Rodger Ruge, Nederland. 

“What’s past is past, nothing can change that. But the future can be different if we choose to make it so. This is no time for complacency, hope lies in the action we take.” ~Dalai Lama

The year is 1979. Eight men in their 70s stepped out of a van in front of a converted monastery in New Hampshire. They shuffled forward, a few of them arthritically stooped, a couple with canes. Then they passed through the door and entered a time warp. Perry Como crooned on a vintage radio. Ed Sullivan welcomed guests on a black-and-white TV. Everything inside, including the books on the shelves and the magazines lying around, were designed to conjure 1959. This was by author Bruce Grierson, The New York Times Magazine, as described the beginning of an incredible experiment designed to make older people younger, and the results were absolutely astonishing.

This study was conducted by Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who wanted to see what would happen to the mental and physical health of people in various stages of aging and decline by taking them back in time 20 years. While the sample of the study was small by scientific standards, the results were significant and validate what we have long known, the mind is the single most powerful healing tool at our disposal and something most of us are not using to its full potential.

The men who participated in the study were regressed in time to the year 1959. No mirrors were present, no one helped them in any way climbing stairs or carrying bags. There were portraits of the men from that era in their rooms, and every possible detail was covered to create the illusion that it was, in fact, 1959. Measurements of physical and cognitive function were taken at the beginning of the study and at the end, and in virtually every possible way most of the men improved significantly. They scored higher on cognitive testing, their posture improved, their finger length increased while arthritic conditions decreased, and their eyesight improved just to name a few of the remarkable shifts that took place. On the last day of the study Langer wrote; “men who had seemed so frail just days before ended up playing an impromptu touch football game on the front lawn.”

We all know people who are old before their time, and we can also point to people who seem to defy aging. Compare the two and you will quickly discover a consistent difference between the two extremes in that their attitudes toward life and aging are as polar opposite as possible. Turns out that our attitude toward life, positive or negative, is literally shaping our journey into aging.

As a country, we spend billions upon billions of dollars for magic pills to help us age as gracefully as possible. However, while we search for an external solution, the real fountain of youth is found within! So, how do we effectively tip the scales toward feeling and acting younger? It is a matter of creating a younger oriented mindset and simple mindfulness practices are the key. Let’s look at one of the best ways to cultivate a younger mindset.

Younger Mindfulness Visualization: Jack, a 78-year young man, practices a very specific meditation every morning, without fail. He uses the power of his mind and a technique called visualization to see, and more importantly feel himself as a younger man. Jack does this by recalling specific events in this life where he felt most alive in his physical body. He sees himself doing physical work, playing physically, having fun with his body. Once Jack has those past experiences in his mind, he takes the joyful feelings and amplifies them as much as possible. He then lets those joyful feelings expand throughout his body, mind and spirit. The results are nearly instant.

Jack experiences a significant reduction of pain in his body. His arthritis virtually disappears. His energy increases dramatically as does his mental function. He feels sharp, alive and inspired to engage with life where he is very active throughout his day. When one meets Jack they guess he’s in his 50s!

(Originally published in the August 23, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)