🌅🌅The Survival Guide to the Zombie Epidemic 🌅🌅

🌅🌅Part I: Personal Reflections of the Mirrors within the Mirror Mind of Mushin

Welcome to the dueling parallel pandemics. From panicking psychosis to poisoning paranoia, I enter into a slow and long discord of death and doom. However, here is my tale of redemption as I fought my way back out of the cycle of daily doomsday body counts, as I fought to regain my dignity within this land of absurd corruptions, and as I fought the impossible: to regain my sanity during the famous stressful Zombie Pandemic of 2021. I know you have another name for it, but this is how I remember it. Listen well.

Join me as I recount my return to my samurai training, my reconnection to teaching, and my quest to lose all the weight I gained. We are the worlds we travel through, the visions we see, and the pandemics we survive. The samurai must empty the mind of negativity, and enter the mind of mushin, no mind, to be calm within the eye of the storm. Therefore, grab your sword and follow me as zombies begin their final battle to rule the Earth.

🌅🌅Reflections within the House of Mirrors: The Art of Gaining Weight

Like being trapped in some sort of carnival house of mirrors, we do not see what is actually in front of us; instead, we experience a multitude of reflections of reflections. Since we are now in the dark times of the pandemic waiting for this strange imprisonment within our homes to end, we so desire to be released for our good behavior. By eating more, many of us are trying to bury this fear of the silent deadly epidemic, dying from the stupidity of our mutant governments, and finally trying to survive from the prison sentence of boredom.

Addicted to food, I started to consume more and more. Eating became my superpower, my way to fight the evils of this lost world. Captain Superior Fatman is here to save the world. Eat more to be more is my motto. Therefore, I became the heaviest I have ever been in my entire life, and I could no longer fit into some of my clothes.

All this occurred just in time to fight the zombies coming. Basically, I will just sit on the undead and crush them with my weight.

The power of weighted gravity rules. Death to the Undead!

🌅🌅Reflections on the Problematic Rise of Pain Mirroring the Growing Pandemic

I once had a student with a bright, thoughtful, and lucid mind. With her permission, I asked her what happened to place her permanently in a wheelchair. She kindly nodded and gave me permission to ask. She replied and told me that she had once been a gymnast trying to learn to do a double back flip. However, she landed on her neck and has been paralyzed since then. I listened, and paused, and understood. Then I shared with her that I had a similar injury, but I was able to walk away. She replied that I was very lucky in life. Yes, I was . . . I guess.

However, I have struggled with pain in my back ever since that day in high school. Being secluded in this pandemic, the deep levels of pain once again returned. In high school, I thought I would never walk again. I was on the rings trying the learn a double back flip. I completed many preparatory flips, missing my feet and just landing on my back.

I felt very ready, able, and confident, so I went for it. However, I didn’t make the second flip and landed on my neck as my knees hit into my face. Then momentary blackness occurred. When the light returned, people were looking down at me, and I was told to not move. Then I noticed I couldn’t feel my legs. They were about to call an ambulance. However, I insisted that they wait.

No sounds emerged as negative thoughts entered my mind: a life in a wheelchair, the end of my dreams for a scholarship at UCLA, and the end of a normal existence. Then a miracle happened as I felt my legs become attached to my body again. Quickly, I stood up, smiled, and waved at them as volts of pain shot up through my legs.

Within the depts of this pandemic, the pain has returned. Until a few weeks ago, that heightened and amplified sense of pain had remained far, far away in a forgotten memory. Some nights, I was not able to sleep. Basically, this level of constant increasing pain had never happened. Even with this pain, I must prepare for the final battle against the zombie attacks. The struggle continues.

🌅🌅Part II: Transformational Learning Applications of Mind to Mind Combat

The apocalypse started during the fall semester of 2019, when I taught an “Asian Zombie” themed composition course as a simulated last days of survival. The class started to plan for the end of the world by using the Zombie Preparedness site, developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which was created to train us for a future pandemic. Basically, in this class, my students were taught the art of fighting against zombies, Asian style. In Japanese zombie films, to reiterate the samurai sword remains the preferred way to destroy undead zombies.

