The 120 Club - Living the Good Life for 120 Years

By Philip Rose

People have lived for 120 years. It is possible. "The 120 Club" presents a comprehensive and practical program that goes well beyond diet and exercise. Phil Rose's "10 Wisdoms" offers a truly life-extending and life-saving practice. He argues why and how you should decide to live to 120 with zest and good health. Phil has worked collaborati

• Language: English
• Publisher: Go To Publish
• Release date: Jan 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781647497378

Philip Rose

Philip Rose is an artist. Born in 1926, he served in the Royal Navy during WWII, has been a professional actor, and ran with his actress wife their own puppet theatre for ten years. He has also been a deep sea yachtsman who has sailed over 30,000 miles of the seas and the oceans of the world. He ran, with his wife and daughter, a studio in Westward Ho!, North Devon, for over forty years, selling only their own work, paintings, drawings, leaflets and small models of mythical and legendary figures they designed and carved themselves. He is now retired and lives with his family in a large old 14th century house in Bideford.

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The 120 Club – Living the Good Life for 120 Years

Health and Vitality in an Age of Transformation

Copyright © 2020 by Philip Rose

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher or author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.

ISBN-Epub: 978-1-64749-737-8

Printed in the United States of America

GoToPublish LLC

1-888-337-1724

www.gotopublish.com

[e-mail]

Contents

Preface

First Preface

Introduction

Thanks To Others

Chapter 1

The Critical Question

My 120 Club Proposal to You

Fear of Disease, Chronic Conditions, and Disabilities

The Family Connection

The Parent Trap

It’s Never Too Late

A Metaphor

Living Lightly on the Earth

Joining the Club

Chapter 2

Science and Reseach on Aging

More from the Scientific Community

What We Are Up Against

Internalized Messages Limiting Our Lives

The Aging Process

Don’t Let It Bring You Down

An Argument for Hopelessness

An Argument for Hope

Our Ancestor’s Way of Life

Imagination

Grow Old Along With Me, The Best is Yet to Be

Robert Browning

Chapter 3

The Rating Scale and Goals

Using the Rating Scales to Find or --- Keep Your Significant Other

How to Creatively Use the Rating Scale

Goal Setting

Chapter 4

Diet - What Goes In What Goes Out

Wisdom One

Principles of Good Eating

How an Intestinal Cleanse Works

Nutritional Supplements &The Elimination of Toxins

Don’t Rush into Change But Change Nonetheless

Conclusion

Chapter 5

Exercise - Caring For and Repairing The Body

Wisdom Two

Barriers to Exercise

Would you believe that boxing and wrestling could be fun and healthy?

Our Personal History with Exercise

The Many Forms of Exercise

Our Body is a Sacred Temple

Act Before the Crisis

Conclusion

Chapter 6

Emotional Healing

Wisdom Three

The Very Good News

The Very Bad News

The Healing Journey

How Does Healing Work?

Our Personal Histories: The Famine of the Heart

Keeping the Closet Door

Closed and Locked

Drugs and the Medical Model of Mental Health

Mental Illness

Some Great Thinkers and Practitioners

Shared Listening

The Worker’s Guidelines

The Assistant’s Guidelines

Guidelines for both Worker and Assistant

Healing Organizations

-Islands of Decency-

Eight Guidelines on How to Select or Evaluate

Your Private Counselor or Therapist

Conclusion

Chapter 7

Friends And Significant Others

Wisdom Four

Old Friends

Barriers to Friendship

How to Make and Keep Friends and Family

A Small Circle of Friends & A Large Circle of Friends

Conclusion

Chapter 8

Mother Earth

Wisdom Five

Unnatural Barriers: The Age of Climate Crisis

Taking Action

Strategies for Experiencing Mother Earth

Conclusion

Chapter 9

Work, Career, And Money

Wisdom Six

What Constitutes Genuine Human Work?

A Policy for the Ages

Our work must improve the lives of others

Our work must improve the whole planet-air, animals, plants, soil and water

Finding the Job You Want Doing Work You Like

Money – When is Enough, Enough?

