Senti-Pensante Interculturality

Senti-pensante Interculturality is a conceptual framework that brings a body-mind stance to the field of interculturality. It does so in service of bridging cultural divides created by ignorance and fear of “the other,” in order to promote genuine dialogue and connections among people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is a framework actively committed to the possibility and historical necessity of open, honest, critical self-reflection and communication among all people and cultures. It is an invitation to reimagine a different type of social interactions; where, through integrating the heart and the mind, existing hierarchies based on class, race, gender, language, national origin, sexual identity, legal status, etc. are questioned and reframed so as to make room for new ways of being, thinking, knowing, learning, feeling and living, in alignment with the Zapatistas’ vision of “un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos” (a world where there is room for many other worlds).

Inspired by the thinking and works of Boaventura de Souza Santos, Arturo Escobar, Gloria Anzaldúa, Audre Lourde, among other Latinx, Latin American, Native American and black intellectuals, senti-pensante spaces aim to bridge inner work and social justice, to help envision possibilities beyond dominant  Eurocentric ways of thinking. It moves us towards decolonizing our minds, celebrating difference and the interconnectedness of all beings, so as to help restore balance and wholeness, and create a more equitable and just society.

Saying yes to Senti-Pensante Interculturality invites us to deepen awareness of our own cultural identity, grounding ourselves in a profound sense of our cultural dignity. To show up in the world in a senti-pensante way means to get in touch with our own center, our humanity, our personal-family-cultural wounds, and our own resources for healing and transformation. As we heal in the inside, letting go of what no longer serves us nor the world at large, we allow new unknown aspects of ourselves to be expressed, becoming more of our true selves.

Saying yes to Senti-Pensante Interculturality is an invitation to learn from others from a place of cultural humility, and develop a respectful and dignifying relationship with cultural differences, discovering a newly found appreciation for everybody’s contribution to the larger whole, enabling us to build stronger and more resilient communities.