Editor’s Note: This post was previously published as a chapter in the book Beyond you and me edited by Kosha Anja Joubert and Robin Alfred,  published by Permanent Publications ©Gaia Education 2007

 

Dr Cornelia Featherstone, long-term member of the Findhorn Foundation Community, outlines how diet, exercise, work, spiritual practice, care, focus on life transitions, and even participation in decision-making and governance, all contribute to holistic health and its expression in community. She enjoins us to take full personal responsibility for our health and wellbeing.

I have lived in the Findhorn Foundation Community for over 18 years and as a doctor have had many opportunities to reflect on the role of health in community. For me healthy living is one of the crucial elements of the ecovillage concept.

Beyond the personal benefit of healthy living there is the relationship it has with planet Earth. A healthy planet can foster the health of people and, equally, healthy people want to nurture and heal the planet as they are connected with their environment and can’t separate their health from the health of the Earth.

What is Health?
It is easy to take health for granted as we go through our daily lives. Often we consider it only when it fails, when we experience disease or when our energy and life quality is not at a level that we want. To describe health positively is quite a challenge and medical school had certainly not prepared me for it.

The closest I came to an understanding of it was when reading about the Peckham Experiment* I grasped that health can be described as ‘the ability to respond to all life situations in a way that increases capability, responsibility, autonomy, spontaneity and joy’.† With this definition I have a yardstick that allows me to assess where any action or decision made will take me on the spectrum of health – closer to health or further away from it. Qualities like self-empowerment and happiness become important outcome measures to assess facilities and care provided to the community.

* The Peckham Experiment was an inspiring and innovative research project, located in Peckham, London, into the conditions that foster human health. Between 1926 and 1952 two medical doctors and their staff created a family club where many social and sports facilities were on offer to the members, alongside regular medical examinations which assessed the state of health in the individuals and the family as a whole. They created an environment that in their assessment nurtured health: a community with intergenerational contact and a great variety of opportunities for the individual to engage, learn, grow and make their own unique contribution.

† Innes Pearse, Quality of Life – the Peckham Approach to Human Ethology, Scottish Academic Press, 1979.

 

Self-responsibility of the Individual
At the core of this approach to healthcare is self-responsibility of the individual. Only with self-responsibility comes empowerment and freedom. The individual can move beyond the state of a victim in a hostile universe where disease strikes and pending catastrophes have to prevented with drastic and often damaging measures, where life is determined by outside factors and death is the final defeat.

Self-care is a positive and nurturing aspect that brings healthcare into daily life. To counteract the stresses of modern life we can choose to have

• Simple, organic, wholesome foods in season
• An active lifestyle which keeps the body fit
• Time connecting with nature
• Meditation or contemplation for our own inner work
• Nurturing friendships and family relationships
• Massages or healings for touch and balance
• A clear purpose for life and an appreciation of our own contributions

It is the strength of the ecovillage concept that it can provide the individual with all of these.


Healthy Living in the Findhorn Community
A day in the life of an ecovillage dweller – not everybody will do all these things every day – but the choice is ours – and the opportunities are there for me to make use of.

Connecting with spirit  Early morning meditation in the sanctuary allows me to connect with Spirit, with my own small voice within, that tells me that God is there in all for me to behold, that the intelligence of nature and other manifestations of consciousness are accessible to me – I just have to ask. Or I can go to Taize singing in the Nature Sanctuary to raise my voice in joy and devotion. Later in the day I can join group meditations or use the sanctuaries, special nature spots or wherever I am at that moment to reconnect and practise mindfulness, compassion or contemplation.

Exercise  A walk to the beach, some of us swim in the bracing Moray Firth every day from May through to November (!), or joining one of the exercise classes on offer. There is much choice: from yoga, tai chi, to dancing (modern, 5 Rhythms, sacred dance or belly dancing), to aerobics – at various times throughout the day. Some are classes, others are groups of friends getting together to support each other and have fun.

Food  A wholesome organic breakfast in a peaceful setting with my family, friends or by myself gives me sustenance to go into the day. Much of my food comes from the gardens and Earthshare (our Community Supported Agriculture project) – it is organic, local, in season, grown with love and with no food miles that cost the Earth. What the gardens or Earthshare cannot provide I find in the Phoenix shop – our community store which offers everything from the whole range of food to herbs, remedies, body care products to arts and crafts and books. My purchases support a local business that gives employment and brings wealth to the collective.

Work  My work inspires and fulfils me -I can express my care for my fellow human beings and for the Earth in a constructive way. I have the option of sharing about my inspiration, my concerns, visions or questions either in the work department or when meeting others. I know that my contribution is only one of many that make the whole community what it is and contribute to its work in the world.

