Page - 218 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

218 forward an expanded understanding of spiritual well-being that encompasses one’s relationships with the self, the community, the environment and a transcendent other(s) inclusive of the different features identified in Table  10.1. In Sect. 10.4.2 we discuss challenges in measurement of spiritual well-being. 10.3 Themes Within the  Literature Few empirical studies were identified that specifically investigated the effect of biodiversity on spiritual well-being. The literature did contain a rich account of the multiple relationships among various spiritual traditions, ecology and biodiversity conservation, including spiritual aspects of well-being, which we considered important to delineate. The identified literature is clustered into four themes: the influence of different spiritual traditions on biodiversity; sacred places as reposito- ries of biodiversity; the spiritual domain ecosystem services; and the effects of biodiversity on spiritual well-being. Figure  10.1 provides a visual representation of these biodiversity/spiritual well-being relationships. Table 10.1 Proposed features of spiritual well-being organised by four relational domains of self, others, environment and transcendent other(s) (Fisher, J. 2011).  These domains and their proposed features are used to interpret the identified literature in terms of the relationships between biodiversity and spiritual well-being Domains Example references 1. Self Meaning  – meaning and purpose in life Hawks (1994), Linton et  al. (2016), and Westgate (1996) Intrinsic values  – values and beliefs of community and self; concern and care for something greater than self Bensley (1991) and Westgate (1996) Wholeness  – a sense of completeness in life; a sense of all well-being dimensions being met Bensley (1991) and Fisher (2011) 2. Others Community relationship  – connectedness with others; in-depth relationships Bensley (1991), Ellison (1983), Fisher (2011), Hawks (1994), Ingersoll (1994), and Westgate (1996) 3. Environment Environment  – connection with nature; oneness with nature Fisher (2011) and Buck (2006) 4. Transcendent other Transcendence  – beliefs relating to something beyond the human level; the human-spiritual interaction; unity with something beyond the material world Bensley (1991), Ellison (1983), Fisher (2011), Hood-Morris (1996), and Westgate (1996) Divine  – a god-like force; conception of the divine Bensley (1991) and Moberg (1971) K. N. Irvine et al.