This document discusses creativity, spirituality, and resilience in later life. It defines creativity as going beyond activities to the heart of what makes us human, involving transformation through imagination. Creativity allows us to fulfill our potential physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. While dementia can stifle creativity, it can also be supported. Engaging in creativity through reflection, sharing stories, and the arts can help connect with our story and promote transformation, wisdom, and resilience in late life. Studies show engaging in creativity, such as singing groups, can significantly reduce depression and improve health outcomes for older adults.

1. Creativity, spirituality and
resilience: the challenges
in later life
Rev Prof Elizabeth MacKinlay AM, RN,
FACN
Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies
School of Theology
Charles Sturt University
Canberra
www.centreforageing.org.au

2. What is creativity?
 Creativity is more than doing activities,
enjoyable as these may be.
 Creativity goes to the heart of what it is
to be human.
 Creativity includes transformation and
part of this is imagination
 It is the means of fulfilling human
destiny and human potential for being:
◦ physically,
◦ mentally,
◦ emotionally and spiritually

3. What are the possibilities and
boundaries to human creativity?
 Irish monks 8th and 9th centuries –
vocation to mystery and growth,
liberty and abandonment to God, in
self-commitment to the apparent
irrationality of the winds and the
seas, in witness to the wisdom of
God (Merton 1967)
 Dementia where cognitive vulnerability
exists:
creativity can be stifled or
supported

4. Creativity as doing?
In refuting the claims that creativity
must be assessed and evaluated as
abilities, Kastenbaum (1992) asked,
 "Why do we not see creativity as
multi-dimensional instead of limited
to achievement through abilities?
What are the meanings and
functions of creativity in the later
years?" (p. 291).

5. Developmental phases of mid to
later life
Re-evaluation
Liberation
Summing up
Encore
Cohen( 2006)

6. S P I R I TU A L I T Y-
Ultimate Meaning
Mediated through
Religion:
Worship
Prayer
reading of Scripture
meditation
Relationship:
intimacy with
others
and/or God
Creation/creativity:
nature, sea, mountains,
gardens,
work – human imagination
The arts:
music, poetry,
art, drama,
dance
Spirituality and Religion

7. Baby boomer ageing and wellbeing
1. congregation members
2. care providers (staff who are baby
boomers and provide care)
3. care recipients’ baby boomer adult
children (those who have parents
in care)

8. Baby boomer ageing and wellbeing
 survey was administered to 143
participants and
 follow up focus groups representative of
each of the three groups of baby
boomers
 Australian (92.81%)
 born in the UK and Europe (12.68%)
 Uniting Church (57.04%). Around 35%
reported other Christian affiliation
 Of adult children of care
recipients,17.39% reported no religious
affiliation.

9. Findings from the study
 Spirituality promotes mental and
physical health and lowers anxiety
about ageing
 Baby boomers are not necessarily
affiliated with religious organisations
but according to the results of the
survey have higher levels of
spirituality

10. Putting creativity into practice
Creativity is radical: it breaks the
bonds of stability and encourages us
to venture beyond the boundaries of
routine and practiced responses.
It is this dynamic interplay between
stability and change that creates an
everchanging synthesis of ideas that
we recognize as wisdom” Patterson &
Perlstein (2011 p35).

11. Ways towards transformation &
creative being – leading to
resilience
Engage human imagination in the process
releasing the best of relationships and the
arts to aid:
◦ Connecting with our story
◦ Sharing story with others –using the past
to inform the present and move towards
future
◦ Provide opportunities for reflection,
review, celebrations as well as confession
and forgiveness

12. Effects of engaging in creativity
 Significant reduction of depression levels
in the pastoral care groups: A within-
group analysis on the pastoral care
groups, comparing testing session 1 with
testing session 3 on the GDS showed
that this comparison is significant (p<.05)
 Levine School of Music singing group
that revealed “better health, fewer doctor
visits, and less medication usage, along
with more positive responses on the
mental health measures and a higher
level of social
engagements” (Cohen, 2008)

13. Conclusion
 What do we expect of our ageing? A
vital question for us all
 Are we for passive entertainment, or
vital engagement?
 Engaging in creativity is key to
resilience in later life
 Many of the choices that lie before us
are ours