La Ceiba Milenaria

The Climate Crisis We Do Not See…

by Laura González Carranza

At this moment in history, humanity is going through an unprecedented crisis: climate change. A scenario that is only beginning to reveal the consequences of all the devastation caused largely by human factors. There are debates around this issue, about how much we are responsible and how much what is happening is part of an organic warming process of the Earth itself. A discussion that is sometimes raised simply to hide our guilt.

In any case, whether or not there is proper acknowledgment, the fact is that the Earth is warming, and this has generated a host of consequences: for those of us who cultivate the land, the weather has become a box of guesses. We do not know whether it will rain or whether the sun will be so radical and aggressive that it will kill the baby plants. We do not know which plants might withstand the impact of drastic climate changes. We do not know if what we are going to plant will have any chance of survival. In any case, life is gradually becoming an art of trying to foresee things in the midst of chaos. And so, without certainty, we must keep walking.

In some places, such as the Global North (that geopolitical and capitalist North, among others), measurements somehow help and will continue to help in anticipating mechanisms to confront this wave of uncertainty. Meanwhile, in other places, such as the Ecuadorian South where I am, the underlying philosophy is to “live day by day.” It is like a principle of existence shaped by different colonial processes, one that leads us to build the circumstances of life day by day. Given the economic ups and downs, insecurity, political instability, and so much more, here the human spirit is forged in the midst of the sea: between the tide that rises and falls. A capacity for survival and daily reconstruction that confines us to the day we are living—it does not allow us to think too much about the future, plan for retirement, or design the next five years of our lives.

In all of this, with the calculations of the North and the resilience of the South, the truth is that we have not developed a global awareness of what is happening in relation to what is our Great Home. Although statistics flow on one side and the urgency of survival on the other, the chaotic scenario has not been understood in an integral way. And what this ultimately raises is: why have we broken the relationship we once had with the space we inhabit, to cause such a tremendous crisis?

For more thoughts on this subject, please subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

www.laceibamilenaria.com

Our ancestors’ perspective on nature and the Whole

by Laura González Carranza

A long time ago, our ancestors maintained a deep and sacred relationship with the stars, the planets, the mountains, the water, the living plants, and nature. Everything was considered as a Whole. This way of relating to the world was profoundly different from the one we experience today.

For them, each of these elements—so to speak—was understood as a living being. This way of interpreting existence has been described by historian Carolyn Merchant as an organic conception of the world. It was an understanding of life in which livingness itself formed the foundation of all relationships between humans and the natural environment, without rigid separations between the human and the non-human.

Today, however, the frameworks through which we relate to these elements have changed significantly. We are the product of complex historical processes, shaped by specific moments and circumstances that have gradually fragmented this earlier organic understanding of life.

Within this organic worldview, as Merchant describes, two dimensions were especially important. On one hand, there was a material and tangible understanding of natural elements. This physical dimension allowed water, for instance, to be recognized as essential for human survival, fulfilling basic needs that have accompanied humanity throughout its entire existence.

On the other hand, there was also an immaterial dimension. This aspect gave meaning to water and other natural elements beyond their physical utility. Water was not only understood as something that quenched thirst or sustained biological life, but also as a medium of purification, spiritual nourishment, and inner transformation. For this reason, water has played a central role in initiation rituals, cleansing practices, and various expressions of sacredness throughout human history.

The combination of these two dimensions—material and immaterial—formed an integrated understanding of reality as a Whole. This totality can be understood as the sum of all material components and immaterial aspects present in nature: mountains, water, stars, planets, trees, and even ourselves.

From this perspective, nature was not seen as a collection of isolated objects, but rather as a living web of interconnected relationships. This worldview allowed our ancestors to establish a profound sense of interconnection with the environment, fostering ways of life that were more integrated and less fragmented.

Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, this way of understanding life has been gradually lost. The reasons for this rupture are multiple and complex, rooted in historical, cultural, and epistemological processes that have profoundly reshaped how we perceive and relate to the world.

Exploring these causes becomes the necessary starting point to understand how we arrived at our current condition, and what possibilities might still exist for recovering—or reimagining—a more conscious and integrated relationship with life as a Whole.

Therefore, in La Ceiba Milenaria we use the concept of the Whole, which goes beyond nature.

https://laceibamilenaria.com/our-ancestors-perspective-on-nature-and-the-whole/

Our ancestors’ perspective on nature and the Whole

by Laura González Carranza

A long time ago, our ancestors maintained a deep and sacred relationship with the stars, the planets, the mountains, the water, the living plants, and nature. Everything was considered as a Whole. This way of relating to the world was profoundly different from the one we experience today.

For them, each of these elements—so to speak—was understood as a living being. This way of interpreting existence has been described by historian Carolyn Merchant as an organic conception of the world. It was an understanding of life in which livingness itself formed the foundation of all relationships between humans and the natural environment, without rigid separations between the human and the non-human.

Today, however, the frameworks through which we relate to these elements have changed significantly. We are the product of complex historical processes, shaped by specific moments and circumstances that have gradually fragmented this earlier organic understanding of life.

Within this organic worldview, as Merchant describes, two dimensions were especially important. On one hand, there was a material and tangible understanding of natural elements. This physical dimension allowed water, for instance, to be recognized as essential for human survival, fulfilling basic needs that have accompanied humanity throughout its entire existence.

Read more here: https://laceibamilenaria.com/our-ancestors-perspective-on-nature-and-the-whole/