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Tag: vision

Leave Stress Behind with Mindful Walking

Wed, October 6, 2021 Published by

Ever wish you could leave stress behind? You can, and you don’t have to travel very far to do it.

Perhaps the easiest of all the techniques I teach is mindful walking. Although remarkably simple to do, it’s a very powerful form of walking meditation that can defuse stress within minutes. Mindful walking relaxes the body by channeling anxiety and nervous energy into physical activity and calms the mind by promoting focused awareness. And it’s versatile: You don’t need to put on hiking boots, leave civilization, or climb a mountain to experience this restorative power of walking. You only need a few minutes of time and some room to walk, as long as you’re willing to change your state of mind. The goal is to use walking meditation to gently shift the focus of your attention from worrying about the past or the future, and to focus on what is actually happening in the present moment.


Here is a simple mindful walking exercise you can practice whenever you need it:

  1. While walking, pay attention to your breathing. Use this focus on the breath as an anchor to stabilize your attention.
  2. Next, allow yourself to notice any sights, sounds, or physical sensations that may come up as you walk. Rest your awareness for a moment on that sight, sound, or sensation, then return your awareness to your breathing.
  3. If persistent thoughts distract you from your mindful awareness, simply notice them, then return your awareness to your breathing.

Here is a variation of mindful walking that uses your breathing to consciously connect you to the vast web of life on planet Earth:

  1. As you focus on your breath, following the instructions above, remember that plants release the oxygen that you’re breathing into your lungs, and that, in turn, you breathe out the carbon dioxide that the plants take in.
  2. In your mind’s eye, follow your breath as you exhale. Imagine that you can see the carbon dioxide molecules leaving your nose or mouth and flowing into the leaves on the plants nearest you as you walk.
  3. As you breathe in, envision yourself inhaling the oxygen that the plants are giving off. Picture the trails of oxygen flowing from the trees, grass, flowers and shrubs into your lungs. Take note of how your visualization of this very natural process affects your sense of the world around you.

The Year Without a Summer

Sun, February 3, 2019 Published by

This week, the weather has been hitting the headlines. As the quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “there is nothing new under the sun”, except for the headlines being written in 1816, when the new occurrence was that there seemingly was no sun.

“I had a dream, which was not all a dream. The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the stars did wander darkling in the eternal space.” Written in July 1816, these words from Byron’s poem Darkness are inspired by the strange events of The Year Without a Summer. It followed the eruption of Mount Tambora (the largest recorded volcanic eruption in history) located in modern day Indonesia, which in turn sparked months of unusual weather and climate disruption around the globe as its large dust cloud of volcanic ash entered the atmosphere. During this period, the sun frequently disappeared behind that thick acrid cloud. Instead of summer, the winter temperatures continued. Some thought the strange climate signaled the imminent destruction of the sun and the end of the world. We know of course now that though the dark uncertainty might have felt never-ending in 1816, the world did not in fact end. The world kept on spinning, and eventually the cloud dissipated and the sun reemerged. One of the most notable things about The Year Without a Summer is the number of seminal works of art, music and literature that it produced. It was around this time that Beethoven began his celebrated late period of composition, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and Byron his epic poem Prometheus, as well as many other successful endeavors.

Just as it did that fateful summer 200 years ago, beauty continues to emerge from uncertainty. We have our own metaphorical clouds of darkness and uncertainty brooding around the world today, and yet gimmers of sunlight shine forth brightly amidst that darkness. The light of hope continues to shine as we engage with others and when we choose respect rather than incivility; unity rather than division; love over hate. The hope spoken of in the teachings of Jesus – while not denying fear and uncertainty – requires the believer to look beyond present circumstances and instead to choose to have faith in a better future. As 14th century Christian mystic, Julian of Norwich, put it: “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” But hope is not a lottery ticket. Nor is it blind or passive optimism. It is the firm belief that we can each dispel the clouds of darkness by working together in love.

