The Living~Dying Duet: Lyrics from the Dementia Vocabulary

The English Language Doesn't Have Words for What I'm Feeling

As Living and Dying are dancing their duet, their combination is creating new dance steps that neither had danced before. Similarly, as I play music for their duet I need new music that I've never heard or played before. This music needs lyrics, and I found that the English language and the medical profession don't have words for things I'm feeling and experiencing. Here are some examples:

• MEE Mild Emotional Enhancement - an increase in Emotional capability corresponding to MCI Mild Cognitive Impairment, a decrease in Cognitive capability. This recognizes Enhancement along with Impairment

• Feelingfulness - the act of focusing on feelings, corresponding to Mindfulness the act of focusing on the mind

• Rementia - the feeling of Release that the Dementia process brings in the early stages of the process

• LifeNoises - things we don't usually relate to as noises -- activities, internet, politics, culture, religion, sports, speeches, entertainment, etc -- that distract us from relating to our own internal Mindfulness and Feelingfulness, our own Authenticity. LifeNoises may be overwhelming for a person with dementia

• Gutweep - shedding tears not from pain or sadness (crying), but rather as an expression of strong emotions or connection with a particular situation

• deMENSCHia - spiritual/religious references to dementia

• The Living~Dying Duet - the view of Living and Dying dancing a duet together, with each affecting the other's usual dance steps. A person plays the music for their own Living~Dying Duet

• Vayigosh - to sense a situation and then act to bring positive energies into the situation (e.g. when he saw his friends were bored and unhappy, he vayigoshed and started them singing together) - the word "vayigosh" is taken from the first words of Genesis 44:18

• PDS Pre-Dementia Suicide - ending one's life while still lucid in order to not reach a state of full dementia

• Expressergies - expressing (speaking, making, writing, etc.) something for the purpose of bringing positive energies into the world

• Resonatism - relating to the entire world as resonating energies

• Lifestone - using the Tombstone you've created for after your death to guide you in living your life

If there aren't words for these feelings and actions, how can we express and relate to them? The Living~Dying Duet brings a new reality, new dance steps, new music, and new words to our language as well.