Jonathan Janson

ThunderBird

This Thunderbird crashes into the air,

With its fierce lightning bolt in it eyes.

Protecting our Native Americans with its stormy cloudy wings,

That darkens the skies to scare the bad spirits away drowning.

We sacrifice ourselves to you glorious master,

Dancing, singing and praying in the storms and waiting for the disaster to end faster.

We can’t survive without you or else it would be a disaster,

For there is no one to fear the evil spirits away which would be a blaster.

Oh, Thunderbird I pray and sing for you everyday,

Please don’t fly away.

We need our land to be protected,

Or the spirits will get us affected.

Reflection of Gandhi

When Gandhi says “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.”  This means that evil  at that start seem pretty invincible but in the end they always fall and the good rises. Gandhi says this quote in the movie when he starts to starve himself when the British are punishing the Hindus for selling salt and that it was illegal for them to get salt. I think he says this quote again when the Muslim and Hindus are rioting with each other.

When Gandhi says "I am a Muslim, Christian, and a Jew; and so are you" he means that he is equal to everyone and that everyone was made equal by God doesn’t matter what religion or race you are. He says this quote when Mr. Jinnah says that he wants the Muslim to separate with the Hindus by making Pakistan a land for Muslims and India for the land of Hindus. After he says that Gandhi comes in and interrupts and says "I am a Muslim, Christian, and a Jew; and so are you". Mr. Jinnah wanted to separate the two religions because of the riot that was going with the Muslims and Hindus and he thought the only way to make the two religion peace is by separating them into two countries.

While we were doing yoga, I felt a bit of pain around my legs and arm at the start but later after we practiced breathing, it felt much easier and my arms and leg didn’t feel so much pain. After getting used to yoga I felt more serene and relaxed because I wasn’t thinking of anything but focusing on the breathing. It felt something new to me since it was my first time actually doing yoga and I never knew it that it would make you really calm. Yoga is very important to Hindus because it can also test your concentration to see if you can control your mind or not and if you can you can achieve Nirvana. Hindus also believe you can connect to God by yoga. It also thought me a lot about Hinduism because of yoga.

Meditation

During MRE we didn't do any class work and instead we did meditation. At the start I thought it was going to be boring and that meditation wouldn't help with anything. I was completely wrong, It was one of the best experience I've had. Meditating helped me a lot especially on that day because i had a lot of quizzes and that i was stressed out about it but after meditating it calmed me down a lot and that I felt more relaxed and most of my stress went away. Breathing in and out and saying phrases to yourself made me feel really good especially Step 3: Right Speech because saying all the positive things about myself made me feel honored of what I've done and that I'm luck to have supportive parents and friends etc. From all the Steps my most favorite one had to be Step 6: Right Effort this is because we got to go outside and sense the fresh air in and out and that it felt more of a better experience going outside and that you could see nature and it also helped me focus more on the breathing because outside there was a lot of noise and that it's a good practice to try and concentrate. I never knew buddhism would be so peaceful compared to yoga because in yoga you mostly focus on your moves you do and breathing at the same time which is pretty hard compared to sitting down and breathing and not thinking of anything else.  This was my most favorite experience in MRE.

The trip to Bongwonsa temple was very tiring because of the steep hills but it was worth the 20 minute walk. As I first saw the temple it was really beautiful with all the colorful colors and art pieces. At the Bongwonsa temple, there was a lot of people who came to pray and meditate inside the temple. The thing that surprised me the most about the Bongwonsa temple was that they had a temple with 3,000 BUDDHIST MONKS! Inside the 3,000 Monk temple they had in-scent and a graveyard which had pictures around them which were put outside of their box. In my opinion I thought Bongwonsa was a good location to put a temple because it was high up in the Mountain and it's very peaceful  there since there isn't a lot of people who live there. It was a whole new experience going to the Bongwonsa temple because in Thailand the structure of the temple is different and the atmosphere.

Shema

In my point of view about God is that he doesn't exist because I believe that the Big Bang has created our world as how it is today.  Since I don't believe in God I just follow the law and receive punishment if i do something bad. The reasons why i didn't believe in God was because I had so many questions about it like: how did God create the world?, who created God? and why is he so special?

Shema:

I believe in Laws and punishment and that the Big Bang has created our world and our lives that it is today. Science has made us in my perspective point of view and that God isn't involved in my life. There are no signs of relationship between God and I since we don't have a connection with each other.

Christmas Carol

Silent night! Holy night!All is calm all is brightRound yon virgin mother and childHoly infant so tender and mildSleep in heavenly peace!Sleep in heavenly peace!
Silent night! Holy night!Shepherds quake at the sightGlories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing HallelujahChrist the Saviour is born!Christ the Saviour is born!
Silent night! Holy night!Son of God love's pure lightRadiant beams from thy holy faceWith the dawn of redeeming grace,Jesus, Lord at thy birth,Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

About Jesus in the Carol

This song "Silent Night" represents the birth of Christ from his virgin mom Mary and that a savior is born and that day was a "Holy night" because God sent Jesus down to earth to lead people into the right path and that he was the Son of God. Everyone is joyful during that night because they know that Jesus was God's son and that he was born to a virgin mother which means God sent Jesus to Mary. 

Silent Night was first composed in 1818 in a small town in Salzburg, Austria. It was first played on Christmas eve at St Nicholas Parish Church.

A Christmas Carol in Bangkok in the Buddy Lounge Hotel.