Leisure  Arts, crafts and culture create a rich tapestry of joy, colour and social networking. We are blessed with several very active arts centres – the Universal Hall for the performing arts, the Findhorn Pottery, the Arts Centre dedicated to create beauty, the Weaving Studio. There is a crafts group supporting a regular crafts fair. Many different opportunities to make music, in different choirs, ensembles and bands or just ad hoc when taking part in ‘community sharings’ (evenings or mixed performances in the Hall) or in the ‘Open Mike’ on a Sunday night, when we can let the performer in us off the lead. Many community members use ‘spare time’ for volunteer work. In our money driven society it is healing to the individual to be giving freely without counting the return. It can be for the joy of doing things with others, or for the sake of the task at hand – serving people or the environment, or just to experience the joy of giving generously, willingly – as an expression of service or abundance.

Governance  The empowerment gained from having a say in the wider context of our lives is an integral aspect of our community. Sometimes we may groan about the number of meetings and presentations to attend but they offer us a choice to be involved, to have our voice heard, to shape the life of the ecovillage.

Health care and medical care  In the ongoing process of change, health is not a static condition. There are many things we can do to enhance our present state of health. To bring positive change it is important to identify the small, manageable next steps we can realistically take to improve our health, be that a change in diet, activity levels or relationship patterns. The next step is to make a commitment to that change and establish a support and review structure that will allow it to become anchored in the daily routine.

Community support is essential for this – not only the infrastructure that offers a broad range of opportunities but also the social support to sustain the change. The community offers a wide range of alternative medicine that can support the quest for improved life style and better health. Alternative medicine is relevant for the treatment of minor ailments to reduce the use of chemical medicine that not only pollutes our bodies but also the environment (both in production and waste disposal). It also plays a significant role in the management of chronic illness for a lot of patients.

In a survey of patients attending their NHS health centres I have found that 71 per cent had experienced some form of alternative medicine, and 38 per cent had used some alternative remedy or seen a practitioner in the last month.∗ This percentage is much higher amongst members of the Findhorn Foundation Community. In a survey of ‘elderberries’, those over 60 years old, 100 per cent had used alternative medicine at one time and many were using it on a regular basis?† Many community members express a strong wish that the medical care provided by their family doctor take into consideration their health beliefs and that they may want to use alternative approaches to manage their health. This was reflected in a series of conferences we held in the 1990s that led to the formulation of the concept of Medical Marriage. Medical Marriage is a model for the new partnership between orthodox and complementary medicine where different specialists,coordinated by their family doctor, contribute to a patient’s care.‡

* Cornelia Featherstone, David Godden, Caroline Gault, Margaret Emslie and Marc Took-Zozaya, ‘Prevalence study of concurrent use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients attending primary care services in Scotland’, American Journal of Public Health, 2003; 93 (7). 1080-2.

† Cornelia Featherstone, Peter M Foster, ‘The health needs of elders within an intentional community’, Community, Work & Family, 2000,3; (1), 103-9.

‡Cornelia Featherstone, Lori Forsyth, Medical Marriage – The New Partnership Between Orthodox and Complementary Medicine, Findhorn Press, 1997. Available as e-book from www.fmdhornpress.com/ebooks/medmar

Care in the Community
When I arrived in 1988 I found a community dedicated to work and service where everybody was ‘pulling their weight’. A down side of that was that people no longer able to contribute felt that they might become a burden and left to go back to their family, or ‘out into the world’ where they were provided for. This applied to folks getting too old, too ill or young families. I personally felt this removed important aspects of life from the community experience and it was certainly not in line with a holistic lifestyle as I envisioned it. Fortunately I was not on my own with this vision and over the next 10 years I was involved with many aspects of care in the community which expanded the scope of living choices within the Findhorn Foundation Community and allowed it to blossom into a much richer fabric that we can enjoy today and perhaps even take for granted at times.

In 1992 I invited Ina-May Gaskin from The Farm to a conference and she issued the following challenge:

Only once a community has reclaimed birth and death can it realize the potential of self-determination and sovereignty.

