Aging for Beginners

Ezra Bayda

Nov 2018 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

We all grow old. This book teaches us how to take advantage of a new phase of life: a phase of renewal and inner exploration.

We’re all beginners when it comes to aging. And although the fact that we are in new territory can certainly contribute to the difficulties in dealing with getting older, it can also have a very positive side. Aging can be seen as a new phase of our life: a phase of renewal. Nowhere is this more evident than in our opportunity to devote more time to reflection and inner exploration. The result, regardless of whatever physical limitations we may be experiencing, is the possibility of cultivating and living increasingly from kindness and gratitude—two of the essential qualities of a life of satisfaction and equanimity.

With techniques that are both simple and richly unfolded, this book will help readers:
• learn the subtle art of being with pain
• uncover the fears that amplify suffering
• tap into the true sources of meaningfulness and joy

Winner of the Spirituality & Practice Best Book Award in 2019.

Ratings and reviews

Ezra Bayda's clear perceptions of the path of aging and what it really means to fully engage that path are peerless as both practical and spiritual writing. What sets this book apart is the emphasis on the "how tos"—how to make aging our embodied path through specific practices in stillness and silence, and in daily life. Ezra's nakedly honest sharing from personal experience with pain and loss of health and abilities, and his frank writing about the promiseless horizon of death we all face, are atypical of "spiritual" explorations of this kind and help us encounter the truth of having no way out at all. This invitation to live our aging and dying is lively, vital, kind and authentic. A must read for anyone who wants to explore how the "bad news" is the best and only news.

About the author

Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton have each been practicing meditation for over forty years and teaching since 1995, including leading retreats in the United States and abroad. They currently co-teach at Zen Center San Diego.

Ezra is the author of seven books, including Being Zen, The Authentic Life, and Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts). Elizabeth is the author of Untrain Your Parrot and has led numerous workshops at hospice.