This special episode features clips from a radio interview conducted by Robin Gun for her radio show in Oklahoma city. MINDRAMP co-founders Roger Anunsen and Michael C. Patterson are featured monthly on Gunn's Oklahoma Senior Journal, discussing various aspects of positive aging and brain health. This episode focuses on MINDRAMP's Virtual Cognitive Activity Design project (VCAD), which MINDRAMP is now offering for free on our website at www.mindramp.or. The project is designed to help professional and family caregivers to continue serving older adults within the stay-at-home constraints imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. VCAD provides a system for design and implement engaging activities for older adults that: a) promote brain health, and b) take full advantage of virtual communication mechanisms like phones, radio, and virtual meetings on Zoom or Facetime.   Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

How are organizations that serve older adults keeping in touch and staying engaged with clients and prospects?  How are they using virtual communication methods to help their people cope with coronavirus induced cabin fever? This podcast episode pulls excerpts from a radio interview by host Robin Gunn on her Oklahoma Senior Journal radio program. Joining Robin by conference call are Julie David with Concordia Life Plan Community and Marilyn Olsen, Executive Director of Villages Oklahoma City along with Roger Anunsen and Michael C. Patterson from MINDRAMP Consulting.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Cabin Fever may be a useful metaphor for the psychological impact of staying at home and social distancing during the COVID-19 epidemic. The common symptoms of cabin fever are either being stir-crazy (agitation and irritability) or withdrawal and depression. In this podcast, MINDRAMP's co-founders discuss how their methods to promote brain health and mental flourishing can be useful in combatting the negative psychological effects of coronavirus cabin fever.  The podcast consists of excerpts from a radio interview Roger Anunsen and Michael C. Patterson had with Robin Gunn, editor of the Oklahoma Senior Journal and host of a weekly radio show in Oklahoma City. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

One of MINDRAMP’s guiding principles is that effective interventions for multi-factorial conditions - like premature aging and dementia - require multi-factorial interventions. Decline, disease and debility are caused by multiple factors. Each one of the factors must be addressed, in combination, to have a significant impact on the health of your brain and the wellbeing of your mind. (See the episode on The CogWheels of Brain Health).Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Art Kempf struggled with dementia and a loss of meaning until Roger and Art’s wife got him to a wear his navy uniform at a Tommy Dorsey concert during their salute to the military. Art’s patriot salute to the music transformed him and the people around him.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Like the memory mining techniques, people’s reminiscences and reflections about their past lives can suggest topics for activities that help them to engage more fully with their present lives. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

This episode explores a number of techniques that help you tap into people’s memories and reflections about past passions that, once rekindled, have the power to renew people’s spirits and get them re-engaged with the present. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Hiram was remote and withdrawn until Roger did some "memory mining" around their shared passion for baseball. As Hiram reminisced about his past a fascinating story about his past were revealed.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Roger Anunsen shares his thoughts about the brain health benefits of learning to savor life’s simple pleasures. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

The simple act of watching a sunset was made special by encouraging mindfulness and being open to awe. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

The Drag Race was a complex activity with many moving parts. But, activities don’t have to be complex to be successful. Often the simplest of activities can have a profound effect on participants.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Every activity involves a beginning, a middle and an end. We often make full use of the activity time but fail to exploit the engagement opportunities available during the preparation stage and the afterglow stage. Learn how to milk all of the benefit you can out of your activities. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Roger Anunsen’s most effective programs started with a focus on the specific needs of a single individual and then expanded to engage and involve a much broader community. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Art Fiskitjohn was grumpy and withdrawn until Roger casually mentioned to him that Marge claimed she could beat him in a scooter race.  Learn how a community became energized around a drag race between three older residents of an Assisted Living Facility. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

