Political Correctness in the Corporate World

Philosophy Cube by S.H.A. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

The corporate world... Just the words sends shivers down my spine.

Anyway, I have a theory about the corporate world - however I am not completely sure that my theory does not have large holes in it. There are too many people with opposing viewpoints, personality, belief systems and ideologies within the corporate world for a unified group of employees to have any strong viewpoints or vision of the future.

Stating that, there will always be people who disagree with one another, however the corporate world ensures that everyone plays "nice" and the majority of people are not free to communicate their true thoughts and beliefs on company initiatives, business goals, management style, etc. Fear guides this as well, as many employees will not rock the boat.

This lack of transparency (and truth) on a larger scale is devastating to the organization yet necessary at the same time. The organization can not achieve true greatness without the unadulterated input of the people, yet the organization can not exist if all people are bickering amongst one another.

I suppose this is where strong leadership is important, where people feel comfortable stating they do not like an idea, though in the end the leader decides and it is supported by a majority of staff members (both inside and out).

I do not know, though political correctness and lack of freedom of expression is suffocating within itself, and that is a prospect that is difficult to enjoy.

Music and Expressions of the Heart

Philosophy Cube by S.H.A. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

I read a poster the other day that stated "Music expresses what words cannot". This touched me deeply... As an avid fan of music, I have often wondered why music is capable of penetrating a layer of the self that mere words can not.

When we hear beautiful music, it fills a space completely and one is surrounded with the beauty and joy of creative expression. I believe there is more meaning to the poster than what appears at first glance. Language utilizes a certain portion of cerebral activity; however the heart (containing brain cells) and thoughts associated with emotion may not have the most prime way of communicating by utilizing the section of the brain devoted to language alone. Music may express, quite literally, feelings and emotions on a level that affects our heart and may translate our emotions into a depth, that is not understandable by language alone.

The Subconscious Mind

Philosophy Cube by S.H.A. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Our subconscious mind is constantly giving us signals in the form of feelings that a rational mind may find difficult to interpret or understand. However, I believe that it is important to place emphasis on these feelings rather than soley base one's life decisions upon logic and "reason." As our conscious mind, is only utilizing upto 10% of the brain's true capabilities - the question arises what is the other 90% doing.

When I dream, I often hear the most beautiful music that I am unable to transcribe on to pen and paper because it is there in my mind for the split moment, and then vanishes into the dream itself. Similarly, I believe the subconscious mind is capable of providing inspiration, guidance and true interpretation to that daily stage that is our lives. The key is to isolate that voice and take the time to really hear and feel what is happening within ourselves. I suppose that is where meditation may be beneficial, however I have not actually tried true meditation. To embrace nothingness, and perish all thoughts within my mind has not been an easy task.

Saying that, tying all thoughts together into one powerful and focused frequency (for lack of a better word) may allow for true greatness and artistic expression in work.

However, the entire concept is humbling and interesting. I may investigate further into this....

The Commercialization of Art

I, who have been an avid admirer of the arts and the freedom that the work and the term represents have had a reawakening after studying the history of artistic works. All the greatest artists that are revered in the Western World, were excellent at their trade, however they too were promoted heavily, marketed, and commissioned by the powerful families and the Catholic Church (no less) to create works that are admired by millions. Also, the fact that religious drawings, that touch people's hearts due to their faith, will always recieve an emotional response from the viewer regardless of the exceptional talent of the painter. Not to say that these artists did not have skill. They did, but so did thousands of others. If one is to view Eastern art, where the artist's name has not been promoted or discussed or even recorded, then one can easily say that they are on par with the European arts. However, it is rare to hear a famous eastern artist's name echoed again and again throughout musuems or in discussions about the arts.

A sad fact regarding the commercialization of arts is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles using the famous names of artist's which ensures that an entire generation of children will grow up knowing who Raphael is.

Marketing, commercialization, replication through posters and images, as well as religious leanings have biased the perception of art in the world today. Is it possible that we can actually live in a world where people see and think for themselves? How many millions of dollars have been made by replicating the Mona Lisa or frescos from the Sistine Chapel. Angels, demons, Gods, Serpents, and other religious Catholic "images" are famous the world over. How long will it take before the other religions with "graven images" (not associated with the Church) get an understanding of the fabulous amount of money to be made and decide to promote their "artists" on a mass scale. For shame..... You can NOT buy and sell God.

