The Healing Power of Nature - Norwegian Journal of Friluftsliv

and Australia, the socio-ecological approach to human health.
The universe is a process
Human bodies are process, part of the larger earth-wide ecosystem as well as the universe. Our
bodies, like all objects we see as solids, are more space than matter. This leads some to say that a body
is not a structure; it is a process. Furthermore, human bodies, the ecosystem, and the universe are all
one process (Chopera, 2001). Most of us would agree that we are part of the ecosystem or, as I learned
in school 40 years ago, part of the web of life. No process or being is separate from any other process.
With good intent Western medicine has taken a mechanistic mindset and tried to break down life
functions in to discrete structures with their own processes. Then finding the process that appears to be
broken, fix it. While this has seemingly worked in many cases, now we find that we actually spend more
on health care each year, our life expectancy has not risen appreciably for 30 or more years, and
younger generations may even have a shorter lifespan than baby boomers. The belief system behind
that healthcare model does not understand the magnitude of entanglement or connection that all life
and what we see as inanimate objects have.
The concept that the universe is a process and humans are part of that process implies, as shaman,
medical systems such as Tibetan, Ayurvedic, Native American, and Traditional Chinese say, that we must
stay in balance or return to balance with the other processes, including the natural world. Therefore
instead of relying on a drug or belief that the allopathic medical system can provide a pill to cure life
style related diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, individual responsibility ought to
be encouraged to maintain a healthy life, including spending time in natural areas and being in harmony
with nature. This can be explained in terms of process and connection to the whole and a need to stay
in balance or in harmony.
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