The human being’s comprehension abilities have evolved over the eras, while his physiology – not just the brain – has been modulated and adapted to survive in a changing environment.

Installed on the idealized pedestal of technological scientism, we look back on our predecessors with a mixture of arrogance and condescension, and qualify them with adjectives such as prehistoric, primitive, archaic, ancient… But they were not ignorant.

Since ancient times, the human being has been aware of communion and harmony in one Whole. He has perceived himself as one more inseparable part. Without claiming any hegemonic position. With a deep respect for the multitude of forces and beings around him. Showing reverence and gratitude to the mystery of life.

This is a vital attitude that we can still observe in the animism of the indigenous peoples and nations, who survive today in isolated parts of the planet or cornered in artificial reserves. They are aware of the fragile balance of life. They recognize the one and the same Nature of LIFE presented in any form. And for this they apologize and feel grateful for the sacrifice made by trees and animals when they must cut or hunt to survive. Never for pleasure. Never if it is not necessary. They deeply respect the habitat where they live and on which they depend. The same sense of communion, of unity, induces a group consciousness as much or more present than the individual consciousness. Thus, cooperation and solidarity prevail over competition among community members.

The first civilizations of which we have evidence (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China and those originating in Mesoamerica and the Andes), directed their gaze towards the cosmos, expanding the limits of the world. It was no longer confined to the most immediate natural habitat.

With a mythical and symbolic thought – which we despise because it baffles us – the human described in the form of gods and spirits the forces and energies that he observed in the cosmos, as well as the vital energy, the thoughts and emotions that he felt in himself. To live these forces, in harmony and balance, was the aspiration. The human was the connection, the bridge, between Heaven and Earth, the two polarities of LIFE that generated everything he perceived.

Beyond offering solace and being used for social driving, the various religions have also pointed out – with their particular presentation – the Unit of LIFE. Even with a hint of longing for the lost connection. We see it in the same concepts of religion, from Latin religare, to reconnect, to rejoin; or in yoga, meaning union, in Sanskrit; or in philosophia, the love for wisdom of the ancient Greeks for whom wisdom was much more than simple reason.

Rediscovering Lost Harmony

Certainly, humans have made great progress in finding explanations to understand and master their environment, expanding the limits of knowledge from the subatomic world to the visible confines of the universe. But this has been accompanied by the loss of the awareness of being an inseparable part in LIFE that our ancestors had.

The instinct, intuition, analogy, observation, extreme sensitivity to perceive the subtle vital energies in nature and in one’s own body; the collective consciousness as humans, respect for nature… In short, the awareness of Oneness of LIFE as a whole, has been left in the background as we have ceded the helm of our lives to what we like to call rational thinking, thus giving way to individualism, competitiveness, pride, arrogance and anthropocentrism with which we justify the dominance and exploitation of the environment and our own congeners.

It is not a question of returning to the past, but of rediscovering balance and harmony in LIFE. We are the result of an evolution, with lights and shadows, that does not stop. With logic and historical criticism we can identify past mistakes and distill the wisdom received from our ancestors. Let’s not underestimate it, let’s adapt it to the new times.

Our environment and our mental framework may have changed. But the ultimate mystery remains the same. And here the ancestors already pointed out that we will not be finding the answer in conceptual explanations, but when we discover that our nature is the same, unique and, therefore, inseparable, of own LIFE.

No, they were not ignorant.