The Virtual Activity Design Program is based on MINDRAMP’s first-in-the-nation college course and textbook called Cognitive Activity Design. A major part of the text and course materials consists of descriptions and analyses of wonderful cognitively stimulating activities Roger designed for an Assisted Living Facility.  The rest of the podcasts in this section feature Roger describing a number of the most memorable and instructive activities. These case studies are then followed by analyses of the elements that made them effective in promoting brain health and mental engagement. These case studies do not use virtual communications mechanisms but offer a number of core principles that help enrich any kind of activity (live or virtual).  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Roger Anunsen (co-founder of MINDRAMP) recently invented a virtual activity for Senior Living Communities called The Mystery Dish. It uses in-room food service to conduct an engaging guessing game about food that can involve everyone in the community. The idea is now being tested, in association with Executive Chef Darin Leonardson, in a number of communities. The Mystery Dish reminded Roger of two other food-based activities he invented as part of his research validated activity program called MemAerobics. All of these food-based ideas promote sensory acuity, mindfulness and fun.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Zoom has become increasingly popular and well known since the start of the C-19 stay-at-home orders went into place. It provides audio and video links between people and will display the images of the host and the guests on the screen. So, multiple people can simulate a live meeting or get-together using their virtual technology.  MINDRAMP has made extensive use of Zoom’s virtual meeting capability to deliver classes and presentations to venues around the country. The presentations feature Roger and Michael zooming in from different locations on the west coast. Zoom allows the host to share whatever is on his or her computer screen, so it is possible to show images, charts, graphics and – most important for us – full PowerPoint presentations. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Zoom has become increasingly popular and well known since the start of the C-19 stay-at-home orders went into place. It provides audio and video links between people and will display the images of the host and the guests on the screen. So, multiple people can simulate a live meeting or get-together using their virtual technology. MINDRAMP has made extensive use of Zoom’s virtual meeting capability to deliver classes and presentations to venues around the country. The presentations feature Roger and Michael zooming in from different locations on the west coast. Zoom allows the host to share whatever is on his or her computer screen, so it is possible to show images, charts, graphics and – most important for us – full PowerPoint presentations. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

MINDRAMP has a long association with an organization called Well Connected (previously Senior Center Without Walls) which delivers a full curriculum of classes via the telephone. To a large extent, the audience is comprised of older adults who, for whatever reason, are confined to their own homes. Ironically, we are all experiencing the same restrictions due to the C-19 pandemic.  MINDRAMP’s brain health programs, delivered virtually via phone calls, we consistently among Well Connected’s most popular courses. In this podcast we share some of the best practices we learned about delivering audio only programs. In recent years, Well Connected has expanded from its base in California’s Bay Area to include the entire country. They now use the Zoom platform so that people can access classes using Zooms audio connections, or when possible, can include video as well.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Over the years MINDRAMP has experimented with a number of virtual delivery approaches. In addition to live classes and presentations, we have reached out to audiences using print, eBooks, radio, webinars and podcasts. In this podcast, we discuss how the VCAD Project makes use of a variety of virtual communication mediums. The next few podcasts will share what we have learned from other virtual projects.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

There are basically two approaches you can take to create virtual activities for the older adults you serve. You can begin with existing activities and figure out how to deliver the same activity but using virtual communication mechanisms. Or, you can start fresh. You can reconceptualize the activities to suit the unique characteristics of the virtual communications mechanisms you have available to you. This episode discusses both approaches. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

We recommend you follow the phases and stages of the MINDRAMP Creative to design your virtual activities. You will recall from the podcast on The Creative Cycle that there are four main phases: 1.     Imagination2.     Idea Generation3.     Implementation4.     Evaluation You will optimize the creativity and effectiveness of your virtual activities is you work through each of these phases and give them their due.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Use your assessment of the virtual communication capabilities of your staff and of your audience to identify gaps.  Identify and prioritize the knowledge and skills that are critical for your staff. Identify the skills needed by your audience to get everyone up to speed on, at least, basic levels of virtual communication.  Then, develop specific plans to undertake the required learning.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

You need to assess virtual capabilities before you can effectively move into the world of virtual communications. First, you need to assess your own capabilities. Identify what virtual equipment you have and know how to use. Then, you have to assess the virtual capability of the people in remote locations that you want to communicate with. Identify their virtual capabilities. What equipment do they have? Do they know how to use the equipment? Are they comfortable doing so. Familiarize yourself with the types of virtual communication tools that are available. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