Take Personal Power Find Financial Freedom

Stop Working So Hard

Join Forces with Others

Living Simply – An Age Old Idea

Alternative Economies

World Economics and My Vacation Plans

Chapter 10

Spirituality

Wisdom Seven

My Grandmother

Is There a Higher Power?

My Spiritual Path

Five Pillars of Prayer

Your Spiritual Journey

What Should You Do?

Spiritual Renewal

Chapter 11

Creativity And Play

Wisdom Eight

Obstacles to Creativity and Play

Creativity and Play Unleashed

Conclusion

Chapter 12

Western Medical Doctors And Alternative Healers

Wisdom Nine

Mistakes and Successes in Pre Surgery

Before Surgery

On the Day of the Surgery

Post Surgery

Who Does What Best?

The Cost of Medical Care

Which Alternative Healers Can We Trust?

Alternative Healers

Conclusion

Chapter 13

Think Globally and Locally - Act Locally or Globally

Wisdom Ten

Consumer or a Contributor?

Steps to Social Transformation

Becoming an Effective Contributor

Doing Homework – Oh No!

Beware of Burn-out

Conclusion

Chapter 14

Final Thoughts

Notes

Web Sites

Bibliography

About the Author – Philip Rose

This book is dedicated to the memory of my Grandmother – Gram Rose who lived to 102

Preface

Second Preface (like 2nd breakfast – Lord of the Rings)

I wrote The 120 Club – Living the Good Life for 120 Years fourteen years ago. In all humility, I think it remains as true today as it was then. The book is based on Ten Wisdoms which I continue to use and refine each day. My readers tell me these Wisdoms have helped them create long and meaningful lives,

As I grow older, more and more people around me are dying. My oldest and dearest friend of 56 years, Charlie O’Leary, who wrote the first Preface to this book, recently died suddenly. I’m still grieving his loss. Some of us will not make it to 120.

To lose a fellow traveler is heart-breaking but it does not stop me from believing in a very long and healthy life. When I have thoughts of mortality or someone close to me dies, I say to myself, I’m going to live forever. Suddenly all the heaviness associated with death disappears and I chuckle to myself. Inevitably, when I share this mantra with others, we have a good laugh. Laughing at death is a healthy thing. It lightens the load.

Since I wrote this book some things have changed but most of it remains as true today as it did then. I am, in fact, following my own advice. I practice what I preach. I improve on my ten wisdoms year after year. For example, I have found a better source of supplements and natural healers who advise me. I do more and more emotional healing work, almost every day. I swim a mile three times a week and do yoga on the days I don’t swim. I’m making more and more friends as I become deeply involved in solving the climate crisis. And, because isolation shortens our lives, I spend time with my grandchildren, and they keep me playful and happy. I stay close to my Catholic roots and am part of our church band. Music and community bring me joy.

When I read what others have written or spoken about longevity, my book is a benchmark to compare my thinking with theirs. I’m open to learning about new ways of living. I think science is doing some very interesting things to extend life and there are artists, spiritual guides, and healers who are also carrying on ancient practices in new and interesting ways that bring us healing and inner peace. Research about healthy and unhealthy foods has increased.

I hope you will enjoy and learn from my book and compare it to your own thinking. Welcome to The 120 Club! Look for me on social media or write to me and you will become a member of the club – free of charge. I wish you a long and healthy life. Phil Rose 2020

Contact Phil at - [e-mail]

First Preface

When I sat down to write a Preface to my book I remembered what my best friend Charlie O’Leary had written to me after reading one of my early drafts. In the letter. He wrote a longer tribute to me than I expected. He didn’t intend that it become part of my book. He wrote it as my friend and as a way of creatively responding to my work. When I re-read it I felt his love and respect for me. I felt that he had seen me in a way that was unique and interesting. I asked him if I could use most of his words in my book. He agreed.

