From International Viewpoints (IVy) Issue 20 - January 1995
See Home Page at http://www.ivymag.org/
Why Grow Old?
By Leonard Dunn, England
'THOSE WHOM THE GODS LOVE die young'. So wrote the Greek poet
Menander who lived around 300 BC. I used to think that this meant
that one left one's body at an early age but as I grew older I came
to understand that one can still be young regardless of the physical
age simply because one is not one's body. This fact should be obvious
to readers of IVy.
Fellow contributor, Mark Jones, sent me a transcript of a channelled
seminar on the subject of longevity from the spiritual being known
as Lazaris. He said that one can stretch one's life span well beyond
one's expectations by doing things which I realised I had been
doing for years. This caused me to look at the fact that I am young
and healthy at the age of nearly 81. He points out that there is a
lot more to life than just remaining in one's body.
Breadth and Depth of Living
Longevity is not merely being in or near a body but living life to
the full and doing the things that one wants to do and so experiencing
happiness whilst taking full responsibility for all of one's
creations.
One should really enjoy life and from my point of view this means
putting more into life than one takes from it. That which you expect,
will be what you are creating, from the very fact of doing so. This
applies to all things including how you look at the idea of death,
the age at which you expect to leave your physical body for the last
time, thinking of your own death in relationship to the ages at which
other members of your family have passed on, and the question of
whether
or not you have a fear of dying. All these things are thought
creations.
My wife had long said to me that she wouldn't live beyond the age
of 70. This was what Lazaris calls her death script. She had her 70th
birthday and jokingly said that she would have to change this date
to 80, but before she reached her 71st birthday she had a coronary
attack and relinquished her body. This was quite sudden and unexpected
as there had only been a mild heart condition up to that time. My
father had the same but lived to be 92.
A friend of mine told me that he is planning to live to 110. With
this death script he may very well do so since there is no reason
why one cannot if one obeys certain rules of living, which one
should do anyway since they are the rules of the Game of Life.
My own attitude has been that I am quite happy to stay with my body
for as long as it is healthy and enables me to do the things that
are meaningful to me. When it ceases to do this, then I'll be willing
to take over another body as I feel that it is easier to help one's
fellows whilst in a body rather than having to communicate with them
through the medium of a channel, or trance mediumship as it used to
be called.
Many relish the idea of having a young body but I enjoy life far more
at my age than ever I did when I was young. If one lives life to the
full then there is a richness of experience that is seldom present
in the young unless they have brought over a lot of knowingness from
a past life as is the case with the 10 year old daughter of a
friend of mine. If one lives life to the full then there is a wealth
of experience that one can pass on to those who desire to benefit
from it.
The Breath of Life
All manner of groups associated with spiritual well-being advocate
the use of deep and rhythmic breathing. This brings about a relaxed
feeling and reduces any sort of tension. Quite a number of slightly
differing ways are put forward but the one that I have known for many
years now is to take in as deep a breath as one can, mentally counting
whilst doing so. Hold the breath for half the time of that count and
then release it slowly to the same count as the intake of breath.
This is something that is usually advocated before any sort of
meditation - and this can take many forms.
Food And Drink
When I came into Spiritualism the guide who manifested through the
medium advocated the drinking of plenty of water to cleanse the body.
Lazaris does the same. Other drinks do not have the same effect. This
was no problem to me as water had always been my major drink and still
is as I took a dislike to tea at a very early age and do not like
hot drinks in any case. Contrary to some beliefs, I consider that
alcohol taken in strict moderation can be very beneficial to me and
I make and enjoy my own wines from flowers and fruits. I enjoy a glass
each night at dinner. This suits me but it may not suit all others.
Lazaris also advocates sitting in the sun, preferably nude, in early
morning or in the evening when the sun is not too hot. I have enjoyed
sunbathing for many, many years, ever since I was a teenager in
fact. As with all things this should be done in moderation and then
there are no unpleasant after effects. I learnt this from getting
badly sunburnt at times when I was young but suffered no actual damage
by it and have never had any sign of skin cancer. For those who are
fair-haired and have fair complexions he advocates the use of beta
carotine. The thing to do is to operate on a gradient scale, starting
with being in the sun for quite a short time and then working up to
whatever level one desires.
