Oakley E Gordon
University of Utah, USA
Title: The Andean cosmovision: Connecting to the heart of nature
Biography
Biography: Oakley E Gordon
Abstract
The Andean Cosmovision is a way of perceiving and interacting with reality found in the indigenous culture of the high Andes. It is not a set of concepts or beliefs. It cannot be described or encompassed by words. It can, however, be experienced and thus it can be explored. This exploration is accomplished through indigenous, meditative-like, processes that bring into our awareness all aspects of our existence, including our mind, body, and heart. The meditations also nourish a loving and mutually-supportive relationship between humans and nature, bringing in as co-creators of our meditative experience the earth, the sun, the trees, the stars, the rivers, and other aspects of nature. It is a relationship between humans and nature that is not tenable within the Western worldview. As the Andean Cosmovision and the Western worldview are based upon fundamentally different assumptions about the nature of reality, translation from one to the other is not possible. By moving to a meta-level of consideration, however, an integration of the two can be achieved. For over twenty years I have been travelling to Peru to study the Andean Cosmovision, returning home to integrate it with my life in Western culture, and teaching it to others. This presentation will lay out the basic assumptions of the Cosmovision, address how to integrate it with the Western worldview, and discuss how that integration may both contribute to positive psychology and add more beauty to our relationship with nature.