We’ve known each other since we were teenagers and our friendship has meant a great deal to me over the years. Charlie had a unique and wonderful perspective on life. He authored Counseling Couples and Families and lectured internationally on personal development, the work of Carl Rogers, and counseling. Here is what he wrote:

To my friend Phil,

In the sixties and seventies, like everyone else, you identified with the counter culture without fully knowing what it meant. People played at being counter culture, using its language without integrating it into their lives. You must have been a bit like that because the main culture and its attitudes and habits, which you imbibed in your early years, had a deeper hold on you than you knew or could admit.

Most of our generation outgrew the counter culture, some with eyes wide open and others just by going with the drift of things. You didn’t outgrow it. You tried to, but it blessedly followed you around and taught you lessons that lasted and went deeper than mere words at a rally. You didn’t grow up the way many of our peers did who are now in their seventies wondering what happened to their lives and what might be left of them. You didn’t grow up but now you find yourself grown up anyway. You feel healthier than you did twenty years ago and with more of your life to look forward to than you ever could have imagined.

You now turn out to be healthy, with a loving wife in a marriage that feels young. Your grown children love you and you love and enjoy them more than you could ever imagine. You turned out to be financially secure enough that you can now do only work that you love and is congruent with your deepest beliefs. You are involved in several organizations, in some of which you are a leader and teacher. You don’t agree anymore with the practice of our dominant culture than you did twenty years ago, but you have more love for and am friends with more people who are in that culture than you ever have been. You are not exempt from the troubles and insecurities of life, but you do feel that you have been given tools that make you feel equipped enough to face them as though humanity is enough. It is turning out to be enough.

A culture that is different than the dominant one has been available to you like free food and water and you are thriving. You are actually having a good time. You have learned things and been given gifts that make each day either a joy to live or an opportunity for learning. This way of life suits your body as well as your spirit. Life feels promising even while your eyes are open to all the ways that humans are living dangerously and shut off from their own personal resources.

When you were young, you had knowledge and hope and rebellious thoughts. You are even younger now, but you have the gift of your experience of years of trial and error. Your review of things makes you celebrate the long life you have ahead of you.

Here are all the paths that you are on and how you got to them.

Charles O’Leary

Introduction

This book is my best thinking about what it will take for each of us to meet our real human needs. You may think that we are already meeting our basic human needs but I think we are failing miserably. We get an occasional glimpse of the good life but most people, even those with money, are not doing so well. It is not our fault. We are surrounded with enough to distract us from the basics. I’m interested in having a long long life that is full of love and vitality. I have set out to shape my life in powerful, healthy, and connected ways. I offer you a program of ten wisdoms to a long and healthy life. What I have discovered is worth sharing. These insights and experiences can be life- saving and life-extending.

I think many of us are trying to figure out this puzzle of being healthy and, at the same time, of having a long life. We are struggling to live the best we can. In my opinion most people are dying much too early. I have studied many self help books and books about aging and longevity. I’m fascinated by these many theories and ideas. No matter the author I always learn something. I’m excited that so many thoughtful men and women are taking the time to think about long life and help us develop strategies for change.

Some of this book may challenge you a great deal while some of it may look obvious and simplistic. All I can say is that my thinking has grown out of my own experience. It is not a book of untested theories but a book about how at least one man is deciding to live to 120 in the early part of the 21st Century. I’m having a wonderful time doing it.

While the current global social paradigms offer many people possessions beyond comprehension, travel, long distance communication, art, music, poetry, drama (all at our fingertips) and food in abundance, it has also stolen from us some important aspects of being human. It has diminished our ability to show our feelings openly, trust other humans, feel safe in the world and have a deeper connection to nature. It has also undermined our families and any real sense of community. These losses influence the process of aging and longevity and need to be addressed directly and systematically.

Whether you believe we are evolving into a higher state of affairs, are degenerating into chaos, or staying about the same after 100,000 years matters only a little bit. What matters the most is remembering and knowing the past for its mistakes and its contributions, understanding as best we can where we are in the present, and working toward having our full humanness in the future. We are all in this together. I hope that my thinking stimulates your thinking and that over time we can build a body of knowledge and experience that will support our long and healthy lives.

