Healing Our Bodies Through Healing the Earth

The World Health Organization (2006) defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (¶2), and the American Holistic Health Association (AHHA) (2007) defines holistic health as "the unlimited and unimpeded free flow of life force energy through body, mind, and spirit." (¶1). In addition, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines holistic as "relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts" (¶2). Thus, from the perspective of holistic healing, one would want to take into account all aspects of a being, including physical, mental, environmental, spiritual, emotional, lifestyle, etc., in order to examine his/her wellness. All parts must be in balance.

According to British research-scientist James Lovelock's Gaia Theory (many aspects of which have now become accepted by the mainstream), the earth is a self-regulating superorganism of which we humans are a part, with its different parts working together as an interconnected whole (n.d., ¶6). Lovelock defines the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory) as:

"This postulates that the physical and chemical condition of the surface of the Earth, or the atmosphere, and of the oceans has been and is actively made fit and comfortable by the presence of life itself. This is in contrast to the conventional wisdom which held that life adapted to the planetary conditions as it and they evolved their separate ways. "(Lovelock, 1979, p. 152)

In essence, Gaia's systems function much like those of a body, but maintain the balance of organic nutrients, temperature, oceanic ph, makeup of the atmosphere, etc. rather than corporeal functions. From a holistic viewpoint, then, all systems must be functioning properly in order to have a healthy planet.

As people (and one of the earth's systems), we all at some point suffer from sickness or disease, and the incidence of chronic illness is rising in industrialized society. As of 2001, over 125 million people in America alone had a chronic illness, and more than half that number had more than one (Friendly, 2001, ¶1). That number (with one illness) is expected to increase to 157 million by the year 2020 (¶6).

Depression is another problem plaguing society, affecting more than 121 million people worldwide (WHO, 2007, ¶4). As of 2000 depression was the main cause of disability, and the main global factor of disease. It was the fourth leading cause in the World Health Organization's DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years, which WHO defines as "The sum of years of potential life lost due to premature 
mortality and the years of productive life lost due to disability") (WHO, DALYs, 2007), and is expected to be in second place by the year 2020 (¶2).

It is clear to see here that, as a species, we humans could use some healing. In addition, though, our planet as whole is in desperate need of its own healing. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) February 2007 report predicts that by the end of the century the average global temperature could rise between 3.2 - 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit, that sea levels could rise by 7-23 inches, and that up to 30% of animal and plant species could become extinct. (Owen, 2007, ¶3-4). As Lovelock claims, "We have given Gaia a fever and soon her condition will worsen to a state like a coma" (Lovelock, 2006, ¶5).

It is interesting to note that neither the WHO's definition of health nor the AHHA's definition of holistic health includes a mention of the environment. Since we humans are part of a larger whole, our health and our planet's health go hand in hand. We can only be as healthy as the larger organism of which we are a part, and in turn, the larger organism can only be as healthy as its systems. Holistic healing therefore must include the entire natural world in addition to our own bodies, minds, and spirits. In light of this, let us examine three perspectives on the interrelation of the earth's health and our own: the scientific perspective, the socio-economic perspective, and the psycho-spiritual perspective.

The Scientific Perspective

From a scientific perspective, it should perhaps seem obvious that human health and our environment's health are intimately linked. The quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the earth from which we grow our crops all have a direct effect on our condition. Although the human life span has increased by about 40 years since the early 1900s, only seven years of that is due to the availability of modern medicines. In contrast, the increase is mainly due to environmental factors: the improvement of food and water sanitation and sewer systems, a lessening of overcrowded areas, and a movement toward the use of less toxic fuels (Cortese, 2004, p.29). Contaminants that we take in to our bodies and the effects of continued global warming will both have a very significant impact to our quality of life (or very existence). From this point forward, we as a society must not only work to attempt to reverse existing problems of pollution, sanitization, and climate change, but must be cautious of our actions and policies so as not to cause any further damage.

