I believe he is in the belly of the whale moment when he on the ship heading to Troy. Odysseus was no stranger to war, but was not ready to go this time, now that he had a wife and newborn at home. He is in the “darkness of the new world”, but he moves on through his heroic journey with the help of Athena, who he depends on for protection.

These are just a few examples of the “belly of the whale” situation, found in the readings and movie from class. To find more examples, I suggest looking at any movie or book with a hero, or any person, for that matter. Because remember a person will be become a hero, they are just on the journey to getting there.

Poem #9: The Turing Of the Tassel (Musette)

The stage.

Red Gowns, Grey Gowns.

It’s Here!

Speeches,

diplomas and

tears…

What’s next?

College and work.

Good Luck!

Blog #7: Thresholds

In my opinion, in Amanda’s dictionary, I think thresholds are something that holds a person back from something you want, but when you overcome the threshold, a hurdle per sa, he or she is rewarded. Thresholds can be both mental, emotion, or physical. Maybe sombody cannot figure out an awnswer to something and it is holding them back from that A paper. An emotional example, would be something like struggling to give yourself to someboy. Maybe you are not ready. I think physical thresholds seem to be the most common. A person hears a lot of what other people cannot accomplish due to disabilities or other physical problems.

According to Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces and creator of the Monomyth, a threshold is something that ” seperates the hero from his home to the andventures…filled with mystery and danger.” Also, a threshold can seperate you from something a hero wants when returning from his or her journey. In Campbell’s Monomyth, there are two types of thresholds. One threshold is at the beginning at a heros journey or the ” Crossing [of] the first threshold.” This is where they are taken away from their home and family and thrown into a less comfortable world. The second threshold a hero encounters in their journey is ” the crossing of the return threshold.” Would you consider the other trials and tribulations a hero goes through during his or her journey thresholds? I see them as thresholds because they hold a hero back from the next step.

A perfect example of both types of thresholds is found in Homer’s The Odyssey . The ” crossing the first threshold” is when Odysseus is called away from his wife and newborn son to serve his country in the war against the Trojans. He also has, what I would call, numerous smaller thresholds to cross to reach his heroic goal. He takes part in a deadly war and he gets caught up with numerous monsters and evils. Then finally when he makes it home, he crosses a “gatekeeper” of his dreams. I would say that the gatekeepers are the suitors in line for his wife. When she sets up the competition he has to beat them to get his wife.

Poem #8: Comfortable Metal

Most metal is…

cold, raw, coarse

to refine it takes much force

Precious metals are…

polished , pretty, worth worth big bucks

how much you have who gives to fucks

Comfortable Metal is…

Honest, beautiful, the meaning does linger

how brilliantly is is, wrapped around my finger

Blog #6: supernatural aid

I think it safe to say in the last week I have recieved supernatural aid. I think God has been with me especially this week through the hard event my family has had to endure. On Monday, my cousin delivered a still-born baby boy. I was so upset with God for taking this gift away from them that they so deserved. But through this hard time God and I have had some heart to hearts and he has helped me understand the situation.

Through this hard time God provided me with strength and understanding. Strength, because he gave me the ability to look my cousin in the eye and try to comfort her in any way that I can. This was very hard because I could say a  1000 things and nothing could help her. It’s kind of amusing to see how I handled this situation and how it went along with my archetype. I’m a caregiver, and it just killed me inside knowing I could not help her, that I could never take away any of the pain she, her husband, and our family had. Also God was with me when I kept thinking of why this would happen. I cried numerous tears for my cousin and our family, and the only thing that went through my head was ” why?”. The understanding came later at the funeral we had for baby Logan. My uncle, a pastor, said that God sometimes keeps the young and innocent, because it is hard to come by such pure angels. For some reason this set with me all that day, and I just accepted that everything, no matter how unfair, happens for a reason. Hopefully, God will see it fit to bless them with another pregnancy later on.

I am not one for the supernatura. I do not believe in ghosts or numerous gods, but my God, Jesus Christs aids me more than I could ever thank him for. If it weren’t for him having his guiding hand upon me, I would have a lot more times of uncertainty and questions.

Poem 7: Refusing the Call (Senryu)

A little one is here,

because you chose to deal, and

aren’t you glad that you did!

The picture is from http://www.emoryhealthcare.org.

Blog 5: Refusal

To refuse a call is to refuse an adventure. How hard it was to think to myself I am not going to do what I think I should. Am I making the right choice or not? This is the question you often ask yourself when you refuse a call that is made to you. Then how interesting it is that you can change your  mind so quickly to do what you think is best . This is what happened in my particular experience with my refusal of a call.

As I mentioned before, I had gotten married at a young age. Shortly after I was really confused as to what I should do with the rest of my life. Should I go to college and get a degree so I have something to rely on to help support my husband and I and our future family? Or, should I join the work force, so we do not have to struggle as much and devote most of my time to my wifely duties? I pondered these two questions for quite some time. I was just not sure what to do to. So, one day I made up my mind that I was just not going to college. That I could be more productive working full time and dedicating my time to my home. This decision did not settle well with me however. I have always had a passion for learning and a want to go to college. Also, I wanted things for my husband and I that would be hard for a lesser wage job to provide. With all of these things on my heart and mind I changed my mind and decided not to refuse my call. I started college that August and have been loving it ever since.

I have never been so happy to change my mind. I am glad I decided that it was best not to refuse this particular call and go ahead and pursue my college degree. Luckely, I have found time to do all the things I believe I should. I work part time at a care home, I go to school full time and still make time to be the wife I should be.