Us Vs The Universe

Change Our Ways or Die

Eastern and Western Perception

The human world we currently live in seems to be somewhat split. Governed by two collective minds created by the culture of individuals of the East and West, a significant differentiation of perception on the totality of life has been projected into existence. Modern cultural anthropology and scientific research have provided evidence that someone who is born in the West will most likely view life entirely different from that of the person born in the East due to culture, and yet live side by side. Reasons for this are quite intriguing for one to invest their minds into, for assimilating in the opposing mind of your region can bring about a completion of yourself, a deeper understanding of who you are, especially if you are from the West and are yet to study the self-developing philosophies and teachings of the East. The major differences between the two can be found in a lot of different areas. Such as the advancement and fascination in fields of interests, from governmental desires like power and control to individual wishes for possessions of material and the aggrandizing of ego; there are clearly vast differences that distinguish an Eastern mind from a Western. Advanced brain research being conducted recently using the latest technology is providing information that proves culture plays a dramatic role in influencing one's perception of life. What has been discovered is that someone of the West tends to see themselves as independent from everything else, like they are cut off from the world, rather than being a part of it. Interestingly, when presented with a picture test where Western cultured people had to observe an image, the majority of participants were naturally attracted to focus on central objects within the image, obtaining more information about one detail rather than the entire image. Sort of a reflection on how Westerners tend to favour individualism. On the contrary, the Eastern culture encourages interdependence, unity with one's surroundings, and being culturalised in the East results in having your perception altered so that you are more likely to lose information on minor details, but can take in more information. That was proven by most Eastern cultured people observing the entire image during the test, rather than just centralising on specific detail. So, for example, let's suppose I were to present you with a picture of the inside of a shopping centre where there is a lot of activity taking place. According to the findings of this research, if you are Western cultured, you will most likely concentrate on particular detail about the image, like studying the lady with the green handbag. You'll focus on specific minor details yet miss out on the amount of diversity due to not looking at the complete picture. If you're Eastern cultured however, you will take in the whole picture, notice a lot of people gathered, yet not see the minor independent details like the lady with the green handbag. That is just one simple example of distinguishing the two perceptions that are predominantly influencing this world. Where it becomes of an importance is when one culture is negatively affecting the other, and that is what is currently happening in the modern world.

The fundamental variance between East and West in my opinion, would be that a Western person tends to look at the world as something external from themselves, and therefore treats it that way. Whereas someone of the East spends more time looking internally and experiences the world as something of themselves. What is being implied is that two worlds concurrently existing on the same planet are reflective of the beings that occupy them. So evidently in the West, the environment resembles tenants that feel separated from their surroundings, resulting in what is seen today in the characteristics of the average Western person where they consume a significant amount - pollute without care - strip and destroy nature to create goods and so forth. All without realising that they are ultimately destroying themselves. The lack of progression of someone studying who they are can lead to multiple issues that are contributors to anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and disinterest in the expansion of consciousness. Reason being is due to the fear of exploring what has been ignored, and when the ignored surfaces, the ill-disciplined due to always running - decide to hide. And a form of hiding that has become a cultural norm here in the West is to fulfil one's time with intoxications that take oneself away from who they truly are. People resort to intoxicating themselves on all sorts of different mind stimulating activities like shopping, drinking alcohol, watching movies, scrolling through social media, going out to clubs, reading books, and so forth. Anything that will allow them to escape from who they are. They engage in activities that consist of the continuous exploration of the external world. Chasing money, status, power, objects, knowledge and what not. People of the West long for what is outside of them, running from the grasping hands of their inner selves which always leads to an intense game of cat and mouse that evidently is resulting in the destruction of our world. The conclusion to this is collectively dying as a species without knowing how beautifully divine we all are. That is the terrible mess haunting the soul found within the West.