Recent research by neuroscientist Mario Beauregard of the University of Montreal attempts to pinpoint what happens in the brain during a ‘mystical experience’. Dubbed ‘neurotheology’ or ‘spiritual neuroscience’, this new line of inquiry may marry religion in a science in a way that could make it possible to make people’s lives "happier, healthier and better able to concentrate". Read the full Scientific American article, Searching
Zoomers
I got an advertisement in an enewsletter the other day. It proclaimed the ‘Zoomer’ as a person who has the body of a 65-year-old, the mind of a 45-year-old, the libido of a 25-year-old and the heart of a teenager. Bottom line is that a Zoomer is a Boomer with zip!
Well, I pass the first hurdle. My body is definitely 65 years old, although I am not sure how that is measured. I am certainly in better shape than many (and not as fit as many others) so it seems to me that the body’s age is relative.
Philanthropy Day
Yesterday was Philanthropy Day. I went to a luncheon for 1,300 people in San Francisco hosted by one of my favorite ‘causes’, the Pachamama Alliance. The organization was founded 12 years ago by Bill and Lynne Twist as a partnership between the indigenous peoples of the Rainforest and the modern world. They prefer to say the Alliance found them. The purpose of the Alliance is to create a world that is “environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just”. It would seem
Deep Age and Life’s Leftovers
I reconnected with an old friend this week online—Dr. Laurie Ford. She has just started a new blog, Chute Me Through Deep Age. It has what seems to be a fairly unique perspective on a theme I had not thought too much about, but which makes a lot of sense. She has focused on the breakdowns associated with late-life aging—specifically, any of the dozens of conditions that can either severely handicap us including everything from
It’s the ’60s Again…
By Don Arnoudse | Bio
My wife and I recently visited seacoast New Hampshire to celebrate our wedding anniversary. After leaving historic Union Chapel, the scene of our wedding 26 years ago, we were in a nostalgic mood as we drove into the center of Portsmouth. As we left the car to stroll through the town center, we heard quite a ruckus. To my surprise, the cause of all the commotion was a crowd of white-haired people holding signs in the town square and loudly shouting slogans in protest of the Iraq war.I
was immediately transported to those days in the late ‘60s when I was
marching with my classmates in protest of the Vietnam War. We closed
down Michigan State University in the spring of 1970 and spent our time
in tents on the campus lawn engaged in intense discussions about
politics and war. We sang protest songs along with Joan Baez and Bob
Dylan. We erupted in fear and rage when a blood-covered young man ran
into our Tent City
Octogenarian Entrepreneurs
Inc.com recently recognized "8 over 80" entrepreneurs for staying in the game well past traditional retirement age. From Andrew Weil, the oldest entrepreneur in America at 106, to Lisa Gable, inventor of the Strap-Mate, these men and women have embarked on second careers and made running a company their ‘new’ retirement. Find out why 80 is the new 30, and watch the 8 over 80 videos and slideshows of early Boomers who are still calling the shots.
Elder Employees
I am perplexed by the fact that companies have been laying off older workers for years as part of various downsizing projects. I understand the drive to cut costs. Under normal demographic conditions, laying off older workers would even make some sense from a strictly financial point of view, since they generally command higher salaries than younger workers. The fact is, however, that those same companies are moaning about shortages of qualified people and the difficulties they’re having in
Social Networking for 50+
UK-based Saga Group recently launched a social networking site called Saga Zone aimed at people over 50. In a BBC News report, experts indicate that the technology will help them retirees keep in touch with their families, but that face-to-face communication will still remain their preferred method of communication. Over 13,000 people signed up
Possibilities Lost and Found
By Rick Fullerton | Bio
Being over sixty and having five grown children, it comes as no surprise that my wife and I look forward to grandchildren. Like many close-knit families, we treasure the time our kids have had with their grandparents. Visits to the island summer home in Mahone Bay or to my mother in Grand Lake offered life-shaping experiences when the extended family came to be together. These times were not just about having fun or creating enduring memories: they were unique opportunities to learn and grow individually and as part of a larger family.Yet
reflecting on the place of grandparents in families and in our evolving
society raises several questions and possible insights. As a child, I
knew only three of my four grandparents—my dad’s father having died
many years before my birth. Similarly, none of our children even met my
dad as he died when I was 12. On the other hand, our two granddaughters
have all four grandparents and knew two of their great-grandmothers.
At
the other end of life’s spectrum,
Live Life to the Fullest
Randy Pausch, a 46-year-old Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, diagnosed with terminal cancer, gives his last lecture. He urges us to play the cards we are dealt, have specific dreams, enable the dreams of others and ourselves, and to understand that obstacles are opportunities for us to show how badly we want things and to demonstrate our commitment. View the 18-minute ABC video or the full Live Life to the Fullest lecture.