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.
Based on the information presented in the YouTube video, Why have we lost our connection with nature?