Just A Phone Call Away

Mon, January 22, 2018 Published by

February is National Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month, and many residents here experience low vision in various forms. While many have macular degeneration, which causes loss of central vision, others have glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa and numerous other visual conditions. What many don’t realize, however, is that almost all older adults experience age-related changes in vision.  These age-related changes frequently include increased sensitivity to glare, diminished ability to see contrast, increased sensitivity to light changes, decreased depth perception, diminished visual acuity or sharpness, and decreased ability to see in dim light.  Not only that, most older adults with vision loss have some degree of hearing loss too, which can make previously simple tasks like talking on the phone more challenging.  To address both vision and hearing challenges on Campus, the Low Vision Support Group will be sponsoring a special presentation on February 9th at 1:00PM in Boardroom East. Connie Short is a representative from CapTel phones and has previously worked with the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  She will be demonstrating and answering questions about the latest telephone technology for those with vision and/or hearing loss. AND THE BEST PART IS…THE PHONES ARE FREE TO RESIDENTS WHO QUALIFY! We hope you’ll join us to learn more!

Points of Pride

Mon, June 12, 2017 Published by

Empowered power.

Dosia Carlson & Mim Hoover

Some of the most powerful people I know are living right here at Beatitudes Campus.  I stand back in awe of how, when asked to take responsibility for some aspect of our community’s growth, a vision that once seemed grand soon pales in comparison to what the resident(s) actually create.  A few weeks back, at the Arizona LeadingAge Conference (an organization that unites non-profit communities like ours), there was a powerful exhibition of purpose, power and empowerment – and it was by our very own Beatitudes Center for Lifelong Learners.

Dosia Carlson and Mim Hoover, with the help of Nell Bennett, who was not able to be present, put together a presentation, aptly titled, Success Story.  It wowed the administrators from the other communities who sat in on their workshop.  In the workshop, the participants learned how, when residents in a community like ours, are given a task to create, that the sky becomes the only limit, far surpassing what any one staff person could ever create or do.  The resident-run, Lifelong Learners Team, have created, not only a success story of a program in terms of number of participants and diversity of class options, but have impacted the lives of almost all those who participate and  have been given a sense of purpose in creating excellence.

As I said at the beginning, we have not a resident on Campus who is not gifted with immense power and talent.  The true sign of a successful community is how capable is it in empowering its members to be free to use their gifts toward the betterment of the entire community.  The ultimate job of administration in a community like ours is to facilitate the freedom to excel, and clear the path for creativity and ingenuity for any resident ready to take our community even further toward our goal.

I can testify for our administration that few things are    more gratifying than seeing our residents work together with us to accomplish great  things, making our community innovative and on the cutting edge of our field.  More and more of you are taking leadership roles and bringing great transformation to us with visions and ideas that we as staff would never come up with.  To just name a few –  the Environment Committee, the Garden Club, the Recycling Program, our English Language Assistance program, the resident’s Life Enrichment Team who plan our outings and activities and that is just the beginning.

You are leaders and models for senior communities, and I thank you for being a point of pride (and also for letting us boast a bit to our competitors) when it comes to residents with power and purpose lived out.

Random Acts of Kindness

Tue, February 7, 2017 Published by

A woman in a car pulled up to the toll booth at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. “I’m paying for myself and the six cars behind me.” she says with a smile.

One after another, the next six drivers arrive at the booth, money in hand. “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare,” says the collector. “Have a nice day.”

The woman, it turned out, had read a note taped to a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice Random Kindness.”

The message from the door of that refrigerator is spreading, on bumper stickers, walls and business cards. And as it spreads, so does a vision of guerrilla-goodness.

A passer-by may plunk a coin into a stranger’s meter just in time. A group of people with pails and mops may descend on a run-down house and clean it from top to bottom while the elderly owners look on, amazed. A teenager shoveling snow may be hit by the impulse and shovel his neighbor’s driveway too.

Senseless acts of beauty spread. A man plants daffodils along a roadway. A concerned citizen roams the streets collecting litter in a supermarket cart. A student scrubs graffiti from a park bench. It’s a positive anarchy, a gentle disorder, a sweet disturbance.

