The Alpha Male is defined as an animal that by its very nature is conductive, that is, it is able to lead other elements of its own species and itself.
The definition of “Alpha Male” refers to a male who is perceived as the dominant leader in a social group, whether in an informal or formal situation. The term “alpha” has been generated in studies of animal behavior, in which the “alpha male” is the dominant leader of a group of animals. In popular culture, the term “Alpha Male” has been used to describe men who see themselves as dominant leaders in social situations, whether at work, in sports, or in social interaction in general. They are attributed to characteristics such as self-confidence, competence, security, bravery, and aggressiveness. However, they are also associated with toxic and discriminatory behaviors and attitudes such as misogyny, homophobia, and violence.
With respect to other animals, the term “Alpha Male” refers to the dominant position of a male within a social hierarchy of a group of animals. In nature, animals have complex social structures that allow them to cooperate and compete for resources. In many cases, males compete for access to females and resources such as food and territory.
The “Alpha Male” is the dominant leader of a group, and has preferential access to resources and females. In some cases, the “Alpha Male” also protects the group against predators and other dangers. The term originated – as already mentioned – in animal behavioral studies, and is used to describe the dominant male in many types of animals, including primates, wolves, lions and many others.
In general, the “Alpha Male” is characterized by having a high social status within the group, being aggressive and showing a strong ability to compete with other males to maintain his leadership position. However, there are also exceptions and variations in the way animals establish their social hierarchy and leadership. In some cases, males may be more collaborative and less aggressive leaders, and the term “Alpha Male” does not always apply.
With regard to the activity of leading members of a group, the term “Alpha Male” refers to a dominant male who leads and controls members of his species. He often leads and guides the other members of the group, ensuring that they follow his orders and maintain the cohesion of the group. He establishes his dominant position through aggression and intimidation towards other males in the group, and often uses physical power to impose his will. In addition, the alpha male may also use communication signals, such as growls and body postures, to establish his leadership position.
Once the alpha male has established his dominant position, it is common for him to guide and control group members, directing their behavior and movements. He may decide where to look for food and water, which routes to take to avoid danger and set a timetable for the group. In some cases, the alpha male may also make important decisions about breeding and mate selection.
However, it is important to note that not all animals have a social structure in which an alpha male dominates and controls other members of the group. Some species have more egalitarian social structures, where males and females have similar status and share responsibilities in decision-making and group protection.
The most prominent animal species, where the “Alpha Male” is considered to be dominant, leader and router, are the following:
1. Wolves: Wolves are animals that live in packs and have a hierarchical social structure in which the alpha male leads and directs the rest of the group.
2. Lions: Lions also live in hierarchical groups known as pride, where the alpha male is the leader and protector of the group.
3. Chimpanzees: Chimpanzees are social animals that live in communities led by an alpha male who establishes social order and controls the behavior of the other members of the group.
4. Elephants: In elephant herds, the alpha male is the leader and protector of the herd, and is responsible for making important decisions about foraging and protecting the group. However, there is a variant on this, as detailed below.
5. Gorillas: Gorillas live in hierarchical groups led by an alpha male who directs the behavior of the group and protects the females and young.
6. Bison: Bison form herds led by an alpha male who protects females and young and directs the behavior of the group.
7. Deer: In deer groups, the alpha male is the leader and protector of the group, and is responsible for defending the territory and selecting females for breeding.
Eagles: In eagle pairs, the alpha male is the leader and protector of the nest and brood, and is responsible for territory defence and foraging.
9. Orangutans: Male orangutans establish their leadership position and control the behavior of other group members through aggression and intimidation.
Some of the species that inhabit water and that can be observed significant Alpha Male behavior are:
1. Dolphins: Dolphins live in complex social groups led by an alpha male who directs the hunting and behavior of the group.
2. Sharks: In some shark species, such as the white shark and bull shark, Alpha Male behavior can be observed where the largest and strongest males dominate the other members of the group.
3. Whales: Humpbacks and gray whales live in nested groups led by an alpha female or alpha male who leads and protects the other members of the group.
4. Orcas: Orcas live in nested groups led by an alpha female or alpha male who directs group behavior and is responsible for foraging and group protection.
5. Catfish – In some catfish species, such as the yellow catfish, Alpha Male behavior can be observed where the largest and most dominant males control the feeding area and behavior of the group.
6. Hermit Crabs: In hermit crab groups, the alpha males are the largest and strongest, and they are the ones with access to the largest and most protected shells for their use.
It is important to note that not all species have Alpha Male behavior and that in some species the social structure is more egalitarian or female-led.
Furthermore, in nature there are some species where the female leads or leads the pack. That is, not all species have fixed hierarchy systems, and in some cases, leadership may vary depending on the situation or availability of resources. For example:
Elephants: Also in this species of animals the female leads, known as the matriarch. She makes important decisions for the herd, such as finding food and water, and guides the other members in various situations.
Hyenas: In hyena society, females occupy higher positions in the social hierarchy than males. The dominant female leads the group and has alpha status.
Lemurs: Some lemur species, such as the ring-tailed lemur, have social structures where females are the leaders and make decisions for the group.
Geese: Geese are also known to follow a matriarchal social system, alternating with males. The alpha female leads the group and plays an important role in protecting and guiding the group during migrations.
Regarding the action of Routing and Walking of the Alpha Male, we must mention that the alpha male does not necessarily go to the head of the group or in front of it. In each group of animals, their position varies: in most of them, at the beginning, they lead their herd with their walk, but in others, they place themselves in a position that allows them to direct them but also watch out for attacks by predatory animals and also watch over the largest number of its members (components), especially the pups (puppies) and the elderly and weak or sick.
Regarding the aquatic fauna, there must be other types of behavior, but we leave this area aside.
It is very simple to understand how the alpha male leads his group with his walk.
His direction is his own way of walking, it is a routing to the group; that is to say direct, accompany, orient, focus, regulate, adjust, establish, govern, administer, guide, drive, show, arrange, act, drag, move, comply, adjust, lead, carry, transport, carry, push, command, organize, govern and straighten his pack all the time.
Finally I would say that it is not necessary to be an alpha male or even something that looks like it to walk, that’s right: what are we waiting for, let’s start walking!
Julián Marías uses the word “empiricism” to mean -perhaps- that it is a current of thought that is far from being an acceptable discipline for the creative and cognitive functions of the human being (Posts THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM ENCOURAGES CREATIVE THINKING. PART I; THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE), since it provides us with results coming from experience and not by reasoning, implying (?) that one must think and reason with the mind and for this there are other currents that are based on this principle. (*)
Perhaps this is what Marías wanted to convey with the word “literally”, however, regardless of his philosophical or etymological reasons, his “ironic” locution is very valid, since the feet play a fundamental role in making our mind work better.
I am going to base myself on the latter to elucidate and clarify the subject.
My thesis in this respect is the following. When the human being stood upright on his lower limbs, he generated a vertical flow of force and energy, from his feet to his head, following a perpendicular line to the ground on which he was walking.
According to anthropological experts, before this position, the hominid ancestors of “Homo Sapiens” moved on their four limbs and this flow ran through their body as shown in the following image, avoiding (eluding) the perpendicularity, as they denied it (they blocked it, limited it, inhibited it, hindered it, avoided it, prevented it, prevented it) with their transverse, almost horizontal position. At the present time, this can be confirmed and validated as an absolute truth.
The angle θ, in the best of hominid positions, was close to 45°, whereas when they rose and became Homo Sapiens that angle reached 90°.
The increase in brain mass and IQ, the same circle of anthropological experts, associate it with the fact that he was able to free his hands and transform himself into Homo Faber (Future Post HOMO FABER AND HIS TRASCENDENT WALK). This is also true. However, it was that vertical flow that developed his brain with the greatest efficiency and greatness. My thesis is: his verticality generated a flow -circulatory- from his feet to his head, creating a kind of fountain of creation and intelligence and with a more vigorous power and strength.
