Synthesizing Eastern and Western wisdom

The internet changed everything. Near instant long-distance communication became a cultural reality and as humans evolved to communicate with each other in real time, far away communities could actually be linked for the first time in a practical manner.

The following article is just a rambling of my creative thoughts about western and eastern culture. I have these big ideas about culture which I would like to express on this blog. Here is my take this newly emerging synthesis of eastern and western wisdom, only now available because of the internet.

The East has developed a great practice of Awareness. A practice of self-discovery which leads a practitioner to more clearly see their causes of suffering and how to act in an appropriate manner. Basically, through various forms of meditation, the individual delves into their own experience and fundamentally sees themselves anew. The person after some time, instruction, and practice begins to intuitively understand this thing called Awareness. Understanding Awareness allows the person to relate differently to all aspects of life, as instead of identifying with various causes and conditions, the practitioner is able to “step back” and put things in perspective. That is, all things come, and all things go but Awareness itself remains pure. This is an experiential practice, not a theoretical one, and only actual experience with awareness can re-shape the brain cognitively.

One of the most common misunderstandings, besides that in meditation you have to go thoughtlessly blank, is that meditation leads to dissociation. A blank indifference, a null emotionless life.

Far from it.

Rather than identifying with an emotion, which we instinctively do because emotions are tied to survival, meditation allows one to see the emotion within the framework of Awareness. That is, an emotion rises and passes but doesn’t need to be acted on. This “space” allows the practitioner to remain calm. And remaining calm is the KEY to not losing oneself in the reptilian brain.

So Eastern Wisdom offers the wisdom and freeing power of Awareness. What does the West bring to the table?

Western culture offers a complementary wisdom — Creation. Creation is how we translate the inner world into the external world. Vision, goals, organizing, planning, and building are all part of Creation. Think about skyscrapers…how did those come into being? A person had a vision. They set a plan of action, organized the necessary resources, made a plan, and built it. Their mental world became part of our world. That is creation. We in the West intuitively get this.

In many ways, science is akin to creation. With science we can understand the laws of reality and build upon them. All modern technology is based off science. Yet despite the power of science and the power to shape the external world, we find ourselves in dire straits. With a population of 7 billion and counting, eventually there won’t be enough resources. Do the math.

I propose both worlds of East and West have suffered in imbalance. The East has been deprived of a means to translate the great wisdom into culture; the West not knowing great wisdom has been unable to wisely utilize power. Before the Internet and modern communication, the East had the wisdom but couldn’t manifest. The West had the power to manifest but didn’t know the IT. This is why the West took over the world yet fucked it all up.

Of course neither culture was completely without wisdom or power but they emphasized them differently and were not in balance. Now the great energies of the world — symbolized in the yin-yang of East/West — are coming together. Now individuals are finding new ways to be happier. Fundamentally proven, time-tested, scientifically verified, ancient practices to make life better.

For example, our goal setting technique utilizes both awareness and creation. You need to be aware to be able to feel your needs and goal setting to actualize those desires into lifestyle. In business, people are harnessing the power of silence to boost creativity and then utilizing creativity to change the market place. Truly, a fusion of east and west.

The new age is about personal growth. Personal growth entails the deeper inner awareness to know which path is most true to themselves, regardless of the cultural messages they have been told. They are also realizing the power of practice. Combine the two and one has a long-term view with present moment awareness and an ability to know what they want and an ability to get it. It’s the 21st century baby.

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