Faith as We Age

This presentation was created by
Luba Rascheff for InterChurch
Health Ministries (ICHM)
Canada.
2016

What happens when we age?
 We experience losses. Our eyesight
diminishes. Our physical strength
weakens.
 We are not able to do certain things that
we once took for granted.
 Loved ones pass away.

Increased spirituality
compensates for physical
losses
 There is seemingly an inverse
relationship between spirituality and
physicality. Jesus underscores this
when teaching Nicodemus saying,
'Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit
gives birth to spirit.‘ (John 3:6)

Jesus and Nicodemus by Crijn Hendricksz, 1616-1645 (public domain)

 The late Dr. Wayne Dyer explains
the four stages of development in life
as athlete, warrior, statesperson and
spirit. Note how the progression is from
primarily physical to primarily spiritual.

 The First Noble Truth that Buddha
taught includes old age as an
unavoidable form of physical suffering.

Buddha teaching 4 Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India. (public
domain)

Midlife
 At the root of the well-known midlife crisis
is the realization of loss of youth and
awareness of death.
Aging as a Spiritual Journey | Eugene C. Bianchi | Crossroad | New York | p. 12

 Hyperenergetic activity is a way by which
we attempt to escape from 'gnawing fears
of mortality' and to 'through repeated
action ... stave off the anxiety of physical
decline.'

 '[The] trauma of identity in [midlife] is a
form of existential alienation that eastern
religions regard as a necessary harbinger
of a new level of spiritual integration.'

 'Middle-aged persons experience losses
other than the physical decline .... They
also encounter threatening challenges in
the area of intimacy and family.'

Faith
One way to approach the inevitable fact of
aging is faith.
'... to live by faith is to walk not
necessarily against reason, but
beyond it.'

' ... the young are not naturally
inclined toward inwardness.'

'The new questionings of middle age
provide a singular occasion to cultivate the
meditative solitude that creates an
ambience for reaching through and
beyond the scientific mind-set....We allow
our spiritual selves to flow unitively into
nature and other persons.'

Mortality
'...[C]ontemplative listening brings
us into dialogue with the alluring,
yet threating, mystery of death.'

Image title & credit: A1 | Luba Rascheff

A New Power
'Perhaps this is one of the great exchanges
to which persons in midlife especially are
invited: to substitute, for the power that
promises to preserve the ego against
adversity and death, a new power that, by
releasing us from the all-consuming lust
for survival and enhancement of the self,
allows us joyful love of our deepest self
and others.'

The 4 Outcomes of Faith as We
Age
1. More Synchronicity
2. Substitution of Anxiety with Faith
3. Enhanced Creativity
4. An Increased Desire for Play

Faith & Synchronicity
 'Faith may engender synchronicity which
is defined by Bianchi as follows: '...an
event that is paradoxical in that it is not the
result of temporal causality, or ordinary
before and after sequencing; thus it has
the character of a chance, serendipitous
happening, mysteriously related to other
events in one's life.'
Aging as a Spiritual Journey | Eugene C. Bianchi | Crossroad | New York | pp. 54-55

Faith versus Anxiety
 'Without faith in some goodness beyond
and superior to the self, the fear of one's
own death may lead to active and passive
forms of denial. The result is an inability to
embrace the world in a life-giving way
because the self is too preoccupied with its
own survival.'

Faith & Creativity
 'The middle-aged person who has
become open to an inner journey of
transformation experiences inward and
outward forms of creativity that are especially
difficult to measure.'

Faith & Play
 'Play is another way of fulfilling some
of the potentials of middle age. The ability
to delight in nature and other persons
can be especially fostered in midlife. ...
Moreover, a heightened appreciation of
the irony, tragedy, and paradoxical
complexity of the human scene can instill
a certain tolerance and even humor.'

Cropped image credit: two-daloo.com

A New Understanding of Aging
Elders as sages are:
 Wisdom keepers
 Pioneers in consciousness who practice
contemplative arts from … spiritual
traditions [e.g., Christianity]
 Mentors
 Learners
From Age-ing to Sage-ing | Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald S. Miller |
Grand Central Publishing| New York Boston | pp. 13-15

 Pursuers of happiness and joy
 Individuals who deserve respect
Ibid.

To reach this level of understanding,
‘elders go through a process of conscious
and deliberate growth, becoming sages
who are capable of guiding their families
and communities with hard-earned
wisdom.’
Grand Central Publishing| New York Boston | p. 16

‘… We can choose to face the challenges of
aging head on. It’s not easy, but it has
brought me the peace I could only dream
about in my youth.’
Suzanne
Grand Central Publishing| New York Boston | pp. 20-21

‘If we viewed elderhood as the crowning
achievement of our lives, we would open the
door with reverence and anticipation.
Prayerfully, we woud say, “Oh my soul, you
are growing something special and good
inside me. How can I give it the proper
sunshine and nourishment to ensure that it
grows to health and vigor?’
From Age-ing to Sage-ing | Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald S. Miller
| Grand Central Publishing| New York Boston | pp. 23-24

Bibliography
Bianchi, Eugene C. Aging as a Spiritual
Journey. New York: Crossroad, 1993.
Print.
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald S.
Miller. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A
Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older.
New York, Boston: Grand Central
Publishing, 1997, Reissued: June 2014.

Photography Credit for
background image:
“Lines on Water” by Luba Rascheff.

Faith as We Age

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