Different Destinations Are Possible
A landscape of wonder
and conscious cognitive care
Whether facing a recent diagnosis or supporting someone through cognitive change, you've found the right place. Medical care provides essential safety and symptom management. We provide navigation tools for the human journey that medicine alone cannot address.
"After the diagnosis, the doctor just said 'come back in six months.' No resources, no plan—we were left to figure it out alone."
— Documented caregiver experience, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2011)
Practical doorways for every stage of the journey
Our visual navigation map links to six frontline guides — each a doorway for different aspects of the cognitive change journey. Together they form a complete Tier 1 toolkit, freely available. Whether you are facing a new diagnosis, navigating crisis, or seeking deeper exploration, you’ll find a guide designed to meet you where you are. Also designed for families, caregivers, and professionals.
Your Six Frontline Guides
Orientation and Framework
Begin here. The Four Permissions offer a compass for grief, resilience, navigation, and discovery — a systematic framework that honours both difficulty and possibility.
"Dementia care feels like navigating without a map—diagnostics outpace treatments."
— Physician survey, JAMA (2021)
Crisis and Fear Work
Fear is the greatest thief of possibility. This guide provides immediate tools for families in crisis, transforming fear into solid ground and renewed presence.
Long-term Expedition Guide
A step-by-step map for the journey: from crisis foundations to environmental audits, daily practices, and summit vision. The mountain is calling. The path goes through.
Cultural Critique and Redirection
Why families are told to wait for cures “just around the corner” — and how to step off the false bridge of empty promises toward approaches that actually work today.
5. The Ocean – Consciousness Beyond Cognition (Coming Soon)
Depth and Wonder
Explores the vast ocean beyond memory — mapping ways of being rooted in consciousness, presence, and interconnection when cognition shifts.
6. The Stars – Eternal Navigation (Coming Soon)
Wonder, Beauty, and Presence
When terrestrial maps fail, the stars remain. This guide explores navigating by wonder, beauty, connection, and presence — timeless lights that orient us through change.
"What would happen if caregiving strategies were inspired by wonder rather than memory?"
— Anne Basting, MacArthur Fellow, TimeSlips founder
Or, explore with our new visual navigation map.
Rest. Orient. Explore.
The
Ocean
A Deeper Exploration of Consciousness over Cognition
The Stars
Eternal navigation
when terrestrial
landmarks fade
Move your mouse and follow your curiosity
"The same diagnosis that produces tragedy in toxic environments enables growth in supportive ones."
—Dr. Simone de Bruin, Wageningen University Research (2017)
Alternative Entry Points
Immediate navigation tools for families facing overwhelming decisions.
Evidence-based framework that honours both challenge and possibility.
"You're not trapped—there are beautiful moments waiting."
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Systematic support including community connections, daily practices, and professional integration resources for the full journey ahead.
Different stories create different destinations.
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Discover the complete Accompaniment Series framework, research foundation, and revolutionary approach to cognitive change.
We provide what 14-minute diagnosis conversations cannot.
I spent seven years in medical research at Oxford University and The University of Toronto before becoming a writer, educator and storyteller. When my mother Betty was diagnosed with dementia, I discovered that cultural narratives cause as much suffering as the disease itself. Through seven years of conscious navigation & accompaniment, Betty flourished—proving different destinations are possible.
—Mark Jenkins
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Three Evidence Pillars
Research-Based
Nobel Prize neuroscience validates spatial memory resilience and present-moment enhancement during cognitive change.
Story-Proven
Betty's documented seven-year transformation provides concrete evidence that the same diagnosis can lead to entirely different outcomes.
Culturally-Validated
Indigenous songline wisdom and international environmental care models demonstrate alternatives to decline-focused approaches.
Wisdom from the Journey
"The perfect donut for the perfect moment," Betty announced as sun burst through clouds during our afternoon picnic.
At 86, living with advanced dementia, Betty experienced present-moment awareness most people seek through decades of meditation. Her creativity emerged at 84. Her capacity for wonder expanded. She found beauty everywhere.
This wasn't denial of difficulty. It was discovery within it.
Key Insights from Betty's Journey
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"The birds are singing the light into the world" - Wonder as daily medicine
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"It's not the pills keeping me alive, it's the kisses" - Relationship as essential care
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"I have Second Sight—I can see past and future in no particular order" - Enhanced capacities through change
We Acknowledge that...
Every day, 15,000 families receive a dementia diagnosis, that is one person every 3 seconds globally. 73% leave with medication and no additional guidance. Research acknowledges that major systematic gaps exist in post-diagnosis family support.
The difficulty is trying to use road maps to cross an ocean. The approaches that work for other conditions, like cancer with its treatment plans, don't exist for this territory.
What we provide at no cost...
The Four Permissions framework addresses what medical protocols cannot offer. This comprehensive toolkit provides healthcare providers and families with systematic resources for the human dimensions of cognitive change—completing medical care with navigation tools for meaning-making and identity preservation.
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Graphical Four Permissions website and complete navigation system
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Daily practices for each permission
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Crisis intervention protocols
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Cultural resistance tools
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Immediate and free
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Lions at Dawn - Betty and Mark's journey book
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The Four Permissions Complete Guide (24-page PDF)
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"The Squirrel Who Forgot" story
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An intergenerational dementia care adventure story for all ages
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Permission Circle formation guide
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Daily navigation practice guides
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Research documentation
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The complete Accompaniment Series trilogy (Lions at Dawn, The Sword & the Blessing, Beyond Time's Shores)
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Narrative Care framework and identity preservation tools
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Research convergence: neuroscience, environmental psychology, Indigenous wisdom
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CARA AI development and ethical technology principles
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Cultural transformation resources and movement architecture
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Creative extensions including Ray Adventure Series
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The Marvellous Journey AI-assisted narrative exploration
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Burning Platform analysis of urgency culture as cognitive toxin
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Oracle Guidance for navigating cultural resistance
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Visual storytelling with Pattern Pathways and Place Maps
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Knowledge base including white papers and teaching archives
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Intergenerational support tools including Ray Adventure Series
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Resources for healthcare providers and system leaders
The Lancet Commission on Dementia called for psychosocial interventions as first-line treatment alongside medical care. Yet most families leave diagnosis with little more than a prescription. This section equips healthcare providers and leaders with evidence-based tools that complete medical care by addressing the human dimensions of dementia — the spaces medicine alone cannot reach.
Completing Medical Care
Medical Partnership
Healthcare providers worldwide recognize families need systematic support for what medical professionals describe as “medicine’s map-less territory” — the emotional, relational, and environmental dimensions of cognitive change. The Four Permissions framework and related resources are designed to stand alongside medical care, offering families clear navigation tools where none existed before.
“Psychosocial interventions should be considered as first-line treatment for the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.”
— The Lancet Commission on Dementia (2020)
For Healthcare Providers...
When families ask 'What can we do beyond medication?' you now have an evidence-based answer. These resources complete your care by addressing the psychosocial dimensions that medical training doesn't cover, reducing family distress while improving satisfaction with your comprehensive support.
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Implementation guide for medical settings
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Evidence base and research validation
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Training and integration protocols
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Lancet Commission documentation
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International outcome studies
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Neuroscience research summaries
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Cultural validation examples