MINDRAMP’s Creative Cycle (described in an earlier podcast) suggests that the full creative process has four major phases, Imagination, Idea Generation, Implementation and Evaluation. You start by imagining some kind of new condition that will make things better. Then you produce ideas about how to make that condition come into being. The purpose of idea generation is to produce a wealth of good ideas that can be implemented, tested and then evaluated. So first you generate as many ideas as possible. Then you select one of them to implement, test and evaluate. The idea-selection technique offered in this podcast is relatively simple and straight-forward. Use this approach if you get bogged down with too many good options and need something to break the log jam.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Creative productivity is largely a question of volume. The more ideas you can generate and test, the more likely you are to come up with one that is truly novel and useful. Brainstorming, or “ideation” if you want to sound hip, is a familiar technique for generating creative ideas. My experience with brainstorming, however, has been disappointing. I don’t think most practitioners use the concept effectively. The point of brainstorming is to generate ideas, not to solve problems. It is merely one step in the full creative process. The brainstorming technique described in this podcast, however, is quite effective. It does a good job of collecting ideas from a group and winnowing them down to a manageable few that can be pursued. The Idea/Concept Ladder is a technique that enables you to amplify the number of ideas generated through brainstorming.  Every good idea in a specific expression of a larger concept. Every concept holds potential for generating multiple ideas. Find the concept behind a good idea and you can generate a rash of alternative ideas and expand your realm of possibilities. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

My favorite book on the process of idea generation is Serious Creativity by Edward DeBono. One of the creative thinking devices invented by DeBono is the use of creative provocations. Debono invented the word “po” in 1968 to symbolize the process of engaging in a creative provocation. A provocation is a “forward use” statement. It is designed to propel your creative thinking forward towards further creative exploration. DeBono points out the words like hy(po)thesis, sup(po)se and (po)ssible all indicate this aspect of a present activity that prepares us for insights in the future.The word “suppose” and the phrase “what if” are mild provocations that nudge our creative thinking in the right direction. DoBono’s “Po” is intended to be more radical and disruptive to our normal ways of thinking. His provocations can involve things “we know to be impossible, contradictory, or logical nonsense.” A provocation knocks off our normal path of thinking, pushes us out of the rut, and leads us down new and unexplored paths.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

This podcast reviews MINDRAMP's analysis of the creative process. The goal of the VCAD Project is to equip you with the tools you need to create your own, virtual activities. As discussed in the podcast on “Your Creative Responsibilities,” we offer a few plug-and-play ideas but encourage you to invent your own activities. Use our guiding principles to stimulate your own creative thinking. Invent activities that make sense for your unique and singular circumstances.To help you with this process, the VCAD materials offer some guidance on how to cultivate your creative powers and deploy them towards the task of designing virtual activities.Creative people produce creative products by working their way through a creative process. The quickest way to ramp your creativity, therefore, is to learn to use an effective creative process. By using a clear step-by-step process, you can design and implement products that are more creative and innovative. In the process, you become a more creative person (even if you didn’t think of yourself as being creative.)MINDRAMP’s has analyzed the creative process and developed an outline of four major activities, with a total of nine stages, that are generally needed to produce novel ideas that are useful. We call it the Creative Cycle because the process frequently loops back on itself. The completion of one creative cycle leads naturally to the generation of a new creative cycle. Creativity becomes a self-propelling process. Creativity begets creativity. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

This podcast explores some of the important principles that make activities for older adults effective and engaging  What factors contribute to making activities with older adults engaging and fun?What kind of activities promote health and protect against dementia?  Roger Anunsen, co-founder of MINDRAMP, developed an activity approach called MemAerobics that was shown, in a randomized-controlled trial, to ramp up the cognitive function and mood of participants when compared to a control group. Even better, these activities were engaging and fun!  MemAerobics was the early foundation for the Cognitive Activity Design (CAD) college course and textbook developed by MINDRAMP.  The Virtual Cognitive Activity Design (VCAD) program is the next logical iteration of this appraoch. MINDRAMP’s VCAD Project explores how to deliver effective activities to older adults in remote locations. It uses the core CAD principles to deliver effective and engaging, cognitively stimulating, activities using virtual communication mechanisms. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

This podcast reviews how MINDRAMP'S CogWheels of Brain Health can be used to lower the risks and and amplify the protective factors for premature aging, cognitive decline and dementia.  Scientific evidence has indicated for some time that a “risk-management” approach is the most effective way to protect your brain from damage and decline. The approach simple, but effective; identify the factors that put your brain at risk and reduce your exposure to them. This wellness strategy should really be risk/protection management. The flip side of the strategy is to identify the factors that protect and strengthen your brain and increase your exposure to them. Each of the eight Cogwheels of Brain Health are behavioral areas that are known to have profound effects on the health of our brains, both negative and positive. The way you deal with each CogWheel can either put you at risk or can protect you. Take diet & nutrition, for example. Some food products are dangerous to your health and destructive to your brain. Other foods provide your brain with the vital nutrients it needs to stay healthy, grow and to function at optimal capacity. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.