In the following figure we can observe the evolution of the flow line, until it reaches the perpendicular.
This hominid rose up in the same way that plants rise up when they fall to the ground for a certain reason, keeping themselves alive, looking for that perpendicularity.
This is very often observed in coconut palms, on the seashore, and especially in young plants, when they are blown to the ground by strong winds, because their trunks bend and do not break, and their roots remain stuck to the earth (or sand). After a short time, they begin to rise at the top.
It is a living and moving spectacle that we can observe in nature.
It is often explained that these palms seek the sun, and it is true, but the fundamental reason is that it is the position which enables them to grow strong and secure, but the great thing is that they live longer and more vigorously in this way.
Let us return to our thoughts on Empiricism, if one who is experiencing can think (to paraphrase Lessing: “I prefer to return to my path, if one who is walking can have a path”).
The mind allows us to reason and imagine – among other functions – which leads us to estimate how circumstances – of whatever kind – will present themselves in the future.
Experience is what we got from our actions, because we decided to act or were forced to act. Those acts represent attempts at reasoning, thinking or some other function of our mind, even though they are qualities of our brain. Hence we can conclude that the empirical is the real, it is supported by experience. In other words, and coming closer to the epistemological: the empirical is the knowledge obtained a posteriori.
In one of my writings, on 17 May 1991, I expressed: “I do not know of other things, but my spirit dwells in my hands. Of my intellect I do not know, but my spirit dwells in my hands”, referring exclusively to my artistic creation, to my creative spirit; many years later, in December 2020, reading what Rousseau wrote: “I can only meditate when I am walking. When I stop, I stop thinking; my mind works only with my legs” (O’Mara in his book In Praise of Walking: Rousseau, J. J. and Cohen, J. M., 1953, The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau, Penguin), oriented me to the fact that my mind dwells in my legs and feet, referring to my thoughts, my reasoning. I had already acquired this understanding through my deeper studies and analysis of walking, which I carried out during the last months of 2005. What Rousseau said helps me to reaffirm it.
The feet are bellows [feet = bellows that drive the flow of blood and nutrients to all parts of the human body] that belong to the lower extremities and work together with the rest of their constituent parts (components): legs, thighs, knees, ankles, toes. They supply various elements and substances to the rest of the body, supporting it and supplying it with blood and other nutrients that the body generates itself.
The more we use our feet while walking, the more effective is this blood supply to the whole physical body and the brain.
While it is the heart that has the function of propelling the blood to all parts of the body, the feet are its main helpers – walking – to achieve this in a more efficient, harmonious and relaxed (restful) way (**), which without this help the heart would usually work harder to achieve.
(**) Blood is propelled to all parts of the body by the heart, which is the engine of blood circulation. The heart is a strong, steady muscle that pumps blood through a system of arteries and veins. The heart is divided into four chambers: the two atria and the two ventricles. The right atrium receives oxygen-poor blood from the body and pumps it into the right ventricle, which propels it to the lungs to be oxygenated. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it into the left ventricle, which pushes it out to the rest of the body. From the heart, blood flows into the arteries, which are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to different parts of the body. The blood travels through the arteries to the capillaries, the smallest and thinnest blood vessels that allow the blood to interact with the body’s cells. The deoxygenated blood returns from the tissues through the veins, which carry it back to the heart to be oxygenated again. In short, the heart propels blood to all parts of the body through a system of arteries and veins, allowing the constant circulation of blood and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells.
This bellows energy that is generated by the feet, as they rise and fall while walking, is similar to the energy that trees generate to move the substances they process up from the root level to the highest leaf canopies [bellows that drive the flow or sap of plants].
In Future Post WALKING WITH THE TREES, I have made certain analyses and calculations, obtaining the amounts and conclusions that are set out below. These are data that can be considered definitive, however, they may suffer some slight adjustments from this moment to the date of publication, which I have scheduled for March 15, 2024.
Transpiration of plants is the vital (capital, crucial, fundamental, essential, central, strategic) moment when they start to transfer and deliver their nutrients to us. In the whole process of generation of nutrients that have allowed them to feed themselves over a period of time, this point of elimination of excesses or waste represents an essential function – recurrent and enduring – for the survival of all living beings on the planet (***).
(***) Trees, as has been defined, do not dispose of a specific volume of easily defined surplus. The process of nutrient generation in trees involves photosynthesis, in which leaves capture energy from the sun and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. The glucose is used for the growth, reproduction and maintenance of the tree. In this process, trees also produce waste substances, such as additional oxygen or small amounts of organic compounds that are not used by the tree. In addition, they take up other substances from the soil through their roots. However, these quantities are minimal compared to the amount of nutrients that the tree produces – by taking them from its environment and the subsoil – and uses for its growth. The volume of waste produced by a tree cannot be calculated in a precise and generalised way, as it varies according to various factors, such as tree species, age, environmental conditions and nutrient availability. In addition, tree litter may also include fallen leaves, dead branches or uneaten fruit, which contribute to nutrient cycling and soil fertility. The process of nutrient generation is complex and dynamic, which makes it difficult to calculate, but certain results were reached.
According to the results obtained in the aforementioned post, this transpiration or elimination reaches 0.004729911 m3/hectare/day, which on a global scale represents an emulsion of 4,060,000,000 x 0.004729911 = 19.2 million cubic meters that are spread in the earth’s atmosphere by plant transpiration every day.
The following table shows the power generated by trees – of different heights – in a normal climatic state, during their lifetime; and the comparison with the power generated by the feet of a human being, when walking a given number of kilometers or miles.
According to the results obtained in the same Post, the FORCE generated by our feet in their performance when walking, combined mechanically with the rest of the components of the lower limbs, equivalent to a power of 9 Watts or 0.012 HP, is required to perform a normal walk of 30.45 Kilometers or 18.91 Miles. This performance is equal to the power generated by a water pump during 60 seconds of work. A 27.5 meter high tree manages to generate the same power equivalent of 9 Watts in 9.45 days of its life.
The average lifespan of a tree is 30 years, so it will be able to perform this operation 1,158 times during its lifetime, releasing its beneficial substances into its environment.
The ability of trees to take all the substances they process – RED ARROWS – from the soil by means of their roots and from the environment with their leaves, trunks and stems, up to the highest parts of them, and it is the leaves, in greater quantity, – but also their stems and trunks -, by which the substances already processed, dislodge them to the outside environment, disseminating them to places – with the help of the air and the wind – up to hundreds of kilometers away from their fixed place, is pointed out.
This simile of the generation of Force and Power of walking with the trees is the basis for the mechanism that occurs with the feet and which gave the Post its name, since it is this quality that makes the brain function better.
Finally, I would like to write down (transcribe) the 4th Principle of the WALK-RWD system, which has been developed through the analysis of the function that the feet have and develop in the human body, together with the results that we have obtained in other Posts that we will present in the future.
4th Principle of Upright Verticality
“Every human being must walk permanently achieving a position of uprightness to optimally perform the tasks and functions as Homo Faber and Homo Sapiens Sapiens, to promote, strengthen, expand and increase them “.
(*) Webster’s dictionary defines Empiricism as follows: “1 a) a former school of medical practice founded on experience without the aid of science or theory, b) quackery, charlatanry; 2 a) the practice of emphasizing experience especially of the sense of the practice or method of relying upon observation, experimentation, or induction rather than upon intuition, speculation, deduction, dialectic, or other rationalistic means of the pursuit of knowledge b) a tenet arrived at empirically; 3 a) the theory associated especially with the British philosophers Locke, Berkeley and Hume that all knowledge originates in experience, b) logical empiricism, radical empiricism, or scientific empiricism.”
