DEFEND THE SACRED

105 I would like to start with a prayer that I wish will become a prayer of the global family. ‘We are one with the water, with the earth, with the air, with the sun, with the thoughts, with the heart, with the spirit, with the body. We are one with the plants, the animals, the minerals and the diversity of humanity. We take all this into our hearts and say, uni  dawa-wa . For eternity. In gratitude for this time, for this space.’ I’m not talking about my personal vision, but about the vision of over 100,000 people living in the Sierra Ne- vada de Santa Marta, the Heart of the World. I come from the Keepers of Water in the sacred mountains of the Si- erra Nevada. I honour the Keepers of the Seeds, I honour the Keepers of Knowledge, I honour all the Keepers of the sacred on the Earth. I honour the ancient Indigenous knowledge in other continents, wherever it is still alive. I think that women should not only receive children but also the vision for a new Earth. Maternity is not just a biological fact. It is much more. The mother’s heart beats synchronously with the heart of the child. Her body tem- perature changes according to the needs of the child in the womb. Breastfeeding is not simply physical nurture; it gives the child the emotional home it needs to devel- op. Such aspects of motherhood must also be included in a new culture because here, in relation to the mother, the foundation is laid for the connection of human life to Mother Earth. The Heart of the Earth Ati Quigua, Colombia