getting older

[2netis]

I just saw this thread and was curious. Good question....my 2 cents....

 

What do I do about getting older - at well over 60 now? What is there to do about it? I am not interested in getting younger. As they say in Buddhist circles: " I am of the nature to die". I am interested in the quality of life as I age. Quality, not quantity. I do some Qigong to counter the pain of aging. Breath works incredibly well. But I'll miss my Qigong every time when necessary if it is a choice between meditation or Qigong. Besides, I can do breath work anytime - in the line at the supermarket. Additionally I asked a Qigong teacher to give me some outlines on conscious, intentional, aware walking from , say, the car to the supermarket.

 

In short, LIFE is what I do about getting older. Because I meditate, I understand without any hesitation at all that there is no difference between life and death - not any that counts anyway. I know what, not who, I am.

 

I look at someone like Stephen Hawking and also each MWF look at a dear friend whom I know @ 88 yrs and who I'm teaching computer skills, Skype, even simple Qigong over Skype. The difference it has made in her emotional life is just astounding - and it is all her own doing, nothing "I" have done at all. If I do nothing else till the day I die, this alone will be enough.

 

So I COULD think that age is an inconvenience. But I don't.

 

Best wishes.

 

Just another little thought...

 

As I get older, I recognize how much I have lived conceptually. I practice non conceptually living more and more as I age. It is what I do about growing old. It is THE timeless practice. The concepts become clearer, are more easily revealed, as I age.

 

Here is something from Bernie Glassman - Zen Master - who lives on the street with the homeless at times. He expresses what this means to me. If you know what a sesshin is, you will understand the comparison. He sees life as sesshin and I do agree - that is only what Zen ever teaches - the immediacy of life lived non-conceptually. Death is a concept. Eventually there is no difference between life, sesshin and death.

 

From Bernie: "Sesshin also brings us to the immediacy of life. But the street does it very, very dramatically. Issues of eating, peeing, defecating, every aspect of our life is raw and right there."

 

....or as Basho once said:

 

"fleas, lice

a horse pissing

near my pillow"

 

Sunsets will do just as well, or snowflakes, or a child's small warm hand in mine......and so on...

 

To me, this all is energy work.

Edited March 5, 2011 by 2netis

[Encephalon]

I once read "The 40s are the old age of youth. The 50s are the youth of old age."

This line became more than just a cute cliche for me when I turned 50 last Fall. A couple things started to change. For one, my testosterone level came down to the low normal range. Since it took my my wife and I 8 months of diligent baby-making before we got a Yahtzee! she had me check my swim team. It was around 78.5 million tadpoles per shot, and the fact that she's 9 weeks pregnant means that testicular conditions are sound.

 

I did take it upon myself to start a 10mg daily dose of DHEA, because I was definitely experiencing a depreciated sex drive. In less than two weeks I was once again waking up with an erection. But frankly, I've had plenty of sex in my life and if I were still single I would most likely choose to spend the next 40 years in either a Buddhist or Taoist hermitage. It's been a welcome relief to be released from the bondage of chronic sexual arousal, and I find myself resenting the fact that even my email pages are riddled with ads from American Apparel, even though my wife, who's 18 years my junior, still looks better than most of them!

 

Perhaps the most astute observation about aging I have had the benefit of hearing came from Taomeow when she told me that life imbalances (between the five elements)start taking a bigger toll when we move into old age. Financial success has always been my own "final frontier;" give me a place in the woods, a guitar and a few books and I'll be happy. But now, as a newly married man with a kid on the way, there's an obvious incentive to focus on my bu$ine$$ end of things. I'm really lucky because my broader family has a nice cushion to ride out the end of consumer culture, but I really worry for a lot of my friends who have nothing to fall back on.

 

I am deeply indebted to my Nei Kung practice. In spite of my recent shoulder joint replacement surgery, my Nei Kung has reduced my stress to the lowest level I can remember having, even lower than those years when I lived in the Colorado High Country and was running 30-40 miles a week. I haven't been sick in years and generally feel about 35 year old, but without that annoying desire to have sex with every woman I meet (except Mila Kunis). But if memory serves, I think it was Dan Reid who wrote that the initial reason the ancient Chinese pursued longevity practices was not to simply extend life for its own sake but to live long enough to get their spiritual house in order, because by the time people hit middle age, putting their conscience at ease becomes a priority. God knows I've got a few things to atone for before I check out.

[Maddie]

I once read "The 40s are the old age of youth. The 50s are the youth of old age."

