Aging Body, Ageless Soul
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Aging Body, Ageless Soul
| Tue, 03-22-2005 - 5:03pm |
Aging Body, Ageless Soul:
When it comes to getting older, we have a choice: cling to the past (and suffer), or let go and enjoy the spiritual journey.
By Ram Dass
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/162/story_16269_1.html
This is truly awesome! ;) Perhaps living with this Awareness is wise at any age?
Gypsy

Since I'm on here anyway to respond to another message, I thought I might as well drop in and say that, as a young thirty-something woman, I think this is good advice for any age. Thanks for posting it. Also read the message about "an uplifting and affirming new book," which is called "Embracing the Mystery by author Meredith Jordan. I got my copies through Amazon and have given them as gifts to friends. It's that good!
The book urges us all to remember who we were before other people started to put rules and roles and expectations on us. The author says the most important thing we can do with our lives is to shed the ones that don't fit us and find our way back to our true nature, or what I think she calls the "authentic self."
I have a feeling most of us lose that pretty early, and it shows up (especially in women) as depression, eating disorders, unhappiness, and even illness. This book is full, not of advice, but of really good stories about real people just like us who have learned how to remember what's important at any age.
Edited 3/23/2005 7:04 am ET ET by youngseeker73
I agree that Ram Dass' wisdom is for any age, not just us Crones. :) From your description of the other book, I am reminded of the book, "Women Who Run With Wolves," an excellent exploration of our myths, religious and fairy tale that teach women, especially, limited options and roles, to our detriment physically, mentally and spiritually.
Glad you found the article useful. :)
Gypsy
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
Yes, I did find it helpful. Many thanks. I notice from reading the other messages about "Embracing the Mystery" that you located several links to Meredith Jordan's work. You might also check her article at Beliefnet.com, which is permanently posted as "You Can't Draw a Bead on God," and an interview with her on GoodNewsBroadcast.com under the "religion/spirituality" menu. You can tell I've found an author whose work I really like on the matter of spirituality (she's in the same category for me as Annie Lamott or Anne Dillard), and I'm tracking down everything of hers I can get my hands on.
I think she has a second book coming out later this year, but the first is a gem for those of us who seek new ways to be in relationship with Spirit than the traditional.
I have also read Clarissa Pinkola Estes and think she's a very strong voice for women in pursuit of a spiritual life. Christina Baldwin is too. Try "Calling the Circle," "The Seven Whispers," and her new book which is due out shortly. I don't know the name. But again I come back to "Embracing the Mystery" as a book that has opened the door for me to experience spirituality in a whole new way. Even though it's new and word is still just getting out, I consider it a classic. And, as I think I said, I'm passing it out to all my friends who love it as much as I do.
We might be young, but we're well educated women looking for Spirit in our lives, and the traditional theologies, or even pagan traditions---ancient as they are---don't fit our lives very well. When I find something that does, I just want everyone to read it too!
Thanks so much for offering your wisdom.
Hey Gypsy.
"Women Who Run With Wolves" ROCKS! I can't believe I have run across someone else who's read that...very cool;)
~Kristin
"In short, all good things in life are wild and free." ~Thoreau
"We might be young, but we're well educated women looking for Spirit in our lives, and the traditional theologies, or even pagan traditions---ancient as they are---don't fit our lives very well. When I find something that does, I just want everyone to read it too!"
You know, I've been a spiritual seeker since my 20s. ;)) I followed my own intuition through the years to find my spiritual Home with the Goddess and the God. I think some people are seekers and some aren't, but content with the religion of their childhood, perhaps. Neither is wrong; all are right. I think spirituality and religion, all kinds and varieties, can offer some wisdom to us. And sometimes none fit well, either. I don't follow a strict tradition, but incorporate wisdom I learned from my Zen years, studies into Native American spiritual traditions, and even my Christian years, as well. :P It makes sense to me to honor a Goddess and a God and believe as I do in Reincarnation and Karma, but there are other tools that help me stay connected to Spirit, such as meditation and t'ai chi and walking in solitude or sitting in solitude in Nature. I think we can each "name" our deities however we want, follow whatever traditions make sense to us, or create our own traditions. It's all good. :))
Gypsy
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
"In short, all good things in life are wild and free." ~Thoreau