Carpe Diem - A Mindful Approach to Dementia & Psychedelics
As the holiday season is upon us, gratitude becomes so much more apparent. While this year draws to a close and a new year is around the corner, it is also a time to reflect on all that has been and what may come to pass. Though my husband, Henry, is declining and clear indications of progressing Alzheimer’s pop up weekly to point to this decline, my heart fills with gratitude for navigating a journey of mindfulness, psychedelics and dementia with grace, increasing loving-kindness, and to know that he has been surrounded in a bubble of safety and peace. Life inevitably leads to death and to walk the path along side another is a sacred act. To do so to ensure this bubble grows ever stronger- to the utmost of my best ability- has been my heart’s compass.
Henry has shown grace in the face of knowing decline. His heart’s compass has been to meet his most interior place of peace and grounding through meditation, mantra repetition, walks in nature, and the sheer joy of the peace silence brings him. Henry is gently melting into the mysterious but miraculous eternal embracing sphere of wonder beyond time and space.
Has microdosing helped in this journey? Undoubtedly! It has been like glowing ember subtly keeping the heart kindled with ease of being, restorative sleep, physical ability to endure, a more peaceful heart without the typical anxiety or depression that can come with Alzheimer’s. Henry has become my hero. He has given me hope to look at dementia as a possibility that can lead to greater peace before inevitable death. Like a gentle warrior, the way he has walked this path is so admirable that it has squelched any fears I may have about potential dementia.
Carpe Diem! That is the mantra my daughters and I have mentioned just today. The last Christmas together. Whether physically or not, Henry will not be the same at this time next year even if he is with us. To know the ending is more upon us every day, makes each day that much more precious. We meet it with a gratitude so deep that a sense of love and tenderness abound.
Thank you for this day. Thank you for Henry’s presence, knowing it is fleeting in physical form. Thank you that we may, as a family, be together this holiday season. Thank you that we connect in this deep sense of love. Thank you for reading and connecting through sharing this journey. Carpe Diem!
- Lauren Alderfer, PhD.
