You may be aware that the word ‘whole’ comes from the old English root word ‘hal’, which means ‘health’. To be whole, then, is to be healthy. As we move toward a whole science, health is viewed as an irreducible whole that comprises all aspects of our being. This has already begun to happen. We are becoming aware of the relationships between individual and environmental health, social health and individual health, environmental health and the well being of society.
This new view of health means that we recognise all levels of our health are interconnected and depend on each other. So health as a whole becomes the main goal or aim of science. Because when we are physically, mentally and emotionally healthy then we can be happy. And happiness is what we all desire, do we not?
Let’s look at the three main ‘levels’ of our health:
Individual:
A whole science view of individual health means that the individual takes responsibility for his or her own health. The reason being is as we live by the understanding of the mind-body connection, our mental and emotional health has a huge impact on our physical well being, much more than we had previously thought.
Therefore, as the individual would normally seek to strengthen their health from the ‘outside’, i.e. with drugs, medicines and the like, the individual now also places importance on strengthening their health from within. This is achieved through working through negative emotions and mindsets, to free them from the life-negating effect they have on the body. Extreme stress and depression are seen to be internal ‘toxins’ that the individual now takes responsibility to understand and break through.
What about the individual’s connection to the social environment? Clearly, this is also considered as health is becoming recognised as a unified whole. If you are living on a crime-ridden estate suffering verbal abuse and maybe physical abuse, then clearly this has a knock-on effect on your emotional, and thus physical, well being.
In the same sense, we are beginning to recognise how the health of the planet has an effect on us. Making distinctions between the health of the earth and our own health now seems to be the same as separating the health of an ocean with the fish who live in it! So as our intake of fresh, natural based foods and medicines continues to grow, we learn that actually, as we take care of the environment, we are taking care of ourselves at the same time.
Social:
In moving towards greater health, we again understand that the health of our communities and countries are a reflection of the health of the individuals. Social health is seen to be something beyond our control, something most merely ‘leave up to the government’, but what would happen if each and every person took responsibility for the health of the community?
If we look at the social health of the UK as a whole, do you think we would score particularly high in the optimum health charts? The disintegration of communities and fracturing of society is seen to be a political issue, but what if your thoughts alone had an effect on society? A well known study by John Hagelin has brought down crime rates in a US state by meditating alone. Of course, it’s not just as simple as wishful thinking, but it gives each person the responsibility to contribute to the health of the human race as a whole.
As the current evidence for this knowledge is inconclusive, more investigation is needed into the effects of group consciousness, particularly if it may contribute significantly to our social well being.
Environmental:
Our environmental health is now a matter of global concern, and we are beginning to explore the reciprocal relationships we humans have with the natural world and how our impact can enrich or destroy its well-being. Environmental health does not merely extend to the quality of our air, water and land; rather it also involves supporting the health of the interconnecting species that rely on earth for its survival.
Have you ever considered the source of where your clothes came from? The food you cook each night? Your daily cup of tea? These links have been severed by globalisation. Although globalisation is mainly a wonderful thing, unfortunately it means we often fail to remember how our very existence is fundamentally connected with the existence and well being of the earth.
As we move towards a more whole, holistic understanding of health, we can see that earth destruction and earth pollution, is on some level destroying the very conditions for which we depend upon for our health. Care of the environment, then, ultimately becomes caring for ourselves.
Copyright 2008 Whole Science ©
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