MAYA-GAIA INTRODUCTION & SITEMAP       Page Update 08 24 07

Note:My Anthropic Trilogy web-book, evolving since 1997, is a chronicle of my passing all considered opinion
through the lens of my Nirvikalpa Samadhi with both an open-mind and healthy skepticism.

ANTHROPIC TRILOGY

SAMADHI CHRONICLES – MAYA GAIA – EVOLUTION INVOLUTION

Reflections in My Old Age- 4 Decades After
My Nirvikalpa Samadhi Experience
Im growing older but not up
My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck
Let those winds of time blow over my head
Id rather die while Im living than live while Im dead
[Jimmy Buffett 1980]

Key words: nirvikalpa samadhi, spiritual aging, gerotranscendence, cultural gerontology, cosmic transcendence, purpose old age, purusartha, ashrama, varna, moksha, nirvana, rumi

Travelers, it is late. Life’s sun is going to set. During these brief days you have strength, be quick and spare no effort of your wings. ~ Rumi from Rumi: Daylight video readings

The following links feature various perspectives, philosophies or strategies that address purposefulness in the last stage of one’s life starting with two currently popular inspirational works- the first founded in Christianity- a theistic, prophetic religion and the second in the dual/non dual theistic/atheistic traditions.

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren An evangelical perspective that says the starting place Must be with a Christian God and his eternal purposes for each life. Real meaning and significance comes from understanding and fulfilling God’s purposes for putting us on earth. (mg: I am always put off by any “MUST” imperative in any spiritual tenant as in the dictim of strict Christianity that Jesus proclaimed that salvation is attained “ONLY through me” rather than “through me” – that would leave open other ecumenical options…the later being the position that any truly enlightened being like Jesus would take.) Instead- I am convinced- those wanting to consolodate power, inserted the “ONLY” to use as a threat to dupe converts into believing this was the single option for their souls to be saved.) Of course virtualy all religious traditions use such tactics to establish the exclusiveness of their path to Godhead – the prophetic religions simply the most conspicuous.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tollee At the core of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution. An essential aspect of this awakening consists in transcending our ego-based state of consciousness.

Rick Warren, Leonard Sweet, and Sweet’s “New Light” Leaders by Warren Smith (from A “Wonderful” Deception) 2009. Abstract: While some Christian leaders are issuing warnings about New Age figures such as Oprah, Leonard Sweet, Eckhart Tolle, and A Course in Miracles, this same new (age) spirituality (under a “Christian” disguise) is being promoted and embraced right in the Christian church by these popular Christian teachers and authors.

What Does It Mean to Grow Old By Thomas R. Cole, Sally A. Gadow – Contemplation versus activity in reflecting via the humanities on the philosophy and ethical questions concerning conduct and goals for the aged. Compares Hindu concepts of moksha as the ultimate goal of human life to that of Simone de Beuvoir in The Coming of Agewhere she warns about what must be done in order to escape the existential vacum of late life. “There is only one solution if old age is not to be an absurd parody of our former life, and that is to go on pursuing ends that give our existence a meaning–devotion to individuals, to groups or to causes, social, political, intellectual or creative work.”

Old Age Across Cultures and Time – There is nothing inherently problematical about growing old. And yet in most nations of the world, old age is increasingly understood in “social problem” terms. As we all must age and eventually die, any cultural belief system that cannot provide security, meaning, and self-esteem for those who reach the conclusion of life’s natural sequences will eventually have to change. Such is the case in the United States, where the cultural values of youth, vitality, competitiveness, and self-sufficiency are decreasingly relevant for an ever-increasing proportion of the population.

Cicero’s On Old Age Treatises on Friendship and Old Age by Marcus Tullius Cicero – Translated by E. S. Shuckburgh – Project Gutenberg EBook – Though he was only 61 or 62 when he wrote it Cicero, he was committed to the proposition that old age was, in many respects, a condition superior to youth, and that those who found fault with it probably were the same people who grumbled about life when they were young. “There is no sudden breakage; it just slowly goes out.” The third charge against old age is that it lacks sensual pleasures. “What a splendid service does old age render, if it takes from us the greatest blot of youth!”

What Is Old Age For? by William Thomas. Old age is humanity’s greatest invention, and on an even deeper level, it invented us. Old age transformed the way our most distant ancestors gave birth, reared their young, lived together, and fed themselves. Later it propelled the development of culture, language, and society.

Finding Wisdom in the Signs of Old Age by Merle Rubin – Jungian psychologist and author James Hillman offers the startling, genuinely radical suggestion that various traits we associate with old age, such as desiccation, sagging muscles, lined faces, crankiness, sentimentality, confusion, repetition and loss of short-term memory, may be viewed as signs of character formation.

