The purpose of learning about Kautilya in Endurance is to formulate a strategy for ourselves to realize our missions. Back in 300 BC, Kautilya created a structure for administration, economic policy, and military strategy that continues to hold its influence in political science. Kautilya left us with a template and questions to consider the importance of what we want to achieve. The questions are simple: Why? How? How much/many? When/where? What if? Using Kautilya’s guide, we investigate what drives our mission and how to achieve it.
As we are in the “Stratego” unit of Endurance, it is a time to focus on what you can do (emphasis on the do). We learned in Morpheus that it is important to be able to visualize what you want, and now it is about action. My personal mission is about having a more positive outlook. It is a common goal to have, but there are many methods that people go about improving their outlook. When we presented our missions as lessons to the Endurance class, I wrote a second Kautilya plan for the lesson. I wanted to involve classmates in the lesson, so I had to think of a way to get them to the answer I had sought before. The question was: What are some methods of assessing internal feelings to change outlook? My lesson plan (that I’ve detailed below) was to introduce them to behavioral modification. To involve everyone as a participant, I brought in a zen sandbox. The sandbox only served as an example of a way people contemplate their feelings and clear them away like debris to feel refreshed. The rest of my lesson plan answers Kautilya’s prompts. Kautilya, zen sandbox, strategos — they may all sound disconnected, but in our Endurance class we always find ways to make connections.
| Lesson Plan | |
| Question | What are some methods of assessing internal feelings to change our outlook? |
| Why | The purpose of this lesson is to introduce behavioral modification therapy, a way to find the source of negative feelings and replace them with positive feelings. |
| How | At the end of the lesson, the participants will experience replacing feelings. The presentation will start with EP stating the purpose of the lesson. Then, she will go through the steps of behavioral modification therapy (what happened? what did you think? how did you feel? what could have you thought?). Next, she will ask each participant to recall an event which prompted a negative mood. The participants are not expected to share what they are thinking. The presenter will pass around the zen sandbox to have each person go through step 4 as a collective — through clearing the debris of sand they are thinking about the act of replacing negative feelings with positive ones. As a wrap-up to be sure that the participants understood the activity, the presenter will ask the participants what the purpose of using the zen sandbox was. |
| How much/many | 1 presenter (EP) and 11 participants will be involved with the presentation. The presenter must bring her zen garden sandbox and rake accessory. The participants do not need any materials of their own. The presenter will pass the zen garden sandbox around to involve each participant. |
| Where/when | GCE Room C; Thursday, May 3rd, 2012. Time limit: 6 minutes |
| What if | If the presenter is running out of time, there will be someone monitoring time. When there is 1 minute left, it is important to let participants use the sandbox to refresh their minds with positive thoughts. |