The breath of Gaia: Environmental illness as a vehicle to consciousness

In varying degrees, environmental illness (EI), affects 15%–30% of the population in the United States at this time. Although I do not pretend to understand either the physical or psychological causes of this dis-ease, I have attempted here to gain a deeper understanding of what it is to experience environmental illness. I asked the questions, why this dis-ease and why now? Environmental illness is a very controversial diagnosis. My exploration of EI focused more on the deeper meaning or learning to be gained from EI than on the validity of the dis-ease itself. One could say I was looking for the silver lining of environmental illness.; Using hermeneutic and heuristic methods, I explored the medical model and then the research done by psychologists and social workers. The field of psychoneuroimmunology was explored briefly. In my meandering through varied research I have uncovered a connection between addictive behavior and environmental illness both of which are characterized by avoidance. Those with EI avoid anything and everything they feel contributes to their illness; while those people with addictions tend to avoid feelings. Those suffering from both diseases have unrecognized feelings of fear and shame.; At the root of the dis-ease of environmental illness is a culture caught up in what I call the toxic womb. It is a world of nonengagement, which leads to a snowball-like pile-up of stress in our lives. This is a world deeply separated from a sense of connection with self, nature, and the Divine. In order for a deeper understanding of the dis-ease to be reached, one must surrender to the illness and explore its deeper meanings.