| Your world view is how you see the world working; | | | | Seeing beyond our own view brings learning. |
| it is how you see human life and how it works. Now | | | | When we are able to see beyond our own particular |
| we all have a world view. The problem is that often | | | | view, we are able to understand, at least in part, |
| our world view can limit us in seeing someone else's | | | | another person's way of seeing things. As we |
| point of view. | | | | become able to see their point of view, we learn a |
| An example | | | | little about how they live and why they believe what |
| I once heard a story about an Asian man who came | | | | they do. |
| to the United States to go to college. After he had | | | | When I learned yoga, I wanted to learn a little about |
| been there for some time, the Dean asked if he was | | | | the Hindu religion as that was some of the |
| adjusting and if he found anything out of place or | | | | background to yoga. As I learned to let down my |
| odd. The young man answered that yes, he did find | | | | own Christian world view, I began to see what the |
| something odd. The slant of our eyes was all wrong. | | | | Hindus believed and some specifics about their religion. |
| This may be a trite example, but I think you get the | | | | I did not convert to Hinduism, but I learned and grew |
| picture. How many of us cannot get past our own | | | | from the learning. |
| world view of things. | | | | What if you don't look beyond your world view? |
| Perhaps a more important example would be religion. | | | | If you do not at least look beyond your particular |
| We tend to think that our religion is the only right | | | | view, I believe you run great risk of limiting beliefs |
| one and that everyone else is wrong. Now I am not | | | | that stop you from growing. When Columbus wanted |
| trying to argue for the rightness or wrongness of | | | | to prove that the world was round instead of flat, |
| any religion. What I am trying to bring our here is | | | | many of those who could not see beyond their own |
| that when we take on this attitude of superiority, | | | | concept of how things were, laughed and thought he |
| we are unable to see the slant of our own eyes. | | | | was crazy. They could not conceive of such a world. |
| Is a world view wrong? | | | | I am sure many went to their graves never |
| I do not think I would say that any particular world | | | | accepting what Columbus proved. |
| view is wrong; as long as it is not so restrictive that | | | | Seeing beyond your world view does not mean you |
| we cannot see any other way. In fact, our world | | | | have to change your beliefs. It means you have the |
| view tells us how things work in our society. We just | | | | courage to look beyond and change if need be. It |
| need to remember that our view may not work in | | | | means that you have the tolerance to allow a |
| another culture. Often people of one country visit | | | | different point of view even if different than your |
| another and find that they are not well received | | | | own. |
| because they act as if they were home and that | | | | What are your world views and are you able to see |
| sort of behavior is not accepted in their current | | | | past them. What might hold you back? Look at your |
| surroundings. | | | | view of how things work, how you think the world is |
| A woman wearing shorts in the US or most of | | | | and ask yourself if there is any other way it could be. |
| Europe may be just fine, but not in a Muslim country. | | | | Could someone else be right, at least in their context |
| Does that make either side wrong? No, only | | | | and you might be wrong? |
| different. | | | | |