The Holistic Vision of Health

One thing becomes apparent as you look at the many health concerns present in today’s society: two different visions of health exist, and they constantly conflict. A couple of recent examples illustrate this ongoing struggle:

• The Food and Drug Administration denied a petition to ban BPA from all plastics (interestingly several major food manufacturers, such as Coca-Cola, are responding to the pressure by phasing out BPA in their products): FDA denies petition to ban bisphenol A - Los Angeles Times.
• There has been a public backlash against ‘pink slime’, a nickname for beef products derived from the unwanted leftovers of cows. Producers extract this meat through a centrifuge, and then treat it with Ammonium Sulfide to remove contaminants: Pink slime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Not surprisingly, you can note that both of these controversial products have been widely distributed, and are present in many foods and food containers. Only now, after the general population has used and/or consumed these items for years, has the health risks associated with these come to light (though European countries’ scientists recognized these problems years ago, as both of these items have been banned in many countries).  What world view so dominates our society that these items get introduced into our world first, and then only later does there appear a reaction against their negative health effects?

This world view can be best termed ‘mechanistic’, where people and the world around them consist of distinct ‘parts’ that we can change as we desire. In this vision of life, rationality and scientific achievements reign supreme (with humanity being the pinnacle of all creation). The material world exists to be controlled and manipulated by us for our purposes. As scientists tirelessly work to master nature, they confidently launch their latest inventions into our environment (for example, genetically modified organisms, or the newest birth control device), not understanding or anticipating the full consequences of such actions.

In contrast to this, a holistic world view holds that we participate in a vast web of life, contained both within our bodies (scientists have recently estimated that as many as 10,000 varieties of bacteria reside in our bodies) as well as externally on our ‘Mother’ Earth.  Since we exist within this unimaginably mysterious and complex eco-system, we must recognize the limits of our knowledge and try to live in tune with our world.  We must move cautiously and deliberately before we bring ‘advancements’ into our world, considering such essential things like sustainability and environmental impact.

Awareness opens up an important channel for us to begin to bring ourselves into alignment with nature, both within and without. Through awareness we can learn to tune into the messages of our own bodies, learning how to support our bodies’ intelligence to promote health and wellness. As we use awareness to observe our outer world, we can begin to inquire into how we choose to live, becoming sensitive and open to the life that surrounds and envelops us.