thanks Chris, yes i did get your point about the dolphins, its been a favored sentiment for many generations.
you wrote: "It can also be a case of the chicken before or after the egg! Is the root-cause of the physical-health malady within the mental state, or the mental-health caused by the physical-malady as in deficiencies? They can be both and are intrinsically bound together."
as i see it (since nature does not promote deficiencies or malignancies unless to remove a life form) then the root cause of human illness (and planetary poisoning) is the mental/emotional state. basically its the misuse (non-use sometimes) of our evolving intelligence to promote instead (worship even) stressful emotional excesses. it seems the boost to human intelligence that nature saw the dire need for has yet to kick in.
so far most human beings haven't grokked that this brain is evolving to override the instinctual passions rather than remain emotionally traumatized (imprison) as all primal animals are. instead we are misusing this amazing brain to make of life into a self serving snuff movie.
basically dis-ease happens when something either dies too soon, or lives too long and our primitive emotional instincts have lived too long and are now stunting the growth of the intelligence required to reach ultimate healthy and freedom from emotional trauma, i.e., peace on earth *as this actual flesh and blood body*
for probably more than 30,000 yrs now, we've been living a schizophrenic fantasy that we (and dolphins) are wonderful spiritual beings even tho we are in *fact* the most emotionally violent creatures to ever walk the earth!
and its only because we refuse to use the evolving cortex for beneficial purposes, but instead remain (like all mammals including WILD dolphins) dominated by natures primitive mid-brain rough and ready instinctual-emotional survival package that we now have a malignant (cunning, malicious, pointlessly destructive, cruel and warring) intelligence, as described here:
http://www.doublex.com/blog/oystersgarter/dark-secrets-dolphins-dont-want-you...
not exactly the superior benign intelligence we DREAM we and they are. the dolphin's only saving grace is as you said Chris - but for different reasons - the limitations of their physique. otherwise they, like us, would be inflicting pain and suffering (with a smattering of self-serving, nurture and desire [love] thrown in) on the scale we do.
tis fortunate indeed that only one species has misused its awakening intelligence to crown itself with the delusion that it is an immortal (dissociated) self-glorifying narcissistic spiritually divine being.
the sooner mankind cuts the crystal gazing and comes to its senses the better. the survival of ALL life depends on it. but sadly most are so busy crowning themselves they don't have the intelligence to care.