Hobbies for Seniors

by Liam O'Dowd

When you become older, it is sometimes hard to think of places you can go where you haven't been before, or somewhere that isn't too far away from your home. Often elderly people are by themselves making it really hard for them to socialise with other people, especially if they are less mobile than your average person. Becoming older doesn't mean that you have to stay in all the time, there are plenty of activities available that mean you don’t have to travel far from your home. Whether it is exercise or companionship you are looking for, we will cover various ways in which you can achieve this. (more…)

Adventure Holidays for the Disabled

by Georgina Evans

If you are disabled or struggle with movement of the body, holidays are often put to the back of peoples mind. Seen as a hassle, many people try and avoid adventurous holidays as they may think it is too much trouble. However, this is not the case as there are many places in which people can visit.  No matter what your disability is, it doesn't mean that you have to miss out on these once in a lifetime experiences. Even though these holiday suggestions may seem daring and intense, the instructors who take you through each event are qualified and trained in their specific field. Whether it is scuba diving or sky diving, we will have a look at all different options to hopefully suit your needs. (more…)

Your Comfort Zone – Haven or Prison?

Your comfort zone is that set of circumstances and tasks in which you feel completely at ease, ie you are able to operate with little need of conscious thought or will. Essentially you are on autopilot and your mind can continue in its preferred state of slumber.

The comfort zone is not a fixed region; it changes throughout life, in the light of experience. A baby’s comfort zone is lying on its back waiting to be fed and changed. But instinct forces it to expand that comfort zone to include walking, talking, reading, writing… Eventually it has to expand far enough to be able to survive in whatever society it finds itself.

We each need a comfort zone large enough to put food in our bellies and a roof over our head. But do we really need to extend it further? (more…)

Loneliness – How to Overcome this Elderly Vulnerability

by Daisy Anderson

"I need a break from the loneliness that is totally consuming me" - Anonymous

Aged people are especially susceptible to social isolation and loneliness, which can have serious implications on their physical as well as mental health. Hundreds of thousands of seniors are reportedly lonely and cut off from society, with over 5 million older people admitting television as their main source of company. (more…)

The Power of Positive Emotions

by Emma Filey

We Are Not Doomed to Failure

Many studies have been carried out on the beneficial effects of positivity, though whether or not a positive outlook has the power to actually improve our quality of life, has often been debated. One of the greatest obstacles facing positive psychology is the so-called 'hedonic treadmill,' described by investopedia.com as "the tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite a change in fortune or the achievement of major goals. (more…)

The Illusion of Fear

Fear is part of our evolutionary physiology. The "fight or flight" response has helped your ancestors, back to the dawn of time, survive long enough for you to be reading this. The trouble is that while modern life doesn't present us many life or death situations, its complexity causes the fight or flight response to kick in way more often than is good for us. If we’re not careful the result can be irrational fear, leading to problems of anxiety, stress, depression, self-doubt and ultimately paralysis of the life force that drives the fulfillment of our very purpose.

Fear manifests itself as a variety of illusions, eg (more…)

Beyond the Serenity Prayer

As discussed in Wisdom of the Serenity Prayer the words of Reinhold Niebuhr provide an excellent guide for living:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

However, once we have absorbed and started to apply this principle we may begin to recognize that life is not, unfortunately, so simple. This article presents two further considerations in determining how we should apply our limited resources. (more…)

Can I Change My Destiny?

What is Destiny?

Our destiny is the tentative future path that lies ahead of us at any given now, subject to everything that affects us continuing along its current trajectory. Of course, we cannot possibly know our destiny even if that condition of continuance were satisfied because we cannot possibly know about everything that affects us.

What Determines My Destiny?

Spiritually we are part of an infinite existence, of which our current incarnation forms but the smallest step. Before beginning the journey known as life we agree, with our guides and helpers, what the overall purpose of that adventure will be, ie the experiences we will seek and the lessons we will try to learn. But to have any meaning whatsoever we are also endowed with free will. (more…)

When Life Seems Too Much - Prioritize!

Isn’t life wonderful? Like a County Fair with so many attractions and activities all vying for - and demanding - your attention. So much to see, so much to do. The trouble is, you're only human. That means you're limited, with only so much time and energy to give.

It can be overwhelming. And that's why stress and its close relatives depression and anxiety are running at epidemic proportions in the modern world.

So, what can we do about it? How can we meet infinite demands with a finite supply? (more…)

Meditation Basics

What is Meditation?

Life is demanding, with numerous calls on our attention at any time. For all its benefits, technology has made life even more demanding; with cell phones and the like we truly seem to be open to the world 24/7.

In addition to the multitude of external demands the supercomputer that is our mind spends much of its time behaving like a nagging child, pulling our attention this way and that, never giving us the space to truly think.

Meditation is about disconnecting from all the noise, external and internal, and giving yourself the time and space to simple "be". Imagine your mind is a computer connected to the Internet, constantly sending and receiving data. Meditation is taking it offline for a while to allow time to tidy its filing system; deleting what's not needed, identifying what's important and moving it to the desktop, and filing everything else for later retrieval.

On hearing the word 'meditation' many people picture an enlightened guru sitting motionless in the lotus position for hours on end chanting some obscure mantra. Sure, this is one (extreme) version of meditation, but there are many other forms, and the key to success is finding one that works for you. This article introduces the basics of meditation. (more…)