WHERE AM I? A spiritual question or dementia?
Worldwide, every four seconds a person is diagnosed with dementia. In 2030, the number of people suffering from dementia will be doubled. It is a spiritual question to find a way to prevent and cure neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia.
Science meets Spirituality
There are two sides to human life: one is materialism and the other is spiritualism. Unfortunately, in Western societies, the importance of spiritualism has faded to the background. Spirituality is the process of self awakening. Who am I? Why am I here? it is the call of our soul. People who feel connected with their souls, are passionate. At the Sanskrit university, science and spirituality meet. The founder of the university, Yiugrishi Vedmurt Taponistha was convinced that modern man could not be persuaded to accept certain spiritual values until and unless they were proved by scientific facts. The objectives of science and spirituality are the same; a search for the hidden truth in the womb of mother nature. It is only the way to reach the objective that is different. Spirituality begins to become more important when people are out of balance. We notice an increasing interest in yoga and mindfulness in health programmes. A number of scientific papers support the positive effects of yoga and mindfulness on human health ( i.e. Innes et al, 2015 and Kaliman et al, 2015).
Spirituality and dementia
We have five physical senses: touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision. The sixth sense is the mind. The mind influences our body in both positive and in negative ways. When we are healthy, we are happy, hopeful and ambitious. In people with dementia, the mind is scattered and often lost. Everything that used to be familiar and known disappears.
Case study of dementia
A woman aged 89 was diagnosed with dementia when she was 86. At that time, she had problems with atrium fibrillation and a poor condition as well. Due to the woman’s long history of strokes it was presumed to be vascular dementia. The family started to improve her diet with personalised food including olive oil, almonds, dates, blue grapes and other personalised nutrients. They focused on gentle stimulation of the senses with love, compassion and spirituality. After a while, she slowly started to conduct daily physical, and mental activities and currently, the process of dementia has been stabilized. If it is possible to have a positive impact on the life of one person who is suffering from dementia, and thus increase her quality of life, this should be possible for many others as well.
Sakha Shaniya “happy beds” for people who suffer from dementia
Worldwide, temporary homes should be created where people who have been diagnosed with dementia can stay and where their body, spirit and soul can be nurtured in the best way possible.
COBALA has the ambition, the knowledge and expertise to create these homes.