The Healing Arts

The Restoring Power of Imagination

Cathy Malchiodi is an art therapist, visual artist, independent scholar, and author of 13 books on arts therapies, including The Art Therapy Sourcebook. See full bio

June 16, 2008, Health

Comments on "Unplug that Plasma Screen, Take Two Doses of Nature, and Call Me in the Morning"

Unplug that Plasma Screen, Take Two Doses of Nature, and Call Me in the Morning

By Cathy Malchiodi on June 16, 2008 in The Healing Arts

Do our senses really know the difference between a high-density image of nature on a television screen and the real thing? And which one is better at reducing minor stress—the beach on Maui on your HD plasma TV or nature itself? Read More

HDTV vs. Nature for Healing

Submitted by Susan Boyes on June 17, 2008 - 4:54am.

I wonder about the communication between the natural world and our bodies of which we are not aware. If looking out a window (not even hearing & smelling & feeling it) at a nature scene trumps a realistic High Def image of the same thing there must be something else going on. THAT's what I wish we knew how to measure. Some vibrational sympathy must be happening, I don't know what to call it, a resonant frequency? Would a sightless person have the same results? So many questions! Thank you for the blog!

I agree!

Submitted by Cathy Malchiodi on June 17, 2008 - 10:43am.

Hi Susan,

Yes, I think this seemingly simple study brings up so many other questions. In the field of art therapy, I think we make assumptions about how people perceive images. This study points the fact that there is something more, depending on the source of the image. I am wondering if nature automatically stimulates many different sensory parts of the brain-- and what are those, since I am not a neuroscientist. And then there is now an entire generation that is growing up on experiences of staring at a Blackberry screen, computer monitor, etc, even when they are outside in a natural environment. And watching Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet to get a dose of the outdoors!

Thanks for your observations!

This also sparks the question

Submitted by Marik Bromine on July 21, 2009 - 5:44am.

This also sparks the question of whether there is another force at work (at present, it gets written off as nonsensical, psychic, telepathic whatever, never taken seriously), but consider how the force of gravity must've appeared before it was definitively quantified as a natural force. I've read some studies where plants have shown a response corresponding to having positive or negative thoughts thought at them. There does appear to be some sort of force at work, if it is all in people's minds, that is one thing, but if it is actually an aspect of nature and life in general, then that is something else entirely, at present, it is speculation and written off as "supernatural," but I certainly hope that whatever is occuring will one day be quantified and understood.

More than just an image

Submitted by Thomas Wright on June 18, 2008 - 3:31am.

Surely nature has more to offer than a view.
By unplugging the HDTV and going for a walk (providing they are physically able) through a forest they may be viewing an identical image, but they are also receiving a plethora of other diverse benefits... The sense of discovery and independence. Fresh air and other people.
This could even work in a hospital setting; maybe hospitals should start curating (wheelchair friendly) arboretums.
Anyway, I'm rambling... Great article! Lots to think about.

i LOVE nature!!!!!!

Submitted by Ronald on June 18, 2008 - 5:34am.

Its really very true. I commute on my two-wheeler vehicle everyday, half-way within city hustle and bustle and remaining half-way surrounded by greenery and I can tell for sure that latter part really calms me down. I actually try to drive close to the trees :)

healing/ discovery gardens

Submitted by scott murison on November 20, 2008 - 3:24am.

'UNPLUG'

Nature is a very broad brush. Can a garden specify a particular condition and speak to it? There are many nerves a garden can touch, archaic or classical, memory, romance, spiritual, imaginative but what about a specific mental disorder for example? Do we even know enough about how we respond to a physical space i.e. dimensions? Do you know any garden makers I could talk to about this?

Im wondering, maybe too much, if a garden can achieve the transport that some movies, music or literature can?

Scott

nature healing

Submitted by treatment facility on March 31, 2009 - 11:54pm.

Nice article. It has big difference between what you see and what you can see and feel. To see the healing power of nature you must feel it not only see it.Thanks for posting.

very good article

Submitted by breaze mane on July 21, 2009 - 3:31am.

top of the morning guys.
i perused this post today - and truly, it is not very well written.
i've had a few of the same problems myself lately and i believe , life works out best if you live by personal experience, plus, posts like this. it has really helped me put things in perspective.
thank you.
http://ordersoma.insanejournal.com
http://ordersomaonline101.blogspot.com
http://genericsoma.diaryland.com