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Culture is the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings, and transmitted from one generation to another. This transference of information and tradition is the source of folklore and religion, and serves far more than just the need for a good bedtime story or a word of encouragement during difficult times. It is necessary for those that need a predictable existence to live in comfort and acceptance. And it should not be surprising that the culture in which we live affects the way we manage our lives. In fact, until we understand that premise we are eternally put away in that existence; buried in a way of thinking that at times limits our abundance. And it serves a metaphor for a much deeper existence; that of a level of being that is invisible to the naked eye, but whose effects are experienced with each passing moment.
Culture affects the individual by shaping one’s values, beliefs and deeply held assumptions. Those characteristics are wrapped up into what are considered norms. And norms of the Western world are centered on possessions. The need to have possessions necessitates practices that supply those needs. And in a tragic irony, in the Western world, need is defined as that which one does not have, or that which one is afraid of losing. Regardless, neither is truly required.