If we look through the annals of our world history it is inundated with wars, conflict and violence. I have heard it said that the longest recorded period of peace in the world is only 25 years, during the rule of the emperor Nero in the Roman Empire (He made up for that by introducing more decadent entertainments with sacrificial Christians at the Coliseum, however.). The underlying justification for all this never ending violence has invariably been sanctioned in the name of religion. The paradox of religion where the teachings of those enlightened mystics, who basically espoused kindness and understanding among all peoples, is employed as the vehicle to create destruction, misery and suffering in the world. Intrinsically intertwined with religion is culture. What is culture? Culture can be described as: ideas, ideals, beliefs, formalities, traditions, ceremonies, idiosyncrasies, anecdotes, myths, superstitions and misconceptions that have been adopted by a specific group over a period time. A selected collective of thoughts, contaminated with illusions, allusions and delusions, as a predisposition of what reality is? "You" are none of those "things". Anthropologists inform us, in their scientific analysis, that the human race has a common ancestor that originates in Africa. Since those beginnings, untold groups have migrated and subdivided from the savannahs of Africa to all corners of the globe. Over time, hundreds of thousands if not millions of years, such groups travelled settled in all regions, and “evolved” their own cultures in isolation from one another. The physical barriers of distance, mountains, oceans, deserts etc. ensured that every group would create an individually unique culture of its own, in varying degrees. In this modern era, in which we now live, these geographical barriers have been removed, allowing us to observe and experience many different cultures from our own, which can be initially viewed as strange and unfamiliar. Do you think we have now arrived at the stage where we can rise above amplifying our differences and resorting to violence to solve problems?

I find it quite easy to poke holes in other cultures because they are easy to contradict and do not encompass my own beliefs. However, if I am able to detach myself from my culture, everything that is familiar and what I believe in, both consciously and unconsciously (as I become more aware of what I was unconscious of before). I know I could just as easily poke holes in my own cultural heritage and see its imperfections and shortcomings for what they are. I think one solution in overcoming these traditional conflicts that have plagued us throughout our history, can be applied by a shift of ones awareness and understanding ones self in terms of ones culture and its history. That each of us needs to realize what culture is, how it has evolved, and what it can become; what you Are as an individual. I also feel our need to work towards the creation of a global culture that could become acceptable to everyone. To discover the best parts from all the different cultures with the aspiration of generating something amazing and dynamic that all will be able to believe in as Earthlings. I can understand that most people probably need their culture, intact, as it exists, and would totally loose their identity, be derelict, without it. That growth in this direction will inevitably be a gradual process that can only begin by us, as individuals, wanting to expand ones awareness of Who one Is.

http://www.wilderdom.com/games/PsychologicalExercises.html