The aim of this Post is to help identify and define for each of us what our own healthy Vital Opportunities are, and to a large extent, to have a better knowledge and understanding of them.
Vital Opportunities are a difficult subject to analyze as it involves the human attitude towards needs of all kinds. Each human group presents conceptual variations around its understanding, philosophical, anthropological, social, etc., however, we will approach them through the application of the WALK-RWD System and its fundamental activities, which will allow its adaptation and facilitate its understanding and use.
Let us briefly look at the anthropological philosophical thinking of human behavior in relation to the satisfaction of any need, in its surrounding reality.
“In ordinary experience we connect phenomena according to the category of causality or purpose. Depending on whether we are interested in the theoretical reasons or in the practical effects of things, we think of them as causes or as means. In this way we usually lose sight of their immediate appearance, until we can no longer see them face to face. […]. It is characteristic of man’s nature that he is not limited to one specific way of approaching reality but can choose his point of view and thus pass from one aspect of things to another”. E. Cassirer in Philosophical Anthropology, F.C.E., 1968, p. 251.
Space, time and number are continuous and infinite magnitudes, and are pure intuitions. Space and time provide the logical foundations for number, for mathematics. Only under the regulation of these three intuitions can the representation of the remaining things be realized, that is to say, by means of them and only by means of them can phenomena be produced in human consciousness. These three magnitudes permanently bind us to reason and do not allow us to meditate peacefully and undisturbedly on objects without their participation. Ernst Cassirer is quite solid and meaningful in his ideas when he asserts that existence – of any human condition, need or activity – is accessed through space, time and number. Each factor or entity that constructs itself independently achieves a hypostasis that structurally considers the principles and norms of a whole functional system in which it is immersed. All the images and impressions that the human being receives from the outside, he shapes and transforms into the kind of languages, which, voluntarily or not, consciously or unconsciously, he uses to understand, apprehend and process them in his personal inner source, and once translated, he communicates them to his outer circumstance.
The concept of Vital Opportunity is an ideal means of satisfying needs of a certain kind, as well as transforming unpleasant emotions, negative habits, sufferings, anxieties, distresses, misfortunes, sufferings, into pleasant, wholesome and healthy ways of feeling, perceiving and appreciating them.
Every Vital Opportunity that comes our way can help us to repair, understand and avoid those regrets and afflictions that we are constantly suffering and enduring, as well as give us an indulgence to our needs.
Every Vital Opportunity consists of these 3 pure intuitions, and therefore it is difficult not only to understand them, but how they can be identified (space and time) and quantified (number) for their utilization.
However, there is a great possibility to define, in each particular case, an identity between a negative feeling (need or suffering) and a vital opportunity.
The programme to carry out this identification of the great world of Vital Opportunities consists of 4 steps:
STEP 1. Get ready to walk;
STEP 2. Identify our needs and refuse to suffer or have any negative feelings.
STEP 3. Become aware and accept that we have certain needs and certain negative feelings, identifying them by name;
STEP 4. Match each unpleasant feeling and each need (or several) with a Vital Opportunity.
By achieving the first step, we will have advanced 50% of our commitment to move forward and “be able” to implement any Vital Opportunity, whether we seek it or it presents itself.
Let’s look at how we can take that first step. To do this we must understand the aspect of “power”; that capacity we have to achieve anything.
If we refuse to feel negatively, we will be opening the door to a possibility (juncture, circumstance, chance, eventuality, opportunity); we will be fighting against the conditioning of everyday life and social norms, we will be opposing all that we sense is negative within ourselves, we will be showing ourselves against that which has prevented us from achieving or attaining some vital opportunity, some level of pleasure and to live it to the full.
Before I go on to detail how to put vital opportunities into practice – to seek and find them – to reach a certain level of satisfaction and to eliminate our negative feelings, I will express a few words about the significance of Vital Opportunity.
SIGNIFICANCE.
Its understanding is linked in the answer to why I have used this concept to face the process of vital development of a person, at any moment of his existence. Concepts such as happiness, prosperity, success, fame, etc., are generally used and do not allow us to be fully aware of what they mean and how they are measured, except by the very parameters that the suffocating society embeds in us, and leads us through them all, without fully understanding them; and worst of all, without knowing how essential they are to the well-being and full development of our being.
According to the most common opinions, we are told that the vital opportunity must be understood as that circumstance which, within the existence of each individual, is a fundamental juncture to propel him/her in the social, working and creative environment, in some sense and to some degree, and which allows him/her to live (or survive) without asphyxiation and with full awareness of what he/she is and what he/she can become. Each vital opportunity is a possibility for personal development, through the use of one’s own physical and mental capacities, and with which to respond to our desires, expectations and commitments to ourselves. Let us keep in mind that this concept does not isolate us from the society that overwhelms us and that the opportunities themselves are, in part, defined and structured by it. They are all factors of change and improvement.
In our conception, vital opportunities are not only great, sporadic and opportune moments that we can seize, but, apart from their opportunity, which is fundamental, they are also small encounters, but above all, they present themselves continuously, i.e. daily, and therefore we must seize them daily, since all these opportunities lead us permanently to others.
With this expressive (verbal) binomial of “Opportunity” and “Vital” we refer to important moments in the life of an individual or community in which important and significant decisions can and must be taken that will affect their future and well-being.
However, there are other types of opportunities; as large a typology as required. They may be educational, professional, personal or economic, physical and mental health, and all offer the possibility of improving the quality of life and achieving personal goals and objectives.
Due to social conditioning, perhaps, the opportunities that we are most aware of and seek out are economic ones. Economic opportunities include times when decisions can be made that affect an individual’s (or community’s) financial and economic situation. Specific cases of economic life opportunities are:
– Acquiring vocational education and training: this can increase the chances of getting a well-paid and stable job.
– Starting a business or entrepreneurship: this offers the opportunity to generate income and build long-term wealth.
– Investing in the financial market: this can be a way to build wealth and protect against inflation.
– Buying property: can provide a long-term investment and a place to live.
– Saving money: can be a way to prepare for uncertain times and ensure long-term financial security.
These opportunities can have a significant impact on a person’s (or group of individuals’) financial life, so it is important to assess them carefully and make informed decisions.
The rest of the typology is very similar in format to the economic opportunities, so we will not spend more time describing them.
We can be sure that for each person, man or woman, over the course of a lifetime, there is a different set of vital opportunities, although the vast majority are repeated, but to a different degree and importance.
By definition, vital opportunities imply the quantity and supply – essential and sufficient – of satisfiers, so we should always take advantage of these moments and encounters in an optimal way.
Each individual must analyze and investigate in which personal circumstances he or she can increase the number of vital opportunities of which he or she can make use; but more decisive is that he or she can know the conditions in which he or she can identify and can put into practice one of them (a vital opportunity).
We can say that for each human being there is a special set of vital opportunities, and so we could ask: The greater the number of vital opportunities, the greater the number of satisfaction for each person? The answer is left to each person to structure according to his or her own circumstances.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VITAL OPPORTUNITIES
The main and common characteristics of vital opportunities are four: freedom, consciousness, will and change. All are structural and functional.
Vital opportunities, in general, are always involved in dissimilar circumstances and their occurrence depends on us and the external environment. We must eliminate chance, coincidence and eventuality from our circumstances. We must not let ourselves be carried away by “chance”. We will have to be more assertive and more timely in choosing a vital opportunity, because we have sought it out, and to put it into practice as a real handhold; the entrance to a portal where we can discover the solutions to our discomforts. I could say that we will have to act with precision and urgency; which will give us an additional advantage to find various answers that will make us more “aware” of those circumstances. Part of our analytical and decision-making position must be supported by a timely environment of speculation, sufficient reflection, which allows us to strongly probe our emotional, economic, physical and responsive positions. Anachronism must be eliminated, we will have acted in the “here and now”.
