The Health Creation Principles - Environment

Principles for our ENVIRONMENT, personal and global: 

Principle 10
Your space

To live and work in harmonious environments

Being in a positive environment is vital for Health Creation.  Size is not what I am talking about here but having an atmosphere that feels alive, fresh and vibrant as well as having a sense of peace also.

There is now a whole branch of medicine called ecological or environmental medicine, it helps us to understand the toxins that affect our health.  

It is easy to gather "stuff" throughout life until our lives and homes become cluttered and sometimes chaotic.   It then becomes easy to be surrounded by things from our past and may have very little to do with who we are now.

Some people are aware that they haven't been well since they lived or worked somewhere and if your clients identify with this then this Principle is one that will be important for you to work with.

We look at:

  • What creates a 'sick' building?

  • Environmental illness and medicine - recognising and dealing with environmental toxin effects

  • Are there dominant people or presences in your environment?

  • How do you define your personal space?

  • Do you have access to nature, light and air regularly?

  • Are you expressing your style in the colours and feeling of your home and workspace?

Work with your clients to assess what changes they can make to bring about the environment that brings vitality into their life with the suggestions in the programme or their own wishes.

Our home can tell the story of who you are….

Principle 11
Your communities

To belong within our networks and actively serve our communities

Modern day living can sometimes be isolating for many people.  Dr Dean Ornish discusses this in his book, Love and Survival how people living in close knit communities that nourish them are often protected from serious illness and premature death.  Community spirit, sense of purpose, bonding and closeness can all have this effect.

We are sociable beings and meant to live in a tribal way.  However, social isolation and family breakdown is having a detrimental effect in how we live.  

Even introverts need love, attention and social interaction to keep their brain, body and genes in good working order.  Connecting with and contributing within our communities have proactive effects on our physical and mental health. 

For some people, living in different geographical locations from family community, reaching out to groups such as sports, music, dance, spiritual can be a way to bring more community-based living.  With online groups becoming more popular, this can bring community for some people as it can open doors to like-minded people that may otherwise not be there.  It is extremely beneficial to see if neighbourhoods also have like-minded people you can connect with in a person-to-person way.

There are some wonderful suggestions in the programme to consider even for shy or introverted people.  Helping out using your skills (and we all have them) can be very rewarding.

This principle also identifies if you are over committed to your community, it may be that it would be good to encourage those around you to take more responsibility so that you have time for yourself.

As we get to know ourselves more fully, it then becomes possible to see others are more than what we first envision.  Take time, effort and interaction to get to know someone.

Principle 12
The natural world

To live in respectful, sustainable relationship with nature

We are living on the precipice of how our planet survives in the next few decades.  It has never been more important to wake up and fight for the life of this beautiful planet.

MIND and other mental health research have proved how powerful being in nature can have a positive effect on our state of mind.

There are so many ways that we can get involved and become more knowledgeable about this.  The internet can be a great source of information which is open to most of us either at home or in community buildings such as libraries.

For instance, the lungs of planet earth - our forests are being cut down on a daily basis.  Without forests we won't have enough oxygen to breathe as they freely exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide.

So as we restore our own health, the health of our space and our community, it may well be that we reach outwards and learn more about helping the planet also.  Spreading this information can lead to positive benefits for us and generations to come.

Helping clients to create change when ready to:

  • Recycling our waste,

  • Reducing pollution

  • Re-using and upcycling

  • Buying seasonal and locally grown produce

  • Being mindful of what food we buy - how far it's travelled, is it organic or how many times has it been sprayed etc.

  • Protecting wildlife and ecosystems

  • Developing green policies at home and work

  • Having a conscious connection with nature

  • If we eat animal produce, meat, fish, poultry, eggs dairy etc, what sort of life does the animal have, is it the type of life that is in alignment with our values?

How do we respond in life?  Not responding is a response - we are equally responsible for what we don't do.