Enhancing Health and Wellbeing through Immersion in Nature : a Conceptual Perspective Combining the Stoic and Buddhist Traditions

Abstract

A growing body of evidence from a wide range of fields indicates that physical activity in nature improves psychological health and wellbeing (Pretty et al., 2005; Howell et al., 2013; Passmore and Howell, 2014). For example, Passmore and Howell (2014) found that both eudemonic wellbeing and hedonic tone were enhanced after a 2-week outdoor activities intervention. Mitchell (2013) found an association between the regular use of natural environments for leisure activities and a lower risk of mental health issues. Carrus et al. (2015) found that contact with green space in a school environment positively influenced cognitive performance, social behavior, and affect. Improved health and wellbeing has also been associated with feelings of emotional connection to nature (Brown and Kasser, 2005; Nisbet et al., 2011; Capaldi et al., 2015; Martyn and Brymer, 2016). For example, Martyn and Brymer (2016) found that higher nature relatedness was related to low state and trait somatic and cognitive anxiety. However, as Mitchell (2013) recognized the association between wellbeing and nature might be more complex than initially understood. Despite the number of studies showing improvements in psychological health and wellbeing through activities undertaken in the presence of nature and feelings of connection to nature we are still unclear about how the relationship between people and the natural environment enhances wellbeing (Brymer et al., 2014; Korpela et al., 2014; Brymer and Davids, 2016; Yeh et al., 2016; von Lindern, 2017). This is significant because understanding how this relationship enhances health and wellbeing is important for designing effective interventions. In this paper we present a conceptual framework for understanding how to enhance the wellbeing benefits of nature-based experiences by drawing on principles from Stoic and Buddhist traditions. Specifically, we consider the stoic idea of oikei¯osis, which Nussbaum (2009) refers to as the process of the human complex attunement to the intention of the universe and the Therav¯ada Buddhist concept of mind awakening as abandoning of self. Both concepts seek human wellbeing and flourishing through participation in nature. We (1) show how the philosophical understandings from the Stoic and Buddhist traditions can be combined and practically applied to understand and enhance wellbeing; and (2) describe a concise system of navigating in the world, with the aim of enhancing health and wellbeing in humans.