Social Science   

We all have habits we want to change, but which persist despite our intentions. Changing habits seems to require a lot of effort, and most of us have few tools to help us succeed. In this project-based group, we’ll explore the science of habit formation. For four weeks, we’ll explore techniques based on current professional guidance. We’ll launch individual experiments using the methods of participant-observation research. As we set this in motion, we’ll go deeper, to add practices suggested by an exciting new theory of habit change. We’ll then go our separate ways for a few weeks, coming together for a fifth meeting where we will discuss our observations, outline preliminary findings, and reflect on the power of peer support on habit and learning.

Kate LaBore is a cultural anthropologist, educator and life-long learner. Her current passion is promoting mental and emotional wellness among those coping with caregiving, health and mobility challenges, loneliness and isolation and other challenges. She has been practicing self-directed neuroplasticity (meditation) for nearly 50 years.

Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully is the subtitle of the book we’ll read and discuss, THE FIVE INVITATIONS. Author Frank Ostaseski is co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project and a leading voice in end-of-life-care. Bill Moyers, Oprah, and the Dalai Lama have featured and honored his work. This book “sheds light on the preciousness of every moment and reminds us that the best preparation for death is forging an authentic and meaningful life, free of regret.” I moved to Ann Arbor (right before the pandemic) to help out during the final years of a family member’s terminal condition. Experiencing in-home hospice for several years was an inspirational blessing for all involved.

Kate Zoeger was a Bilingual Spanish public school teacher in Los Angeles for grades K-3, a Middle School English and Drama teacher, and finally a Traveling Elementary Theatre Teacher for LAUSD's Arts Education Branch.

If we were honest, we would acknowledge the fear of cognitive decline weighs heavy on our minds as we grow older. The Alzheimer Research and Prevention foundation - ARPF -founded in 1993, is dedicated to the prevention of Alzheimer through lifestyle changes and educated choices. This approach to keeping our cognition strong combines the best of conventional western research along with the time tested wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda. Join me as we discuss the 4 Pillars of Alzheimer Prevention -

1) Diet and supplements
2) Stress management
3) Exercise - physical and mental
4) Psychological and social well being

You can find improvement at any age! Learn what changes can you make now to keep your cognition strong.

Laurie Dean been practicing and teaching Yoga for over 25 years and am a certified Ayurveda Practitioner with well over 3000 hours of study in both sciences. A lifelong learner, Laurie is passionate about sharing the wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda to help people live fully and live well!

Everyone has fears. This class will explore why we all have them and how to reduce their negative impact on our lives.

Dr. Jerry Miller is an emeritus faculty member in the UM Department of Psychology where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses for over four decades. He has lectured widely as part of his desire to share empirical insights from psychology with a wide range of adults.

We will read and discuss Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There, by Tali Sharot and Cass Sunstein. Even passionate relationships, stimulating jobs, and breathtaking works of art lose their sparkle after a while. As easy as it is to stop noticing what is most wonderful in our lives, it’s also possible to stop noticing what is bad. People get used to dirty air. They become unconcerned by their own misconduct, blind to inequality, and are more liable to believe misinformation than ever before. The book investigates why we stop noticing both the great and not-so-great things around us. According to the authors, the brain acclimates to negative and positive stimuli to prioritize what is new and different and to filter out what is old and familiar. Some of that sensitivity can be restored by temporarily changing the environment, the rules, people with whom you interact and taking small breaks in your routines. A number of examples are given.

Gerry Lapidus has conducted OLLI book discussions for many years. The classes are informal and conversational.

This study group will offer a chance to talk over some of the "funner" ideas about language and social change from Anne Curzan's nifty new book. Unlike some of my previous study groups, this one will entail more discussion in small groups focused on key chapters in Says Who and supplemental readings. Topics will include all things pronouns (“singular they”), “ain’t” and other nonstandard forms, the apostrophe and other marks of punctuation, and gender issues. All, as Curzan shows, are tied to the way language reflects what is going on in our society; we will consider the linguistic implications of current trends. I will ask Anne to visit during one session if possible. Join and bring your friends!

Alice Horning is retired from the Oakland University faculty in 2016 (in Writing & Rhetoric and Linguistics) and has been teaching for OLLI since 2020.

The thoughts of death and dying are difficult topics for most individuals. The older one gets, the more thoughts of the subject engage our minds, and, because of the difficult nature of the topic, most individuals do not prepare for what can occur for ourselves and our loved ones. There is information available to prepare ourselves and others as we deal with the inevitable outcome of the end of our lives. This offering will have 3 sessions. 1) Legal preparation required to manage your end-of-life needs. 2) Health care services provided through the entitlements of Medicare and Medicaid and how these services interact with your health care needs both while we age and at the end-of-life. 3) The physical, emotional, and psychosocial effects on individuals as they die.

Joan Gumbel recently retired from full time work as a Health Care Administrator. She has been a Registered Nurse for 49 years and for the last 30 years, has worked in Hospice and End of Life services. She has experience in both administration and direct care clinical services in Hospice and Palliative Care.

Have lunch with Laurie - enjoy a simple Ayurvedically inspired cooking class! Who doesn’t love a good soup? Easy and satisfying to make, and so perfect for this time of year! Join Laurie as she walks us through preparing a simple soup, using immune and digestive boosting spices, which are integral to Ayurvedic cooking. Using the basics, you can adapt any recipe you make at home for your preferences. Learn more about Ayurvedic wisdom, the health benefit of spices, the why of seasonal choices and how to keep your digestion working well. We will share the soup when finished and have time for Q and A. Individual food preferences will not be able to be accommodated for this class - soup will be GF - will include a small amount of dairy.

Laurie Dean been practicing and teaching Yoga for over 25 years and am a certified Ayurveda Practitioner with well over 3000 hours of study in both sciences. A lifelong learner, Laurie is passionate about sharing the wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda to help people live fully and live well!