Old Age
(the challenges that face people in their later years)
Humans are the only creatures on earth who can change their biology by what they think and feel
It would be impossible to isolate a single thought or feeling, a single belief or assumption, that doesn't have some effect on aging, either directly or indirectly.
Our cells are constantly eavesdropping on our thought and being changed by them. Joy and fulfillment keep us healthy and extend our lives.
A remembered stress, which is only a wisp of thought, releases the same flood of destructive hormones as the stress itself.
Because the mind influences every cell in the body, human aging is fluid and changeable; it can speed up, slow down, stop for a time, and even reverse itself. Hundreds of research findings from the last three decades have verified that aging is much more dependent on the individual than was ever dreamed of in the past.
A hundred things we pay attention to: breathing, digesting, growing new cells, repairing damaged old ones, purifying toxins, preserving hormonal balance, converting stored energy from fat to blood sugar, dilating the pupils of the eyes, raising and lowering blood pressure, maintaining steady body temperature, balancing as we walk, shunting blood to and from the muscle groups that are doing the most work, and sensing movement and sound in the surrounding environment . . . continue ceaselessly.
These automatic processes play a huge part in aging, for as we age, our ability to coordinate these functions declines. A lifetime of unconscious living leads to numerous deteriorations, while a lifetime of conscious participation prevents them.
People don't grow old. When they stop growing, they become old.
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.