The World Health Organization (2006, Preventing) has produced a report highlighting the various global human conditions that are affected by the environment. The report states that the four main diseases influenced by environmental issues are diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, unintentional injuries, and malaria (¶5). However, there is actually a very broad range of conditions mentioned, ranging from the obvious, such as cancers and those mentioned above, to the less obvious, such as falls, drownings, and suicides. WHO concludes that more than 80% of reported diseases are in one way or another caused by environmental problems (¶1), 20% of which could be remedied by preventative measures such as promoting safer and more hygienic water storage, better resource management, the use of safer fuels, a safer built environment, and the use of caution with toxic substances (¶5). Through these practices, it is estimated that 13 million annual deaths could be prevented (2006, June 16, ¶4).

A study carried out at Cornell University (2007), has determined that pollution is responsible for 40% of deaths each year. Pollution, combined with the rapidly increasing population rate, creates increased vulnerability to malnourishment and disease for 3.7 billion people (¶1), and this number is continually growing. In 1950, only 20% of the world's population was malnourished, as compared to the present 57%. Malnutrition is responsible for the deaths of six million children each year, and also makes people susceptible to a multitude of other conditions such as malaria and respiratory infections (¶4).

The study also found that nearly half of all the people in the world live in urban areas without sufficient sanitation, and that 1.2 billion people are without adequate clean water. People who live in these areas are therefore prone to waterborne diseases (which account for about 80% of all infectious diseases) as well as other diseases, and the area becomes a breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Air pollution is also a large problem, accounting for 3 million deaths each year, as is soil contamination, affecting us via our food and water supply (¶8). Besides this, existing microbes are beginning to mutate and become resistant to drugs, and climate change is bringing a reemergence of diseases such as tuberculosis, severe forms of influenza, and new diseases like the West Nile Virus (¶9).

Around the world, many diseases and health conditions exist as a result of the local climate. Climate change not only can lead to the risk of death (from extreme heat or cold), but can also lead to an increased risk of infectious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Higher temperatures can also contribute to an increase in the number of extreme events such as hurricanes and floods, and can contribute to a decline in air quality, causing trauma to people's lungs through larger amounts of ground-level ozone and particulate air pollution (Health, 2006, ¶12). Climate change also has an impact on agricultural production, potentially leading to an increased number of undernourished people, particularly in developing nations.

While all of this information may seem dire, there are two main items, not yet mentioned, which seem particularly noteworthy. One is that our own western medical industry, intended to keep us healthy and happy, is a huge contributor to our own illnesses. The other is that human breast milk has become one of the most toxic of all foods.

Let us look first at the medical industry. A 1994 report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tells us that medical waste incinerators create more dioxin air pollution than any other source in the United States (Ausubel, 2004, p. 7). Healthcare Without Harm (n.d.), a global organization that seeks to reduce the impact of environmental problems caused by the medical industry, refers to dioxin as a "group of persistent, very toxic chemicals" (¶1), and claims that the dioxins can travel great distances in the atmosphere, making crops vulnerable at any location. Dioxin then gets into our food supply and our bodies, and is stored in our fat. It doesn't break down in its environment, so with consistent low-level exposure, it tends to build up in the body. Dioxin is a known carcinogen, and in addition to causing cancer, has been shown to weaken the immune system, causing reproductive and developmental problems.

Another problem stemming from the medical industry is pharmaceutical pollution. Known as pharmaceutical and personal care pollutants (PPCPs), these contaminants consist of a broad range of chemical products that people use everyday. Some of these end up in our water supply as people unwittingly empty unused remainders of medication down the sink, and others find their way into the water as they are flushed down the toilet (as human waste), or rinsed down the drain off of people's bodies as they shower. Animals living near lakes and rivers are already taking in hormones, antibiotics, painkillers, etc., as small amounts of these drugs end up in their habitats. For example, on an island in the Antarctic, 1% of polar bears have taken on characteristics of both sexes (Lerner, 2004, p. 14), and in various places certain fish have also shown gender mutations. In one Canadian study, scientists added birth control pills to a lake in Ontario for three years, and the result was that all the male fish in the lake had gained female attributes (egg proteins in their bodies) (Sellman, 2004, ¶10). A study at Baylor University in Texas has shown trace amounts of antidepressant drugs in the muscles and brains of bluegill fish, and also in the systems of human non-antidepressant-users who eat fish (Sellman, 2004 ¶17). Another study in the UK has shown popular antidepressant drug Prozac to be present in drinking water (Sellman, 2004 ¶18). It remains to be seen what will happen when entire communities are inadvertently exposed to small amounts of various drugs though their water supply.