He advocates the establishment of your own dietary routine and this
means one that seems right to you. He does not insist, like some,
that one should be a vegetarian or vegan but that one should try out
various modes of food for periods of 21 days until finding the
one that you feel to be yours and then sticking to that. This is all
a matter of personal taste and need. I now have muesli each morning
for breakfast after years of having fried breakfasts as I had a free
sample of it once, liked it and now much prefer it. I have long had
salad at lunchtime, again because I like it. For dinner I have
just whatever I fancy so that I have plenty of variety.
Sleep and Exercise
In regard to sleep one should see just what works for oneself and
as far as possible, keep to a routine. As my body has grown older
I have found that I need less sleep at night but have a rest, sleeping
or not, after lunch. I find it better to get to bed at around the
same time each night and tend to sleep up to about six hours normally.
I like to be in bed at about eleven and to get up soon after I wake
since this suits me and I am at my best in the morning. This does
not apply to everyone as some are much more active at night than they
are in the early part of the day. Follow your individual needs as
far as possible. A relaxed state of mind tends to be preferable to
long periods of sleep - sleeping too long can be an escape from
the realities of life.
The body needs exercise and Lazaris advocates that this should be
gentle walking rather than running and also advocates the daily
practice
of Tai Chi. This again is a matter of personal choice as some are
more athletic than others. When I was young I had some heart trouble
so that heavy exercise was denied me but I could do walking and still
do. This however is more than just physical exercise because I love
to walk in the lovely country side of this beautiful Island(1)
or along the cliffs above the sea. Looking at
all the beauties of nature and fully appreciating them does a world
of good. You should do this with the intention of increasing your
life span, says Lazaris, but just doing it for the sheer joy of doing
so really amounts to the same thing. Too many people are enslaved
by their cars and barely walk at all. This is not conducive to
longevity ... nor for real health!
Illness
If one is suffering from any kind of illness then one should set about
curing it. All troubles can be cured says Lazaris and this is largely
true, depending on one's use of the power of thought. LRH said that
the body is a self-healing mechanism and will heal itself, given time,
if there is no interference in this process by the thetan. He also
said that one should keep in communication with the Genetic Entity
since that is in charge of the body's functions and will respond when
approached in the right way. He said to command it, regarding it as
being a very low grade thetan. This I do not agree with as it is a
spiritual being on a different line of evolution from our own. In
Sanskrit, this line is called the Devas. I found that it responded
well to good communication. I use the past tense because the GE and
its helpers departed when I was doing NOTs. I then discovered that
there are other spiritual beings that are in charge of various groups
of cells. These are equally co-operative but don't forget that there
is a psychosomatic side to all physical troubles and this needs to
be cleared up since this is where the thetan stops the body from
healing
itself. If something goes wrong with my body, and it does from time
to time, then I look to see why this should happen. Finding this and
correcting it enables the body to perform as it should.
Work
Lazaris says that one should keep on working and not retire. I can
understand how this applies to the business man who has no interests
other than his career. If such a one retires he often soon dies of
sheer boredom. For myself, retirement has taken me into the happiest
period of my life. I am doing things all the time but these are
things of my own choice. I retired soon after completing my 40 years
of pensionable service because I wanted to do more in the way of
carvings
and paintings. This isn't work but play at a very satisfying level.
Since then I have taken up more creative interests such as writing
these articles.
As a matter of interest, all these creative activities are linked
with my desire to be of service to others. LRH said that a being is
as valuable as he can serve others and I have found this very true.
It is also why I want to keep this body going for as long as possible
since there is still so much that I want to do.
I haven't seen a doctor in years whereas I was often having physical
troubles when I was working in the Library Service. I have a visit
from a nurse once a year to check on my blood pressure and so forth.
Now I enjoy really good health and although the body has slowed down
a bit and I don't walk quite as fast as I used to, I can still walk
ten or more miles at my own speed, taking rests when I wish to.
I don't know how many years I have left with this body but I am fully
determined to make the best use of them that I can and when the end
comes I know that I shall die young. There is really no need to
grow old and life is so much better when one is young in spirit. This
doesn't just happen, you create it!
(1)The Isle of Wight. Ed.