EDEN PRINCIPLES

Ten Principles of
Eden Training


1. The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of the suffering among our Elders.

2. An Elder-centered community commits to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals and children. It is these relationships that provide the young an old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.

3. Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.

4. An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.

5. An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is an antidote to boredom.
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6. Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.

7. Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.

8. An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.

9. Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.

10. Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.

GANDHI QUOTE:

---Something mentioned in the training. A good piece of advice, also

Green House: A Place To Call Home

---A part of the Eden Alternative Project. Make the big into small. It may take ingenuity, but very doable. ''Be the change you want to see.'' Residents and staff working together.

Where Love Matters

---The Green House is part of the Eden Alternative Project. Dr. Bill Thomas is in this video, also.

Dr. Bill Thomas - Founder of Eden Project

---There are many YouTube's concerning Dr. Bill and the EDEN ALTERNATIVE PROJECT. This video is just a piece of the puzzle.

EDEN ALTERNATIVE I

EDEN ALTERNATIVE I
WEDNESDAY

• Nothing is framed wrong. One is just looking for the next BEST answer.
• When taking picture, noticed that best light comes from within…when person is first acknowledged.
• Residents/Staff can be ‘’diamonds in the rough.’’
• Loneliness, helplessness and boredom are three moods NOT fixable w/medication.
• Care Partner is a better term than Caregiver.

THURSDAY

• There is NO ramp for dementia
• We have let meds be our master. If we get our foot caught in a bear trap we would probably give a Tylenol or stronger for the pain...instead of taking off the trap.

FRIDAY

• Be The Change That You See
• Staff Is Kept Happy With Positive Feedback – Not By Being Told Don’t...Constantly.

• EDEN PHILOSOPHY IS NOT A PLACE - IT'S A MINDSET
• Listen and Hear the Resident. You May Actually Want To Hear Some of What He/She Has To Say.

Antidotes

• Loneliness – Loving Companionship
• Boredom – Do things you enjoy and access to children, plants and animals
• Helplessness – Getting one's medical needs met and do something for another

The Staff/Resident DANCE -

---What we want to speak of is the dance between the Staff and the Resident. I think we ALL can relate to an old-fashioned high school dance. It is a dance where the boys sit on one side of the room and the girls sit on the other. Every now and then we see two of the participants actually dancing together...but, mostly we find the boys with the boys and the girls with the girls.

---This is much the same vision I have of the hospital in which I live. The Residents could be the boys and the Staff could be the girls. It really doesn't matter who plays who in the scenario. The point is that both sides don't communicate very well. I'm, also, not speaking of the fine medical part of the equation. They take care of us pretty well. But...I think that as far as interacting together, the ''Staff/Resident Dance'' - needs some help. It is ALL about the attitudes involved toward one another.

---This coming week we are having members of the Eden Project coming in to teach us how to ''dance'' better, together. I would once again like to reiterate that I think we are better TOGETHER...than we were in 2003, when I began living at the Hospital/Nursing Home. If we were back at the old-fashioned dance, we would see only a few staff/resident couples dancing.

---Just to be sure that you understand that I'm not trying to be weird here. The couples signify the staff and residents. They understand each other's role very well...for the most part. The residents need the help and kindness of the staff...just to do ordinary things. When it works...IT WORKS GREAT. This is what the Eden classes are for. To fix what needs fixing. 

---Let's tweak what needs tweaking.  Good luck to all who are taking the class. I hope everyone hears what they need to hear. Shoot HIGH. Convey your learnings. Help those who need help on either side. Does ''DANCING WITH THE STARS'' sound good to anyone?