The spiritual meaning and coping methods for dementia

It is common for elderly people to become forgetful.

This is similar to a car eventually becoming inoperable. After many years of running, it becomes worn out. Originally, it was perfect, but indeed, things that wear out will wear out.

The question of "where it breaks" depends on how it is driven, and sadly, various parts can wear out, such as "screws loosening," "the body breaking," "oil leaking," and "the steering becoming unresponsive."

And when a car is worn out, no matter how skilled a driver you are, you cannot race with that car.

The human body also wears out after living for decades. Even if the soul is not worn out, it is inevitable in this world that the body will wear out. (Omitted)

As a form of self-management, maintaining health and nutrition to some extent and always having an interest in something keeps the mind young and prevents forgetfulness.

However, when the body inevitably wears out, it is somewhat unavoidable that it will not function adequately.

Ryuho Okawa, 'Miracle Power to Overcome Illness' open_in_new

Looking back on life, it seems that the period during which I thought, "I am happy" feels very short. The more I remember, the more memories of unhappiness seem to come to mind.

In such cases, as a self-defense instinct, you may want to dilute those memories. This makes you more susceptible to brain diseases like dementia.

In short, you do not want to remember the past. The desire to "not remember" creates brain diseases and causes you to forget various things.

If remembering makes you happy, you won't develop such diseases, but if there are many things you don't want to remember, you will think, "I want to forget," and such diseases will arise.

Ryuho Okawa, 'Miracle Cancer Overcoming Method' open_in_new

If you are treated as a complete nuisance and abandoned as a living corpse, you cannot live without resisting through forgetfulness. Among the elderly with dementia, there are cases where resistance to not being favored in the family is expressed in this way.

Therefore, to prevent forgetfulness, it is important to create roles and tasks for the elderly and give them a sense of purpose.

By doing so, if you enhance the self-esteem of the elderly, they can live with some degree of satisfaction.

It is your choice to treat the elderly as nuisances, but the more you do so, the higher the probability of developing dementia. Ultimately, you will be the one who has to take care of them, so in the long run, you will be the one at a loss.

Therefore, always wish for your real parents or in-laws to work happily, be healthy, and live long.

In any case, do not hinder the elderly from having a sense of purpose, and do not treat them as nuisances. Consider this as part of your duties as a housewife.

Ryuho Okawa, 'Syndrome of Not Being Able to Be Happy' open_in_new

In the case of brain diseases, many come from worries. Of course, there are people who are fatigued from overusing their brains, but indeed, those who are constantly troubled by unnecessary worries or lingering concerns usually develop problems in the brain unless there are issues with their internal organs.

In that sense, it is also important to strive for brain health control from the perspective of worries.

Do not worry too much about trivial matters. This is a matter of "cleaning." Every day, make sure to clean up your worries properly and keep your mind as clear as possible.

Then, it becomes important to have some tricks to avoid forgetfulness.

In fact, it is said that people who have the habit of reading about one book a week do not become forgetful as they age. Please consider this an important matter.

To avoid forgetfulness, it is better to read about one book a week.

Ryuho Okawa, 'What Happens When You Die?' open_in_new

If you lose your sense of purpose early, you may start to forget at that point.

Even people around fifty can easily become forgetful if they lose their jobs or if their children leave the nest early and they have nothing to do.

For such people, I recommend getting a pet. Pets can sufficiently replace children in that sense. Since pets are living beings, they think about various things. When you talk to and take care of your pet, you indeed rejuvenate.

Ryuho Okawa, 'Miracle Power to Overcome Illness' open_in_new

When you develop a difficult and serious illness, there is often some mental cause. Moreover, it is often the case that the person is unaware of this cause. There may be parts of themselves that they cannot see, and because this is progressing beneath the surface, the illness may advance.

Among my books, there is one themed on "healing illnesses," titled 'Super Absolute Health Method' open_in_new.

When one of my secretaries gave this book to a person's grandfather, who usually does not read our books, he read this one. And although that grandfather had dementia, just reading this book medically cured him.

This is a story from someone close to me, so its credibility is extremely high, and the person is still alive, making it a verifiable case.

In this way, there are instances where "reading our books cures dementia," and there are various cases regarding "how different diseases can be cured."

However, since many illnesses are caused by things the person is unaware of, there is a very strong tendency that "the illness is cured when the person becomes aware of the cause of the illness."

Within the heart, there are parts that are not visible to oneself. When these parts are causing illness, by being illuminated by the truth, if one becomes aware of them, the collapse of the illness begins, and healing occurs.

However, regarding "where in the heart is distorted or incorrect," one must discover this through the teachings of Buddhist truth and conversations with fellow practitioners.

Ryuho Okawa's "Karma of Illness Reading" open_in_new

What should we do to remain unspoiled even in old age?

Simply put, instead of thinking, "I don't know when I will die, so anything I do is pointless," if viewed from the perspective of "there is an eternal soul," there is still life and the ability to think even after leaving the physical body. If there are activities in the next life, or even after being reborn, it is very important to have what will become "nourishment for the next life."

Ryuho Okawa's "Aging Without Decay" open_in_new

I would like to recommend practicing a modern version of the "Tadataka Ino-style life."

Of course, it can be in a field other than surveying. If everyone started surveying the entire country, it would be a big problem, so not that many people are needed for that job.

When reflecting on past lives, there are talents among the things that once attracted our interest.

In other words, among the things that attracted our interest in the past, there are things we discarded to pursue another profession or things we did not do. There are things we wanted to study a bit more but could not, and thus did not fully bloom.

For example, "I really liked painting, but I couldn't do it because I took another job," "I really liked music, but I gave up that path," "I wanted to write novels, but I was persuaded by those around me that 'you can't make a living from novels' and continued my salaryman life until retirement," and so on.

However, in life, there is no such thing as "too late." It is still possible to start anew from now.

I myself am certainly working better now than I did in my thirties and forties. This is because my "mental strength" has increased compared to the past. Also, I have gained confidence. I have confidence in the achievements of the past twenty-plus years.

Ryuho Okawa's "Lifelong Active Life" open_in_new

The teachings introduced above are included in the following book.

From the popular radio program of Happy Science, "Angel's Morning Call" open_in_new (national network + Hawaii KZOO), we introduce programs from past broadcasts that we want you to listen to now. (You can listen to it in audio.)

(1) "Glistening Old Age, Its Secrets" open_in_new [Episode 1155]
(2) "Guidance of the Heart: 'Aging'" open_in_new [Episode 1395]