Page 276 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

250 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

wellness discounts, and educational programming and materials to increase
employee awareness of personal well-being.”
Complementing the development of an International WELL Building
Standard is a powerful movement driven by Google, Facebook, and other social
media giants toward “smart” green buildings, focused particularly on renewable
energy, energy efficiency technologies, and best design, architectural, and
construction practices (Usgbc). We would seem today to be a far cry from the
hellholes described by Charles Dickens.
And yet burnout continues to be an unresolved problem, costing the civil
society $300 billion and worsening by the year. It is estimated that 90% of
burnout derives from the workplace (Wikipedia-A). To what extent can smart
green buildings address this problem, and if many such projects currently
do not, what might we be missing? Is it possible that by focusing exclusively
on cognitive impairment, we may be overlooking something even more
fundamental that Dickens so eloquently addresseddthe Heart? Indeed, the
relentless grind toward efficiency (perhaps even green efficiency) that
crushes the soul and breaks the heart is precisely the malady Dickens sought
in his life to correct. We must be cautious in our enthusiasm in elevating a
new form of efficiency to replace the old, but failing to address the deeper
human yearnings of the heart. Thisis the new frontierof“BigHeart
Intelligence (BHI)”.

BIG HEART INTELLIGENCE BASICS

BHI refers to a state of awareness where the visionary, ethical, spiritual, and
other capacities of the Heart flourish in harmony with the power of the brain
and mind. In cultivating BHI its explorers report that they experience enhanced
vitality, empowerment, relaxation, joy, perception, compassion, balance, and
flow. BHI is easily cultivated in a few hours of practice, and its beneficial
results can be validated, replicated, and measured. A simple and enjoyable
introduction is Laughing Heart–A Field Guide to Exuberant Vitality for All
Agesd10 Essential Moves (Alliancesfordiscovery-A).
BHI is not simply about glorious design. For small hearts and narrow minds
and burnout can rule in the most transcendent spaces. BHI seeks to nourish a
different kind of continuing transaction among the hearts and minds of everyone
who is engaged in these environments. The best green designs, of course, do not
simply render spaces healthy by making them free of chemical toxins. They also
seek to inspire and elevate occupants of the minds and spirits. BHI extends these
principles, conceiving spaces as noted later as organic, living, and intelligent
environments, and evolving with their users. Just as the information technology