The older my body gets and the worse our healthcare system is handled, my thoughts move to wondering about the aged who have managed to defy death thus far only to be delivered into the hands of Alzheimer’s dementia where one’s sense of self dissolves before the body itself gives up the breath.
The loss of “self” may be tolerable if our greater sense of awareness remains intact. That part of us that observes without judgment, the part that may in fact have some eternal existence as part of a larger whole.
I’m curious. Is there any research being done on long term mindfulness meditators who experience what may be Alzheimer’s disease and, if so, what is being found. If there is no research being done, well, my goodness, why not??
