Week 5 of Leadership in Action: Mysterious, Magical, and Musical Backdrops

Backdrops—whether that refers to the stories behind subjects or the surroundings shaping subjects—ended being a strong theme in this extended video reflection.

Aug 04, 2024

Mridula Sathyanarayanan

Student, University of Toronto

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Below, I discuss what it feels like to learning about someone's past, defying initial impressions and casting a new backdrop behind the subject in front of you (mysterious). I delve into how the people and scenes around me have brought new character to my life (magical). And I play meditative flute music, which my course participants have loved (musical). I'll argue that there's lots to learn from the planes in which people appear—that is, our backdrops.

Link to Video (Click Here)

Mridula Sathyanarayanan (She/Her)

Student, University of Toronto

Hi everyone! I am a first-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. My primary academic interests include the science of well-being, philosophy of mind, and subjective impacts of contemplative traditions. My research project surrounds how Buddhist-inspired meditation practices impact the phenomenology of experienced meditations, specifically their sense of self, objecthood, and command over their emotion.

I am originally from India, but I graciously got to spend my childhood across six other countries: Zimbabwe, Nepal, Kenya, Switzerland, Bangladesh, and Qatar. Witnessing so many diverse contexts has opened me up to unique traditions, patterns of behaviour, and problems that characterize our world.

I look forward to meeting and learning from the extremely talented and passionate members of the Laidlaw community :)