Freedom is generalized in all of them, it is immersed in each one, participating in a general as well as in a specific way.
Vital opportunities are just that, opportunities to satisfy pressing and basic human needs. If a vital opportunity is available, it must be made available.
In general, we can always identify some negative feelings or unpleasant emotions and relate them to the Forging Factors (FF) of the opportunities that human beings require for their survival and stable existence.
Without pretending to be exhaustive or definitive, the following table sets out the functional relationships between Negative Needs or Negative Feelings and the Forging Factors (FF) of human Opportunities.
The FF to be considered are elements that are used to determine the Human or Vital Opportunities, being these activities (actions, acts, practices) that human beings can carry out and that lead them towards the treatment and achievement (attainment) of these essential FF for their existence and survival.
Each individual must personally identify these functional relationships, through their own experience and knowledge, either because they have lived and felt them, or because they perceive and intuit them; that is, become fully aware that they exist within our being, and finally, achieve a functional correspondence of each unpleasant feeling or need – or several of them – with a human opportunity.
VITAL OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAMME (VOP) TO BE REALISED
Let us now look at the vital opportunities most related to our theme of walking, that is, those that are more related to our health and our state of mind. They are those that include key moments when decisions can be made that affect an individual’s physical and mental health and well-being.
I have been able to develop a functional and systematic scheme where we can make a Vital Opportunities Programme (VOP) that serves as a model of personal behavior, with the specific purpose of taking advantage of the 4 Vital Opportunities that I consider essential in human existence.
The mechanism to achieve the Vital Opportunities Programme, as I have called it, consists of practicing the 4 steps indicated at the beginning of the post, enabling and disposing of 4 vital opportunities.
This programme consists of projecting the Vital Opportunities of Bifurcation, Conscious Experience and Liberation, together with that of Walking. Starting with the first step, let’s analyze our negative feelings and emotions and look for the functional correspondence between these and Human Opportunities.
Some examples of health related opportunities include:
– Adopting a healthy lifestyle, by taking regular walks and including a balanced diet, which allows for stress reduction.
– Getting regular medical check-ups: to detect and treat health problems in a timely manner.
– Take preventive measures: such as getting vaccinated against diseases, avoiding smoking, alcohol and unprotected sun exposure – while walking – etc.
– Seek professional help: if mental health or emotional problems occur.
– Be informed about health: educating yourself about health and how to prevent problems can help you make informed decisions.
Decision-making within the Vital Opportunities Programme can have a significant impact on a person’s health and well-being, so it is important to consider them and make informed choices.
Now, within this Vital Opportunities framework that we need to look at, walking plays a major role. Let us take into account that walking is practically free in its development. Daily walking has an important relationship with the other three vital opportunities. Regular walking has a direct relationship with the Vital Opportunities because of its positive impacts on health, both physical and mental, in all individuals who do it. Some ways in which walking can influence Vital Opportunities include:
1. Improved health: walking can help prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, and a dozen other diseases, which we have already mentioned in previous posts.
2. Stress reduction: walking can be an effective way to reduce stress and improve mental well-being (Future Post THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND STRESS HORMONES).
4. Improved self-esteem: walking can increase confidence and self-esteem (Future Post SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM IN THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM).
5. Strengthening social relationships: Walking can be a social activity and help strengthen relationships.
Decisions that lead us vitally to walk put us in a positive perspective that puts us on the path to the rest of the other categories of opportunities. And, note that I have only pointed out 5 points where walking exerts a magical force to put us on the path of opportunity. That is, daily walking has – without a doubt – a positive impact on many areas of life, including health, productivity, social relationships and self-esteem, which in turn can influence Vital Opportunities and help improve quality of life.
Let us now look at what those Vital Opportunities are. They are not just circumstances by which we can or should act; they are not just (mere) occasions where our bodies and minds are engaged in acting for the achievement of different ends. These vital opportunities are handholds or supports that allow us to feel and function with a high probability of certainty – almost 100% – of favoring a state of personal satisfaction, with oneself, and with the people around us, as well as a very acceptable state of health.
One action -physical and mental- that we should carry out to start this Vital Opportunities Programme, is to move away for a while from social conditioning, and let’s observe which would be the essential opportunities that would not help everyone to reach an authentic personal development.
Bifurcation is in itself a privilege, a canon, not an obstacle. The existence of bifurcations in our lives is another of our vital opportunities (Post WALKING, AN EXISTENTIAL METAPHOR. PART 1 OF 4; future Post SARUTAHIKO, GOD OF TRAVELLERS IN ANCIENT JAPAN). To have and to use the bifurcations that present themselves to us, is to respond to our vital opportunities. To be presented with a bifurcation in our lives is to have new possibilities to make decisions and take actions.
This vital opportunity of the bifurcation is the one from which we will gain a more effective and transcendental liberation.
It is an attitude of alertness that we can realize in all our activities, reasoning out what the possibilities mean in our personal lives: They are options for moving forward.
THIRD VITAL OPPORTUNITY: THE CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE
This third Vital Opportunity is related to the acquisition of experience during the vital and opportune stages of any human being’s existence: during infancy, during childhood, puberty, adolescence, etc. As long as we are alive, we are on the move, we are walking.
By refraining from taking an action or a decision (2nd O.V. Bifurcation) we will continue to lengthen a process that leads us to continue experiencing unpleasant emotions, acquiring negative habits, suffering, anguish, distress, misfortune; however, as we know, we could come to determine an identity between an experience (positive or negative) and a correlation with a vital opportunity, so that we could transform those experiences into nourishing satisfiers. An experience – positive or negative – is the key that opens numerous doors that can lead to the satisfaction of needs and the alleviation of anxieties.
FOURTH VITAL OPPORTUNITY: LIBERATION
I prefer to call it Liberation rather than Freedom. The difference lies in the fact that Freedom is usually understood as something that is far away from us; very complicated, distant and difficult to reach.
Liberation is a word that is more accessible to me personally. I feel it will be available if I want it.
Let’s try to be more empathic, healthy, active, more positive, authentic, objective, and with that we will be liberated; we will feel freedom within ourselves, within our interiority. A simple and free practice is to walk. Let’s start walking and we can feel that we are freeing ourselves; moreover, when we read, write or draw, while we walk, this liberation is reinforced. This will allow us a greater capacity within ourselves to discover, select and reach the vital opportunities that our own being needs. We will become more aware of past experiences and the experiences we will have to have in the future. This must be a free decision and choice for ourselves. We will only have to seize that Vital Opportunity to WALK.
It is a matter of reciprocity. We feel healthy physically and mentally when we feel free, when we achieve that feeling of freedom in us, that we are not oppressed by anything. We feel good about what frees us.
What things free us? Walking frees us from oppression of ALL KINDS. It also liberates us to read, to write, to draw while we walk. Open space makes us feel liberation, freedom. We encounter open space; we encounter multi-colored wefts when we walk in the countryside; an encounter with that liberation. We will come to a collision with Freedom itself.
These activities that allow us to feel freedom are the ones that set us in motion, and with the movement we can feel our liberation and reach the other vital opportunities, to put them into practice.
ATTAINMENT OF VITAL OPPORTUNITIES
Freedom is a sine qua non-condition for the achievement of Vital Opportunities, so we must act in search of an existential metaphor to achieve, even if only for small periods, a specific physical, mental and spiritual liberation, and we are sure that by becoming aware of this resource, everything will become easier for us.
During our daily walk we can achieve this. This means that to the extent that we walk freely, becoming aware that we must rid ourselves of our negative feelings, we can move towards liberation from the social conditioning – of all kinds – that has prevented us from carrying out some fundamental activities, such as walking, and we miss some of the opportunities – in general – that are presented to us.