This line became more than just a cute cliche for me when I turned 50 last Fall. A couple things started to change. For one, my testosterone level came down to the low normal range. Since it took my my wife and I 8 months of diligent baby-making before we got a Yahtzee! she had me check my swim team. It was around 78.5 million tadpoles per shot, and the fact that she's 9 weeks pregnant means that testicular conditions are sound.

 

I did take it upon myself to start a 10mg daily dose of DHEA, because I was definitely experiencing a depreciated sex drive. In less than two weeks I was once again waking up with an erection. But frankly, I've had plenty of sex in my life and if I were still single I would most likely choose to spend the next 40 years in either a Buddhist or Taoist hermitage. It's been a welcome relief to be released from the bondage of chronic sexual arousal, and I find myself resenting the fact that even my email pages are riddled with ads from American Apparel, even though my wife, who's 18 years my junior, still looks better than most of them!

 

Perhaps the most astute observation about aging I have had the benefit of hearing came from Taomeow when she told me that life imbalances (between the five elements)start taking a bigger toll when we move into old age. Financial success has always been my own "final frontier;" give me a place in the woods, a guitar and a few books and I'll be happy. But now, as a newly married man with a kid on the way, there's an obvious incentive to focus on my bu$ine$$ end of things. I'm really lucky because my broader family has a nice cushion to ride out the end of consumer culture, but I really worry for a lot of my friends who have nothing to fall back on.

 

I am deeply indebted to my Nei Kung practice. In spite of my recent shoulder joint replacement surgery, my Nei Kung has reduced my stress to the lowest level I can remember having, even lower than those years when I lived in the Colorado High Country and was running 30-40 miles a week. I haven't been sick in years and generally feel about 35 year old, but without that annoying desire to have sex with every woman I meet (except Mila Kunis). But if memory serves, I think it was Dan Reid who wrote that the initial reason the ancient Chinese pursued longevity practices was not to simply extend life for its own sake but to live long enough to get their spiritual house in order, because by the time people hit middle age, putting their conscience at ease becomes a priority. God knows I've got a few things to atone for before I check out.

 

Hey Blasto, as a man in my mid 30's I'd have to say that I found your experience and perspective on things very interesting, insightful, and humorus as well :-)

[Encephalon]

Hey Blasto, as a man in my mid 30's I'd have to say that I found your experience and perspective on things very interesting, insightful, and humorus as well :-)

 

Thanks, man. You've made some good points in here as well.

My only experience with San Antonio was Lackland AFB in the summer of '78. Boot camp in that heat almost killed me.

[henro]

Hey Blasto, as a man in my mid 30's I'd have to say that I found your experience and perspective on things very interesting, insightful, and humorus as well :-)

 

And as I turn 41 next week, I also appreciate the perspective.

[exorcist_1699]

Well, just to lighten things up a little,

 

If you are not getting older you are already dead.

 

Why hold such a mechanical view on life ?

 

Just similar to having introduced light as a medium/ means of measurement into the study of our physical world, we are forced to change our views on velocity, mass and energy ..

 

Here, after our having brought in qi , our having gained the ability of initializing it , in which god-like ( shen) character also innate , we are bestowed a potential of restructuring our biological existence , i.e. the relation between the young and aged , withered and regenerated , alive and dead are no longer something so fixed as before, no longer something so unsurpassable as people thought...

Edited March 5, 2011 by exorcist_1699

[Marblehead]

Why hold such a mechanical view on life ?

 

Hehehe. Well, I got someone's attention.

 

No, we don't have to 'act old' just because we have a number of years behind us. We can still let the child out to play.

 

And sure, we can practice staying healthy so that we have the potential to live longer.

 

But yes, I do take a mechanical view of the subject. This is one of the many processes of the universe. Things that are born (in whatever manner) grow, mature, get old, and die. We cannot escape these natural processes.

 

But to get old mentally and spiritually is not a requirement. To become feeble before our time is not a requirement either.

 

And BTW, only the lucky ones of us get old. Many die way before their potential is fulfilled.

 

Those of us who are rather aged must keep in mind that we are older now than when we were at our physical prime. There are some things we just cannot do anymore or if we can it takes a lot longer to do them. Keeping everything relative, I guess.

[宁]

Why hold such a mechanical view on life ?

 

Just similar to having introduced light as a medium/ means of measurement into the study of our physical world, we are forced to change our views on velocity, mass and energy ..

 

Here, after our having brought in qi , our having gained the ability of initializing it , in which god-like ( shen) character also innate , we are bestowed a potential of restructuring our biological existence , i.e. the relation between the young and aged , withered and regenerated , alive and dead are no longer something so fixed as before, no longer something so unsurpassable as people thought...

