South America and Africa—the Heart of the World

Heart of Joy

In the Back-to-the-Body Perspective, we mention the belief that the structure of the world is similar to the structure of the human body. In other words, just as there is a stomach, a brain, and a heart in the human body, there is also a stomach, a brain, and a heart in the world.

What is the Heart?

About the heart of the world, we believe several things, as follows:

1. The heart, the stomach, and the brain are equal to each other. There is no hegemony among the three. It is false to believe that the heart must be controlled by the brain, or that the stomach is somehow inferior. From the stomach comes the thriving power of life. From the heart comes all sense of happiness and joy. And from the brain comes all sense of truth, which allows us to have meaning and to be free.
2. The second belief is that the heart has been controlled by the brain throughout human history. This has caused huge imbalances in people’s lives and many wars and terrible tragedies.
3. The third belief is that the Asian and Pacific-Island nations represent the stomach of the world. The European and North-American nations represent the brain of the world. And the African and South-American nations represent the heart of the world.
4. The fourth belief is that, as of the end of of 2012, the world has entered the age of complete liberation of the heart. This means that, side be side with the values of life and truth/freedom, people in the world are also demanding happiness and joy.

Connection Between Brazil and Africa

Express joy through song and dance.

Keeping in mind the stated beliefs about the structure of the world and about the heart, what evidence can we find that Brazil has a kinship with Africa? If you look, you can begin to discover the similarities between Brazil and Africa. We could actually say that Brazil is a kind of new Africa.

In what way is that so? The promise of Africa is to be a place where the feelings and stirrings of the heart can find expressions through the sounds and movements of the body. It is in Brazil where the promises of the heart find very beautiful expressions. As evidence, I will give the example of the carnival celebrations, which take place during the three days prior to the Catholic observance of Ash Wednesday.

Carnival is an example of how the feelings and stirrings of the heart find expression through the sounds and movements of the body. To be successful in carnival, you need to do three things: First, let your brain be peaceful and calm. Second, connect with the pure emotions of joy emanating from the heart. And third, allow those emotions of joy to find expressions through the sounds and movements of the body. Be healthy. Don’t drink too much. Put on some beautiful costumes. And go with the flow. Carnival does wonders for mental health too.

I am including a video of carnival in Rio de Janeiro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bAoq1NQFmE. You will see that there are lots of people just watching the show. But the best way to participate in carnival is not just through watching. Get some costume on; relax your mind; connect with your joy of heart; and express yourself through song and dance. You will be surprised.

Paulo-Juarez Pereira
Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
September 6, 2015

Photo Credits:

Express your joy. Author: Mona Loldwoman; Source: http://bit.ly/1QixBOH; Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Carnival in Rio. Author: MAHM; Source: http://bit.ly/1VHeukc. Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).