They say you can’t smile without cheering yourself up. Likewise, you can’t commit a random act of kindness or beauty without feeling as if your own troubles have been lightened – because the world has become a slightly better place.

And you can’t be a recipient without feeling a pleasant jolt. If you were one of those commuters whose toll was paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else?

There are times in our lives when we look around us and are disheartened by what we see. Sometimes we might feel as though we are powerless to make an impact on the situation, but as Mother Theresa once said “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Like all revolutions, guerrilla-goodness begins slowly, with a single act.  The question is, what are you going to do today?

Legacy Left Behind

Mon, January 16, 2017 Published by

There are many reasons we should honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy.  Not only was he a transformational spokesperson for nonviolent activism during the Civil Rights Movement, he was an inspirational leader whose legacy continues to help pave the way to inclusion which we hold near and dear to us here at Beatitudes Campus.  He was a visionary who was persistent, who knew when to push forward and when to pull back, and was someone who knew how to show compassion to those very people who were fighting against him. Below are a few excerpts from Jeff Goins’ blog entitled 5 Lessons from MLK on Living, Leading, & Communicating at http://goinswriter.com. Jeff blogs what many of us think and feel:

“Martin Luther King, Jr. left us a legacy, teaching us as much through what he did as what he said. Maybe more. One of the many lessons Dr. King exemplified was the effectiveness of a life lived out loud, one in which a person’s words and dreams are backed by considerable action.  He showed us our lives must be lived intentionally and without regret, that words mean something and we must speak up in the face of injustice. He taught us that it is one thing to say you have an idea and quite another to act on it. And the man’s courage still inspires millions of people today.

I’m glad Dr. King spoke up and then acted. The world is a better place because of it.

Telling the truth is dangerous

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

There is nothing safe about being honest, nothing comfortable about doing the right thing. If anything, when you are committed to saying what needs to be said, it will likely get you into trouble.  But the fruit is worth the pain.  You’re the one who has to decide this, though. Choose wisely before opening your mouth, and be aware of the consequences. Because as with MLK, this may cost you your life.  But of course, if you don’t speak, it could cost you something far greater.

The first person you need to convince is yourself

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

MLK often spoke about the importance of believing in yourself before trying to convince others to do so. He knew that if we doubt ourselves, so will others. He also knew human beings cannot act according to their identity until they believe it about themselves.  In the field of creative disciplines, we see this to be especially true. “A writer is a writer when he says he is,” says Steven Pressfield.  There’s something about the power of declaration via our voices that forces our hands to act. This may be the most important lesson Dr. King taught us: we are what we are when we decide to be it.

May we honor MLK’s memory by boldly being and believing who we are, then acting on it.”

 

Annual Eye Exams: A Smart Way to Identify Age-related Eye Diseases

Thu, January 5, 2017 Published by

Beatitudes Campus is happy to be working with Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Vision Care.  Come to January’s Town Hall to learn more about some special advantages for you through Vision Care.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), once you reach age 60, it’s important to have an eye exam every year. Checking your visual acuity isn’t the only reason to get your eyes examined. An eye exam can also help identify age-related conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other diseases.

What exactly are these common age-related eye diseases? The AAO defines them as:

  • Cataracts – Light rays travel into the eye through the pupil, pass through a clear lens and hit the retina. In an eye with a cataract, the lens gets cloudy and light scatters throughout the eye instead of hitting the retina. The clouding of the eye happens when proteins in the lens break down (typically after age 40). People usually start to have some clouding of their lenses over age 60.
  • Glaucoma – Glaucoma is a disease that damages your eye’s optic nerve. It usually happens when fluid builds up in the front part of your eye. That extra fluid increases the pressure in your eye, damaging the optic nerve.
  • Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – AMD is a deterioration of the eye’s macula. The macula is a small area in the retina — the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. The macula is the part of the retina that is responsible for your central vision, allowing you to see fine details clearly.
  • Diabetic Retinopathy – Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease that occurs when blood vessels in the retina change. Sometimes these vessels swell and leak fluid or even close off completely. In other cases, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina.

