Gandhi audio lectures– Holding Fast to Truth and The Call to a Super-normal Life

Gandhi audio lectures– Holding Fast to Truth and The Call to a Super-normal Life (Week 5)–300 words
Now consider the character and the ethics of Mahatma Gandhi – one small man who changed the course of history in India. With non-violent protests, this one man said, “No” to the British Empire – “No, I will not allow you to continue your oppression of my country.” He lived a “super-normal” life because he did not limit his vision – either of himself or of what he thought was possible. And his ethics were consistent with his absolute trust in something larger than himself.
In your discussion of the Gandhi audios, please consider the following questions: What does he mean by swaraj (self rule)? What does he mean when he suggests that by our silence, we are complicit to the immoral actions of our society? What does he mean by the “violence of mass values?” Gandhi forces us to rethink our mindless participation in modern culture. And, as stated near the end of the audio, “If this sounds unrealistic, ask yourself why.” Why is it possible for some human beings to realize they are capable of so much more than blindly following the values/ethics of the masses?
Lame Deer–Life Enfolded in Symbols and Our Place in a Symbolic World (Week 4 and 6)–300 words
Next, we consider the ethics of Lame Deer, a chief of the Lakota tribe, who was killed while resisting the U.S. Army’s removal of the Lakota people from their tribal land.
Lame Deer’s ethics arise out of his understanding of himself and his place within the natural world – a world filled with extraordinary symbols and meaning.
In your discussion of the Lame Deer audios, please consider the following questions: What does he mean when he connects “the mass culture of the modern age with the alienation of ourselves and the natural world – we become strangers to ourselves.” What does he mean when he says that we have committed “spiritual suicide?” What happens when we live lives that are empty of all spiritual consideration? What do you think about the lecturer’s statement, “Lame Deer is banging on our prison doors telling us they are locked FROM THE INSIDE.”
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor: My Stroke of Insight–200 words

This is a very interesting video! What do you think about this neuroscientist’s conclusions about who we really are and what we are capable of choosing to experience? Why do you think this neuroscientist formed the conclusion that she had entered “Nirvana” rather than concluding that she had merely had some sort of brain malfunction? Does her experience cause you to rethink your certainty about what is possible and what is not possible? Why or why not?