If something comes up that we want to share, we gently
inquire if this is a good time to interrupt.
Usually, a good time is when one of us is making another cup of coffee,
tea, or grabbing something to eat.
My wife related a story about an older couple, one acting as
a caretaker for the other with dementia.
It was about problem solving to keep his wife at home.
The bigger question she asked was “where does consciousness
go in dementia?”
What happens when that person no longer recognizes members
of their family, when they no longer know who they are?
Also, brings up interesting questions of what is a
“self.”
My contention is that consciousness doesn’t go
anywhere.
Consciousness is everything (Heretic!).
All-That-Is and All-That-Is-Not.
Where is it going to go?
Like the Koan, does a dog have Buddha nature?
The traditional answer is “Mu.”
I like this interpretation:
“The koan is not about whether a dog does or does not have a
Buddha-nature because everything is Buddha-nature, and either a positive or
negative answer is absurd because there is no particular thing called
Buddha-nature.”
Truth is always found in paradox.
Using words cannot fully illuminate Truth.
On the other hand, we use words as “fingers pointing at the
moon.”
So, of course animals have consciousness.
Rocks have consciousness.
Each have there own particular consciousness, exactly what
they need.
In dementia our brain no longer functions to properly
receive that slice of consciousness we are usually able to receive as
humans.
Like a TV set that is broken, we can no longer form
consciousness into something that looks like a normal human. That person is still conscious. But, that consciousness no longer allows them
to live as they did in the past.
The brain dysfunction also may no longer allow them to form
the “self.” They may no longer have the
ability to form the object of consciousness, “I am.”
Within a discussion of levels of consciousness we might use
such words as “enlightenment.“
I define enlightenment as a verb. Used by others to describe an individual who
strings together mostly right actions.
Can you be enlightened and demented?
There are tales about the enlightened “crazy person.”
I think about one who does right action as someone who
created that groove in the brain, usually through meditation. Sometimes enlightenment arises spontaneously.
That groove connects them closely to All-That-Is and
All-That-Is-Not.
Empty Fullness. The
Light in the Dark.
Compassion arises through that connection.
One acts with love.
Everyone and everything is in your family.
Someone who has created that deep groove in their brain, may
still preserve that groove, despite some level of dementia.
Eventually, so much of the brain will be dysfunctional, then
that groove will disappear as well.
Sad to witness.
Dementia has many causes with atherosclerotic multi-infarct
and Alzheimer’s the most common.
Can exercise and meditation be protective?
I believe so.
So, do others. Google
it!
The weather is finally better.
Time to get outside and do a nice contemplative bike
ride.
Exercise and mindfulness.
What a beautiful life.
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