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Eco Learning and Eco Healing: Renewal of Mind and Spirit For human survival, mental health, and fulfillment we need the natural setting in which the human mind almost certainly evolved. E. O. Wilson We are part of it. While we go to the halls of our schools and universities to study nature as if it was an object to be explored, environmentalists, researchers and spiritual leaders remind us that, human beings are part of nature not separate from it. Part of eco healing and healing our split with nature is expressing a willingness to learn from our affinity with nature, nature’s innovation, and nature’s spiritual or transcendent gifts.
Biophilia Encounter. Have you ever had an unexpected, yet intimate encounter with a wild animal, a beautiful flower, or even a breath taking landscape? Most people respond to these encounters with warmth and affection. In fact, nature can awaken profound feelings of aliveness and union. Harvard Professor E.O. Wilson coined the term biophilia to describe what happens in these encounters. Biophilia is the term used to describe human beings propensity for affection and union with other life forms and all nature. Biophilia is the reason why you might want a lovely view outside your office, to take a walk outside, or to sit in the window seat on an airplane. The special encounters people have with nature provide private, safe intimacy that establishes a sense of belonging in our modern world of isolation. All human beings have belonging needs for psychological wellbeing, therefore, biolphilia contributes to our eco healing. Biophilia is also why people enjoy living plants in their home and work environments. It also implies the importance of architectural design that blurs the lines between inside and outside environments. Biomimicry Nature’s Wisdom. Environmentalist author, Janine
Benyus, revealed the genius of nature in her book Biomimicry. Biomimicry
is a design tactic that seeks solutions modeled on the efficiency, innovation,
and wisdom of nature. As the Biomimicry Guild states, “After 3.85
billion years of Research and Development, nature has learned: For example, researchers have studied the terminate mounds in Sub-Sahara Africa to learn how they are able to maintain a cool, constant temperature in spite of the blistering heat and cold temperatures of the desert. Another example comes from the invention of a cane for the blind that uses ecolocation modeled after the technology of bats. One of the best-known examples is the 2 storey green wall at the University of Guelph-Humber in Ontario. This wall functions for the building much like a human lung in that it exchanges CO2 and Oxygen, although in reverse order. The wall also adds moisture to the environment enhancing indoor winter living.
Biomimicry, an ancient
approach to innovation, is particularly important now because of its
emphasis on conversation. From a biomimicry perspective, the natural
world is a living textbook capable of teaching us how to live sustainably
and contribute to our partnership with all life. To learn more
about biomimicry and hear Janine Benyus’ excellent introduction
to the science, visit Eco-Spirituality The eco-spirituality movement, which started in the 1970s, is related to eco-healing in that it addresses people’s need for meaning and purpose. For example, human beings from most world cultures report spiritual and/or transcendent feelings and experiences while they are in nature. Eco-spirituality encourages members and non-members of spiritual organizations to value these experiences and to practice stewardship of ‘God’s Creation.’ Eco-spirituality emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life, reverence for life, restorative justice for nature, and the preservation of the natural world. Rather than seeing nature as alien and a force to be conquered or, at best, ignored, eco-spirituality suggests that being in and with nature enhances and, sometimes even, induces spiritual experiences.
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