Lewis Richmond

Lewis Richmond provided an interesting book for me to read. I'm 85 now, so have already been on some of the paths he talks about. But, it was good to see a different point of view, with stories about the experiences of people he knew and people he interviewed for this book. Maybe there were a few too many examples from his own experiences, even though they were well told.

Richmond is a Buddhist priest, one who can explain his beliefs in ways the rest of us can understand. He was a follower of show more Shunryu Suzuki, who wrote Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a book I admired and read at least twice.

This is one of the few self-help books I enjoyed reading. Most of the chapters end with suggested practices, some of which I've internalized. show less

Although Richmond's book approaches aging through a Buddhist's viewpoint, I never felt constricted by that. Rather, this is a user-friendly exploration of the familiar aspects of aging that most people find frightening. Richmond wants his readers to regard their death and the preceding one or two decades in a way that is foreign to Western thinkers. For most of us, it is the prelude to death that frightens us. The aspects of aging such as loss of memory, agility and control of bodily show more functions become of primary concern. They all signal loss of control of one's existence, independence and identity.

The reality we face as we age is not just the need to confront the changes in our lives, but to face the fact of what Richmond defines as "Irreversible change-for better or worse". It is change in which "there is no going back".
Having recognized that irreversible change is happening to us as we age, we then begin to become aware of and recognize or "truly wake up" to our aging. Richmond refers to this as "Lightning Strikes". Now, he says, we have reached a "tipping point," where we begin to see things as they actually are. Now we can begin to "pay attention". And as we do, we can begin our spiritual life. We can begin to enjoy, focus and reflect on the assets and skills that come with aging. Richmond sees the reader through reviewing their life and encourages a positive assessment of who we are, on a deeper level than we have yet explored.

In addition to the mental exercises, Richmond writes about various activities such as mindfulness of breath, spending time in nature and planning a day away from home and all the old routines. Pick a place, prepare and enjoy. I think my review reveals that there is nothing to be frightened of in Richmond's book, in terms of having religious beliefs thrown at us, or forced down our throats. This is a very gentle approach to a subject that is gracefully handled. Not only is the advice sound, but the writing is artful, in that his stories are entertaining, and they make the point. They are interspersed throughout the book, preventing it from being the pedantic, run-of-the-mill book that we often see in the self-help genre. I highly recommend Lewis Richmond's book, Aging As A Spiritual Practice and look forward to passing it on to a friend. show less

Buddhist priest and teacher Lewis Richmond is his latest book Aging as a Spiritual Practice begins with what he believes are the four stages of aging. The first stage “Lightning Strikes,” is a realization that we are growing old. The sensation comes out of nowhere, unexpectedly, like a bolt from above. I am only thirty-five years old, but this is exactly what happened to me recently, before I had even been assigned to read this book as a Library Thing Early Reviewer. Naturally, I was show more drawn to the book.

This was my recent “Lightning Strikes” moment. Since I’m pregnant, I can’t color and highlight my hair, and about a month or two ago, while it was up in a ponytail, I found myself face to face with an anomalous site: a bunch of gray hairs, stubbornly held together by their own thickness, on the side of my head, far too many to pluck. Feeling tired and sluggish from the pregnancy with that gray spectacle before me: lightning struck, just as Richmond said. I realized, yes, I am only thirty-five, but I’m turning a corner to a place I don’t want to go.

This is Richmond’s gift, his ability to make his story relatable to anyone who has left youth’s golden walls. His book, a mix of self-help, inspirational and meditative guide (Richmond suggests specific meditative exercises such as “Gratitude Walk,” “Calm Lake,” “The Loving Kindness Prayer,” and “Resting in Awareness”), comprehensively explores the connection between spirituality and aging. After giving a brief overview of the next three stages of aging, Richmond discusses elderhood, the feelings of growing older, all the while illuminating his narrative with the Zen fables of his mentor Buddhist master Shunryu Suzuki. The author also includes the present day science of healthy aging and the Buddhist approach.

In his discussion of lifestyle factors that contribute to healthy aging, including diet, exercise, relationships, stress management, and spirituality, Richmond includes lesser known factors such as time in nature, service to others and flexibility in attitude. I found the importance of time in nature the most fascinating. Citing the research of Dr. Roger Walsh, Richmond writes that in an industrialized world where we don’t have healthy time in nature, we can suffer from disruptions of mood and sleep, impairment of attention and greater cognitive decline as we reach the elder years. Equally compelling is the “biophilia hypothesis” movement among environmental scientists, calling for the need of regular exposure to nature to maintain normal mental health. Without it, our minds don’t function well.

When it comes to spirituality itself, Richmond mentions various Buddhist contemplative practices to help with aging, such as mindfulness of breath, compassion, gratitude and spacious awareness. Meditation, he writes, is at its core focus and insight, but it can also be seen as surrender, a state of spacious awareness because it feels like a clear blue sky or a boundless ocean, or a time to simply relax and rest into the light of who we are on a deeper level. A regular practice also quiets the inner dialogue of our minds; it can stop all that thinking about aging.

I found Aging as a Spiritual Practice a heartfelt, yet intelligent guide for those contemplating aging on their spiritual path. It’s a lovely read, well thought out and edited, lacking the simplistic writing, trite concepts or lazy regurgitation that can plague many self-help books. Ultimately, Richmond’s positive spin and Buddhist approach gives hope to aging. It’s worth the read if aging is on your mind too. show less

I am sure I'll speak for a lot of people when I say that we desperately want to age gracefully. And I can also say with confidence that at some point of our lives we ALL will benefit from reading this invaluable book. After all, except for tragic cases when life is cut short by accident or illness, we are ALL going to grow old. There is no escaping the unforgiving passage of Time.

This book offers excellent tools to mentally deal with the aging process, to make the best use of the remaining show more years allotted to us. I loved the idea of "gratitude walk" (I know that unconsciously I've been doing it already, but from now on I will do it more consciously), as well as the idea of "vertical time", the notion of "reframing", the wonderful experience of "resting in awareness" - to name just a few ideas for which I am so thankful to the author. There was not a single boring page in this book. Right at the start, I knew I will give it not less than 4 stars, but by the end - it was a sure 5! The book is uplifting and gives not just hope for graceful aging, but useful tools. I am so glad to have it in my library, as I am sure I will be coming back to it again and again. A most weighty topic, a sensible study, and an outline of feasible and very appealing spiritual attitude. Great thanks to the author! show less