We Are the Nature: Alejandro Echandia on Why Colombia Is the Heart of the Planet
Updated: Nov 4
On the Quantum Collective Podcast, Jonah Bolt spoke with Alejandro Echandia, the Colombian visionary artist he met at a Way of the Fire ceremony outside Medellin. Our guest profile of Alejandro tells how ancestral medicine led him from corporate design to healing art. This post follows a different thread from the same conversation: his invitation to stop treating nature as something outside of us, and why so many people call Colombia the heart of the planet.
Nature Is Not Somewhere Else
When Jonah asked what he would say to people who have never been to Colombia, Alejandro did not start with beaches or mountains. He started with the way we talk about nature. We usually describe it as something beautiful that we need to protect, something apart from us. He sees it differently.
“We are the nature. We are not separate with nature.” Alejandro Echandia
For Alejandro, the first step in caring for the earth is caring for yourself, as a part of it. Your body, your rest and your attention belong to the same living system as the rivers and forests. Tending one is tending the other.
The Wild Is Close to Home
Alejandro lives on a farm near El Retiro, Antioquia, about 45 minutes from Medellin. He points out that the powerful nature in his paintings is not deep in the jungle. It sits right beside Colombia's main cities, and people live in the middle of it every day.
That closeness shapes how he works. Before a piece ever reaches the computer or the canvas, he goes outside to observe and sketch. The snake, the bird and the jaguar first came to him as the strength of the land around him, long before they became symbols on a wall.
Why Colombia Is Called the Heart of the Planet
Jonah shared that many people describe Colombia as the heart chakra of the planet. Alejandro agreed, and explained it through geography: Colombia is the only country in South America that touches both the Atlantic and the Pacific. He calls it a connection between two hemispheres of the world.
It is also home to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where four Indigenous peoples live: the Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamo. Many visitors know the Kogi as guardians who still speak of the earth as a living being. Jonah has said he hopes to return to Colombia and visit them.
A Place to Remember Who We Are
Alejandro believes it is almost impossible to stand in that much beauty and not be changed by it. His invitation is simple: come to Colombia to remember that we are more than what we do every day.
“We are a beautiful universal design.” Alejandro Echandia
When you feel connected to nature, he says, you begin to see yourself as part of that design. That is the same idea at the center of his healing art, where each piece is made to remind the person who lives with it of their own strength.
Bring the Message Home
You do not need a plane ticket to start. Alejandro's teaching works wherever you are:
Spend time outside without a goal. Observe before you act, the way he sketches before he paints.
Treat self care as earth care. Rest, clean food and clean water are part of caring for the natural world.
Keep a symbol of strength close. A meaningful image you see each morning can remind you who you are.
Feeling the call? Our guide to spiritual ecotourism in Colombia covers the coffee region, the Sierra Nevada and how to visit with care.
Watch the Full Interview
Watch Symbols Without Words: Healing Art with Alejandro Echandia on Rumble, read his guest profile, and find more episodes on the Quantum Collective Podcast page. For more from Colombia, read about Luca and the sacred sweat lodge.
See Alejandro's work or ask about a custom healing piece on Instagram at @echandia. He ships worldwide. Follow Jonah at @iamjonahbolt.
Supporting the podcast keeps these conversations going. Browse the Quantum Collective online store for products that help fund our work.
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