The Power of Positive Aging. David Lereah
me, one such time occurred when I vacationed in Costa Rica years ago. I was walking in a place where the rain forest meets the ocean. As I strolled on the white sands of the Costa Rican beach, to my left was a breathtaking sight of clear blue ocean waves hitting against the shore, while to my right was a picturesque view of a tropical rain forest—with monkeys jumping from tree to tree and exotic birds boasting the colors of the rainbow perched on tree limbs. In that moment, I was free of past and future thoughts. I felt no anxiety or sadness. I felt happiness and joy and I didn’t have a care in the world.
My spirit had come for a visit and, for a while at least, displaced my attention-seeking ego.
Seek Peaceful Moments
At least two or three times per day, put yourself in a place where you can be “far from the madding crowd” and away from all distractions. This could be in your bedroom, or outside on a back porch, or during a walk in the park. The objective is to capture some moments where you can find peace of mind. These moments better prepare you to summon your spirit.
During my six-week chemotherapy/radiation treatment in Tampa, Florida, I would take long walks at the Residence Inn where I was staying. I found a path that was lined with tall trees that had a calming effect on me. This was my time of reflection, and my spirit led the way.
Walking puts your mind in a relaxed state of clear thought. Walking gives your brain a chance to wander and free itself from any troubling thoughts, which is a prerequisite for tapping into your spirit. I know I’m tapping into my spirit when I walk alone and think.
Meditate
Meditation is a practice that promotes relaxation, builds internal energy (or life-force), and develops compassion, love, kindness, and an overall sense of well-being. It is perhaps the most effective practice of spirituality. Meditation involves focusing on an object, a point in space, or a mantra (in Buddhist or yoga practices). Some physicians and health centers now routinely recommend meditation or yoga and include them as part of integrated health programs. See detailed instructions for meditation in chapter 4, Mindfulness.
Facilitate an Out-of-Body Experience
Have you ever experienced an out-of-body experience? Over 25 percent of adults in the United States claim to have experienced at least one out-of-body experience.
An out-of-body experience, or OBE, is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside one’s body or, in some cases, the feeling of perceiving one’s physical body as if from a place outside one’s body. People who have experienced an OBE tend to hold a strong belief that their spirit is separate from their physical body.
OBEs can be induced by deep meditation, sounds that stimulate the brain, and near-death experiences, among others. However, not everyone believes in the validity of OBEs. Neuroscientists and psychologists regard OBEs as dissociative experiences arising from different psychological and neurological factors.
Some people take OBEs a step further than just believing that their spirit can separate from their physical body. Some believe that once they have an OBE and their spirit leaves their physical body, they have acquired the skills for their spirit to travel in the astral plane. The astral plane refers to other dimensions in the universe that some call the heavens.
Whether astral travel is an illusion of the mind or real is way outside the scope of this book. Our purpose is to provide another piece of information that leads to the belief that we humans are more than our physical bodies.
So, how do you conduct an out-of-body experience? Robert Monroe’s 1971 book Journeys Out of the Body demonstrated how audio technology could facilitate OBEs. Monroe conducted research on human consciousness from which he produced evidence that specific sound patterns have identifiable effects on our states of consciousness. By testing certain combinations of frequencies on himself, Monroe was able to encounter what he termed an out-of-body experience. Monroe went on to develop Hemi Sync, an audio technology that facilitates OBEs. Just Google “Hemi Sync” and you will be able to purchase his audio CDs of sounds.
You may be thinking this is all far-fetched, but I’ve actually experienced an out-of-body experience on multiple occasions. Whether this was really my spirit rising out of my body or just an illusion based on psychological or neurological factors, I cannot say.
In any event, here is how I experienced an OBE using the Monroe Hemi Sync method:
➢ Lie in bed with hands at your side and get as comfortable as you can. You need to place yourself in the best position and environment to achieve success. You should be in a distraction-free environment where you can darken the room and remain undisturbed during the 30- to 45-minute exercise. Loosen any tight clothing and remove shoes and glasses (or contacts).
➢ You will hear a voice on the Hemi Sync CD and then you will hear sounds. There are three steps that you must follow for any OBE exercise: create an energy conversion box; recite the affirmation; and conduct resonant tuning.
➢ An energy conversion box is symbolic of a location where you can place all your worries and concerns, leaving you free and unencumbered. Create it in your mind, even if you don’t see, hear, or feel it.
➢ Say the affirmation: “I am more than my physical body.” The affirmation helps you focus your attention on what you want to accomplish during the exercise. It helps you focus your intent, thereby enabling you to become more aware of your expanding consciousness.
➢ The final step is resonant tuning, which is a breathing exercise to help you vitalize and charge your entire system. It promotes an accelerated gathering of your vibrational energy while reducing your internal dialogue. From the Monroe CD you will hear strange, eerie sounds of a symphonic or synthesized nature. You need to put your mind into the rhythmic sound waves.
➢ If you are successful (and it may take three to ten exercises to get there), you will feel a tingling sensation throughout your body. When you do, keep your mind focused and soon the tingling will change to vibrations, which will get more intense by the second, capturing your entire body, head to toe.
➢ And then it could happen—you will be looking down at your body. You will have experienced an OBE. It is possible that you will have a sensation that your spirit is floating freely and drifting upward toward the bedroom ceiling. It will be a glorious feeling.
When it is over, you will say to yourself, Did this just happen, or was this a dream? Was this my imagination, or reality? Personally, I don’t know whether to believe or not to believe, but I’m glad for the experience. In any event, these Hemi Sync sounds will take you on a spiritual journey whether you experienced an OBE or not. And you will certainly have the sensation that you are more than your physical body, an important tenet for the practice of positive aging.
Connect Through Crystals
There is a small but growing segment of people in America today who utilize crystals as an aid to awaken their spirits. Crystals have had prominence in ancient rituals and practices over the past millennium. For believers, humans emit an energy into the universe, and crystals absorb energy vibrations emitted from their surroundings and then send them back into the world. People connect with crystals and feed off their emission of positive energy, lifting their vibrations and moving them to a spiritual state.
Crystals are physical forms of the Earth’s energy. When you connect with your crystal, your crystal gets to know you, in a sense, based on your vibration. It is believed that programming your crystals with specific intentions creates a special aura in your environment, helping you fight off any negativity that may be affecting your well-being. This is particularly useful for people seeking to tap their spirit and embrace positivity as they age.
The question of whether the power of crystals is real is up to each one of us. For purposes of tapping our spirit, believers should use crystals as an aid. For nonbelievers, there may still be a positive psychological effect of using crystals, thinking that maybe they have the power to tap into your spirit.
If you acquire a crystal, put it into practice by