At the top of the food chain, and consuming all of the food, chemicals and contaminants that are taken in by their maternal lineage, are babies. The human breast milk that babies drink has come to be filled with more toxins than almost any other food, containing brominated flame retardants and small amounts of dioxin amongst other toxic compounds. The only proven way for someone to lower the amount of these chemicals in the body is to have a baby and breastfeed (Lerner, 2004, p. 16). Then, the chemical toxins in the mother's body will slightly decrease, and be passed on to her child. A report published by EPA has shown that a one-year-old child who had been breast-fed for one year has a level of dioxin-like compounds six times higher than a non-breast-fed child, and that for a seventy-year lifetime, someone who has been breast-fed will have a cumulative dose of dioxin that is 3-18% higher that someone who has not been breast-fed (Lorber & Phillips, 2002).

What we see here are the consequences of a system with a general lack of focus on prevention. This lack of attention to prevention applies also to the medicines and supplements that are given to people when they become ill. It is interesting to note that what is known in Chinese medicine as an inferior drug (one that is intended to treat a specific condition) is the type that is most highly regarded in western medicine, whereas what is known in Chinese medicine as a superior drug (one that is good for all conditions) is generally regarded as foolishness in the west (Weil, 2004, p. 116). Superior drugs function as autoimmune enhancers, so of course, they help to alleviate all conditions, and also assist in prevention.

We have similar options, then, for handling our personal health and at the environment's health: one method would be to focus on prevention and wellness (by using what is called the precautionary principle), and the other would be to just assume that we are okay until we have proof that there is a problem (by using risk paradigm).

Up until now, the medical and scientific industries have been operating according to a system known as the risk paradigm, which postulates that there is an acceptable level of contaminants in the environment and our bodies. According to the risk paradigm, policies, products, and procedures are generally considered to be safe until proven otherwise. This policy is generally set by a small group with commercial interests at heart, and is generally not in the best interest of the general public (Ausubel, 2004, p. 6).

The alternative to the risk paradigm is the precautionary principle. The precautionary principle is a theory that basically claims that care must be taken when there is uncertainty with regard to the health or environmental effects of a particular action or policy. If there is a chance that something could cause harm, it is not necessary to wait for scientific evidence to prove it - rather, action should be taken immediately to prevent any damage (Ausubel, 2004, p.6). In other words, better safe than sorry!

There is currently a global effort to implement the precautionary principle in various settings. The city of San Francisco, California has added the precautionary principle to its environmental code, and is applying it to purchasing decisions (Precautionary, 2007, ¶3). The European Union is forming a policy based on the precautionary principle, requiring chemical manufacturers to test their products and prove them safe. The Cartagena Biosafety Protocol and the Stockholm Treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants, have adapted use of the precautionary principle for the use of genetically modified substances and some toxic chemicals. Also, in 2001 Verizon Wireless sent out letters informing their customers about the hazards of radio waves coming from cell phones (Precautionary, 2007, ¶33) (although judging from the number of people who can be seen talking on cell phones every day, it does not seem to be stopping people from using them!).

Clearly, there are many important issues at stake, and it is important that each individual concern is addressed from a variety of angles (by health practitioners, political groups, the general public, etc.). At the root of the issue however, is that we need to start working from the point of view of prevention rather than cure, and not waiting until there is a problem to take action. We must remain aware that keeping the environment healthy is synonymous with keeping ourselves healthy, and it is imperative that healers of all types understand our relationship to ecology, and work together with the natural environment.