Schedule Your Eye Exam – It is important that you schedule your annual eye exam. Your doctor will check for eye health as well as any prescription changes. You can schedule your eye exam by calling Vision Care at 602-358-0223 or visit VisionCareAZ.com.* Located at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of AZ campus at 2444 W. Las Palmeritas Drive, just 2 miles and a free shuttle ride from Beatitudes Campus.

Forward Looks to the Future

Mon, October 17, 2016 Published by

A few of us from campus were privileged to attend a very enlightening presentation this week on the 2017 economic outlook sponsored by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.  It was encouraging to hear that, we can expect a continuing good business environment and that, compared to the rest of the country, we rank 6th in our position in the recovery, up from a 20+ position a few years ago.  Nonetheless, the recovery is weak compared to others, but is actually the second longest in history since 1928.

gobeyondcreativityElliott Pollack, nationally renowned as a veteran Arizona economist, informed us that education and health services should continue to boom and are not expected to be cyclical, but rather steadily increase despite market fluctuations.  In fact, one of every eight new jobs will be in the healthcare industry as the Phoenix metropolitan area continues to develop as a national center of medical expertise. Employment in the health industry has actually risen 156% since 2008.

Construction is doing well as evidenced by the substantial amount of home building as well, apartments and our unemployment rate is at a historically low level.  Significantly, for those of us in the senior living industry, we are more in a seller’s market than any time in the last eight years with values up and inventory slightly less than demand. Sales of existing homes are on track to finish 2016 as the strongest year since 2008 and prices of homes should continue to rise.  That is good news for those exiting home ownership to come to a campus such as Beatitudes.  Most interesting, was Mr. Pollack’s observation that there will be a “tsunami of eligible buyers in five years as bankruptcies fall off of credit reports.”

Despite all of the good business environmental factors, we continue to look for ways in which we provide opportunities for our campus to thrive in other ways which make a difference in, not only the quality of life of our residents, but our community as a whole.   I recently read an article by Debra Wood, R.N., that highlighted that giving time to improve another person’s life, or the greater community, offers benefits far beyond the good deeds done by volunteers.  It creates feelings of self-worth in those doing the giving and can improve their outlook and well-being.

“Volunteering gives us another reason to get out of bed in the morning, because we look forward to getting together and doing this,” says Carol Jenkins, a resident at Parker and McCarrick in Somerset, NJ, and secretary of its Living with Purpose Club.  “It makes us feel good helping others.”

I had the pleasure of watching this in action this past Friday evening, October 7th, at the Open Door Fellowship Church which hosted the formal kick off of the 19 North neighborhood association group.  Jim Elliott and his wonderful group of campus volunteers have been an integral part of taking an idea surrounding completion of the light rail on 19th Avenue, and potential concerns about the development of the neighborhood, to a solid coalition of stores, shops, restaurants, city recreation centers, churches, hospitals, schools and us, as the sole senior living provider, to a movement solidly committed to strengthening our one-of-a-kind community.  19 North is encouraging each to take pride in our area and make it better by contributing ideas, energy and passion……..and interacting with each other in meaningful ways.

It was a privilege to set up our booth and talk with hundreds of interested community members, many of whom expressed interest in learning more about Beatitudes Campus. But the true joy was seeing so many of our residents in action – speaking, working at the display, interacting with other members of the coalition and formulating plans for additional volunteerism in churches, schools and community services.  That is a significant demonstration of our vision and one of the great ways in which Beatitudes Campus becomes more than just a place to live, with a solid business environment.  We are now advertising in the Sunnyslope Plus newspaper which is being retooled with  entire 19 North pullout.  What a thrill to be on the ground floor of something so significant for our neighborhood and to work with such a committed group of volunteers!  Once again, I have to observe “my cup runneth over!”