Furthermore, at the same time, the Budo Society, samurai club, of UCO was preparing for the Spring Harvard Invitational Kendo Tournament, the largest intercollegiate Japanese sword competition in the country. Usually, we are preparing to fight zombies. However, somewhere across the globe, a real pandemic erupted, spread, and changed everything. The kendo tournament in Boston was canceled while the death rate in New York started to rise up as in a post-apocalyptic manner. Sadly, we were not able to fight zombies in Boston or in New York.

During the spring semester of the 2020, I offered an “Asian Demons” themed class for composition. Yes, there were zombies too, of course. As part of the class, the students learned about Daoism, the philosophy of yin and yang, which is critical to understanding Asian horror cinema. Within the perimeters of Daoism, the Chinese alchemy or neidan, the metaphysics of the Golden Flower, stands as way to fight the undead.

My students were exposed to this, so that they could become more successful at fighting zombies and the undead within the Asian context. The class was divided into levels of neidan mastery. As they completed assignments, they leveled up and entered each new plateau of quests and battles against new demons. The Golden Flower represents their rise in the mastery of inner powers by combating the stress and sorrows of life so as to transform negativing into positivity.

Then, the University of Central Oklahoma shut down face-to-face contact and went completely online. Unfortunately, we were forced to stop training to fight zombies entering the heartland. The highest level in the course consisted of the mind level or the level of the third eye, where the students reached enlightenment as Golden Flowers shined out of the top of their heads while the students became one with the universe or Tao. Basically, they leave the class and are able to fight zombies and demons on their own.

During the year, I was moved as I watched the national Black Lives Matter protests and as I watched Asian hate crimes rise up in numbers. I felt it was time to transform my classes as I fought back against such contradictions against the American spirit. Indeed, it was time to give birth to a new self and shed this reptilian skin. Ultimately, the Golden Flower is about self-resurrection and a transformational rebirth into an awareness of a fresh life as a new human being.

During the spring of 2021, the theme became “Reparations” for my composition class. Furthermore, I also added a commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre which coincided with the one-hundred-year anniversary of that tragedy. The class examined Native American, Latinx, Asian American, and African American histories. The students were asked if reparations were in order for all the tragedies that occurred. I didn’t preach. Instead, they were responsible for learning, researching, and answering questions about reparations, remembrance, and respect.

That is how I always teach. Any transformations should be self-earned and self-learned. I am merely the guide to improving and enhancing their writing skills. They do the difficult work of critical thinking and critical awakening needed to fight zombies and see the issues more clearly.

The undead who drag their feet and look like demons who haven’t sleep in ten years are easy to spot. However, there are the hidden zombies: those who pretend to be human, those who pretend to be our fearless politicians, and those who pretend to be our rich CEOs who suck our brain cells out, who suck our life energies out, and who suck our bank accounts dry. In Asia, these undead demons or hungry ghosts have various names like jianshi, the reanimated zombie-vampires who know kung fu, or the huli-jing, the shapeshifting fox spirits with nine tails who suck our lives dry. Grab your sword, we are going zombie hunting.

🌅🌅Part III: Tips and Tricks for Surviving the Zombie Pandemic

Practice the Art of Mindful Mobility More

While fighting the pandemic blues, we do things that might seem comforting but can be very damaging to our physical and mental health. That donut and that cake might taste yummy while that couch might be comfy, and watching Netflix might seem fulfilling. One might even be watching a zombie series, and that is fine. However, consider doing some dynamic stretching. Consider breathing deeply and stretching slowly. Move more to feel better in life.

