The Know & How of a Blissful 3rd Age
We wish our parents and others dear to us that they may grow old, be well and live in peace. As we observe the process of growing old in the elderly close to us, we ourselves become increasingly aware that we’ll need to take action. When we grow old, we want to reduce our burden on our caretakers to an absolute minimum; we want to be happy and independent till our very last day.
The mission of the Mendel Foundation is to make the large amount of existing information and opportunities available in such a practical and applicable way that it allows you to truly accomplish those desires. Too many elderly live their last years, months and days in pain, confusion and depression, undergoing many different treatments and often even hospitalization. We at the Mendel Foundation know that you can do better. You may need a gradual modification of your attitude towards your own 3rd age: it starts and ends with yourself – as of right now.
The Mendel Foundation provides the information and instructions: ‘the Know & How’ – e.g., the practical knowledge and tools – to attain the best possible old age in the best possible health, in the broadest meaning of the word. And at such a high level that others will ask themselves: how did they do that? You’ll want to make sure that you and your dearest wish they would get the same.
The Mendel Foundation is a Not-for-Profit foundation: we make everything we do, develop and publish, freely available. In Dutch, English and Spanish.
Original eBook: Health, Perfectly Achievable
The first Manifesto of 910.MX (electronic document)
For You
One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Mendel Foundation is our complete openness. Everything the Mendel Foundation develops, publishes of systematically uses, is completely available for free on our website. In Dutch, Spanish and English.
There is just one, absolute, condition: we need you to mention us as the source of anything you use from our website: just keeping the small logo and text in the footnote is enough to fulfill this condition.
For Interested People
Didn’t you find what you would like to know?
Supplements, amendments, suggestions?
Let us know!
Videos
Sometimes seeing and hearing is faster and clearer…
Professionals
Not only practical, usable information; Also clarity about our system and ambitions. The more we hear back from you, the better for everyone!
Why
We want to do all we possibly can to prevent the 3rd age from being miserable: we can (and should) do so much better in our care for our elderly. The existing system gets in action only when things go wrong, and if we do something, we tend to be as conservative as possible; the usual actions are more adjusted to the available resources than to the needs of the individual.
With some vigor and no angst for regulations, we can -fairly easily- do so much better!
Seven Blissful extra Years
The American Association for Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), among others, has shown that with some twelve sets of attainable measures, an extension of the human lifespan of at least 29 years of good quality lies in the future. In the present situation in the Netherlands, we should be able to accomplish right now at least around seven of those extra years.
However, we think that the quality of the ultimate years in your third age is much more important than the amount of extra years per se: life during those years ought to be splendid!
Bliss!
Bliss is just as hard to explain as it is easy to illustrate, in photos and in metaphors:
Bliss is a conscious emotion
Bliss is a conscious emotion, a certain awe, an utmost contentment; feeling safe, that everything came out right; mostly silent, often with a sensation of warmth and certainly also a certain spirituality or even sensuality, especially when in good company. For instance, admiring an exceptional landscape, or right after splendid lovemaking.
“a Blissful 3rd Age”
With a “Blissful 3rd Age” we wish you this sensation as the overriding emotion during that entire period of your life; and we wish you to be in good health (in the broadest possible meaning of that word), enjoy the fruits and accomplishments of your working life – up to and including your very last moments; meaningful to, and surrounded by loved ones; who will, eventually, sigh: “couldn’t have been any better”…
Why Mendel
Here’s some historical perspective: Johanna and Mendel Hagedoorn were the late parents of the founder. The history of their last years is of paramount importance to the whole of the Mendel initiative.
Highly trained (academic) Dutch Citizens of the World; they were brilliantly prepared for a fantastical 3rd age, on a self-selected and self-built dream location on La Palma, one of the most lush of the Canary Islands. But when Johanna started showing early signs of dementia, the couple hastily decided to return to Zeist, Holland, where they bought themselves an expensive place in a care-community where “any circumstances could be dealt with”. However, this turned out to be a place which stranded the Mendel’s depressed stubbornness and Johanna’s slowly progressing dementia . She spent the last ten years of her life in the family home of the founder and eventually in a nursing home, after Mendel, in his despair, took his own life.
Had they had the knowledge and the support we envision from the Mendel Foundation (and indeed of the whole Mendel-consentus initiative), then this whole history would have turned out completely different, so much better.
Know & How:
Everything that is developed by or with the Mendel Foundation (from information to strategies, protocols, courses and symposia), is available on our website, completely for free – we only ask that you mention our website as the source. With this free-for-all we hope to entice you to collaborate and share in our endeavors.
Unlimited research
To inform and motivate in the best possible ways. Strategic thinking and actions. Good intentions; we can only make this a reality with good research, support and selection:
- Which information is reliable?
- How can we best measure and express quality, such as in results and personal satisfaction?
- Which institutions and individual professionals have the best results and most satisfied “customers”?
- What are the relevant new developments “on the horizon”, those that will improve our chances dramatically?
Mission & Vision
The current possibilities to attain a “blissful 3rd age”, not only in the Netherland but in so many different countries, still happen to be truly limited. We at the Mendel Foundation are convinced that this could be improved dramatically and fairly easily: continuous good health from early on, with good preventive examinations and counseling, and improving insights and habits. We’ll offer adequate counseling and excellent support and training if needed
Best Practice
For us, this means “be better that anyone else”. Then again, if others will learn or even copy from us, that would be splendid. We’ll gladly provide all we know to anyone. One can only do this if one is prepared, both as a professional and as an organization, to be completely open and transparent; to adapt and improve constantly, and to measure and show your results in a way that is comparable to others.
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Mendel Consentus
One of the key parts of the Mendel Concentus.
The Mendel Foundation is like the Mother Superior whom, with wisdom, honor and conscience (and some lightheartedness, for sure), provides the basis and maintains the quality of all Mendel organizations. All the Mendel organizations are just as explicitly independent as they are mutually supplementary.
Not-For-Profit
The Mendel Foundation is a Not-for-Profit organization. In Holland, a Not-for-Profit must, morally and certainly also for federal tax purposes, fulfill certain strict conditions.