Social conditioning, usually translated into economic, social, professional, educational, political, urban and labor oppression, destroys the environment in which the opportunities that are available to each individual are developed, because they disorientate and blind us to them, we do not even observe them, let alone know that they can help us. These oppressions, in other words, create high contradictions in our minds (in the minds of individuals), which almost reach the level of being insurmountable.
The more individual freedom we feel and have, the more capacity we will grant ourselves to achieve certain Vital Opportunities.
The fundamental negative conditions are those we have with ourselves: guilt, fear, insecurity, frustration, pain, and a dozen other negative feelings that haunt our inner self, our intimate reality. Of course, we are also overwhelmed by economic deprivation, social deprivation, denial of success, lack of prestige, material emptiness. And of course, what commonly overwhelms the majority of the human race are physical and emotional ailments, but above all psychological ailments.
We will always have the choice to change and thus find liberation as we walk. This will lead us to mentally meet each of the Vital Opportunities we require.
Whenever we wish to put this programme into practice, let’s start by walking and then we can get to know our unpleasant feelings and negative emotions (ailments in general) and thus come to identify and qualify our own Vital Opportunities.
Final Note: With the publication of this Post we start the 6th consecutive year of the WALKREADANDWRITE Blog.
I would like to comment on a universal aspect of mythologies. The degree of importance that culture has given to some human condition, natural phenomenon, animals and plants, or essential categories of the behavior of men and women, is related, almost generally, to the number of divinities -gods and goddesses- that it has created with respect to that inclination, aversion or repulsion. That is to say, the greater the number of that divine representation, the greater the importance, inclination, or rejection, that people have towards those phenomena.
A fundamental aspect is that of fear in the human being. We could say that fear of natural phenomena, of the unknown and the strange, is one of the fundamental elements for which gods have been created in all mythologies.
In our fundamental theme of walking, without a doubt, all mythologies have at least one goddess or god protector of the roads, travelers, and walkers. But likewise, walking (and its derivations) is not one of the representations that have several gods in their mythologies, and there are other physical, material and spiritual conditions that are more complex to understand and discern, and therefore, they are attributed greater importance, so it requires a greater number of divinities for their attention and observation.
As this is not the only Post where I will be commenting on some gods and goddesses that are related to walking, I must expose -from my particular point of view- why it is important to pay attention to the divinities in relation to this crucial topic of the Blog: walking -and its various derivations, such as merchants, walkers, roads, pilgrims, travelers, etc.
In the mythologies of the West there are apparently few gods protectors of the roads.
Hermes is a god of Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and the goddess Maia, known as the messenger of the gods, the protector of merchants and thieves, and also as the god of eloquence and athletes. He was very swift and cunning, and was attributed with the ability to deceive the gods. He was depicted as carrying a staff and wearing winged sandals -sometimes with a winged hat-, he had the function of guiding the deceased to the world of the dead. He was also associated with trade and prosperity, and sacrifices were offered to him to ensure a good journey and protection against dangers along the way.
Hermes, in addition to being the god of various representations of human actions and conditions, is a caretaker, watchman and protector of the wayfarers. This function of protection, surely entrusted by Zeus, was developed on the land surface but also in the sea and rivers. He protected travelers as well as fishermen, and sailors in charge of navigational aspects in large, medium and small vessels. In the mythological annals that I have consulted, it seems that he did not like stowaways or vagabonds, which seems a bit contradictory to me, since Hermes was a protector of travelers and also distinguished himself for his acts of larceny.
As protector of the roads and travelers, he was also the protector of merchants and pilgrims who moved by land from one place to another, in order to develop their commercial, tourist, and religious activities or as emigrants.
Hermes was one of the gods of Olympus who had more divine representations, which I will mention in full in order not to stay with the single image that he was only a god protector of travelers and roads. He was one of the main advisors and messengers of Zeus, God’s defender of merchants and commerce, the mediator of thieves, and sponsor of the arts; he was also the god of chance.. He created the system of weights and measures, with which trade was perfected. He was in charge of Zeus to take the souls of the dead to hell. Zeus commanded him for reconciliation between enemies, as Apollo had given him a golden staff (a rod) that had powers for mediation, appeasement and reconciliation.
In the aspect of the divine attribution of chance, I would like to mention G. Ephrain Lessing in his work Laocoön. He states at the beginning of his chapter XX, warning his readers that: “I prefer to return to my path, if one who goes for a walk can have a path”, showing his modesty as a writer and thinker (pp. 21 and 203), recognizing the image of Hermes in his divine faculty of chance, as an indicator that things come about by chance and randomness, and not necessarily by reasoning, because what he considered -as he surely considered it- are loose reflections that are externalized as they arise in his thoughts, rather than elements of a structured study carried out in an organic and harmonious way. As the Greek people themselves surely felt when attributing to their God that divine dimension of chance.
As part of his physiognomy (image) Hermes was represented with wings on the heels of his feet or on his sandals and with a winged cap, which transmitted an immutable inclination to walk permanently, with care and lightness.
Rome, as we know, imitated Greece in almost everything; in the divine (mythological) aspect it had a repetition practically equal to the Greek pantheon, with its own names. Mercury was the replica of the Greek god Hermes, and as such was a very important god for the Romans of that time. Of course, he was also the protector of roads and travelers. Like Hermes, Mercury was an effective reconciler between enemies.
This personality of Hermes – and Mercury – as protector of travelers and roads reflected the importance the ancient Greeks placed on safety and prosperity in travel and trade.
I will allow myself to relate several events of the god Hermes that were related to the roads, to walking and to wayfarers.
Zeus wanted to know for sure how effective Hermes was as a mediator and reconciler, and one day when Hermes was walking in the forest, Zeus made him see two snakes that were fighting furiously. Hermes, who always carried that rod that Apollo had given him, granting him divine powers for mediation, appeasement and reconciliation, immediately intervened in that dispute. Zeus, observing the whole scene, advised the snakes not to stop fighting.
Hermes, addressing one of the serpents, asked him: -What do you wish to obtain from your enemy: her surrender, to kill her or to humiliate her?
To which the serpent replied: -Only defeat her! Then I will be the only one on this ground.
Hermes replied: “But there are many more snakes like you.
-There are only two of us.
Immediately, he asked the same question to the opponent, and she answered: “I wish to annihilate her forever!
-Why? -asked Hermes.
-Just because I don’t like the way she crawls.
-But you crawl in the same way.
-That’s not true. I walk upright.
Before such an answer, Hermes with his magic rod intertwined them and gave them his staff, since it would be of no use to him before those two answers. The two snakes were united forever, embracing the staff, which prevented them from crawling ever again, they could only walk upright, leaning on each other.
Zeus’ answer was never known.
In a popular story from Greek mythology, Hermes protects a merchant named Autolycus. Autolycus was known to be a cunning and skilled thief, but he also considered himself a successful merchant. One day, while traveling along a dangerous road with a large amount of precious goods, he was attacked by bandits. Hermes, as his protector, intervened and tricked the bandits with his eloquent skill, allowing Autolycus to escape with his goods intact. This story from Greek mythology shows how Hermes, despite his fame as a patron of robbers, also protected merchants and helped them succeed in their trading voyages.
In another story from Greek mythology, Hermes defends a wayfarer named Battus. Battus was a pastry chef living on the island of Crete and one day he came face to face with the god Zeus, who was disguised as a traveler. Zeus asked Battus to show him the way to a water source, and Battus agreed. However, when Zeus reached the fountain, he tried to steal the gold at the bottom. Battus saw him and ran to tell the other gods. Hermes, who had been sent by Zeus to keep an eye on Battus, realized that Battus had found out and reported him. Instead of punishing Battus, Hermes protected him and swore an oath to Zeus that he would not reveal his true identity. This mythological story shows how Hermes, as protector of wayfarers, defended Battus from the consequences of his action of denouncing Zeus, and how his cunning and his ability to keep secrets made him an effective defender of travelers and merchants.
