OIA
JOURNAL
A collection of stories and
reflections focused on
wellness, spirituality,
society and culture.
No one really knows what consciousness is, not scientists, not yogis, not me. What is clear is that, on different scales, it can be analyzed. If we look at it on the scale of humanity, it can be said that it is perceiving itself and also recognizing the environment. Some people are looking to be more aware, and we do it in different ways; some focus on looking inward, others outward. All paths are valid, but some are more efficient. The interior and the exterior are not exclusive, they are a balance. In each life, the weight distribution is different. In mine, the weight leans on the outside, to do constant work in relationships: me with others, me with animals, me with microscopic life, me with the world and me with the universe. By focusing on these links, I have managed to be kinder to the environment, and this has had a direct impact on the relationship with myself, me with me. Getting to know me, respect me and love me. Could you have a healthy relationship with yourself without having it with the outside? Could it be that consciousness is identifying and embracing those relationships?
I love to philosophize on this subject. With Alejandro, my boyfriend of life, or as most call him, my husband, we have reached different conclusions. We have argued that the consciousness of the universe is a great invisible cloud that ties and modifies the dimensions, we have fallen in love with the idea that humans could be the consciousness of the earth, we have concluded that, the more knowledge, the greater consciousness, we have left many open conversations and we have also finished them laughing at our conclusions.
We return to the idea of looking outwards, to recognize what surrounds us. If we practice it on a day-to-day basis, perhaps we can reach what I call collective consciousness, where all human beings give in a little. There are ways and habits with which we live that we like, but we already know that they make us producers of a negative outcome. Innovation and global economic development are good for us, but first we want to have a positive relationship with the land. You have to live as a single organism, not as individuals. This begins by smiling at a stranger in the supermarket line to brighten his day, by eating a piece of beef instead of two, thinking that this way another can eat your second piece and we end up consuming less meat from animals that emit gases , or even letting a small spider live in the corner of your window.
It would be beautiful to achieve a symbiotic, two-way relationship, where planet earth feeds our soul and body and we humans produce a positive outcome for it. What could that outcome be? What could we bring you? I think that to answer that question we would first have to get to know the other side of this relationship in detail. It is like when you propose to someone to share their life with you, if that person is sane and accepts, it is because you contribute something. And if you give him something, it is because you know him and you know what he needs. What kind of relationship do we want to have with the land? One where we harm her, one where we simply do not disturb or one where we contribute? If the greater the knowledge, the greater the awareness, I propose that we become more conscious focusing on knowing planet earth. Suddenly, this is how we find the positive outcome and make sense of being humanity. When there is a collective purpose, life takes value.
For many moments in my life I have considered entering a deep and private journey into myself, but I have not. It does not mean that I do not analyze myself, the truth is that I do it all the time. The reason why I have not done it is because I have always had a very strong connection with the environment, before I did not understand it, but I did feel it. My professional development has taken me to a fascinating place, a place that has been giving me the answers. I have understood why in my eyes the collective is more important than the personal. I started, together with a friend, organizing the LIT Festival, a project where we were able to design and build experiences for people. It was a good exercise to observe collective human behaviors. Then, with Alive Drinks, my healthy drinks company, I was able to learn about the human microbiome, I have seen how some microorganisms have dynamics to exist with meaning, generating positive outcomes. Could it be that the answer of the collective consciousness has it? Should we imitate some of their behaviors?
I want to share some things with you. For example, let’s look at the life of probiotic microorganisms, these are good bacteria that we find in our digestive system. To fulfill their purpose they work as a team. They seek to feed! And we, their host, feed them through what we eat. If we eat healthy foods, high in prebiotic fibers, they reproduce, I am not talking about rare foods, I am talking about onions, garlic, oats, apples, common foods. When these probiotics are more, several things happen. The first is that you have a larger team of critters begging your brain for food, and as they eat healthy, your cravings start to become healthy. The second is that they are the “first line of defense” of the body, they are literally soldiers that fight against viruses, fungi, pathogens. If we have the right number of little soldiers, we win. The third, while they battle, they buy our immune system time to produce immune cells, in case something gets out of control. The fourth, while all of this is going on, another part of the probiotic team is breaking down the food to extract the nutrients we need, helping to complete the function of the digestive system. It is a symbiotic relationship! It’s as simple as: the host feeds probiotics, and in return they deliver benefits that help the body function.
Does everything that lives have a host? I don’t know, but I do consider that humans have it, and it is planet earth. We have been blinded with our heads focused on ourselves and we have not understood what our host needs. It is not about not disturbing the earth, that is the first step, a very valuable one, but not enough. By practicing collective consciousness we can start not to disturb our host. If we understand that humanity’s time on earth is like a blink of the eye, how do we make it a slow, subtle blink? Let’s extend our life, save time. Let’s propose solutions. Let’s focus on the relationship, I with the world, let’s not take it for granted.
We know that sustainable relationships are symbiotic. The earth carries us, feeds us, lulls us, allows us to inhabit, and what are we going to give it?
