What does it mean to Awaken? Part Two

The Conditioned Nature of the Mind.

In my previous blog post I addressed the Conditioned Nature of Society.  The sea in which each of us swims impacts our worldview.  My society has a role to play in forming me.  As I have said, and as I wrote... if I had been born black, female and in Zimbabwe my worldview would be way different than it is today.  My individual and personal worldview is conditioned by the society in which I live.

​From birth we develop mental models, worldviews, constructs that are informed by the world in which we live.  In the process we develop frameworks for navigating life. Think of them as beliefs, personality traits, normative behaviors, and so forth.
 
Early in life we develop a socialized mind; a mind conditioned by the social environment that surrounds us.  For example, I grew up around the New York City metro area, Long Island and New Jersey, and that experience in a melting pot impacted my view of the world and my strategies for navigating through life.  When I went to college in Holland, Michigan, I had to figure out how to navigate in that very different environment.  It was a major adjustment for me.
 
In 1966, my understanding of reality had to be adjusted as I migrated from the East Coast to the Midwest. My perspective on the world shifted. That is not to blame a liberal college education, but only to note the consequence of a shift in my realities, which was then fertilized by my new college environment.
 
Then, as in moments before and after, I became aware of the fact that there are different social norms at play in different cultures and I more-or-less adapted.
 
I take issue with Garlinger’s assertion that one jettison’s old, more limited realities while incorporating previously ignored or rejected realities.  I’ll address that in another post on transcending and including.  Rather than jettison, I would propose that the new realities might simple be new.  Maybe they have been previously ignored or rejected, but maybe they are just new and unfamiliar.  For example, in Holland, Michigan, folks went to church on Wednesday evenings.  Never heard of such a thing back in New Jersey.  Different norms to which I had to adjust.  I could return to the East Coast and function well there, and in Michigan.
 
What I had previously understood and accepted was no longer useful in navigating the norms of a new community where expectations for mid-week church attendance was strong, accompanied by shame should I fail to comply.  I figured out how to handle the shame and stayed home.
 
The Constructed Nature of Society changed for me in a very small way. When my wife and I moved briefly to Orange County, Fl, and then ironically to Orange County, CA, we both had to adjust to very conservative values.  We adapted… sort of.
 
Recognizing that my reality is limited and partial is a critical awakening.  Many times I’ve said to clients that had I been born black, female, and in Zimbabwe – my framework for navigating life, my construct of the nature of society, would be very different. 
 
Awakening is realizing that my reality has been informed by the world in which I emerged, and that everyone has a reality that has been informed by the world in which they emerged.
 
Once final example.  There is a grocery store on our side of town and behind the checkout counter are phone cards from 32 different countries.  Imagine that.  Different realities embedded in our community. There are as many realities as there are people on this planet. Ponder that.