Thanks To Others

I want to appreciate my incredible wife Beth Broadway for joining me in our mutual and momentous decision to live a long long life. She has also been my best friend and ally in the creation of this book. Her unfailing faith in the importance of my writings has meant more than she will ever know. My son Brendan has consistently raised questions and offered comments that challenged and helped me. He has loved me through each stage of writing and created a beautiful cover for the book. My daughter Vanessa is a constant source of creativity and courage for me. She, her husband Ken and three children give me hope and joy.

I am grateful to Charles O’Leary (bless his memory) for his Preface and friendship. Bob Bogdan offered on-going counsel; insisting that I claim the rightful title of author. Special thanks to Peg Mawhinney, Jack Manno, Karen and Paul Zakrzewski, for their support and helpful insights.

I offer my special thanks to Nancy Rhodes who gave this document many hours of her careful review and insight. She offered invaluable suggestions to help me communicate with you better than my own literacy skills would have allowed.

Thanks to Marissa Williams for her thoughtful attention to the layout of the text. She makes me look good.

Throughout this book I refer to my children. Instead of explaining each time who they are, I will introduce them to you here.

Beth Broadway – My wife and partner – We were married in 1994. Vanessa Rose – The oldest of my two children from my first marriage. Brendan Rose – Two years younger than Vanessa from my first marriage.

Chapter 1

The Critical Question

Here lies Ezekial Aikle…age 102…the good die young.

Epitaph in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia

The Lord Said, "My breath shall not abide in man forever,

since he too is flesh. Let the days allowed him be one hundred and twenty years."

Genesis 6: 1-4

I want you to take a deep breath, clear your mind and answer the following question, When do you plan to die?

Most people laugh when I ask this question and I admit it makes us all a bit nervous to look squarely at such an important issue. Nevertheless, I’m very serious about this question and believe that you already have an answer in your head. I have not met a person yet who, upon some reflection, doesn’t have some age at which they think their life will end.

If you haven’t got an answer right away, let me ask the question differently. If you’re lucky, how long do you think you will live? If you don’t have any serious or unforeseen accidents, illnesses or tragedies in your life, at what age do you think your body will finally give out and you take your last breath?

In response to both these questions, I have heard a variety of answers. The lowest age someone told me is 55 years while the highest is around 115 years. The majority of people I ask hope that they will live to be in their 80s. You have an I’ll be lucky to live to age X in your head. You have unconsciously determined some age in the future.

My 120 Club Proposal to You

Once you have determined your personal date with death, I want you to seriously consider changing that date. I want you to decide to live to be 120 years old. Don’t wait. You must change your mind. This is the first and most important step in living a longer and more vital life. Whenever you think about your health, your future, your lifetime goals, or your retirement, think these thoughts: "I want to live to 120. It is possible. Others have done it. So can I."

Maybe you’ve already decided to live to be 120. Maybe you’ve decided to live to 130 Maybe you’ve decided to live forever. As a result of this simple but profound shift in your thinking you will begin to see life differently. You will see that if you plan to retire at 65 or 70, that your life is only a little more than half over. If you are in your thirties your life will be only one quarter over. If you’re fifty, you have seventy years left.

When you make this shift, you begin to plan things differently. You realize that you have more time to accomplish many interesting projects, learn new things, make new friends and deepen current relationships. You have enough time to change your life for the better. There is no rush. No need to be urgent. I’m not saying you should put off decisions that will give you a long and healthy life, but you don’t have to rush. The hard work of cleaning up our nutrition, exercising, praying, and releasing emotional stress lies ahead. We must start by deciding. Our lives change when we decide to change. It may feel hard, or silly or embarrassing to say to yourself or to others, I’m going to live to 120 but deciding is critical.

It is more fun to do things together. That is why I have set up The 120 Club. The journey to 120 years is both exciting and challenging. I have discovered some important insights and methods on how to achieve a long life. You will also learn important lessons. Let me know what you are discovering so that we can seek out our common wisdom and insight. Write to me on my web site at www.The120Club.com . There is no end to what we can accomplish together. So join my club and decide to live a long long life. It is open to all those who set forth on the path of health and vitality in an age of transformation.

