Finding life and - PowerPoint Presentation

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Finding life and

laughter in the

spiritual journey with alzheimer’s

Tim

FrymireSlide2

Monday

Tuesday

WednesdayThursdayFriday

Under 40

Over 40Slide3

At least we understand each other on

Weds

Under 40

Over

40Slide4

Stress Test

You will be shown a picture of two identical dolphins.

To the degree you notice any difference between them, to that degree you are under stress and should take appropriate precautions.Slide5
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AlzheimersSlide8
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There are no limits to what the human spirit can doSlide12

There’s no such thing as too oldSlide13

Alzheimer’s begins

in the brain

Explore this mysterious space between our neurons and our nature, between Synapse and soul, between cells and self.Slide14
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What are the implications for person hood when cognitive impairment begins to take away what many would call the basis of our personality and identity

Is the soul/spirit/essence attached or stapled to the Brain?Slide20

What do near death experiences, out of body experiences and awareness while under anaesthesia say about the nature of human consciousness and the nature of the self ?

It would seem that if human beings can have some sort of awareness apart from the functioning of their organic brains, then a person is more than the sum total of their neurons firing. Slide21

What are the implications of this for spirituality in the case of Cognitive impairment?Slide22

Two elderly men are talking about their aging bodies. “We finish off like we began. As babies we had no hair, no teeth, were unable to walk and had to use a diaper. Now I have lost my hair and teeth, I can’t walk, and I think I just peed my pants.” Slide23

I think I just pooped my pantsSlide24

Twilight travels with my mother by

Mary Ann Mayo

growing down not up. (pg 147)Slide25

What would a spirituality

of Cognitive impairment

look like?“My Journey into Alzheimer's Disease” By Robert Davis Slide26

My Journey into Alzheimer’s

Terrors of losing one’s mind and sense of self

pg 21 effects , Slide27
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My Journey into Alzheimer’s

loss of spiritual comfort

47, Spiritual distress53 54 Answer to prayer 55 & 56Slide29

Greatest barrier to the goal of the spiritual life is the ego.

Babies don’t have egos.Slide30
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Parts of the brain affected are those that provide through memory and language our self awareness, self consciousness and identity.Slide32

3 questions God will ask at the end of life

Who are you?

What was your purpose on the planet?What have you learned about love?Every one can answer these questions, even if they can’t speak. Tonight ask these questions of your pet dog and cat. They do not anguish over these questions. The answers are hard wired into their being.Struggling with these questions is the work of the frontal lobe. When that is taken away, the struggle fades.Slide33

In the spiritual journey the first half of life is spent establishing an identity,- learning how to meet your own needs

while the 2

nd half is spent getting the ego and identity to meet the needs of others.We all know those who have never grown up-Prayer: Use me Lord as your instrument. Help me get myself out of your way.Slide34

Carl Jung said he never had a patient in their second half of life whose problem wasn’t fundamentally one of a religious or spiritual nature.

Richard Rohr’s tower and jumping off.

Paradox of spiritual life: That which is your greatest gift in life’s first half, without spiritual work, can become your greatest obstacle to growth in the 2nd half.Slide35

“My Journey into Alzheimer’s”- Robert

davis

, presents cognitive impairment as precisely this process of stripping away that which prevents us from living in the now, being in touch with our deepest identity, and receiving love and affection from our creator and others.My Uncle - proud intellectual, cultured and worldly wise- yet also stern, removed, and guarded. His Lewy Body illness has taken away these protective defence mechanisms- coping patterns- to reveal a warm and gentle nature.Slide36

Davis presents a startling possibility:

As he slips further into the shadow lands and fog of Alzheimer’s he experiences a closer and far more intimate connection with his God, than he ever could have imagined at the height of his intellectual capacity. He is hinting that his very dependency, vulnerability and inability to intellectually understand and explain his situation, can be the key that unlocks the doors of surrender, trust and ultimate innocence.Slide37

The Divine initiative

Alzheimers

presents us with the possibility that, as in the spiritual life, ultimately it is not about us and what we can do. Rather it is about The Holy one, and what the Divine can do, when we are at the limits of our abilities.God speaks all languages.Slide38
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When language slips away

My uncle starts many sentences, but finishes few. There is obviously a desire to communicate, but the frustration of the broken communication lines is clear. His meaning doesn’t quite get out.

A spirituality of Alzheimers trusts that the Holy one already knows what is intended and hears at this deep level. Story of old man in back of church. Pastor asks him what he prays about.Slide41

Jean Vanier, in his work with the residents of

L’Arche

- persons with special needs – would also say that these little ones whom the world would judge as less than have much to teach us about living simply and in closer connection with true serenity and peace in lifeSlide42

Could this be what the words mean: “Unless you become like little children you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven”.Slide43

Perhaps the

begining

and the ending of life can share a common spiritual dynamicSlide44
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Innocence, guilelessness, transparency are all qualities shared by babies and many

cognitivly

impairedSlide47

Share in groups of 2 or 3 an experience where you could see the unguarded spirit of a person with cognitive impairment.Slide48

Another aspect of dealing with the cognitively impaired is the ability to find

humor

in relationships.Slide49

Senility Prayer

God, Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,

The good fortune to run into the ones I do,And the eyesight to tell the differenceSlide50
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Humor

Finding Joy2- pg 5393, 103, 126- 64- 49Slide52

Perhaps the secret to working with cognitively impaired and dealing

effectrively

with difficult behaviors is moving more into their way of beingThis may mean connecting not so much on an intellectual level as an affective emotional and relational level.Slide53

Alzheimers

and social isolation

Early experiment with babies fed, diapered but not held- failure to thrive- Recent research shows a similar reaction in terms of social isolation.Slide54

Loneliness and Risk of Alzheimer disease

Wilson RS, et al. Rush

Alzheimers disease centre. 823 subjects- 4 year study.Lonely people twice as likely to get Alzheimers as non lonely.Archives of General Psychiatry 2007 Feb;64(2):234-40Slide55

A Report on Alzheimer Disease and Current Research

by Dr. Jack Diamond, scientific director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada

there is another way to induce nerve sprouting; this is by initiating impulses (nerve messages) in the nerve cells. Experimentally this "driving" as it's called is done either by electrically stimulating the nerve cells, or by increasing the "sensory input", that is by providing increased sensory stimulation such as light, touch, sound, and so on.environmental enrichment", which is a form of increased social stimulation, actually reduces the levels of A-beta and the amyloid deposits.Slide56

Alzheimers

and social isolation

The emotional benefits of maintaining contact between people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers and family members ... but the bottom line is – keep trying to communicate, keep talking, and keep on showing affection like holding and caressingSlide57

Descent into discomfort

Fear

Anxiety

Avoidance

Depression

Despair

New life

engagement

Hope

Peace

Courage

recovery

Surrender

Crisis in health, career, family, emotions, loss or grief, finances, addictions, etcSlide58

May the Holy one grant you the grace to hold lightly your wonderful powers of understanding and intellect. May you find the grace to connect with your heart and spirit and take the risks that are necessary when one soul truly encounters another. Slide59

Then we can say with Anne Morrow

Lindburgh

:If suffering alone taught wisdom, all the world would be wise since everyone suffers, To suffering must be added, patience, honesty, understanding, compassion and the willingness to remain vulnerable.Slide60

AMEN