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| Our Philosophy
Mabou Ridge Centre for Holistic Living bases its philosophy on holistic living, which embraces the two concepts of sustainability and wholeness.
Sustainable practices allow for and encourage all things on the farm to be used in such a way that they give of their abundance, and at the same time are regenerated. As the seasons turn from blossoming spring, to growing summer, to ripening fall, and to resting winter, so does the farm create its own cycles of growth, rest and renewal.
For example, field crops and pasture are grown to feed the animals; the animals grow lustrous coats and yield fibre for the mill; the animals also produce manure, which is composted and returned to provide nutrients for the next crop. The animals’ fibre is processed into yarn, batts, or rovings, which are used to clothe and to decorate, thereby warming the body and enlivening the spirit. The animals also give opportunity for people to interact with their very immediate, down-to-earth personalities, as well as to take exercise with them for the health of both people and animals. These cycles can repeat themselves without loss, and with a growing potential to become more creative with each cycle’s process.
Within the realm of healthcare alone, many ancient disciplines have embraced an holistic approach for centuries, including Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Japanese Reiki, macrobiotics, First Nations healing, just to name a few. In western medicine, it is becoming more and more common for doctors and nurse practitioners to complement their practices with naturopathy.
As holistic healthcare and its practices gain popularity in the mainstream, they are very often (and erroneously) defined as what they are not – Western, scientific biomedicine. The Western “conventional” or “biomedical” systems seek to treat diseases through the opposite action of the symptoms displayed, known as allopathy. There are a variety of general terms used for healthcare systems at large including: complementary medicine, alternative medicine, western or orthodox medicine, and holistic healthcare, among others.
While each of these terms echo a similar overall healthcare philosophy, they also carry with them a suggested relationship, albeit at times a contrary one, to western medicine. This is mostly due to the fact – in the western regions of the world at least – that allopathy (or "orthodox western medicine") is now the predominant practice and has itself defined the relationship by doing everything in its power to maintain its predominant position, and by citing other practices as non-scientific or not worthy of merit (despite the fact that many of these other practices have been around for centuries longer). “Alternative” seems to suggest a difference or deviance from the allopathic or western medical norm. “Complementary” indicates a type of health care to work alongside existing western medical practices.
The term “holistic” differs from both "alternative" and "complementary," does not compare itself with western or allopathic practices, and should not be confused with any of those mentioned. A holistic approach focusses instead on the development of a sound body, mind, and spirit – and embraces any and all forms of practice that do so. Holistic, put simply, is a philosophy which promotes wholeness over reductionism (or reducing the sum into smaller parts) and argues against making an unnatural distinction or separation between the mind and body or the soma and psyche, the structure and function. Overall, those who exercise holistic practices are far less likely to need or utilize costly medical resources and are well-balanced, responsible contributors to the communities they live in.
Holism or wholeness is a concept which seeks to see the total entity instead of dividing it into parts. As we live in wholeness, we see that the central theme is one of balance. If man did not interfere with natural processes, every organism and species would be seen to live in balance: experiencing birth, growth, decline, death and rebirth, and within this larger cycle, daily waking and sleeping, activity and rest, eating, using the nutrients, and eliminating waste, which recycles itself. Human beings also experience these patterns, and are at their most healthy when they are in touch with the natural rhythms of their own bodies, and of the patterns within the world around them.
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