Matter of symbiosis
Stephanie Farah Carbonell | June 2 2020
No one really knows what consciousness is, not scientists, not yogis, not me. What is clear is that, on different scales, it can be analyzed. If we look at it on the scale of humanity, it can be said that it is perceiving itself and also recognizing the environment. Some people are looking to be more aware, and we do it in different ways; some focus on looking inward, others outward. All paths are valid, but some are more efficient. The interior and the exterior are not exclusive, they are a balance. In each life, the weight distribution is different. In mine, the weight leans on the outside, to do constant work in relationships: me with others, me with animals, me with microscopic life, me with the world and me with the universe. By focusing on these links, I have managed to be kinder to the environment, and this has had a direct impact on the relationship with myself, me with me. Getting to know me, respect me and love me. Could you have a healthy relationship with yourself without having it with the outside? Could it be that consciousness is identifying and embracing those relationships?
I love to philosophize on this subject. With Alejandro, my boyfriend of life, or as most call him, my husband, we have reached different conclusions. We have argued that the consciousness of the universe is a great invisible cloud that ties and modifies the dimensions, we have fallen in love with the idea that humans could be the consciousness of the earth, we have concluded that, the more knowledge, the greater consciousness, we have left many open conversations and we have also finished them laughing at our conclusions.
We return to the idea of looking outwards, to recognize what surrounds us. If we practice it on a day-to-day basis, perhaps we can reach what I call collective consciousness, where all human beings give in a little. There are ways and habits with which we live that we like, but we already know that they make us producers of a negative outcome. Innovation and global economic development are good for us, but first we want to have a positive relationship with the land. You have to live as a single organism, not as individuals. This begins by smiling at a stranger in the supermarket line to brighten his day, by eating a piece of beef instead of two, thinking that this way another can eat your second piece and we end up consuming less meat from animals that emit gases , or even letting a small spider live in the corner of your window.
It would be beautiful to achieve a symbiotic, two-way relationship, where planet earth feeds our soul and body and we humans produce a positive outcome for it. What could that outcome be? What could we bring you? I think that to answer that question we would first have to get to know the other side of this relationship in detail. It is like when you propose to someone to share their life with you, if that person is sane and accepts, it is because you contribute something. And if you give him something, it is because you know him and you know what he needs. What kind of relationship do we want to have with the land? One where we harm her, one where we simply do not disturb or one where we contribute? If the greater the knowledge, the greater the awareness, I propose that we become more conscious focusing on knowing planet earth. Suddenly, this is how we find the positive outcome and make sense of being humanity. When there is a collective purpose, life takes value.
For many moments in my life I have considered entering a deep and private journey into myself, but I have not. It does not mean that I do not analyze myself, the truth is that I do it all the time. The reason why I have not done it is because I have always had a very strong connection with the environment, before I did not understand it, but I did feel it. My professional development has taken me to a fascinating place, a place that has been giving me the answers. I have understood why in my eyes the collective is more important than the personal. I started, together with a friend, organizing the LIT Festival, a project where we were able to design and build experiences for people. It was a good exercise to observe collective human behaviors. Then, with Alive Drinks, my healthy drinks company, I was able to learn about the human microbiome, I have seen how some microorganisms have dynamics to exist with meaning, generating positive outcomes. Could it be that the answer of the collective consciousness has it? Should we imitate some of their behaviors?
I want to share some things with you. For example, let’s look at the life of probiotic microorganisms, these are good bacteria that we find in our digestive system. To fulfill their purpose they work as a team. They seek to feed! And we, their host, feed them through what we eat. If we eat healthy foods, high in prebiotic fibers, they reproduce, I am not talking about rare foods, I am talking about onions, garlic, oats, apples, common foods. When these probiotics are more, several things happen. The first is that you have a larger team of critters begging your brain for food, and as they eat healthy, your cravings start to become healthy. The second is that they are the “first line of defense” of the body, they are literally soldiers that fight against viruses, fungi, pathogens. If we have the right number of little soldiers, we win. The third, while they battle, they buy our immune system time to produce immune cells, in case something gets out of control. The fourth, while all of this is going on, another part of the probiotic team is breaking down the food to extract the nutrients we need, helping to complete the function of the digestive system. It is a symbiotic relationship! It’s as simple as: the host feeds probiotics, and in return they deliver benefits that help the body function.
Does everything that lives have a host? I don’t know, but I do consider that humans have it, and it is planet earth. We have been blinded with our heads focused on ourselves and we have not understood what our host needs. It is not about not disturbing the earth, that is the first step, a very valuable one, but not enough. By practicing collective consciousness we can start not to disturb our host. If we understand that humanity’s time on earth is like a blink of the eye, how do we make it a slow, subtle blink? Let’s extend our life, save time. Let’s propose solutions. Let’s focus on the relationship, I with the world, let’s not take it for granted.
We know that sustainable relationships are symbiotic. The earth carries us, feeds us, lulls us, allows us to inhabit, and what are we going to give it?