One Last Chance to Save Mankind – interview with James Lovelock – With his 90th birthday in July, a trip into space scheduled for later in the year and a new book out next month, 2009 promises to be an exciting time for James Lovelock. But the originator of the Gaia theory, which describes Earth as a self-regulating planet, has a stark view of the future of humanity- but he’s still looking forward to reaching 100.

Ching-an Rather weird topic extracted from Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation by Wen-Kuang Chu – regarding a transformation of saliva arising from a pre-samadhi stage of meditation. The sweet tasting hormone substance of ching-an should absolutely, be the major focus of anti-aging hormone research. Samadhi attainments are the only thing that can lead to a healthy quality-of-life longevity, and this is the major hormone (amongst several) which initiates the physical transformations of the chi and mai which enable this to happen. It is a cure for illness, aging and mental imbalance than hormones promoted by modern science- melatonin, estrogen, progesterone and other treatments for anti-aging purposes.

Sathya Sai Baba – Discourses – Karma Marga, Jnana Marga, Bhakti Marga – All lead to the same Destination – Discourse of Sathya Sai Baba May/June 1974 Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhwacharya the three great Acharyas were teaching three different aspects. Sankara was propounding Sayujya or identity with the Lord while Ramanuja was talking in terms of Sameepya or closeness to the Lord and Madhwa was preaching in terms of Salokya or living in the domain of the Lord- telling us about the three paths for the realisation of truth, namely the Jnana Marga, the Bhakti Marga and the Karma Marga but all these aspects must be treated as complimentary and not contradictory.

No Aging in India By Lawrence Cohen 2002. Perspectives on cultural and religious traditions regarding old age in India. This chapter describes the sacred city of Varanasi and the sacred city of the Hindus- Kashi where the authors primary research was done.

Rumi’s Poetry of Aging by Harry R. Moody. What Rumi understood is what may be called a transpersonal approach to sorrow. For Rumi, this approach is suggested by the technical distinction between the “ego” (nafs) and the “spirit” (ruh). The ego represents a limited dimension of selfhood and conceals a transpersonal spirit, which is much more vast.

Wei Wu Wei – Why Lazarus Laughed: The Essential Doctrine, Zen-Advaita-Tantra.

A new age of old age? Gerotranscendence and the re-enchantment of aging (alteration of consciousness) by Hakan Jonson and Jan Arne Magnusson: Briefly put, gerotranscendence is a theoretical concept coined by Swedish gerontologist Lars Tornstam that describes an alteration of consciousness in old age. The development of gerotranscendence is seen as a “natural” process that has been obstructed by structures of modern Western societies. Tornstam asserts that gerotranscendence marks a paradigmatic shift from positivist to phenomenological gerontology. We force upon the elderly our own value-dependent theories, which at the same time means that deviations from the theoretical predictions are looked upon as being abnormal, pathological, or whatever term we decide to use. In order to explain the difference between the paradigms Tornstam uses a comparison between Zen Buddhist and Western consciousness

A Case for Self-Transcendence as a Purpose of Adult Education by V. Quinton Wacks Jr. – Associate Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of the Gerontology Program, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN. Jung (1933) frequently spoke to the importance of the second half of life: A human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if his longevity had no meaning for the species to which he belonged. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life’s morning. (p. 109) Part of this unique significance of life’s second half is the transcendent function.

Gerotranscendence from young old age to old old age. Tornstam, L. (2003) Online publication from The Social Gerontology Group, Uppsala. Simply put, gerotranscendence is a shift in meta-perspective, from a materialistic and pragmatic view of the world to a more cosmic and transcendent one. According to a qualitative study (Tornstam, 1996 a, b), the gerotranscendent individual typically experiences a new understanding of fundamental existential questions – often a feeling of cosmic communion with the spirit of the universe, a redefinition of time, space, life and death, and a redefinition of the self and relationships to others. In this study, the three dimensions of gerotranscendence were approximated and operationalized in three measures: cosmic transcendence, coherence and need for solitude.

Against Transcendence By Jason Pontin, February 2005. When technology appropriates the transcendental it becomes science fiction. Most technologists believe in transcendence some of the time, and some technologists believe in it all the time. At those moments when they believe in it, they’re crazy. When they believe in it completely, they’ve become trolls. Most responsible biogerontologists are more cautious about the applications of antiaging science.

