The gaps that exist between cultures also exist on a personal level. Different experiences give people a background that they use to navigate their future. Since no people have the same background, no two people will look at the future in exactly the same way. For instance, a person who was nurtured when young will have a confident, unfrightened outlook on the world, whereas an abused child will be shy and fearful. Likewise, a visual person will view things differently from an auditory person. Clearly, then, our senses give us a distorted view of reality. Since every observation we make is a product of our senses, we will never have a perfect view of reality. Why, then, should we bother? Czikszentmihalyi answers this question with an explanation similar to the one we have arrived upon previously: if we see the end of our journey as a complete understanding of the universe, we will be disappointed. Instead, we should try to make our view of the universe more and more accurate with the understanding that it will never be exactly perfect (this is similar to the saying: “strive for perfection, and yet realize this is impossible.”). How, then, do we achieve this? We must compare observations to one another to discern the truth and lift the veils before us. This said, Czikszentmihalyi moves on to describe how to do this with three major sources of “reality distortion”: genetic programming, cultural heritage, and the demands on the self. The first source, genetic programming, is the first Veil of the Maya. Czikszentmihalyi states that before we can understand the world about us, we must first comprehend our biases and motives. On the most primal level, this is determined by our genetic makeup. Our genes tell us, among many other things, to search for food and propagate the species. Much of our free time is spent on these topics, time that we might wish to spend on other topics. In this way our genetic predispositions are our enemies; they are concerned only with continuing the species. If we can not analyze the difference between our genetic impulses and our personal desires, we will be a slave to our primal heritage. By reflecting upon our motives for various actions, we can temporarily lift the first Veil of the Maya. The second Veil of the Maya is due to cultural influence. Again, Czikszentmihalyi states that by stepping back and analyzing the influence of our culture, we can lift this veil and have a more accurate perspective on reality. To be more specific: Czikszentmihalyi begins by indirectly quoting a belief of Kant, that every culture believes it is the center of the universe, and also the best. The individual is imprinted with this as they learn skills that are not genetically encoded: as you learn to read and write, you begin to learn some cultural values (as an example not in the text, catholic schools arose because a grammar primer was written that contained practice sentences that put forth protestant views). Becoming immersed in one’s culture can blind a person to reality. Czikszentmihalyi gives three examples: limiting one’s potential (many cultures do not allow women positions of power, for instance), blinding one to other cultures, and blinding one to truths not endorsed by the culture. Again, by taking a mental step back and observing cultural objectivity, we can lift this veil. The final veil discussed is the veil of personal ego. Czikszentmihalyi explains that once people realized they were thinking, they gained the ability to be concerned with themselves; that is, have self-interest. Once this self-interest is present, it becomes a primary goal to protect their ego. For these reasons, the pharaohs of Egypt had their pyramids built; they desired their ego to survive their own death. This obsession with symbols continues to this day, as people define their worth based on material objects such as how expensive their car is, or on ideals such as Christian faith, or perhaps instead on relationships with other people. This is where our perception becomes distorted: once we define ourselves by symbols, we view everything as it relates to that symbol. The person with no ego (one who has no ideas, beliefs, objects, or relationships) has no such concerns, but is so far removed from the basis that humanity it is hard to conceive of such a person actually existing. Czikszentmihalyi’s suggested method for lifting this veil is a stance of moderation: by attempting to have a life of freedom (a job that you enjoy, a schedule that you dictate, etc.) combined with a love for humanity in general, one may lift this final veil. This seems to be the most difficult of the three, and indeed, it seems that many people will never lift this veil. The people who make it through the first two veils are few, and fewer still to make it past the third. From: westminster.edu/staff/brennie/WDGroup2/sub%20pages/stories/the_veils_of_maya.htm
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 19:11:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015