The Power of Positive Aging. David Lereah
home, or carrying it in your pocket. Here are five crystals associated with facilitating a spiritual journey:
Clear Quartz. Quartz is one of the most basic crystals to begin your spiritual journey with. Quartz carries the power to cleanse your thoughts and clear your mind. Once you feel connected to your quartz, clarify your intentions for the stone and trust that it is listening.
Selenite. This stone is known for unblocking stagnant energies, ensuring a positive flow of vibrations between you and your crystal. Selenite is one of the most powerful tools for removing negativity as you age.
Shungite. This stone contains natural antioxidants, making it a powerful healer of health-hazardous energies to the body. It can be used for detoxification and relief from anxiety as you age.
Amethyst. It is believed that this stone acts as an energetic shield containing a spiritual light around your body. This stone is particularly useful for people confronting physical and mental decline because it helps strengthen your spiritual body, as well as boosting your self-worth.
Citrine. This stone carries the energy of the sun and promotes happiness and positivity as we cope with the marks of aging. Citrine is a useful crystal for people as they age because it fills you with optimism and motivates you to form good habits for achieving balance in your life.
Pray
Prayer is a profound way to tap into your spirit and communicate with what some believe to be godlike powers or a higher self. For many, prayer is an effective form of coping that helps older people as they physically and mentally age.
I did not lean on prayer during my battle with cancer. I guess I felt awkward communicating with something I’m not sure about. However, nearly 60 percent of Americans report praying daily. Interestingly, group prayer is associated with a greater well-being and happiness, while solitary prayer is associated with depression and loneliness. There is some scientific validation of the benefits of prayer, in terms of health outcomes, but it is not conclusive. Critics of prayer maintain that any perceived benefits of prayer are likely due to a placebo effect. However, until science proves otherwise, prayer is an effective way to summon our spirit and is useful for anyone dealing with the marks of aging or a life-threatening disease.
Practice Yoga
Sometimes it is necessary to prepare your body for meditation by stretching and building strength. Yoga, an ancient Indian health regimen, is a practice that accomplishes this task by creating balance in the body’s energy centers through developing both strength and flexibility. Yoga unites the body, mind, and spirit, and teaches your body how to tap into your spirit. It helps to discipline your mind, and it trains your nervous system so it’s easier for you to process spiritual energy. Another benefit of yoga is that it can be used in combination with other treatments for anxiety, stress, depression, and other mental disorders.
While I’ve personally only dabbled in yoga, many of my friends and acquaintances have benefited greatly from it. Yoga classes are plentiful in every community. It will be well worth your time.
Stimulate Your Mind
Your mind is the gateway to your spirit, so conditioning and stimulating it are essential for achieving your spiritual journey. There are numerous ways to prepare your mind for a spiritual journey. I’ve selected the ways that I believe are practical for aging boomers and senior citizens to implement.
Drawing. Drawing or painting stimulates the right side of the brain, which inspires creativity. The more creative you are, the more you are in touch with your spirit. I don’t draw because I can’t even draw a straight line, but if you have any artistic talent or interest, painting and drawing are wonderful ways to stimulate your mind and touch your spirit. In fact, art therapy has become a popular activity for older people in assisted living facilities. It is particularly beneficial for people in memory care facilities who are afflicted with dementia.
Music. Studies have demonstrated that musical sounds strengthen the right side of the brain. Listening to music is a mentally healthy activity that can take you into a meditative state.
I’ve observed the positive effects of music on senior citizens at my parents’ senior living community. Every Friday night is music night, and a semiprofessional entertainer sings songs from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s to an audience composed of 70-, 80-, and 90-year-olds. The first time I attended one of these sessions I was astounded at the mesmerizing effect that the sweet sounds and familiar lyrics of the music had on most of the seniors in the audience. It was like the music touched their souls and spirits, and for 60 minutes their lives achieved peace and harmony.
My 96-year old dad listens to classical music to escape the realities of life and aging, whereas Bruce Springsteen songs do it for me.
Writing. When you write, you strengthen your brain’s natural ability to convey thoughts and feelings. Writing journals, diaries, blog entries, and stories are excellent ways to fulfill the needs of your brain. For older people, writing a bio legacy (your life story) can be an effective way to tap into your spirit while also adding meaning to your life.
For me, writing this book was a home run—the most stimulating activity I’ve ever been involved in.
Mind Games. Mind games are thought-provoking and challenging activities. Participating in games such as crossword puzzles, sudoku, chess, or card games is mentally stimulating and tends to engage both the left and right sides of the brain. If you are retired, dedicate a specific period of time each day (say, 3:00 p.m.) to participate in a mind game. Card games like gin, poker, and bridge are popular at most senior centers.
Reading. Reading is exercise for the mind. It would be beneficial to do some form of reading every day, and there are plenty of sources to choose from: books, magazines, newspapers, or news websites.
Love Yourself
For me, love derives from the spirit, not the ego. The more you love yourself (self-love), the closer you are to your spirit. As we age, some of us feel a diminished sense of self-worth and some may wallow in self-pity. Never doubt how truly awesome you are. You deserve love—and lots of it—from yourself. And as soon as you can give yourself more love, you are much closer to tapping into the energy within your higher self.
Final Thoughts
There is a magic wand for dealing with the inconveniences of aging—our spirit. I’ve come to believe that embracing and connecting with your spirit is a monumental event in life that opens a whole new world filled with wonderful possibilities. There is no better prescription for aging (or battling a challenging disease) than tapping into your spirit. Tapping into my spirit was without a doubt my greatest asset during my battle with cancer.
When you are down and drowning in past thoughts or negativity, people will tell you that you need to live in the present and feel the touch of God. I believe this advice is on target, whether you are a religious person or not. (If you are not religious, just substitute “spirit” for God.) Touch your spirit and you will be set free.
CHAPTER FOUR
Mindfulness
One of the secrets to successful positive aging is to live in the present moment. We mustn’t worry about the future or dwell in the past when confronting physical and mental decline. For many people, growing old means a simpler way of life filled with fewer distractions. This may make it easier to live in the present than when we were young and occupied with so many family, social, and work responsibilities.
Choosing to live in the past or worry about the future is self-defeating for older people because it robs them of the chance to truly live. The only important moment is the present moment. This should be quite clear to older people, whose best interest is to appreciate every precious moment in life. It is especially clear to people experiencing life-threatening diseases/conditions.