Aging and the Religious Dimension by L. Eugene Thomas, Susan A. Eisenhandler; Auburn House, 1994. For a variety of historical and intellectual reasons, religion has received scant attention in Western social science. Kant’s distinction between “is” and “ought” has led to the sharp distinction between fact and value. This distinction has served as the basis for the ideal in the social sciences that research should remain “value free,” and that it should be conducted in as “objective” a manner as possible. This in turn has led to the strong emphasis on quantitative techniques in all fields of the social sciences, which seek to eliminate as much as possible the subjective element. Gero-Transcendence: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration Lars Tornstam

Aging and the Meaning of Time By Susan H. McFadden, Robert C. Atchley 2006 The authors, from diverse disciplines in gerontology, act as guides in the exploration of the realms of time in later life and its meanings. As the authors examine how the study of time can give new meanings to aging, they also consider the religious and spiritual questions raised when human beings consider the temporal boundaries of life.

Age Differences in Mystical Experience by Jeffrey S. Levin, PhD, MPH, The Gerontologist, 1993. Age differences are examined in reports of deja vu, ESP, clairvoyance, spiritualism, and numinous experience. According to the 1988 General Social Survey, these mystical experiences are somewhat more common now than in 1973, and deja vu, clairvoyance, and a composite mysticism score have increased with successively younger age cohorts. Further, private and subjective religiosity are positively related to overall mystical experience, while organizational religiosity is inversely related. Dr. Norman Bradburn once commented at a National Opinion Research Center (NORC) staff seminar that “there are no other variables he knows of that correlate as strongly with psychological well-being as does frequent mystical experience” (Greeley, 1975; p. 7).

Will We Ever Arrive at the Good Death? by Robin Marantz Henig, NYTimes August 7, 2005. Article presents an in-depth examination of the evolution of hospice care as the palliative perspective is making inroads into hospital-based medicine. There is still something of a turf battle today between palliative medicine and hospice. Is hospice a subcategory of palliative care, or is it the other way around? Is it better to focus end-of-life care in the hospital or the home? Will palliative medicine put physicians back in charge of dying, remedicalizing the experience all over again? Will it turn suffering into just another disease to be cured? Chronology of some case histories provide realistic insight.

Epigenomics of Alzheimer’s disease progression sciencedaily.com 2015 Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Our susceptibility to disease depends both on the genes that we inherit from our parents and on our lifetime experiences. These two components — nature and nurture — seem to affect very different processes in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. A new study of epigenomic modifications reveals the immune basis of Alzheimer’s disease. Manlis Kellis and his team at MIT were able to Identify both genetic and non-genetic (lifestyle) effects on human health from studying cells from people with Alzheimer’s and a mouse version of the disease. Findings suggest that an immune disorder is partially responsible for the symptoms and while disruptions were coded in the cell’s genetics, the changes in the brain cells appeared to be influenced by environmental inputs like diet, education, physical activity and age.”We have an interplay between genetics and epigenetics – and you might not be able to do anything about the genetics but you might be able to do something about the epigenomic by – I don’t know – maybe reading more books.” (Or tackling some computer or Internet projects.)

The effects of religion on subjective aging in Singapore: An interreligious comparison by Xu Jianbina, Kalyani K. Mehtab, Department of Social Work and Psychology, National University of Singapore. Findings indicate that religion can play an integrative role that facilitates adjustment to the aging process. Also, they suggest that though there are fundamental, irreducible differences in terms of religious beliefs and practices between Buddhism and Christianity, there are far less differences in the ways they impact on the integrative aging process.

Existential and Spiritual Issues in Death Attitudes by Adrian Tomer, Grafton Eliason, Paul T. P. Wong. An in-depth examination of death attitudes, existentialism, and spirituality and their relationships; a review of the major theoretical models; clinical applications of these models to issues such as infertility, bereavement, anxiety, and suicide.

The Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing– Edited by M. L. Johnson, V. L. Bengtson, P. G. Coleman and T. B. L. Kirkwood, Cambridge University Press, 2006. (book download) With 7 parts, 72 chapters, 110 contributors and 744 pages, this is a mighty tome. Thomas Kirkwood argues that, although there are no specific genes for ageing, a number of genes regulate the “durability” and “maintenance” of the soma. Ultimately, evolution has not prepared us well for ageing. Importantly, the scientists who see the big picture and who wish to work with the big picture must also recognise that the grand problems and solutions they envisage do not imply that all aspects of our well being necessarily pivot upon our science, or our capacity for “outsight”. As described by Marcoen, the spiritual path- the path of insight- is a path towards self-realisation, where everything connected with the self/time, space, life and death, good and evil, the rational and irrational dimensions of the mind, and so on- crystallise in an ego-transcendent state. Here, a new sense of uniqueness, inspiration, creative receptivity and equilibrium between the internal and external worlds of experience opens and allows for a new ethic of compassion, of giving of oneself to others. (Michael Hogan, Department of Psychology, NUI, Galway, Ireland)

Golden Opportunities Shielding Money Clashes With Elders’ Free Will By Charles Duhigg, December 24, 2007. Robert J. Pyle, 81, lost his home and his savings trying to help a single mother. He sued, claiming he wasn?t liable for his errors in judgment because of his age. In the eyes of the law, should the elderly be treated like adolescents, who are not entirely responsible for their poor decisions, but are also barred from making certain choices on their own? Or should they have autonomy, and therefore be accountable for their blunders?

