... I couldn't get into it. I remember practicing zazen or rather trying to practice zazen. I was very restless and had trouble concentrating on posture and breathing. My mind kept wandering to history tests and English essays and, needless to say, I did not expand my consciousness. I also spent some time thinking about koans (Zen riddles such as "What is the sound of one hand ... is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?- (Hyams, p52) Joe). These koans also did not expand my consciousness and my mind once again wandered to history tests and English essays. I was very frustrated abo...

• Word Count: 3400
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... adult who creates, alters and impacts authority by their own presence. To understand this better, imagine a life where all your important and most demanding tasks are simply seen as tests. As tests, their failure is not important as long as you learn from them. This carefree existence is what makes teenagers so interesting and so exciting. But when young men or women ... ...

• Word Count: 2700
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

... to the idea, can there ever be? The skeptic inside of me says that you can be an individual, but highly doubtful without education on the idea of the self. A couple of examples from the readings that have to deal with self- identity come from Sartre in The Flies. At the beginning Orestes does not know who he is but after ... to have good friends, another is to have my daily coffee or tea, a third is music, and fourth -the most important- my family. (I must admit that Homer Simpson scores on a couple of these, especially the last one). But I also have another kind of pleasure, namely thi...

• Word Count: 5369
• Approx Pages: 21
• Grade Level: High School

... Wellness and Yoga Center is far enough out and away from the busyness of the city that I feel like I've been transported into a calmer, quieter world (even if only for a couple of hours). Turning into Dorothy Drive I realize it is time to slow down, breathe, and focus on myself. As I make my way to the end of the long rock drive ... ...

• Word Count: 5541
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: High School