Tampa Bay NEW TIMES

an alternative, holistic magazine exploring Body, Mind and Spirit.

January/February 2001

Articles on the theme "Growing Young"

Learning & Play
by Bob Gonzalez
Maintaining the spirit of youth through learning and play.

Conscious Dispute Resolution
by Constance M. Felos
An attorney's look at how resolving legal disputes can help one grow young.

A State of Mind
by Audrey Craft Davis
Using the mind to reverse the biological clock.

HGH (Human Growth Hormone)
by Maria Moraca
There are physical reasons for aging. The role of HGH.

Reversing the Aging Process
by Jim Stuebe
New research links increased oxygen to growing younger.

An Enthusiasm for Life
by Charles Larsen
Enhancing spiritual and psychological youth.

Conscious Aging
by Rev. Pat Palmer
Learning to let go. Growing younger through spiritual growth.

As Young as You Dare
by Patrick Plaskett
The effects of attitude on aging and what we can do about it.

In Search of the Fountain
by Rev. Sue R. Griffin
The true fountain of youth - within our own soul.

Never Too Old
by Marty Kliesh, Ph.D.
How nutrition as well as attitude can affect aging.

As Young as You Dare

by Patrick Plaskett

It is possible to reverse the effect of aging. We can identify those things in life that tend to chip away at our health, energy, and sense of well being and reverse the trend. This can be termed growing young. This reversal will only take place when accompanied by a reversal of attitudes towards those components in life that will rob you of your youth and vitality, eventually leading to your demise. Does it sound simple? Yes and no. We can identify what changes can make you healthier and more youthful, yet no change of attitude is easy.

I studied a report on centenarians (those people who live to be a hundred years old and beyond). In the report, all the factors that influence health were examined: diet, genetics, exercise and so forth. There was only one common factor among all the centenarians that linked them together besides their age and that was attitude. This is noteworthy for, if we have any hope of growing young, it might be helpful to identify the component that has helped the centenarians to 'cheat death.' If a proper attitude can keep you alive, then an improper attitude can probably kill you early on, and a revised attitude may help you roll back the effects of age.

The attitude of the centenarians is a very light one. They are adaptable, handling change well. They let bygones be bygones. They don't take things too seriously. They remind me of the saying, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly." They also remind me of a saying by Eleanor Roosevelt, that a beautiful young person is a product of nature, while a beautiful old person is a work of art. In contrast to this is the old curmudgeon with hard attitudes and opinions about everything, willing to tell you everything, yet willing to listen to nothing. I'm sure you've met many people relatively young in their years who have not waited for advancing age before adopting calcified attitudes towards life - they can be found everywhere.

Consider the attitude of youth. Youthful people have not been calloused by so many years of misfortune or disappointment. They feel that anything is possible. They can also be appreciative of so many of the common things in life that we later take for granted. Their mere presence can be an invigorating tonic to an older person. A youthful person feels good to be around. You can see the effect when grandparents meet their grandchildren, or when an older man meets a younger woman, or when an elementary school teacher who really likes her job meets her students. These people take in the impressions of youth. Impressions are actually food for the soul, although we don't often think of them as such. Youthful impressions can have a corresponding effect on the whole system. They can make an older person feel uplifted, energized. In contrast to this are the people whose mere presence can bring you down. You know who they are, and that needs no further explanation.

It is possible to rediscover the fresh attitude of youth for yourself. You may remember when you were at an age when your childhood summers seemed to go on indefinitely and when you could be delighted tracing the patterns of the rain on a window. Contrast such an openness of mind, heart and being to that of a person who could totally miss a glorious sunset if he or she were thinking about more mundane matters. If you can appreciate such a contrast, you might examine your own habits of attitude, your own habits of perception, and evaluate them for youthfulness or staleness. You might also consider how habits of thought and attention can be changed to give you the result that you want.

Consider also the physical ability of youth. While we are young, we are genetically predisposed to grow, be strong and healthy. A growing child can eat anything and the body will find some way to convert that material into development and energy. Unfortunately our bodies will only try that hard until we are well into our childbearing years. After that, any fitness or development is left up to our own design. If we have good habits of nutrition, waste elimination, exercise and attitude, we may well live to be centenarians. Otherwise changes of habit must be made to stave off the ravages of time.

As a hypnotist, I know that virtually everything we do or think is associated with some kind of habit. Whereas some people think that a hypnotist might put people to sleep, I find that more often my job is to wake them up from their sleep of ineffective habits so that they can get better results in their lives. I help people correct the bad habits of attitude, diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and the inability to relax. Any improvement you can make in these areas will help you roll back the years.

Do you really want to grow young? Take stock of yourself and see if you are harboring any toxic attitudes, or even habits that keep toxins in your body. See if you are getting the right food, exercise and relaxation that will give you the level of health that you require. Make what changes of mind and body that you can make today, knowing that the level of well being at which you find yourself is largely the result of the choices you make and the habits that you have. Know that you can make even greater changes tomorrow and eventually achieve what you dare to conceive. Have you heard that you're never too old to have a happy childhood? Grow as young as you dare!

Patrick Plaskett is a member of the Florida Association of Professional Hypnotists and holds a bachelor's degree from USF. He is available for appointments at the Center for Healing in St. Petersburg FL. (727) 381-9101.

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