Religion, Spirituality, and Older People by Alfons Marcoen (Chapter 4.11) The experience of the transcendent is also the root of empathic compassion and altruism, idealistic commitment to the betterment of the world, and the awareness of the tragic character of human existence. The spiritually mature and ethically committed person has integrated diverse visions of life and humanity into a complex system of meaning in which there is tolerance for ambiguity and paradox. Transcendence (of ordinary consciousness, the self, and usual habits) in one form or another is always a component of a spirtual orientation to life.

Seagrape Spring Colors – Old leaves die and new ones emerge simultaneously – a symbolism for old and new life and the beauty that can arise in aging

Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: validation of theory through longitudinal case analysis. by P.G. Coleman, C. Ivani-Chalian, M. Robinson – Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, England, United Kingdom, 1999. Case studies drawn from a 20-year longitudinal study of aging were examined for the support they provide to two theoretical viewpoints on the self in later life: one focusing on management of self-esteem, the other on development of identity as story. The five cases selected for scrutiny represented diverse trajectories of self-esteem. They furnished ample illustrations of certain key aspects of both theories, including assimilative processes of coping, depression related to absence of accommodation, maintenance of life story themes, and life review processes. They did not, however, give strong support to the dichotomy, drawn within both theoretical models, between younger and older old age. Examples of accommodation, disengagement, and self-transcendence, hypothesized to typify advanced old age, were relatively few in number and emerged only toward the very end of life. It is argued that examination of prototypical cases provides a useful approach to validating and developing theory. A conclusion drawn from this study is that more analysis should be carried out on the lives of persons who exemplify the theoretically ideal characteristics of advanced old age.

Feel-Good, Age-Old Cliches Researchers find there’s some truth to notion that the older we get, the better we feel We’ve heard all the clichés about aging: “You’re as young (or old) as you feel.” “Age is just a number.” “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better.” “Seventy is the new 50.” Well-intentioned, perhaps. Offensive, to some. Patronizing, to be sure. But could they be true? Maybe science has started to catch up with these tired phrases. Researchers have discovered that many people feel good about themselves as they get older.

Aging Spiritual Nondual Google Book search – aging+spiritual+nondual

Aging, Spirituality, and Religion: A Handbook By Melvin A. Kimble, Susan H. McFadden, James W. Ellor. This book examines the ways religion and spirituality are experienced by aging persons within an aging society. It aims to encompass the wholeness of the elder’s life, including spiritual yearnings that are often shaped by religious faith and practice. Eminent contributors from a variety of disciplines explore this new terrain of an emerging interdisciplinary field.

Reflection and Discussion Guide A Unitarian Universalist Association program for a multidisciplinary vision of growing older By Rabi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald Miller From Age-ing to Sage-ing©, 1997. – invites participants to deepen their understanding of aging and elderhood. The model does more than restore the elder to a position of honor and dignity based on age and long life experience. It envisions the elder as an agent of evolution, attracted as much by the future of humanity’s expanded brain-mind potential as by the wisdom of the past.
(m-g: After writing my Reflections on Old Age I discovered Zalman also features asrama in his elderhood model.)
The Church of Yahweh A paper by Rabi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi The Revealing Science of God has a three-fold purpose:
1. To look at many of Hinduism’s fundamental tenets in terms of physics. I will be concerned only with Newtonian physics and the laws that govern our everyday world. Einstein’s theories of relativity, of which Newton’s laws of motion are a subset, are outside the scope of this discussion.
2.To use the laws of physics as a link between Hinduism and Christianity, as a basis for dialogue.
3.To apply the methods of scientific research to the quest for knowledge of God.

Aged resources

American Society on Aging– organization of multidisciplinary professionals in the field of aging whose resources, publications, and educational opportunities are geared to enhance the knowledge and skills of people working with older adults and their families. Aging Today ASA bimonthly newspaper

Being Mortal R&E’s 2015 interview of surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande about aging, dying, end-of-life care, and the limits of medicine – all themes in his latest book Being Mortal Medicine and What Matters in the End.

Science Magazine’s SAGE KE From October 2001 to June 2006, SAGE KE provided news, reviews, commentaries, disease case studies, databases, and other resources pertaining to aging-related research. Although SAGE KE has now ceased publication, we invite you to search and browse the article content on this archive site. Access is free with registration.

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MAYA-GAIA INTRODUCTION & SITEMAP