Too many of us believe that aging automatically leads to weakness and cognitive decline. So it’s an honor to speak with centenarians who are willing to share their secrets for a long and healthy life.
Tips for a long and healthy life:
Dr. Gladys McGarry is 102 years old. She spent her childhood in India as her parents were doctors treating people in extremely remote and poor villages. Her encounter with an elephant at the age of nine made it clear to her that healing should also be her life’s work. The first and most important of her tips for living a satisfying life is that each of us can discover what our purpose is and pay attention to it.
Needless to say, Dr. Gladys has lived over a century and has experienced many changes. Certainly medical practice has not stagnated. But even in the 1970s, doctors Bill and Gladys McGarry and some of his colleagues recognized the need for a different approach. So they co-founded the American Holistic Medicine Association, whose mission is to care not only for the patient’s body, but also their mind and spirit. She later served as president of this organization, now known as the Academy of Integrative Medicine. Healing an entire being is different from simply killing pathogens, even if it is sometimes necessary. It can also be equally important to enlist the help of the patient’s inner healer.
Find Your Juice:
Understanding the purpose can be very difficult. Dr. Gladys recounts the story of a young man named James who has just graduated from college with her science degree in computers. Jim’s father, an engineer, was pleased with the prospect of his son getting a stable job, but Jim was reluctant. He had no idea what to do with his life, but he thought a vision quest would help him figure it out. His parents consulted Dr. Gladys, and she supported the idea. The days she spent in the wilderness with no food or water, she realized that all she wanted and had to do was make music. This was decades ago, but Jim is still making music. Because that’s where he found his “charm”.
Follow the light:
One of Dr. Gladys’ beautiful metaphors is chasing the light. She points out that life has to move and moving towards the light usually yields the best results. She literally lives up to her own advice. She needs a walker these days, but with it she tries to walk at least 3,800 steps a day. Her eyes are no longer strong enough for her to enjoy reading, but she listens to audiobooks. Old age is not a time of stagnation, she assures us, we can only get better as we age. To achieve that, we need to practice her 5 Her Ls: Life, Love, Laughter, Work, and Listening. If you start practicing now, you are more likely to live a long and healthy life.
Guests of the week:
Dr. Gladys McGarry is still working at age 102. Known as a pioneer in the allopathic and holistic medicine movement, she is also a founding diplomat for the American Holistic Medicine Commission. She is co-founder and former president of the American Holistic Medical Association, now called the Academy of Integrative Health Medicine, and co-founder of the Academy of Parapsychological Medicine. Dr. McGarry now does medical consulting, maintains a healthy diet and occasionally enjoys a delicious cake.she is the author of living medicine. her latest book Living Well: 6 Secrets to Staying Healthy and Happy at Any Age, According to a 102-Year-Old Doctor.
her website is https://gladysmcgarey.com/
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