In another story from Greek mythology, Hermes defends a wayfarer named Iphicles, who was the twin brother of Achilles. Iphicles was traveling along a dangerous path and encountered Apollo, the god of the sun and music. Apollo asked Iphicles to show him the way to a temple, and Iphicles agreed. However, when Iphicles took him to the temple, Apollo tried to steal a sacred image that was there. Iphicles discovered this and ran to tell the other gods. Hermes, who had been sent by Zeus to watch Iphicles, realized that Iphicles had discovered Apollo’s attempted theft. Instead of punishing Iphicles, Hermes protected him and confronted Apollo, who eventually returned the sacred image. This legend shows how Hermes, as protector of wayfarers, defended Iphicles from the consequences of his action in denouncing Apollo, and how his cunning and courage made him an effective defender of travelers and merchants, even when other gods were involved.
Now let us analyze the importance of the creation of divinities to protect the roads.
The myths that are related to the theme of the gods and goddesses that have been created throughout the times are abundant and very enriching. However, we do not have enough space in this Post and in the measure of their importance, we will be commenting on them in the series of Posts that I have programmed within this topic.
Each element that constitutes the roads has been extracted and considered relevant by the human mind: its nooks and crannies, its geological accidents, its bridges, its fords, its bifurcations, as well as its different benefits that have granted, and dozens more of those components that have given shape and symbolism.
For the time being, I will try to respond succinctly to this subsection.
The answer involves two fundamental spheres of the human condition: its religious part and its psychological part.
As in all religious manifestations, this also rests on two aspects: one positive and the other negative. The positive inclination can be called love, affection, salvation, admiration, liberation, idolatry, awakening, devotion, enlightenment, hope, etc.
The negative contrariety can be called doubt, hatred, pain, frustration, fear, ignorance, guilt, etc.
However, if there is anything negative about walking, it is the frustration one feels for not having placed oneself on the path to begin the walk.
But all the positive meanings (representations, expressions, signs) we begin to find them from the very moment we start walking, because they begin to parade inside us.
The answer immediately arises as to why people create divinities to protect the roads: Because this activity is essential and the roads must be free of negative forces. Otherwise, they would eliminate from the human being one of his inborn activities.
And likewise: Why protect the walkers and other derived entities that use these means of communication? The answer is very similar: because there has been a deep fear of losing that innate activity.
The psychological part rests on the unconscious function of the human being, supported by a conscious and an instinctive part. Briefly we will say that the unconscious works storing all the contents repressed by the consciousness -desires, impulses, fears, etc.- and also keeps -together with the “it”- the essential habits of the being (positive and negative), as well as its instincts or archaic impulses such as the one we are referring to (Future Post THE CONSCIOUS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS IN THE APPLICATION OF THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM).
The psychological position leads us to think that in an unconscious way that fear -mentioned in the religious sphere- is found in the deepest part of the unconscious, due to the fact that the conscious has been repressing it and for the same reason does not allow it to fully emerge to the consciousness.
Since human beings landed on earth, these two spheres worked together to create those divinities that have protected both the roads and the users of them.
Let us remember again what Prometheus advised the human being, in those mythical times, when he was released from his chains: “Your mission is to walk on the planet Earth“.
The creation of gods protecting the roads in different mythologies is due -as we have already mentioned- to the degree of relevance that the peoples have conferred to some human condition or to the different natural phenomena, either as an inclination or as a rejection.
The fundamental psychological aspect is that of the human being’s fear of what he does not understand, of the unknown. Since ancient times, humans have traveled dangerous roads in search of food, trade and exploration. These journeys were dangerous because of enemies, wild animals, adverse weather conditions and other natural hazards. As a result, humans have created myths and legends to explain these dangers and to assuage their fear of the unknown.
In these mythologies, the protector gods of the roads symbolize safety and protection during travel. All gods – male or female – offered a sense of security and comfort to travelers, to wayfarers, as they were represented as powerful and benevolent beings who were always ready to help travelers in confronting these dangers. These gods were also seen as symbols of hope and overcoming obstacles, and their presence in mythology could motivate travelers to keep going and succeed in their journeys.
The creation of protector gods of the roads in different mythologies is a reflection of the innate human fear of the unknown and their constant search for safety and protection during journeys. This category of gods and goddesses have served as symbols of confidence and certainty, and their presence in mythology motivated travelers to move forward, leaving fears behind.
In this way, we can assure that there is a direct relationship between the fear that human beings have suffered throughout the ages and the creation of gods and goddesses in different mythologies. Since ancient times, human beings have experienced fear before the challenges and dangers of everyday life, such as natural disasters, diseases, death and other dangers. To overcome these fears and to find meaning in their existence, humans have created gods and goddesses to represent them and to provide protection and comfort.
These gods and goddesses are a reflection of people’s fears and concerns (manifested at different times) at a given time and are often associated with aspects of life such as war, fertility, death, nature and other important aspects. By believing in the protection and help of these gods, humans can overcome their fears and find greater serenity and confidence in their daily lives.
Thus, the creation of gods and goddesses in different mythologies is a response to the fears and challenges that humans have experienced throughout history. These gods and goddesses provide comfort and protection and give human beings a sense of encouragement and optimism amidst the dangers and challenges of their life existence.
The more fear a people have had of certain things and natural phenomena, the more gods and goddesses they have created to protect themselves from the unknown and incomprehensible. In many ancient cultures, the creation of gods and goddesses was directly related to the fears and challenges people faced in their daily lives.
For example, in a society that lived in an area of frequent earthquakes, there might be an earthquake god who was revered and asked for protection. In a society that depended on agriculture, there might be rain and fertility gods who were worshipped to ensure a good harvest.
Specifically, the creation of gods and goddesses is a way to address the fears and concerns of the people at any given time. By having a divine figure to protect them, humans can overcome their fears and find greater meaning in their lives.
Of course, Fear is not the only element that generates it, but also Pain, Guilt and Frustration. All of them considered as the undefined variable (X) in an algebraic expression, being religion and its gods the determined variable (Y).
Y=f(X)
Each of the religions and mythologies, with their creation of gods and goddesses, manage to mitigate these unconscious or real sufferings:
For Pain: Liberation/Salvation.
For Fear: Faith/Belief/Hope
For Guilt: Solidarity/Empathy
For Frustration: Acceptance and Renunciation.
To conclude I would like to say one more characteristic of the god Hermes in this context.
Hermes plays a very important role in this theme of walking, for apart from his divine “walking activities”, his image is very eloquent with his wings on his ankles (or sandals) representing the swiftness of his walking. The wings were not placed on his upper extremities, arms and hands, but on his feet, and this relates him to walking. As with all the gods that have been created as protectors of the roads and walkers, Hermes is a clear response of the Greek people to the fear of detriment, neglect or loss of this innate activity in the human being.
The importance of Hermes in the mythological context of that people, we find it in its multiple representations and its proximity to Zeus, which assigns the highest degree to this divinity and therefore to the roads and the practice of walking.
As we publish some Posts about the myths and elements that have been represented in a relevant way in this subject since archaic times, we will explain and analyze them in those moments. About the concept of bifurcation in the paths, I have expressed in Post WALKING, AN EXISTENTIAL METAPHOR. PART 3 OF 4, the following: “The bifurcations in the roads (Future Post SARUTAHIKO, GOD OF TRAVELERS IN ANCIENT JAPAN, God of the bifurcations) are analogies of the crucial moments in the decision making of our existence”. That is why in that Post we recommended that we should start walking because each walk can be used as an analogy that physically communicates us with our unconscious, since when walking along any path, we can use each bifurcation as an existential metaphor that enlightens us in our own circumstantial decisions. This will help us to better understand and make decisions in our lives and also motivate us to take daily walks.
