midlifejourney.com

Author: Christine Phoenix-Green

Since 60 is the new 45, and 35 the new 28, it is a little hard to gauge exactly where “midlife” starts and ends. Today there are all kinds of options and variations in how people live out the different phases of their lives.

For instance, each of my daughters are mid-lifers if we count ages 35-39 as a midpoint, but each of them have just become mothers for the first time with the enormous and focused responsibilities that that entails..and in that respect, they are at a different midpoint stage than I was at at their ages, seeing kids off to high school and college, being freer and just getting ready to look to new creative horizens for myself. They, in their mid-to-late thirties with small children and full time jobs, are now going to bed exhausted at 9:30 pm, and I, a grandmother, am out dancing Irish sets until 1:00am!

Where, exactly IS “mid-life” and what are we supposed to be living out? The different topics here on this site open up wonderful avenues for sharing stories about how to find our way through the now-extended passage of mid-life with great information for practical use, and humour for the journey we all share in common that sometimes makes us reflect on the foibles and challenges faced in a culture that idealizes youth, fame and wordly success.

What I have found in my practice of certain modes of Spiritual Guidance, which includes astrological insight, paying attention to dreams (personal “gifts of the night” ) and participation in the creative arts for self-expression or prayer, that there is another aspect of “midlife” that also, for many people, starts to focus us away from the glitter in search of the Gold…in otherwords, in a sense, an occassional, if not persistent, turning inward to question if the life we are living or have been pressured to pursue reflects our deepest desires or truly uses the gifts and talents we came in with to live fully, lifting the culture around us to its highest potential.

The culture can be sometimes “glitter”, but living an Authentic and Soulful YOU life is pure Gold, and mid-life is the opportunity to consciously reset your priorities and chart a course that is more soulfully in tune with your own personal destiny from the Inside- Out rather than from the Outside-In. Sitting with someone and their astrological chart at this time, is an amazing tool for dialogue and reflection on what is most natural, harmonious, and peaceful for you. This “mystery” modality can guide you personally as we all move through the haze and maze of culture that has tended to homogenize life’s experiences, feeding us images of what should be important, that may not reflect you at this time, or indeed, at all!

Christine Phoenix-Green can be contacted at cphoenixrising@earthlink.com for information on personal Insight Astrological, Dreamwork or Spiritual Guidance sessions.

Read more articles on the Spirit page of this blog.

Christine Phoenix-Green
cphoenixrising@earthlink.net

Author: PMullaly

I am a golfer. Not a good one. And getting the body torque and swing to work together is a challenge. It’s all about that subtle shift of weight, the turn at the hips that gives the swing it’s power. It’s not about strength… it’s about power. Big difference. If you ain’t got that swing, your game got no bling! (As in winning!)

I spend hours each week working out at the gym, trying to make the mind-body connection, focusing on muscles I never knew I had. The obliquus externus abdominis is such a muscle. There are two of them, one on each side of the torso, and they come into play when you twist and turn through your golf swing. Too stiff, and there is no swing, too loose? Sorry, don’t know of a too loose muscle! at least not on this body… no wait! There is that bit of flesh on my arms… triceps? They could use a little tone! And those abs… they really are a little too loose… come to think of it, most of my body is loose muscle.

This morning I spent 15 minutes with a personal trainer trying to isolate the obliques. I do have them, but my mind had a wild time trying to fixate on the actual spot. Takes time. Slowly, slowly… my mind is reconnecting to my body. Not easy.

I prefer to come at this question from the angle of what is not the point… i.e. what’s the harm in sharing experiences? ideas? opinions? and advice from the boomer point of view. Traffic to the site is growing!!!

From our beginnings over a year ago, we have gone through several iterations of the site. We started first as a static website with lots of pages, lots of clicks and subjects… content supplied by a wide variety of specialists in fields from dining to business consulting.

Blogging then became the way to go. The website was transformed to this blog, going through a couple of design transformations… but now it seems to have settled down.

We are always looking for good content: submissions from our readers with an expertise. Christine Phoenix Green has begun to contribute on the Spirit page. Check out her latest article.

Kathy Ekdahl continues her great articles on fitness. And we are beginning to add more articles on dating and relationships, travel and of course, money. Check back often to read the latest.

I’ve got lousy eyesight. Been wearing glasses since I was twelve years old. Loved them then. I thought they made me look older and sophisticated. They did. Now, in midlife, I hate them, but can’t do without.

Do glasses really make you look older?

The ads on tv try to make wearers of the lens look hip and sheek… but they seldom do. To me, most people who wear glasses look, well… older. If the frames are dark and thick, perhaps “intelligent” or “smart” could be thrown into the mix. If they are too thick, then “dork” is the answer.

I’d love to get rid of the things. I drop them, scratch them, forget them, but can’t live without them. Laser surgery won’t work for me for reasons I can’t fathom. So I’m stuck with them. So I look older.

Reality I guess.

This past Sunday The Boston Globe had a feature article on the best cities in which to find a mate. After mounds of research they discovered what is probably obvious to those who live in the big cities of New York, San Diego and Boston.

If you’re a guy looking for a woman, head for the Big Apple. There are way more single women than men in the city. (Remember Sex and the City… the character Carrie often mentions this imbalance.)

If you’re a woman looking for a guy, head for sunny CAL… San Diego is swarming with single guys.

And, if you can stand the cold winters, Boston turns out to be the perfect place for both men and women, because statistics show that we (being a near Bostonian, I can claim ownership of the area) have a near perfect balance between the number of single men and women. Who knew Boston would be a near perfect place to meet the mate of your dreams.

Make your move. Welcome to Boston all you seeking singles.