The Socio-Economic Perspective

Since the process of healing involves the connection between individual health and that of the larger whole, we also must take into account all the social institutions that influence us as people, such as city planners, corporations, industries, and governmental bodies, as well as elements of our individual lifestyles. In order for a community to function in a healthy manner (and for its residents to remain healthy), it must feel safe and secure, and its residents must be able to have a reasonable standard of living.

Urban planning and the built environment have a huge impact on both our personal health and that of the natural environment. Suburban sprawl continues to grow in the United States, as we develop 364 acres of forest or farmland every hour (Cortese, 2004, p. 30). Sprawl forces us to drive rather than walk or bike, thereby consuming resources and polluting the air while at the same time leading to physical inactivity, which is mentioned on WHO's list of preventable environmentally-influenced diseases (2006, Preventing). The amount of driving that people do has increased by 250% since 1960, and 90 thousand new automobiles are being produced daily. This clearly has an impact on our health, as 61% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese by the standards of WHO and the surgeon general, and the number of children with asthma has more than doubled in the last 15 years (Cortese, 2004, p. 30).

While many of us will claim to want to improve our health and cut back on the use of resources, it is interesting to notice the contradiction between our ideas and our actions. For example, Americans jog 27 million miles every day, but at the same time, consume 3 billion gallons of ice-cream (Clinebell, 1996, p.3). Also, rather than going outside to jog, people will often drive to the gym, jog a few miles on the treadmill, and then drive back home.

Driving was restricted in the city of Atlanta, Georgia during the Olympic Games in 1996, which reduced traffic by 22-23% and smog by 30%. During this time, the number of asthma-related emergency room visits declined by 42% (Corteze, p. 30). If we could jog, walk, or bike from one destination to another, we would be able to improve our individual health, the health of our community, and the health of our environment all at the same time.

Another aspect of urban planning to consider is the safety of the built environment. Because many neighborhoods are built to be centered around automobiles rather than pedestrians, people don't feel safe enough to go outside and exercise. Also, many areas lack sidewalks, preventing elderly and disabled people from easily getting to a bus stop even if there is one nearby. People are more likely to want to spend time outside if there is pleasant scenery, and a general feeling of safety and security.

Yes, security is also an important issue. People won't want to spend time outdoors if they feel as though they might be attacked. This too can be related back to environmental issues, as violence and unrest often stem from standard of living problems. On the topic of security, Professor Howard Frumkin of Emory Medical School points out:

"If someone blew up a hospital or infected a water supply, we'd view it as an act of health terrorism. But pumping persistent organic
pollutants into the atmosphere, clearing forests, over-using resources and contributing to global warming are equally inimical to
health. " (Corteze, 2004, p. 31)

While terrorism is clearly a safety concern, we must also realize that if we were able to provide food, sanitization, and clean water to the billions of people who need it worldwide, then terrorism itself would generally not exist. Therefore, while security is important for the protection of our health, our health is also important for the sake of security.

It should also be noted that poor people and/or ethnic minorities are generally more susceptible to environmentally-caused health problems. Known respectively as environmental classism or environmental racism, this issue occurs in both industrialized nations and in the developing world. Due to their economic situations, poor people (who are often ethnic minorities) often have to live in the most polluted parts of the city. African American sociology professor from University of California at Riverside, Robert D. Bullard, conducted some research on toxic waste dumps in Texas in 1979, and his results found that all five public dumps and six out of eight waste incinerators were in African American neighborhoods. He also learned that this was a pattern all across America, and for the most part, worldwide. Statistics have also shown that communities with the most pollution have the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, and poor health care (Clinebell, 1996, p. 164).

In Brazil, poor people from the cities are forced in economic desperation to relocate to the rain forests to slash and burn them, and cultivate the land. Here, not only is the rainforest community left with unfertile soil (within four years after slash and burn the soil is no longer fertile enough to grow food crops, and within seven years is almost like pure sand) (Clinebell, 1996, p. 5), but the rest of the planet is left with a crisis as well, as the lungs of the earth disappear.

