Wednesday 9 June 2010

Help The Ageless!



I have an announcement to make. I no longer have an age! From now on if you ask me how old I am I will reply: “I am ageless.” This is incomprehensible from the Conformist perspective, and some of you regular HPANWO-readers might even wonder what I’m on about. How can I be ageless? Everybody has an age because we all get born on a specific date and age is the measurement of how long ago that date was. But no, age in Conformist society is more than that; it is used by society to define your life. After your gender identity, whether you are a man or woman, your age is probably the most defining characteristic of your persona. It’s a force that weighs us down, holds us back, hinders our desires and dictates our behaviour. It is this kind of age I am against, in fact I’ll spell it with a capital first letter to distinguish it; "Age" as opposed to "age". age is merely the length of time we have been alive, Age is the monstrous and destructive cultural baggage hanging onto that scale. The reason I have decided to become ageless is to oppose Age, not age. The pressure put on us by the Conformist Regime to submit to Age is enormous. We have words like “toyboy” and “sugar-daddy” to describe relationships between people of different ages. We have catchphrases like “birthday blues”, “you’re no spring chicken”, "the big four-oh (or five-oh, six-oh etc)” and “mutton dressed up as lamb”. It’s the source of much humour with jokes like these: http://www.jokesclean.com/Age/ Society ridicules and condemns those who breach the regulations of Age. What Age we are decides what is acceptable or unacceptable for us to think, say and do. People of a certain Age are meant to listen to this kind of music, go to this kind of pub and wear this style of clothes. I’ll never forget talking to one of the nurses at work, a woman of thirty-five, who was about to move to New Zealand with her husband, a man of similar age... and Age. She told me: “I’d rather go to Australia than New Zealand, but we’re too old. Australia is a young person’s place.” It amazes me how depressed people get when, for instance, they have their fortieth birthday. They lament: “I’m getting old!” But take away the Age and look at the age. On their fortieth birthday they are precisely one day... just one day... older than they were the previous day before when they were aged thirty-nine. Of course Forty is a milestone because it marks a new decade, the “big four-oh” of Age-Conformism, but the only reason decades exist is because our number system is base-10. This came about probably millions of years ago when we were still ape-men and we first learned to count; humans have ten fingers so we counted on them and created a base-10 or base-5 numerical structure. If we’d evolved with eight fingers rather than ten then we’d be counting in base-4 or 8 instead; and being thirty, fifty or sixty years old would become just another year, like turning thirty-seven or forty-two. So you see the difference between Age and age? I want to rid myself of this psychological mill-stone.

I’m interested in what has become known as “the aging process”. This is not completely understood by biologists, but it seems to be caused by expanding and repeating errors in cell division. Some scientists think that this is inbuilt into our DNA, which makes sense in evolutionary terms because a biosphere filled with immortal creatures would pretty quickly become overcrowded; living creatures have to die to make room for new ones. The result of this, in our society, is that people’s bodies gradually deteriorate and slow down until they eventually stop working and they die. This is what happens to people in modern Western society. It is thought of and almost universally accepted as inevitable. I recently went on manual handling training at work where the lady taking the course reinforced that notion. But is this really the case? I do suspect that rather than built-in or unstopped deterioration there is a “switch-off” DNA strand somewhere in our genome; this would be necessary in evolutionary terms, like I said above. This might make the work of Aubrey de Grey and the Life Extension Movement futile unless they can find a way to neutralize this strand; see this very old HPANWO article on the subject: http://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2007/08/life-extension-movement.html . The reason I wonder about this is because almost all aging studies, called “gerontology”, have been done on modern Western people, people who are supposed to be the fittest and healthiest in the world. However I’m also interested in the gerontology that has been done on indigenous peoples, and it comes up with some surprising results. In Nexus (see links column) a couple of years ago there was an article about a scientist in the 1920’s who traveled to a very remote village high in the Swiss Alps. The people there had very little contact with the outside world and lived in self-sustaining communities. His initial study was on the health of their teeth, and he discovered that they never suffered from cavities or gum-disease, despite the fact that they only brushed their teeth occasionally. Then his interest moved on to their health in more general terms. He found that they very rarely got sick, at all or in any way; and they only called in the doctor when one of their folk had an accident. Another thing he remarked on was how it was very hard to tell the people’s age. For instance when a father and son were standing together he had to look closely to see which one was which. He noticed that men of all ages used to hike into the forests every day and work as lumberjacks and they’d all be capable of the same workload despite some being in their 20’s and some in their 50’s. In other words there seemed to be none of the deterioration with age that is endemic among modern Westerners. Sure they’d get a few grey hairs and more lined facial features, but apart from that a man of 50 seemed to be able to do anything that a man of 20 could. Not that they were immortal, in fact their life-expectancy was no longer than the average for Switzerland at that time; but what happened was that they’d stay young for 50 to 60 years and then suddenly, as if that DNA switch had been tripped, they’d suddenly deteriorate and die within a year or two. It was as if the aging process in the West was all condensed down to 20 or 30 months in their bodies. Their aging graph would look like an inverted hockey-stick instead of the steady descending slope that is the standard Western one. Why? Well they lived a very healthy lifestyle. High up in the mountains the air is fresh and the water is clean and natural. Their staple diet was organic meat, dairy produce and vegetables. In fact their health suffered badly in the following years when roads and railways were built up the mountains to their villages, allowing the introduction of processed food and other Western merchandise. But it could also be because of their culture.

