The Western materialist approach to life is lacking connection to spirit and wonder which are still available in some parts of the world. This connection, like love, is the glue that holds everything together. Without it, the world appears to be empty and chaotic. The disconnection from oneself is a major cause for depression and suicidal ideation in Western world. I see this in my healing work. Of course, people do not know this and they ascribe the causality of their mental illnesses to external factors; job, relationship etc. But in reality, these are only the symptoms of the deeper problem.
The feeling of Unity with the whole existence, which is the center concept in some spiritual traditions of the East, comes from this connection, a connection that gets severed by cultural programing as we grow up as kids. This is why it’s crucial for parents to protect this connection and ensure that their children never forget themselves and maintain the sense of miraculous as they growing up.
Be it a religious approach that instills
fear in you from the time you get exposed to it, or an atheist mindset
that holds no respect for life and is lacking the concept of sacredness,
both are leading you astray from finding your own answers. Rooted in
obedience to authority, both ways prevent you from discovering your own
truth which might not fit into the box of accepted narratives, imposed
on you by society from birth. “Culture is not your friend”, as Terrance
McKenna used to say....<<<Read More>>>...