The rainforest is cleared to grow a few main crops: soya to export to the processed food industry, and maize, wheat, and oil palm for biofuels. While at first thought biofuel might seem like a great idea, it can potentially cause as much damage (or even more) than petroleum. Over the course of the year (as of March 2007) the price of maize doubled, and the price of wheat was at its highest in 10 years. At the same time, the availability of both grains was at a 25-year low. The demand for these grains has driven the price up, resulting in food riots in Mexico, and a general struggle for poor people worldwide (Monbiot, 2007, ¶4).

In addition to this, it is estimated that 98% of rainforest in Indonesia will be gone by 2022 (initially this date was thought to be 2032, but that estimate was without consideration to the harvesting of oil palm). To make matters even worse, Dutch research and consultancy company Delft Hydraulics reports that every ton of palm oil harvested for biofuel produces 10 times the amount of carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum (Monbiot, 2007, ¶6). In addition to the problem of slash-and-burn in and of itself, with the trees gone, indigenous rainforest communities will no longer be able to harvest traditional items such as food, rubber, coconuts, etc. (Clinebell, 1996, p.6).

How can we promote change in these situations? We need to create awareness amongst people and the institutions serving them about the cost of our current lifestyles on our health and environment. Health practitioners need to have a respectful relationship with the natural environment, and collaborate with urban planners, builders, government officials, nongovernmental organizations, architects, and engineers to create safe, accessible communities for as many people as possible. The healing that needs to take place needs to happen across cultural and socioeconomic borders, and be addressed at both local and global levels. The ecological crisis in which we are at the moment could be a chance for people everywhere to come together and present a new vision for the future.

The Psycho-Spiritual Perspective

Once upon a time, when seeking healing, one would look not only inward to the body, mind, and spirit, but also outward to the animals, plants, earth, and cosmos. At that time, psyche-nature dichotomy that has now become so deeply engrained in postmodern western society didn't exist. Over the course of time, though, a dualistic worldview has become so deeply embedded in our culture that the link between mind and body has become lost. With this loss, so has the link between spirit and nature been lost. This has lead us to a state of mental and physical disease, both as individuals, and as a species.

In the west where Judeo-Christian religion dominates, the general means of getting closer to God is by distancing oneself from nature and the body. The aim is to abscond from the earthly world, and prepare for the afterlife up in heaven. A passage in the Holy Bible tells us:

"God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea
and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. "(Genesis 1:28, New International Version)

This has generally been interpreted to mean that humans are free to use the rest of earthly creation as we see fit. The human is seen as separate and for the most part, superior to the non-human world. This teaching has become so deeply enmeshed in our society that even people who are not particularly religious have the human-nature dichotomy as their mode of thinking.

True to this doctrine, in times of illness people generally try to heal themselves by singling out a specific part or function of the body (or for clearly psychological problems, the psyche) without taking into account the bigger picture of surrounding environment. American scholar Theodore Roszak gives an example using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which lists all official diagnoses that are used in psychiatry. He notes that out of every condition listed, there is not a single one that links madness to the non-human world (1992, pp. 14-15).

That said, it is difficult not to see madness when one thinks about what we are doing to our own planet. Roszak states, "The species that destroys its own habitat in pursuit of false values, in willful ignorance of what it does, is 'mad' if the word means anything" (1992, p. 68), and he claims that what we are doing to the earth is comparable to what those running Auschwitz did to their prisoners during the Holocaust (1992, p. 73). Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl states, "Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake" (Frankl, 1959, p. 179).

With the enormous influence that we as people have over the global environment in which we live, we do seem to be acting irrationally. Although the consumerist lifestyle to which we westerners have become accustomed is now clearly destructive to our environment, to many people it seems impossible to change. Roszak compares this to a man who doesn't leave a burning building because he can't find his credit cards (1992, p.70).