Final Note: With the publication of this Post we end the 5th consecutive year of the WALKREADANDWRITE Blog.
“The sea is not an obstacle; it is a way to reach new horizons”. – Amyr Klink
This Post is a consequence of the book that I will publish in the coming weeks, entitled THE MAYAS: THE CULTURE OF THE 4 SEAS (1), and it is also a complement to Post MAGIC TREKKING. PART I, inviting you to walk on the sands of the beaches, including a gastronomic guide to the typical Mayan food.
When we refer to the seas, it immediately comes to mind -at least to me- the different dishes that are enjoyed in that region based on fish, shellfish and mollusks, from 4 seas; and that is why they are marine species that have some differences and therefore make up dissimilar recipes with extraordinary flavors.
Of course, our main theme is walking and therefore it is important to invite you to do this practice barefoot on the sand (Post WALKING BAREFOOT. PART I) on the beaches of the coasts of these 4 seas.
The Mayan region is surrounded by the following seas: the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. “The Maya nation occupied, during the period of its maximum growth and extension (4th-10th centuries A.D.) a vast territory located in Mexico and Central America, about 135,000 square miles. This region included the entire Yucatan Peninsula and large areas of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, large parts of Belize and Guatemala, as well as a part of Honduras and a small strip of El Salvador”. The Mayan Arch Route, p. 14 (2)
The Mexican states and the other countries of Central America, which today make up that ancient nation, are the following: Quintana Roo, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, all belonging to Mexico; and the countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, a geographical conformation that can be appreciated in the following image:
Geographical distribution of the Maya world by states and countries.
The Mayan nation is the only culture in the ancient world that when it settled in its territory could look out over four seas. At that time they were called as follows:
Pacific Ocean: The shores of the Pacific Ocean in the Chiapas region were called “Moch-Cuáan,” which can be translated as “the sea of reefs” or “the sea of big waves”.
Gulf of Mexico: The Gulf of Mexico was known as “Háaytza’an,” which means “the land of the sea” or “the land by the sea.”
Atlantic Ocean: The coastline of the sea off the coast of the state of Yucatán was known as “Kabáah,” which can be translated as “the seashore” or “the shore.”
Caribbean Sea: The Caribbean Sea was known as “Ekab,” which means “dark place” or “black water.”
The four seas are very distinct from each other, belonging to different oceanographic formations. These formations include underwater topography, ocean circulation, water temperature, current patterns (with the Gulf Stream and the Atlantic Current). These features influence and play an important role in the climate of the entire Maya region. The 4 seas interact with the region and influence the temperature and weather patterns associated with each of the 4 seas. There is also a difference in marine biodiversity and ecosystems vary between the 4 seas.
The Maya settled in this region of southeastern Mexico to communicate with and through them, which is why I have designated it as The Culture of the 4 Seas.
This nation developed significantly in all aspects, and from my personal point of view, the location of the lands that the ancient Mayas chose were determinant for their cultural development.
LENGTHS OF THE 4 RESPECTIVE COASTS
The extensions of each one of the coasts of these four seas that surround the Mayan region are quite large, which is why the communications that this nation had with the seas represented diverse activities. The coastal contacts of the Mayan region in those ancient times are the same that we can admire and enjoy today, being the following:
Pacific Ocean. It is located south of the Yucatan Peninsula. The coastal length in this area is 350 Miles.
Gulf of Mexico. It lies to the west of the Maya region. Its coastline, in the area corresponding to the Yucatan Peninsula, is approximately (385 Miles.
Atlantic Ocean. lies to the north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Its coastal development, in this area, is approximately 294 Miles.
Caribbean Sea. It is located to the east of the Mayan region. The Caribbean coast was the most important part of the Maya region. The coastal length is about 1,464 miles.
The total coastline of the Mayan region of the 4 surrounding seas is 2,493 miles. This distance of 2,500 miles gives us an idea of how important it was for the Maya to be located in this vast region.
The difference between the results of complete coastline 3062 Miles and effective coastline 2,493 Miles, comes from the following: All the coastlines of the states of Mexico are defined with 100% of their surrounding developments of the Mayan region, as is Belize; however, Guatemala and Honduras are counted with only 35% of their coastlines, and El Salvador with 40% of its coastlines.
Each zone of contact with these 4 different seas has shaped a different ecosystem.
ISLANDS IN THE 4 SEAS REGION
As important information, I will comment that there are several islands in this Mayan region of the 4 seas:
Campeche: 1) Isla Arena: It has a territorial extension of 25 Mi². It is located about 3 miles off the coast of Campeche; 2) Isla del Carmen, with a territorial extension of 618 Mi². It is located at a distance of approximately 0.9 miles from the coast.
Tabasco: There are no islands off the coast of Tabasco.
Yucatan: There are no islands off the coast of Yucatan.
Quintana Roo: 1) Cozumel Island: It has a territorial extension of 185 Mi². It is located about 12 miles off the coast; 2) Isla Holbox, off the coast of Quintana Roo in Mexico. The territorial extension of Isla Holbox is 15 Mi². It is located at a distance of about 6 miles from the coast of Quintana Roo, in the northern part of the Yucatan peninsula. Isla Holbox is known for its beautiful beaches and rich marine biodiversity; 3) Isla Mujeres: It has a territorial extension of 4 Mi². It is located at a distance of about 8 miles from the coast of Quintana Roo.
Archipelago of the Chetumal Bay Islands: This archipelago includes several islands, such as Isla Tamalcab, Isla del Angel, Isla Blanca and others. They are located in Chetumal Bay and lie off the coast of Quintana Roo.
Chiapas: There are no islands off the state of Chiapas.
COASTAL HABITATION AND/OR CEREMONIAL CENTRES
At the time before the arrival of the Spanish, at the beginning of the 16th century, the population of the Mayan nation was estimated at 15 million inhabitants.
In each zone of influence of the four seas, certain habitation and/or ceremonial centers could be found in their coastal areas. In some of these centers, rituals and ceremonies related to fishing and the seas were carried out. The most important of these centers, which still exist today, are mentioned below:
Tulum: Located on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Tulum was an ancient Mayan city with an important seaport. Ceremonies and rituals were performed here in honor of the aquatic deities, as well as to ask for protection and success in fishing.
Xcaret: Located in the Riviera Maya, near Playa del Carmen, Xcaret was an important Mayan ceremonial center and port. Rituals and offerings related to fishing and the seas were performed here, especially in honor of aquatic deities such as Ixchel and Chaac.
El Cuyo: Located on the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, El Cuyo was a Mayan coastal settlement where fishing was traditionally practized. Here, Mayan fishermen performed rituals before setting sail, requesting the blessing of the deities for a successful catch.
Xcalak: Located on the southern coast of the Yucatan peninsula, near the border with Belize, Xcalak was an important fishing center for the ancient Maya. Rituals and ceremonies were held here to honor the aquatic deities and to ask for their protection in fishing.
Some dozens more settlements existed in the coastal areas of influence to these 4 seas, however, they are only archaeological areas, most of them.
MARKETS
In the Mayan civilization, markets were known as “k’íiwik” and were held in plazas or urban centers. Traders were highly respected and travelled long distances to exchange goods. Bartering was common, but also products such as coins, seashells or cacao were used as a means of exchange. The Maya traded a variety of foodstuffs, a diversity of textiles, obsidian, jade, precious feathers and a wide variety of other items.
