lotusinthemud

elderhood: a buddhist approach to aging well

An interesting article by Lewis Richmond:

This March I turned 64 -- one year away from Medicare, two years away from Social Security. So there it is: I'm a baby boomer, a Buddhist, and one individual face to face with his own aging. But I'm not alone. Each day and every day for the next twenty years, 10,000 boomers will turn 65. This is a fact with enormous implications for our politics, our society -- and, I believe, our spiritual life.

Forty years ago, when my Buddhist teacher Shunryu Suzuki was in his mid-sixties and the students around him were mostly in their 20s and 30s, someone asked him, "Why do we meditate?" He replied, "So you can enjoy your old age." We all laughed and thought he was joking. Now that I am the age he was then, I realize he wasn't joking at all. Some aspects of growing old can be hard to enjoy, and a spiritual practice can definitely help. This isn't just theory; the Handbook of Religion and Health by Koenig et al. presents research showing that people who have a regular religious attendance or practice live, on average, 7 years longer than those who do not. That research result is even more significant when we remember that for the first time in human history, people will be living in relative good health into their 70s, 80s, and even 90s. What are we all going to do with that extra gift of time?

twelve steps to personal growth

From our Silver Sangha friend:

1. This is your life right here, right now. There is nowhere else to go.



2. Our exposure to life brings neither good luck, nor bad luck, just the presentation of experience.



3. What we make of ourselves in life depends largely on how we respond and work with that experience.



4. If we do not deal appropriately with what is presented to us, then it will return to seek further attention.



5. When we deal, in an appropriate way, with what is presented to us then we can move forward.



6. Experience will always be there for us to use as a learning tool.



7. The presentation of experience is endless because it is life itself.



8. All the answers that we seek are buried within us.



9. Create space in your life for solitude and stillness, then just listen quietly and trust in the inner process.



10. We are all unique - work out your own path.



11. Do not allow fear to influence the work you have to undertake - fear is only a projection, not a reality.



12. There is no end to personal growth and what you can achieve in life - sincerely believe in this...

START NOW.

Michael Lewin ::link