It appears, however, that attitudes are now beginning to shift. Little by little, we are once again beginning to take the natural world into account as a part of our own health and sanity, and realize that a part of nature is within all of us, as a part of us is within nature. We can only be as healthy as the eco-system in which we live.

One mode of healing that deals with the connection between health and nature is ecopsychology. Coined by Theodore Roszak in his book, Voice of the Earth (1992), the term ecopsychology explores the interrelationship between human and planetary well-being. Roszak "extends Jung's collective unconscious and Freud's id and draws the rational conclusion that what these terms imply is 'the world'" (Hillman, 1995, p. xix). The term ecotherapy is also sometimes used (although less-widely) and is perhaps more appropriate, as it aims to include the entire mind, body, and spirit rather than just the psyche.

As was stated earlier, depression is a huge problem worldwide. What could be at the root all these unhappy people? Let us have a look at the interrelationship between the psyche and the natural environment.

Robert Greenway, an ecopsychologist who led groups on wilderness trips, did some research on the effects of the journeys and reported back the results. The excursions were generally about two weeks long, and the participants consisted of an eclectic group of people from Sonoma State University. Among the statistics, 90% of participants claimed an "increased sense of aliveness, well-being, and energy" (1995, p. 128) and 90% also claimed that the experience allowed them to break an addiction. Also, 76% claimed that they had changes in the vividness, frequency, and context of their dreams after being in the wilderness for 3 days. They claimed that at the three-day point, their dreams changed from hectic, urban situations, to dreams involving the wilderness, or something to do with their group. Interestingly, 53% claimed that the feelings of well-being achieved during the trip had turned into depression within only two days of returning home (1995, p.129). It appears that a regular, consistent dose of nature is valuable medicine in and of itself.

Tieraona Low Dog, one of leading experts of botanical medicine in the United States, claims, "If you took some of those children on Ritalin and put them in a garden planting seeds, tending the soil, and working on their own inner landscapes, you might find that they would be fine without their medication" (Dog, 2004, p. 126).

Psychotherapist and teacher Howard Clinebell suggests that many people are filled with ecological angst - that is, they are suffering, often on an unconscious level, from anxiety about the fate of the planet. Young people, aware of the circumstances of our planet, may not see a very long healthy future for themselves, and thus garner a feeling of hopelessness. Older people worry for their children (1996, pp.31-32).

In addition to emotional issues being problematic in and of themselves, emotional distress has been shown to cause all sorts of physical problems. This is one area in which modern western medicine does make a connection between the mind and body. Traditional healing considers all illnesses to be psychosomatic in some sense, with thoughts, dreams, memories, and emotion all being addressed as part of the whole (Roszak, 1992, p. 75). However, modern and traditional healing have quite different views on the meaning of psychosomatic. In western medicine, the body is considered to be a machine, which is connected to the mind by the nervous system, whereas in traditional societies the body is still considered to be part of a sacred cosmos, and thus an important link to the soul.

David Abram, an anthropologist who conducted research among Balinese shamans, points out that the shaman's actual job is not to heal individual people, but to engage with the powers beyond the human world in order to create harmony within a community. There often exist malevolent influences within a community that while affecting the well-being of certain individuals, actually stem from an imbalance within the collective society. Thus, while the shaman does cure individual cases of disease, any healer who doesn't address the relationship between the individual patient and the larger environment will likely find the illness to reappear elsewhere in the village (Abram, 1995, pp.304-305).

Andrew Weil, a physician in Tuscon, Arizona who has extensive knowledge of botanical and indigenous medicine, points out that "...medicine in our culture serves the same functions as religion in traditional societies. Medical doctors are the priests of technological society. People invest the same kind of belief in doctors that they do in shamans in shamanistic cultures" (Weil, 2004, p. 120). The problem here is that, as a general rule, western medical doctors' ideas prevent them from being able to perform this type of job. How can a doctor possibly serve as a link between worlds if s/he doesn't acknowledge the non-human domain?

