Imagine Everybody’s Older

The Foolproof Guide to Eternal Youth

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. The title has told you all you need to know. Even before I became aware of how our thoughts create our reality, I was subconsciously putting this little gem of an exercise into practice. Yep, for some reason, I always think people are older than me.

Okay, not babies and children; teenagers neither. That would just be stupid. Even I can’t stretch my imagination that far. But everybody else? Well hell, yes.

In candles on the birthday cake terms I am late thirties – aka that age when everyone else born between 1975 and 1980 seems to be living in a constant meltdown, perpetually checking their parts for wear and tear, constantly zoning in on the latest grey hairs, forever getting their violins out about the wrinkles, stretch marks and cellulite.

And the average life expectancy is what nowadays? 80 for European women? According to a 2013 report whose results were etched into our consciousness by the BBC it is… So how depressing is that if you are one of the complaining flock of sheep in your late thirties? You’re only just over half way through! Another 40 years of aches, pains, imagining worst case scenarios, googling ailments – which by virtue of the Law of Attraction are only going to stick themselves to you limpet-like even faster – and yes, you guessed it. Lots more grey. And sadly, definitely, not of the Christian ilk.

Which is why I turned my back on all of that crap.Who needs it? What kind of a life experience is that?
No, in my head I place myself as 28-30. And there I happily stay. I can bend, stretch and touch my toes. My back’s in great shape. My eyesight is flawless. I can dance with the best of them, run with the rest of them.  I feel fit and healthy. I have a zest for life; an insatiable thirst to have fun, do everything, enjoy it all. I love my body. I love my face. I love ALL of me. Even the hairy bits. I am magically free from the ticking time bomb of worry that seemed to plague everybody else the day the clock chimed that the fourth decade of their lives had commenced.

And time is an illusion anyway. So go figure. We are literally wishing all of this ageing and physical decline upon ourselves. No wonder they go together so effortlessly hand in hand.

Now consider the alternative. I want you to imagine you are ten years younger.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Hold on to that vision for a week. You heard right. I am challenging you to walk the walk and talk the talk of the YOU who is ten years younger.

Do whatever it takes, but preferably keep it legal, and see what happens. Watch out for the signs. I am hereby promising you that if you really take this experiment seriously (in the spirit of fun) then The Universe is going to start flashing a new reflection back at you… almost overnight.

I am inspired to invite you to take part in this experiment after reading about an awesome case study in Dr. Joe Dispenza’s ‘You Are The Placebo’ – a truly mind blowing book that will totally change your view of the ‘ageing process’. Here’s what happened to a group of elderly men whose story featured in the book: ‘When these men arrived at the monastery, they retreated from familiar lives. They were no longer reminded of who they thought they were based on their external environments. Then they began their retreat by holding a very clear intention: to pretend they were young again (using physical and mental rehearsal, because both change the brain and the body)… As they watched the movies, read the magazines, and listened to the radio and television programs from when they were 22 years younger, without modern-day interruptions, they were able to let go of the reality of being in their 70s and 80s.’

To cut a not so long story short, their brains began to fire neurones in brand new sequences. Thanks to their environment making them feel younger, their brains literally didn’t know any different. Their bodies started producing neuropeptides to match their new emotions. These were delivered to their cells; deep within their DNA where new proteins were created. The proteins sought out new genes according to the information they stored. When they found those, the proteins unlocked the DNA, firing up epigenetic changes. A bunch of physical tests was carried out on the men before and after the ‘youth retreat’ and the results were astounding. Their bodies had become younger.

Now this was over the space of a week.

What could you achieve in a week?

Keep a journal of the synchronicities, the comments people make about your appearance, the way your body feels, the way you behave around people who (in those beloved birthday cake candle terms) are according to their birth certificates, younger than you.

But for this experiment to work, you have to be totally committed. That means there are rules. I’m not usually one for rules, or sticking to them. But these are mine, so they’re good’uns:

• Stop complaining about the issues, circumstances and people that your late thirties self complains about. Your late twenties self wouldn’t have given a monkeys’ about them and you know it!
• Stop moaning about the state of your body (this includes squeezing into those blessed jeans, greys, wrinkles, cellulite and on and on and on). Finding fault with your body, consistently looking for things that are wrong, surfing the net for symptoms of illness are doing one thing: Inviting ageing and the degrading of bodily conditions to happen! So stop now. This instant! Enough.
• Stop getting into debates about politics and the state of the economy. That means switching off the scaremongering that is the news. Why choose to start your day by hearing about the David Cameron’s Moet Champagne delivery at No 10… while benefits for the poor are being cut and the NHS is in turmoil? Does it make you feel good? Does it make you feel carefree (the very emotion that is our goal during this week of fun)?
• Stop being an Eeyore about the lack of money in your purse since you’ve had children!

  

• I know this won’t apply to all of you. Some of us late thirties have made the decision not to, haven’t yet decided to or been able to start a family. And some of us late thirties have the kids AND the money. What I mean is, most of us late twenties were financially pretty flush and independent in comparison to our bank statements of today. Re-capture that feeling of abundance. Milk it for all it’s worth. Just for a week. You might even enjoy yourself!
• And finally… perhaps the biggest challenge of all; stay away from The Book of Face! Facebook is a treasure trove of moans and groans. If one of my 228 friends isn’t sighing about feeling old because their daughter has turned 13, then another is posting a piccie of their son wrapped up in a duvet with a fever. We don’t need to know about it! It doesn’t make us uncaring. But we simply have to put Self Love (which means tending to our good feelings as much as possible throughout the day) first. Otherwise we have nothing to give anybody else or this beloved planet of ours, and we simply add energy to the buzz of fear plaguing the masses. It’s just like the oxygen mask dilemma on the plane. You have to do yours first, everybody else’s second. Or how can you be useful?

Now go have fun and feel young. Just imagine everybody’s older. Play the music that led you onto the dance floor Pied Piper style a decade ago, wear the clothes (who gives a stuff about Gok Wan’s opinions anyway), eat the food, think the pink fluffy happy thoughts, do the sport, decorate the lounge in fairy lights again. Whatever it takes.

Come back to me after your week long experiment and tell me what happened. I’ll be really interested to know!