In general, the great vendimias in pre-Hispanic markets were lively and vital events for the economy and culture of indigenous civilizations. These vendimias were not only opportunities for commercial exchange, but also moments of social and cultural encounter where knowledge, traditions and experiences were shared.
WHITE ROADS
The Mayan white roads (Post THE ANCIENT MAYAS AND THEIR WHITE ROADS. PART I) were the typical infrastructure that this people used to communicate from the habitational and ceremonial centers to the coastal points where they continued their journeys to transport their products to different points in their own region (cabotage and circumvallation) or outside of it to other towns (transoceanic journeys).
MAYAN GASTRONOMY
The names in Spanish and Mayan of the 30 most important stews of the ancient Maya, which are still prepared in this region, are:
1. Chak k’ích (stone broth): Soup made with fresh fish, Mayan herbs and vegetables, cooked directly on hot stones.
2. Chaya paak (Chaya pak): Stew of chaya leaves cooked with tomato, onion and Mayan spices.
3. U po’ot puk (Wild boar stew): Wild boar was a prized meat of the ancient Maya. To prepare this stew, chillies, garlic, onions, tomatoes and herbs such as coriander and oregano were used. The meat was cooked slowly until it was tender and full of flavor.
4. Chilmol (Chilmole): A dark stew made with pork or turkey meat, achiote, spices and corn dough, served on corn tortillas.
5. Chirmol: A traditional Mayan stew that included fish, such as mojarra, cooked with tomato, onion, chillies and coriander.
6. Kakik: A traditional Mayan broth made with turkey, but shrimp was also added for extra flavor.
7. Chochinita (Cochinita): Wild boar stew with chili, tomato, onion and Mayan spices, simmered over low heat.
8. k’óom (Seafood soup): A savoury broth prepared with a variety of seafood, such as shrimp, squid, mussels and fish, seasoned with traditional Mayan spices and herbs.
9. K’uutbil u koch (Cochinita pibil): A preparation of wild boar marinated in achiote and sour orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves and slowly cooked underground.
10. K’ak’ik (Chicken soup): Thick soup made with Creole chicken, spices, tomato and corn dough, seasoned with Mayan herbs and achiote.
11. K’iinich u po’ot (Spiced deer): This stew was prepared with venison, which was cooked with spices and local herbs. Ingredients such as chillies, garlic, onion and banana leaves could be added for flavor and aroma.
12. Kak’ik (Caldo de gallinácea): Soup made with Creole hen, spices, herbs and corn dough, seasoned with achiote.
13. Pepian (Pepian): Thick stew made with turkey meat, pumpkin seeds, chili, spices and traditional Mayan herbs.
14. Pibipool (Pibipollo): Stew wrapped in banana leaves, made with guajolote or creole chicken, achiote, spices and corn dough.
15. Pok chuk (Poc chuc): Wild boar fillets marinated in sour orange juice, grilled and served with onion and chili sauce.
16. K’uutbil u xikin (Pollo pibil): Chicken marinated in achiote and other seasonings, baked in banana leaves.
17. U po’ot ak (Adobo de pato): Duck stew was another popular dish among the Maya. The duck meat was cooked with a mixture of chillies, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Sometimes herbs such as epazote were also added to enhance the flavor.
18. K’oxk’ol (Puchero de tres carnes): Stew prepared with three types of meat (venison, wild boar and turkey), vegetables, spices and herbs, cooked slowly.
19. Tikin Xic: Fish, such as sea bass, is marinated with achiote, sour orange juice and spices, then wrapped in banana leaves and grilled.
20. Kib’ik (Stuffed cheese): Hollowed out cheese stuffed with turkey or wild boar meat, sultanas, olives and spices, bathed in tomato sauce.
21. K’ochob (White stuffing): Stew of wild boar or turkey meat with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.
22. U po’ot sibil (Rabbit stew): Rabbit was a commonly eaten meat by the Maya, and was prepared in tasty stews. It was cooked with chillies, tomatoes, onions, garlic and local herbs. Some variants could also include pumpkin and other vegetables.
23. K’ab kak (Black stuffing): Thick, dark stew made with creole hen or wild boar meat, spices, achiote and corn dough, served with corn tortillas.
24. Säbuts’ (Salbutes): Fried corn tortillas topped with shredded turkey meat, pickled onion, avocado and tomato sauce.
25. Sikil pak (Sikil paak): Sauce made of roasted and ground pumpkin seeds, to which shrimps or prawns were added, combined with tomato, chilli and other ingredients.
26. Ts’itun (Ceviche): A popular dish throughout the region, Mayan ceviche was prepared with fresh fish, such as sea bass or grouper, marinated in lemon or sour orange juice, mixed with onion, chili, coriander and tomato.
27. k’iin (Tamales de elote): Tamales made of tender corn dough wrapped in corn husks and steamed.
28. tzic ts’o’ot (Tzic de venado): Venison stew with achiote, chilli, tomato, onion and spices, slow cooked.
29. Xnipec tso’ob (turkey Xnipec): turkey stew with achiote, chilli, tomato, onion and spices.
30. Xoc-ch’ic: Marinated wild boar with a sauce made with various dried chillies.
The Spanish influence can be observed in certain dishes, as some of the original ingredients have been lost and replaced by others. Also, some of the main meats and fish have been modified at the present time, and we do not find wild boar in the cuisine of this Mayan region, as it has been replaced by pork. Nor are native chickens used in Mayan dishes, as they have been replaced by chicken. Deer has been replaced by beef, although it is still found in some typical dishes.
Independently of this invitation to enjoy Mayan gastronomy, our main purpose is to extend an invitation to walk barefoot along any of the beaches of these 4 seas (Post WALKING BAREFOOT. PART I). The sands are fine, medium and coarse, depending on the coastline where we go, which advises us to take some special shoes, in case we are sensitive or we find certain coasts with some stones, there are even rocky areas. Also bring a hat and some sun protection oil or cream to protect you from the sun’s rays.
We are pleased to extend you a special invitation to visit the wonderful region of the Mayas, a place surrounded by the four seas. Here you will find a natural and cultural paradise that will fascinate you.
Imagine enjoying beautiful beaches bathed by crystal clear waters, where you can relax in the sun and dive into the refreshing sea, in each of the 4 mentioned. The sensation of walking barefoot on the soft sand will be an unforgettable experience.
In addition to its incredible coastal scenery, the Mayan region has a millenary archaeology that will transport you back in time. You will be able to explore more than 250 archaeological sites, discovering the majestic pyramids and temples that are still standing. Every corner holds ancestral stories that will invite you to reflect on the past and admire the legacy of this ancient civilization.
Set out to walk along the marvellous white trails that wind through the jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation and diverse fauna. It will be like stepping into a true green paradise, where nature manifests itself in all its splendor.
You cannot fail to marvel at the monumental ARCHES that decorate the Mayan region, true architectural jewels that bear witness to the ingenuity and skill of this ancestral culture.
And if we are talking about gastronomy, the Mayan region is not far behind. Indulge in a variety of flavors and traditional dishes that fuse local ingredients with unique culinary techniques. Every bite will transport you to an explosion of flavors and sensations.
Also, don’t miss the opportunity to explore the coastline and discover the diversity of marine life that this region is home to. Dive into the crystal clear waters and discover the underwater world full of color and life.
And to make this region even more accessible, we present the new Mayan Train, which runs through a large part of this marvellous territory. You will be able to enjoy a comfortable and safe journey while admiring the landscapes and connecting with the essence of the region.
Dear friends, the Mayans are waiting for you with open arms to share their culture, their history and their natural beauty. Don’t miss the opportunity to live a unique experience in this land full of magic and charm.
We are waiting for you in the Mayan region surrounded by the 4 seas!
(2) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, The Mayan Arch Route, EMULISA, Mexico, 2023. Distributed by Amazon, available in Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C57X44CC.