Weil goes on to point out some examples of western patients who have been inadvertently hexed by doctors. Medical hexing is a term used by anthropologists who have studied shamanism and voodoo practices to refer to a practitioner who intentionally curses someone. The victim will stop taking care of him/herself, withdraw from friends and family, weaken, and sometimes die. (Weil, 2004, 121), The modern equivalent of this is generally less intentional. Rather, the doctor will say something traumatizing to the patient without even realizing it. Weil gives the example of a 53-year-old man who came to see him after his doctor had given him the diagnosis of late-stage prostate cancer. His condition was far enough along so that radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and surgery could no longer be of help. The man also happened to be a chain-smoker, and he asked his doctor if he should give up smoking. The doctor responded to him by saying, "At this point, why bother?" (Weil, 2004, p. 122). While in all likelihood, the doctor was just trying to avoid giving the man any more difficulties, his words basically told the patient that he was unquestionably about to die. In reality, no one can really tell what will happen - people have managed to survive diseases in situations that seem to defy logic. However, giving someone the prognosis that s/he is about to die makes it all the more likely that it will happen.

Despite the inadequacies of modern medicine, the specific techniques employed by traditional healers would not necessarily be effective in our society. Despite the ubiquitous quality of various Jungian archetypes, each society has its own lore and rituals that have cultural significance, and which would not be of such value to outsiders. The buffalo for the Sioux, for example, or the seal for the Intuit, have a meaning within their communities that just doesn't exist for others. Tantric practitioners in a rural part of India have insisted that the mantras they use to enter into specific states have "unique occult correspondences between the physiological vibrations of certain sounds and the emotions they evoke in the patient" (Roszak, 1992, p. 76). These correspondences would be meaningless outside of their immediate community.

What then, is lacking in our society? What has a special significance here in the United States? As a group, it seems that we have more of a cultural connection to the automobile and to fast food than anything in nature. It is difficult to say what exactly could fill this void, but it is definitely something that deserves some thought.

Underneath it all, it is clear that a restoration of the connection between the human and the natural environment is necessary for both our own and our planet's psycho-spiritual (and bodily) well-being. A shift in global consciousness is imminent as we become aware that the inner is inextricably linked to the outer, and vice-versa.

Conclusion

If the earth is indeed a superorganism, then it seems as if its immune system is under attack. Ralph Metzner (1995) points out several other metaphors to which the current human/planetary condition can be related (pp. 54-67). One is Paul Shepard's theory of ontogenetic crippling, which claims that "men may now be the possessors of the world's flimsiest identity structure - by Paleolithic standards, childish adults" (Shepard, p. 124). Another metaphor is Thomas Berry's idea that humans are autistic in relation to the natural world (p. 59). In other words, we don't seem to see, hear, or feel what is going on in the world around us. One other metaphor is that of addiction, in that we continue on with practices that we know are destructive to our own living environment (pp. 59-60). Finally, one other analogy is the idea that humanity has a case of collective amnesia, in which we have forgotten how to connect with and give respect to the non-human world (p. 61).

Regardless of which metaphor we choose to use, it is clear that our planet is suffering. Pollution, climate change, hunger, war, depression, various diseases - these are all symptoms of our earth's much larger underlying sickness. As with any disease, it often helps to treat the symptoms - it can often help to prevent further harm. Treating the symptoms in this case would involve cutting dioxin emissions, creating clean air and water, building safer living environments, etc. - this is all completely necessary. At the same time however, it is vital that we also treat the root cause of the problem and bridge that gap that separates us as people from the rest of the natural world. Theodore Roszak claims that "repression of the ecological unconscious is the deepest root of the collective madness in industrial society; open access to the ecological unconscious is the path to sanity" (Roszak, 1992, p. 320). We must move toward a global consciousness in which we are connected with the earth and the cosmos, and in which treat our world and ourselves with love, support, and deep-rooted respect. Improving our wellness though good food, air and water, a just world, and a healthy, contented environment - that is holistic healing.

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