The Hawaiian Culture uses the term lokahi(lo-kah-he)and fulfilling the need to be in lokahi with one’s self, with others, with Spirit… was the ancestors main objective in life.
These ancestors saw no distinctions between nature, each other, and spirit. Lokahi, the sense of connection with all things, is Pono (poh-noh). Ka Hana(kah-hah-nah) Pono is the means by which one brings this philosophy into every day life. Ho'oponopono ( Hoh-oh-poh-noh-poh-noh) is the time-honored, therapeutic practice of putting one's self back into right relationship with everything.
Why does it seem most other cultures (other than American), particularly tribal cultures, share connection and oneness to all things as a fundamental and governing belief system?
I think this is a very important concept to ponder because it causes those of us who live in the United States to question our heritage and the fundamental belief system upon which we operate. Millions of Americans have been raised without rituals, traditions, or rites of passage and as the "cultural-melting-pot" of the world, are starting to feel the effects of an identity crisis brought on by the "lack of connection" or "oneness" of a spiritually empty culture.
A Culture of Connection-less-ness
America's mixture of differing cultures is a fascinating phenomenon... perhaps causing our beliefs around work, family, and spiritual expression to be lost. The global information economies obsessive focus on technology is fundamentally changing the worlds' cultures by diluting the belief systems that once made specific cultures unique and self-engaging... It's time once again to adopt the prime directive.
Because America is a democracy with a free market system we are at the front of this "technical cultural dilution". American business is at a point where our own belief system must shift from purely profit to one where we design our individual cultures to meet the collective needs of those that our businesses touch. Like never before we are touching all areas of the earth and we need to ask… “How are our products, services, and processes diluting the belief systems of the cultures we do business with? Not because it’s a nice thing to do, but because it can give us a strategic advantage in a fiercely competitive global market.
I operate from the fundamental belief that regardless of the massive changes brought on by the advancement of technology, human nature is relatively unchanged. Shakespeare’s account of the toils of men thousands of years ago give rise to the argument that human nature just might be immune to evolutionary constructs. Although our ancestors didn’t have the convenience of answering their cell phone and communicating with someone on the other side of the globe, they were however, according to the expressions of their belief system, more connected to the world around them.
As a business leader… what needs might be on the horizon as a result of this clash of cultures in this “technical cultural diluted” world? Might these needs give rise to new business opportunities?
Some of the world’s best business minds tell me that my business, Grainger Leadership Institute is poised as an authority when this perceptual shift becomes a tend… what are you doing with your business to help your customers, and employees return to that sense of connection… or as our Hawaiian ancestors would say “lokahi”
But I want to know what you think... share your thoughts by clicking the "comments" link below.
Engage Your Passion,
~M
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