A person’s worldview is formed as a direct result of experience. It’s a perspective that we have about the things around us. In other words, it’s what we believe to be true, or more specifically, what we believe is possible.
Over a lifetime a person interacts with the world around them. As a consequence of these interactions they form a worldview or opinion about themselves, others and about the world in general. This worldview is based on their values, biases and assumptions, however all these psychological factors are influenced by a person’s parents, peers, the school they went to, the places they lived and other environments they have been in. Also on a larger scale, our worldview is influenced by governments, science and religion.
Over a lifetime every person forms a different worldview about various aspects of their life. For instance a person who has experienced being in a loving relationship for many years will have a very different worldview of what it means to be in a relationship than someone who has had their heart broken and cheated on a half dozen times.
This is just one example of the hundreds of thousands of worldviews we build around our personal experiences. And it’s these worldviews that affect the choices and decisions we make when confronted with the circumstances of life. In fact, a worldview is what encourages someone to make a risky decision that another person avoids at all costs. Both these people have had two very different past experiences when it comes to taking risks, and this has affected their worldview and as such consistently influences the daily choices and decisions they make.
Your diet is the way it is today because of the worldview you developed over a lifetime. For instance your parents and guardians shaped your diet during your early years, and your peers and the media might have shaped it in the preceding years.
You either trust or don’t trust people based on your worldview, which of course is a direct result of the experiences you have had over a lifetime that have taught you who should be trusted and when.
People who have had similar backgrounds and/or experiences would also have very similar worldviews and will therefore make similar decisions when faced with specific choices or dilemmas.
A person’s worldview can of course change as their experiences change. With more experiences and references that go against their current worldview, the more likely they are to formulate contradictory ideas and opinions that eventually influence what they believe to be true.
Identifying Your Worldview
One way to better understand your worldview is to ask yourself a series of questions. These questions will effectively help you to unlock the belief systems that are currently shaping your worldview.
Questions that you could ask yourself include:
Who am I?
Do I have a body or does my consciousness arise from the combination of cells that is my body?
Do “I” survive the death of my physical body?
Should I believe what seems popular or strategic to believe, or can I truly think for myself and trust my direct experience?
Am I part of a larger power or intelligence than me?
If so, how do I relate to or communicate with it?
Is it separate from me?
What gives meaning to my existence?
What is my purpose and the purpose of life?
What is the nature of my connection with others?
What does it mean to love and be loved?
What do I need to be fulfilled?
What are basic human rights?
What is freedom?
Should others be able to tell me what I can exchange, ingest, or do…or should I be able to decide these things for myself.
Which is more primary in finding our way, the rights of the individual or the opinion of the majority about what’s “good for the group?”
Is our reality bounded or open?
Is the universe basically trustworthy or not?
Is there such a thing as good and evil?
What is integrity, and does it matter to the quality of life?
Below is an interesting video that actually goes into various theories and models that help us formulate our worldview. The various perspectives mentioned do however go much deeper into this area than what is currently presented within the MasterMind Matrix.
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