Whatever you can do, Or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe

Fear of Disease, Chronic Conditions, and Disabilities

When I ask people to consider living until 120, almost everyone says, "If, when I grow old, I’m sickly, depressed, dependent, crippled or lying in bed with tubes sticking out of me, I don’t want any part of The 120 Club." I agree completely. No one, including me, wants a prolonged life of misery and needless pain, especially if we have had to watch our parents or grandparents grow under poor conditions.

But I’m not talking about living or dying this way. I believe that we can do things differently. I am proposing a way of living that not only preserves but also increases our vitality, emotional well being, and physical health. We can take charge of our daily lives in many creative and powerful ways.

Our current society both helps and hinders the aging process. One of the best ways it helps is exemplified by the many uses of surgery. Surgical procedures correct conditions that would otherwise limit our life span and mobility. The relatively simple yet timely removal of a diseased appendix can save a life. Removing diseased tissues, replacing hips and other body parts, the extraction of decaying teeth, are other examples of these life- prolonging interventions.

Our society also poses some serious obstacles to long life. These include emotional repression, overwork, addictions, economic oppression, low quality and toxic foods, and polluted water and air. I will discuss these factors in detail throughout this book and help you design strategies to counter their influences.

The Family Connection

We know how to live longer and stay healthy. History is on our side.

When I ask people how long they expect to live they immediately think about their parents, grandparents, and other relatives. How long did they live? How did they die? Or, if they are still alive, how is their health and physical well being? How are they dealing with growing older? How long are they expecting to live? Our family history deeply affects how we see own longevity. Many people think that their life span is almost pre-determined by what they have inherited from their families. I hear this again and again. You come from a good gene pool. Or, There must be some great (or bad) genes in your family. I also hear things like, My dad died of a heart attack at sixty and my mother died of cancer when she was eighty. I’ll be lucky to make it to seventy. We know how to live longer and stay healthy. History is on our side.

We are and we are not our parents or grandparents. John Rowe and Robert Kahn write in Successful Aging, A common error is to assume that one’s genetic predisposition is equivalent to genetic ‘control’ of life expectancy, and that we are all preprogrammed for a given duration of life…Heredity is not as powerful a player as many assume. Yes, we did inherit certain body types and physical pre-dispositions from our ancestors. If there is a family history of asthma or faulty plumbing (like a poorly formed artery valve) we might be more vulnerable to these conditions. We need to look upon these conditions simply as variables to consider as we plan our long and healthy lives. It is an enormous mistake to think that our life span is pre-determined by such conditions or by good or bad genes.

The Parent Trap

My mother died at 65 of emphysema and lung cancer. That’s right, you guessed it; a smoker since she was 14 years old (non-filter Lucky Strikes for starters). She smoked until the day she died.

I have vivid memories of her lying in bed during her final days. The images of her eighty- five pound body hooked up to an oxygen tank still sends chills up my spine. Every once in a while she would take the oxygen from her nose and light up a cigarette. I just can’t give the damn things up, she would confess, shaking her head with cigarette in hand. Oh, how she enjoyed those few puffs even though they were killing her. My godmother, her sister, died the very same way.

In spite of being diagnosed with cancer in her forties and having a lung removed, my mother continued to smoke. In addition to smoking she drank and ate a steady diet of sugar, salt and caffeine and high cholesterol foods. These substances, especially the cigarettes, did irreparable damage to her health. She never exercised and was in her own words a worry-wart which means that she lived a high stress life with little or no support for emotional release. Raised Irish-Catholic, she was a woman who endured a great deal of pain as a suffering servant of the Lord.

My longevity has little to do with my mom’s short life. Her life was very different than mine. I have better information about health and a deeper understanding of physical and emotional healing. I have an excellent support system of teachers, healers, counselors, herbalists, and specialists who care for and tend to my body and soul. As a result I have been able to break many old habits, continue to change,