During the pandemic, I noticed that my knees and ankles started to hurt from all the added weight. Additionally, I started to become sick, and I usually never become sick with stomach pains. Therefore, I started to radically change my diet: no bread, no noodles, and no rice. I was already a vegetarian. I also avoided oils; instead, I started to cook just using water instead, lightly steaming the food. I even avoided seasoning and just ate the vegetables as is. Some vegetables I ate raw. This was a radical departure for me, but it seemed to help. Don’t try this on your own.

In addition, I started to work out again and going out for long walks in the sun. I lost three pounds, then five pounds, and then fifteen pounds. I continue to lose weight. Slowly, I wasn’t becoming sick anymore. I reintroduced my body to my old type of yoga that I developed when I was a gymnast.

In my cooking, I added back the oil, like perilla oil, a Korean favorite. Happily, I can once again wear some of my old clothes. Finally, I stopped eating anything with sugar in it. That is not easy to avoid sugar, for even healthy processed food has added sugar. You have to read the labels carefully. Instead, I use monk fruit as a sugar substitute. I have never been on a diet in my entire life. Now I know why it isn’t easy. Forget going to restaurants. I don’t see anything healthy for me in those menus. Being lighter, I can fight zombies better, or at least run faster.

This has also affected how I teach. Instead of thinking a class has to be robust or rich, I started to ask these questions. Is this class efficient? It is more focused? Less is more. I want to make sure the course is more effective, and that each lesson supports the major objectives. I am trying to streamline my courses now. I hope they become more to the point, more potent, and more powerful. Fighting zombies and trying to learn at the same time requires the ability to be more mobile. Run!

🌅🌅Practice the Art of Listening More

People need to be heard because of these stressful times. I continue to learn to listen better. I always thought I was a good listener; however, I have discovered that I tend to not listen well as I could. This ability is a key to survival because it is important to hear when the zombies are coming. Though they are slow, if one is quiet, one can hear their feet rubbing against the ground as they walk in masses. Being sensitive is a good way to survive our tough times.

Furthermore, I have become more sensitive to the needs of my students as they also fight their own zombies. Indeed, everyone is dealing with stress during these strange times.

I owe much of this new practice to Dr. Lindsey Churchill, my friend. As the Director of the Women's Research Center and BGLTQ+ Student Center, she works hard for her students and listens to all their problems every day. She loves her job, the students, and life. I am still learning from her this new art of listening more and better.

The most important aspect of hearing is being open to suggestions on how to improve the design of a class. I now wonder how I can improve my directions. Therefore, I am trying to listen in a new way. I am rethinking my assignments by re-reading and re-adjusting the objectives of the lessons. How do my students view my courses? What do they read and what do they hear as they fight their own zombies or face their own problems? I have become more sensitive during the pandemic.

🌅🌅Practice the Art of Being Patient More

Finally, being more patient is important. I noticed Oklahomans seem to be driving through red lights more frequently and driving more erratically now. Perhaps this has been the norm, but I think it is increasing. I feel most Oklahoman drivers are courteous, kind, and nice. However, something has happened, people have become more impatient during this pandemic.

When I am at the grocery store buying something, I now tend to always talk to the cashiers in a positive tone, showing I appreciate that they are working during this pandemic. The effect is positive as I noticed more smiles. Therefore, I have learned to try to be more patient with my students because of the pandemic. If students are having problems, I give them more time to finish assignments since they might be fighting their own zombies. These are not normal times, so we should become more caring, helpful, and thoughtful. Welcome to the Apocalypse.

Finally, patience remains a vital lesson in life. While in high school, I trained every weekend at UCLA with some of the best gymnasts in the world. One of my teammates was given an athletic scholarship there. After suffering the spinal injury, I started to train my mind, instead, at their library on weekends, where I critically analyzed a lot of books. Though it was a dream deferred of earning an athletic scholarship, I became patient and knew another path would open up. Later in life, as a new Golden Flower of enlightenment blossomed out from my third eye and my skull, I decided to be reborn as a teacher with new purpose to live. It is never too late, for one never knows when an apocalypse of brain-eating zombie hordes might begin World War Z.

🌅🌅Grab your sword and follow me.