Philosophy Cube by S.H.A. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Atheism

Atheism as opposed to Theism, asserts that there is no deity or divine essence within the Universe. My question is why such certainty in the non-existance of a Divine Being? I understand the millions of people who have "faith" in a certain belief system, largely to the fact that they were raised as children in a certain belief system. Religion holds value in the sense that it, in most cases, purports excellent values, provides a unity among it's followers, and serves as a gathering point/social community for it's believers. However, religion itself, it must be made clear has many less positive sides, especially the use of violence towards those who do not practice the same faith. In many cases, the religions themselves do not view violence in a positive light, however the followers of a certain faith may not be 100% religious (ironically enough).

Religion, is practiced by billions of human beings, and though not everyone can be right, it is rare to find people actually seeking truth. For there is only truth or untruth in the universe regarding the divine. One can not tell truth and lie at the same time..... As most religions in the world claim to be the correct one, it can only be said that the majority of the people in the world, must be "incorrect" in placing blind faith in the religion of their fathers. That is why education, knowledge, and extreme caution should be exercised when seeking truth. I have met a large number of people whom are happy to be born into and practice a certain faith throughout their lives, without really paying any attention at all to what they are worshipping or doing.

Hence, all the violence in the world, due to religion. If people actually cared for their belief system, and truly believed in it, they would not break the codes so nonchalantly and claim divine guidance when they do so.

Saying that, atheists, without proof claim there is no divine. To deny the existence of something, due to lack of evidence does not make sense, when the denial itself has no evidence. Would it not be more accurate to state, this is a grey area, and unknown? However, atheists too are subject to human feelings, and must have an idea of what will happen in the after life. Atheists do not believe in an afterlife yet somehow they must have knowledge that "nothing" happens after death except non-existence.

I believe Atheists are subject to what all other human beings are victim of which is the fear of the unknown. To die and not have a belief about what will happen must be a scary prospect. So the atheist has faith that when he dies nothing will happen and he will become non-existent. That is fair enough, however a belief just the same, as there is no proof of this concept.

Perception of our World with Limited Senses

Philosophy Cube by S.H.A. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Being confined to the five senses is so limited, how can one perceive this world with only five senses. The fact of the matter is that there is so much in existence that our senses are not capable of defining. We know for a fact that energy exists, it is all around us yet we are not aware of the energy patterns in our world. Also, we have technology to detect heat, yet our bodies can not do the same function.

There could be so much going on around us, that we really have no idea what is happening in the vicinity near us. Imagine our perception if we were to add an additional 95 senses to the five that we already have. Our world would be a completely different place. Just as the world of a blind person is experienced differently from a person with sight. Take this difference, and multiply it by hundreds, possibly thousands, perhaps more and that is the minute fragment of our personal experience compared to the reality of the Earth/Life. It is definately humbling that our minor perception of reality, leads to science and other skills, and yet there is so much more out there. It is so true, that the more I learn, the more I realize that I do not know.

What is the true nature of the world we live in, I do not think we as humans will ever be in a position to define. For now, it will have to suffice that our perception of this world is a small fragment of what the world truly is. Humbling indeed.....

What about the Palestinians?

Philosophy Cube by S.H.A. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

According to history, many of the Palestinian grandfathers sold their land to Jewish immigrants. Is it right for their grandchildren to claim shares of land when they would not have inherited any to begin with? Perhaps only the Palestinians whose land was stolen should be involved with the call for land. However, the entire country was destroyed, the greater share of land stolen (as opposed to being purchased) and a civilization imprisoned. A complete mess, unfortunately war always is.....

The Human Rights violations (in all cases) are a completely separate issue, land or no land. Every human being should be able to live without persecution. A very sad situation. What is even worse is that above all people, the Israelis should know not to persecute others, because of their history.....

Hypocrisy when people are aware of their hypocritical nature is self serving. More dangerous, is the hypocrisy that appears when people truly believe they are on the righteous path and still act unethically. Is that possible, to be able to overlook such blatant contradictions of morals? Can the mind and heart be powerful enough to completely blind a human being's sense of reason?

Unfortunately, atrocities in Israel, only serve to reinforce prejudice European viewpoints established before and during WWII.... Very sad, especially as the Ten Commandments and the Message of Moses was about freedom from persecution, kindness, and other virtues.