 

I'm not sure how to put this, Exorcist, you have given me quite a couple of wonderful insights over the years. However I still take allegations like the ones in your post above with a serious spoon of salt. You are still elusive regarding your own training and won't back up your views with experiences that you had or witnessed. I am sorry my friend, your efforts however appreciated, are not personalized enough to make a difference in this vast arena of air-heads (myself included )

I still hope you should change your mind someday, and [really] share.

Edited March 5, 2011 by Little1

[exorcist_1699]

Hi, Marblehead and Little1,

 

Thank you guys' responses.

 

I am just one of the participants on this forum, I do not view myself especially different from others.

[Marblehead]

Hi, Marblehead and Little1,

 

Thank you guys' responses.

 

I am just one of the participants on this forum, I do not view myself especially different from others.

 

And I thank you for participating. Sure, we sometimes differ in opinion. No big deal. I think the only question we need ask of ourself is "Does what I am saying have the potential of helping someone else?"

 

You keep up your good work, Okay?

[exorcist_1699]

And I thank you for participating. Sure, we sometimes differ in opinion. No big deal. I think the only question we need ask of ourself is "Does what I am saying have the potential of helping someone else?"

 

You keep up your good work, Okay?

 

 

I will , no worry

[sirius]

death is the final point of my existence.

 

so i have to prepare myself for the process of dying. this will be a part of my practice in the near future. i will use the tibetan book of the dead for this purpose. i don`t know any taoist texts or practices concerning "the art of dying". are there any?

[Marblehead]

i don`t know any taoist texts or practices concerning "the art of dying". are there any?

 

I am sure that there would be in Religious Taoism but in Philosophical Taoism there are only a few vague references to death by Chuang Tzu that I doubt would be of much help (even though they are good enough for me).

[ShaktiMama]

i don`t know anything about the average age of the average tao bum. what i know is that i`m almost 54 years old. and during the last weeks of winter i thought a lot about getting older. i felt very much the need for more yang energy - so i did more yang exercises. how do you cope with getting older? how does it influence your daily practice? - my main practice is zanh zhuang chi kung and longevity breathing. i`m very curious about your experiences.

 

Hi sirius,

 

I don't have time to read all the responses so I am just sharing based on your post above.

 

I know what you mean. As I get older the Yin nature gets very strong. As an older woman I crave Yang for balance. Men as they grew older get more Yin. It makes for interesting relationships.

 

I worked with Dr. Glenn Morris the grandmaster of Hoshin and KAP, before he passed at the age of 63. His last wife was about 24 when he died. Relative to each other she was much more yang than he was. I was more yang than he was he also felt. He said he always felt energized after spending time traveling with me.

 

It is an individual choice here but young women are more yang in comparison to older men which might account for some of the attraction between the two. This is the same for older women and younger men. Dual cultivation can be fun and can be done in a non-sexual way if that is more advantageous to you.

 

If this is not attractive to you I would suggest you spend time around young men and women where they are very active. What you have to offer is that you are an elder with an elder's wisdom of a life lived. The good ones will crave that from you for balance.

 

You have a lot to offer. Dr. Morris used to tell his students, "Take once, Give back twice."

 

It is something to be discerning about. Dr. Morris used to ask me to take him home early when he was around really yang males for awhile for it exhausted him. It is all about balance and what works best for you.

 

My recommendation besides all the health, good nutrition, meditation and physical stuff that should be common sense is this: Look now at cultivating yourself as an elder and leaving a legacy.

 

namaste,

Susan

[ShaktiMama]

death is the final point of my existence.

 

so i have to prepare myself for the process of dying. this will be a part of my practice in the near future. i will use the tibetan book of the dead for this purpose. i don`t know any taoist texts or practices concerning "the art of dying". are there any?

 

Try this:

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: A New Spiritual Classic from One of the Foremost Interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West

 

http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Book-Living-Dying-Interpreters/dp/0062507931

 

It's very readable and written with Westerners in mind. It's on my shelf and itsa keeper.

 

s

[sirius]

hi all you tao bums, hi marblehead and shaktimama!

 

thank you all for your replies, your thoughts and your advice!

 

a special thanks to you shakti mama! you wrote down very clear some things that i just try to find out for myself - but until now i could only see some details, not the whole picture. your words are very encouraging. thank you! - yes, i have something to share - which i do at my place of work, im my family (hopefully) and maybe in the near future as a chi kung trainer. thank you for mentioning this edition of the tibetan book of the dead!

 

blessed be!

 

sirius