I’ve found that people who are young at heart tend to look younger, whereas those who are very conscious of their Age and who comply with its doctrines tend to look it, as if the thoughts and feeling of Aging are the very cause of its physical signs, rather than the conventional view which says that it’s the other way round. Our thoughts do affect our physical well-being. It’s been shown that happier people are healthier, so why shouldn’t younger-minded people be younger-bodied too? So become Ageless! It’s very simple. Firstly if you’re a Blogger, remove your age from your profile, as you can see I have done. Then stop thinking of yourself as being a particular age. Celebrate your birthdays by all means, but celebrate them without referring to the number they are. In fact I’ve already found that I have to think twice to remember my age, something we’re not supposed to forget! What a different world it would be if everybody forgot their age! Also treat other people as Ageless too. If a group of young girls or boys at work want to go off on holiday together, go with them. Don’t be put off with the thought: “But I’m so much older than they are.” Don’t address them as “son” or “lad”, or treat anybody any differently because they are younger or older than you. Try to make no assumptions about them because of their age, and keep those you can’t help making to yourself.

Who knows, this could catch on! We already have a Freeman-on-the-Land Movement (see the TPUC website on the links column); I could have started an Ageless Movement that can be related to that. So who’s with me?

(Latest HPANWO Voice article: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2010/06/michael-wood-and-jeevika-trust.html

New HPANWO TV film: http://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2010/06/butts-911-trilogy.html)

16 comments:

Dr Johnty said...

I tend to agree with what you say. People often say to me (I am 49) that I should not push myself too hard but I still do the same daily routine of 120 pushups, 50 situps, 50 leg raises, 100 lifts of the 30lb dumbells and a few other bits and pieces such as stretching and the whole lot gets done in the same 15/20 minutes it took at 20. Do I feel any different? The answer is no and oddly many people think I should but I don't see it. Last year I got a bit edgy when I checked my blood pressure and it was 145/90 so I cut down the red wine to two glasses a day and started walking and swimming more and the result inside 3 months was an average of 122/73. I put a lot of holding it at bay I put a lot of holding it at bay down to supplements and my daily morning/evening supplementation regime is below - this is the daily amount not twice daily!

Resveratrol (must be from Biotivia.com in my mind) 2gm (2 x 1g)
CoQ10 (2 x 30mg) It would be 50mg but Ray and Terry has 30mg
Garlic Capsules (2 x 500mg)
L-Carnitine 2gm (4 x 500mg capsules)
Vitamin D3 in Winter (2000iu)
Potassium
Magnesium
Total Care Daily Formula (see rayandterry.com)
L-Arginine 2 x 500mg)
Omega 3 Fish Oil 4 gramms

I find this lot seems to keep things in check but for how long is anyones guess! Some people say it sounds daunting but it isn't and the thing is I eat what I want so I am not totally obsessed. The Ray and Terry supplement is excellent and the contents are below:

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 6 Tablet
Amount Per Container: 30


Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Vitamin A (palmitate) 2500 IU 50 %
Vitamin A (beta-carotene) 2500 IU 50 %
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) 1000 mg 1667 %
Vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol) 600 IU 150 %
Vitamin E (mixed tocopherol complex) 400 IU 1333 %
Vitamin B-1 (thiamine hcl)
25 mg 1667%
Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin)
25 mg 1471%
Niacin (granular) 32 mg 160 %
Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine hcl) 25 mg 1250 %
Folic Acid 200 mcg 50 %
Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin) 100 mcg 1667 %
Biotin 300 mcg 100 %
Pantothenic Acid (calcium pantothenate) 500 mg 5000 %
Calcium (carbonate\citrate) 500 mg 50 %
Iodine ( kelp) 200 mcg 133 %
Magnesium (oxide) 350 mg 88 %
Zinc (amino acid chelate) 15 mg 100%
Selenium (sodium selenate) 100 mcg 143 %
Copper (amino acid chelate) 1 mg 50 %
Manganese (amino acid chelate) 2 mg 100%
Chromium (GTF) 200 mcg 167 %
Molybdenum (sodium molybate) 75 mcg 100 %
Potassium (gluconate) 99 mg 3 %
Choline (bitartrate) 60 mg *
Inositol (monophosphate) 102 mg *
Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex 102 mg *
Para-Aminobenzoic Acid 102 mg *
Vanadium (amino acid chelate) 51 mcg *
N-Acetyl L-Cysteine 201 mg *
Trace Mineral Complex
(sea vegetation) 102 mcg *
Boron (amino acid complex) 1.5 mg *
Bromelain (2400 GDU) 90 mg *
Grape Seed (95% extract) 120 mg *
Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) 30 mg *
Alpha lipoic acid 60 mg *

Unknown said...

Humans don't have ten fingers. We have eight and two thumbs :^P

Leila said...

I agree with you. I am ageless. I don't have an age and can do whatever I like. I get pissed off when people ask me my age and I will defy them. That woman who constantly referred to AGE should go and work at Age Concern.

Leila said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi Front, I'm glad you don't conform to the social mores of your age group. I don't take any supplements, but I eat organic as much as I can and avoid processed food. i also completely eliminate any aspartame-laced drinks. I don't share your commitment to cutting out wine though. Two glasses a day is not enough for me! :-)

It's vital that we insist on high-quality supplements in the face of Codex Alimentarius; see my reviews of the AV conferences and Ian R Crane's lectures.

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Very drole, Cheesy Chimp! :-) My daughter got me with that one.

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

That should be what Age Concern should do from now on, Ustane. Enforce AGE-conformism! :-)

Alex Robinson said...

Splendid - am taking your advice & becoming ageless. To be honest I've never been into all that crap, but you said what you said very well - am dumping my supposed Age from my site - wise words indeed.

I had an aunt who was more like a child in many ways - here's a pic;

http://toolonginthisplace.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-giddy-aunt.html

- in her 70's she would be complaining about the 'old people' who got in her way at the supermarket - she had this wondrous ability to laugh & have fun. I think fun is the secret to youth.

Really pleased to read this!
Thanks Ben :)

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi Alex.

What a young "old" lady she is! It's true you know, we don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing!

Glad you liked my article. I'm a bit off colour at the moment and so haven't done any more articles, but there's more coming up!

All the best,

Ben X

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mannix said...

This is a good reflection on our tendency to impose age expectations on ourselves - I'm not sure it benefits from the 'fight the system that's doing this to us' theme, though. As Pogo in the Walt Kelly cartoon famously said, 'We have met the enemy and he is us!' We don't have to create goodies and baddies; just recognise those propensities within ourselves (and therefore reflected in our social structures) that actually don't do as any good. Having identified them, we can challenge them - but the challenge is ultimately to ourselves and your blog is a great contribution to that.

By the way, it is unlikely that the base-10 systems come from our digits. The Babylonians used a Base-60 system from which our current framework for describing smaller time frames emerged (seconds and minutes rather than years) and remember decimal currency only came in in the 70s and we still (some of us at least) use imperial units despite always having had ten digits.

Overall, still a great blog. Thanks.

John Mannix

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