Blurb:

Based on research about spirituality and wellbeing in Brazil, this chapter reflects on the idea that wellbeing is more than living well, even more than living well together. Instead, it puts forward the notion that the sense of wellbeing depends closely on our relationship with others, human and non-human agencies, as well as with the world we are living in. The environmental aspect within the notion of wellbeing was long neglected despite the importance founding scholars of the study of religious experience such as William James and later Alister Hardy attributed to nature. More recently the ‘connectedness to nature theory’ (Restall & Conrad, 2015) which points to the importance of the relationship with the natural world for wellbeing, gained attraction among scholars. Starting will a discussion of nature as an importance place for spiritual experience, this chapter illustrates that our environment is more than the place we live but a living entity with which we develop relationship. Enriched by excerpts from interviews and surveys conducted in Brazil the chapter illustrate the interconnectedness that is at the core of the expanding understanding of wellbeing.