from In Praise of Slowness
Carl HonoréA recent study at Texas A&M University found that having a view of green spaces from the bedside window helped patients recover from surgery more quickly and with fewer painkillers. So hospitals are installing outdoor gardens, revamping wards to provide more sunlight, plants and green views and broadcasting footage of dolphins swimming in the sea or streams gurgling through sun-dappled forests on in-house TV channels.
Why should it come as a surprise or need any research to discover that humans respond well to their natural environment? We have made such a ritual of our divorce from nature in everything from the food we eat to the places we live to the ways we move about the face of the Earth, that we have forgotten that we are bound inextricably with nature. Indeed, St. Paul tells us that with the fall of humanity all of nature fell as well, descending with the fallen race to support and aid us in our miserable fallen existence. It is God's mercy that we are part of this wonderful natural world, and through our own ignorance we constantly try to deny it.
Later (and please note I can neither comment upon nor do I endorse the therapy mentioned):
Caleta combines reiki with other techniques to heal and ralx. She starts off by steering the patient through a deep-breathing exercise, and then uses guided meditation to help them visualize a peaceful scene in nature. "People who live in cities respond especially well to making that connection with nature,"she says. "It really calms them down."
