This is a book I recommend to ALL expecting parents I know (even before anything on nutrition), although I can honestly say it’s essential reading for any human!
“The continuum” can be described as the way we humans have lived for millions of years that organically met all our needs. But in the last few thousand years, with the onset of civilization, we have effectively broken it by severing our ties to our intuition and abdicating all authority to the intellect.
But the intellect, while being an excellent servant, makes for a very poor master. As a result, happiness becomes a goal instead of a normal condition of BEING ALIVE.
So how did the author, Jean Liedloff, come to all these conclusions?
Through a very unlikely chain of events, she found herself spending time in the South American jungle (this must have been the 50s or 60s). And her time with the Yequana people in Venezuela, folks who’ve kept the same lifestyle for millennia, turned all of her preconceived notions as a “civilized” woman on their heads.
She started to see through many of her modern assumptions about happiness, the notion of work versus leisure (no such distinction existed for these people), justice, well-being and everything in between. But what Liefloff was especially impressed by was the way they treated their babies and raised their children. It is this aspect, and how painfully it contrasts with our modern-day practices, that the book focuses on.
A baby born to the Yequana society is in constant contact with an adult, skin on skin, from the moment she’s born. She has lots of excitement built-in in the form of being a part of the mother’s life as she goes about her business (rather than the baby being the main focus of attention). The ride is exciting as the little one’s exposed to the natural elements of hot and cold, dark and light, the experience of crossing a river and being bathed in running water… all the while feeling safe attached to the mother.
For Liedloff, these are essential sensory and affectionate experiences that a proper childhood has to include. Of course, the young mother is also part of a strong community and is not isolated but goes on with her life while the baby just tags along.
Contrast that with the common modern example of a mother and her baby isolated inside four walls – inert, lifeless, with pastel walls, colorful baubles and rattles as a poor substitute for real life and excitement. This is a scenario that doesn’t serve either party because they are both cut off from the “continuum experience.”
In traditional society, the mother has a benevolent expectation that her child is inherently sociable and that she will grow up that way. How different this is to our own assumptions regarding our children, thinking of them as essentially “antisocial” beings waiting to be “civilized” (i.e., “beaten into submission”)?
This book is basically a message to all mothers and caregivers to trust their intuition. That your and your baby’s instincts are infinitely wiser than any of the modern child-rearing experts out there.
Liedloff encourages us to consider the question: what if our babies are right? It sure would make for a very different world if all babies and children grew up 100% confident that they BELONG.
The John Holt quote on my copy says: “If the world could be saved by a book, this just might be the book.”
I am tempted to agree wholeheartedly.
About Aysin Karaduman
Aysin Karaduman is a Life Coach and Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who helps people put an end to fatigue for GOOD so they can go on to live the life of their dreams.
She draws from her multicultural background (originally from Turkey, 15 years in the US and in France since 2007) and a deep curiosity about what humans need to be healthy and happy in order to get her clients where they want to go.
Contact her via her website: theomnivorist.com/