Aging: The Master Teacher

Ten Characteristics That Predict Unsuccessful Aging: Part 1 of 2

May 23 2017

Dr. George Valliant devoted his entire professional life to studying the developmental progression of Harvard graduates.  This study, known as the Grant Study, is perhaps one of the most comprehensive, longitudinal overviews of human development.  Valliant’s findings of how these graduates aged offer us deeper understanding of what it means to be ageless.  Valliant identified ten factors of unsuccessful aging which can paradoxically give us a keener insight into living Ageless in the Lord.  In this writing I’ll discuss the first five; next time we will look at factors six through ten.  1.  Tendency to blame others  Persons who blame...

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Agelessness and Dementia

May 10 2017

We see a new picture of dementia when we look through the eyes of Agelessness.  We know the physiology of dementia, how brain cells begin to over produce protein that eventually coagulate into plaques that in turn block neuronal pathways that gradually cause “mental decline”.  We know the process but perhaps not the mystery of dementia.The last spiritual developmental task of life is called “creative completion”.  Here as the end of life approaches we prepare more vigorously than before, for what comes next in our spiritual cosmic journey.  This preparation necessarily requires surrender, a giving up and letting go of...

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Ageless in the Lord and Self-Love

May 02 2017

Ageless in the Lord: A condition of the soul that emerges in one’s illuminations years (65 and up) as one’s advancing relationship with God becomes the primary life motivation and goal. A healthy self-love is an essential ingredient for the emergence of the life condition of agelessness.  In their book Christian Adulthood, authors Whitehead and Whitehead use the term self-intimacy to describe one’s ever evolving and deepening knowledge about and acceptance of self.  As I reflect on my life it becomes clearer to me that my life has been an ongoing challenge to change.  I change physically, psychologically and spiritually....

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A Deeper Meaning of “Live Ageless… in the Lord”

Apr 26 2017

Living Ageless in the Lord has little to do with longevity, or denying birthdays; rather it means an ongoing and continuous growth toward God. Essentially living ageless in the Lord means a deepening spirituality that correspondingly minimizes our worldliness and moves us toward The Divine.  Living Ageless in the Lord inevitably leads us on a road toward transcendence and ultimately  to surrender of self.  As I read Wilfrid Stinissen (Into Your Hands Father)  I enter into a new dimension of Living Ageless in the Lord.  In my last two blogs I talked about the first two steps in Stinissen’s trilogy...

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Our Purpose: Living Ageless in the Lord

Apr 18 2017

My Lenten journey with Wilfrid Stinissen in his book Into Your Hands Father, informed me about  agelessness as much as it did about self-abandonment, the main thrust of the book.   Stinissen talks about an aspect of God’s Will that gives us something to do… “putting one’s hand to the plow, being God’s obedient servant.”  These words speak to me of my purpose in life.  It strikes me that purpose is a major supporting column of agelessness.  Agelessness is not measured in years, it is better measured by my spiritual vitality.  Personal purpose supports both spiritual vitality and spiritual maturity.  I...

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How Do I Become Ageless

Apr 11 2017

I’ve asked myself this question many, many times and what comes to me first is that becoming ageless requires a “good attitude”.  So what is a good attitude??  An attitude is simply two or more beliefs strung together.  I have attitudes about lots of things:  money, the Church, government, vocation, God… the list is almost endless.  My beliefs are the fundamental assumptions I bring to the table of my life;  they are the guiding principles of my life, and they are the underlying convictions I use as the framework of my life.  So what are my beliefs about aging?  Is...

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