Over the next 10 years we reclaimed birth and death in a very rewarding and enriching journey:

Natural birth and breastfeeding   My son, Kevin, was one of many who came into this world cradled in the love and care of this community. In 1994 there were four of us pregnant at the same time. We did yoga together and discussed both antenatal care as well as our birth plans. We ordered a birthing tub and crossed our fingers that we all would be able use it. And indeed the babies chose to come nicely one after the other so that we all could use the pool. When I went into labour it was on a cold February morning, in the middle of the community’s internal conference. The call went out for hot water to fill the birthing tub and neighbours carried big buckets of hot water to our house. Loving thoughts and prayers were matched by much practical help throughout the day – food brought from the community centre, back massages for both myself and my partner, my ‘birth bard’ singing to me endlessly throughout the next 14 hours, keeping the pool at the right temperature and making a video of this magical event which Kevin enjoys to watch again and again. Homebirth has become a real option here in the community and many of us have chosen it over the years.

Loving thoughts
and prayers
were matched by
much practical
help throughout
the day …

The support I received from more experienced mothers allowed me to establish a good breastfeeding pattern which was most rewarding for us parents and for Kevin. In a country where breastfeeding rates are still appallingly low the kids in this community benefit from the great gift of mother’s milk for much longer than the kids in the rest of Scotland. It is
not always easy but the support is there and women find themselves able to establish and maintain breastfeeding much better than the mums I meet in my NHS practice.

‘Elderberries’   Looking after the needs of an ageing community has raised issues of inclusion and validation, sustainability, care at home and disabled facilities. We have several longstanding community members who had given many years of service to the Findhorn Foundation that may have meant low income and insufficient pension provision leaving the individual vulnerable. The Findhorn Foundation has ensured that there was no financial hardship by providing board and accommodation to supplement the individual’s personal finance and pension income. Voluntary care as well as care/funding provided by the Scottish social services has enabled each one to make their own choices within the resources available to them. For those living independently who feel vulnerable at times our Community Helpline, a volunteer service that coordinates neighbourhood help, is a source of reassurance and support. Several community members work as professional carers, allowing them to earn a living whilst looking after those requiring care. We realize the importance of making this community attractive to young people and finding ways for them to stay here to keep the flame of this community burning brightly. With a healthy age spread we ensure a more reliable provision for old age than financial pension plans (even though they are important as well). True human sustainability means a community can hold its vulnerable members and treasure the wisdom and beauty that they bring to any collective. Was it Henry Thoreau who said a measure of a society is the care it takes of those unable to care for themselves? It is a worthwhile measure to apply to an ecovillage. Not to demand of ourselves things that we cannot deliver but to have a yardstick for our maturity as a collective.

Death and Dying   Before 1996 death and dying were not an area where we felt particularly confident as a collective. The few deaths that had happened previously were mainly through sudden events such as accidents. We established a pattern of holding meditations to accompany the soul and create celebrations of life for those who had passed on. In 1996 the best friend of Eileen, one of the community founders, became very frail and required ongoing nursing care. We decided to try and hold her here in the community. With much volunteer help from community members in addition to support from a nursing agency we managed to fully care for Joannie for three months prior to her death. We then handed the body over to the undertaker as was done anywhere else and as we did previously. However there was a sense of incompleteness in not going the whole way with the process. When the next death occurred only five months later the next of kin who also lived in the community asked whether we could keep the body here and hold a wake. On a steep learning curve we found out what was involved in fulfilling the role of undertaker and managed to do it all ourselves. Following that, we organized a conference on ‘Conscious Living, Conscious Dying’ in 1998. We realized that there was a national movement* and learned a whole lot more about natural funerals with cardboard coffins and green burials. Since then we have had many opportunities to use our experiences in different ways. Sad as each occasion may be, being able to arrange the care, the rituals and celebrations as appropriate for each individual is a healing and empowering experience for all involved.

∗The Natural Death Centre, www.ac026.dial.pipex.com/naturaldeath publishes the Natural Death Handbook.

Summary
The resources, mutual support and holistic ecovillage concept allow the individual to move towards greater health for themselves. This will have effects on the collective as well as on the environment and therefore create a health-enhancing spiral. Health is as much a state of consciousness and mindfulness as of rightful action. All aspects of ecovillage life relate to health in one way or another – it is up to the individual to partake in whatever extent they choose.

 

Cornelia Featherstone trained and qualified as GP in Germany. In the search for a more holistic, spirituality based lifestyle she came to the Findhorn Community in 1988. From 1989-98 she focalized initially the community’s health department which then became an independent charity. In 1999 she decided to take up a part-time post as a GP in the National Health Service. She continues to be involved in the Findhorn community, she is the medical director of Healthworks, a holistic health centre in Forres, co-author of Medical Marriage – The New Partnership between Orthodox and Complementary Medicine and has researched the nature and extent of use of complementary medicine by patients attending six Scottish NHS health centres.