Spiritual
Quantum Psychology
Quantum psychology and Ebenezer Scrooge reveal the secret of happiness.
One hundred fifty years ago, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, which, in addition to being an entertaining ghost story, reveals deeper psychological truths. When the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, goes to bed Christmas Eve, he is an unhappy, solitary, miserly old man. He wakes up Christmas morning – transformed. Instead of “bah, humbug,” he laughs joyously as he buys gifts, wishes people a “Merry Christmas,” and plans how he will help Tiny Tim, the handicapped son of his clerk.
Scrooge did not transform his life by talking about his problems or working 
on his “issues.” His transformation occurred while he slept and dreamed of four ghostly visitors. These ghosts are metaphors for what happens in real life.
The psychological insights expressed in A Christmas Carol correspond to the insights into personal growth provided by quantum psychology, which is a combination of Eastern philosophy and Western science. Perhaps the most revolutionary insight is that talking about problems does not bring about transformation but hinders it. Dreams are produced solely by the unconscious mind and just as we dream in pictures, fundamental change emerges from communicating with the unconscious mind in the language it prefers – pictures. When we do, the brain responds immediately.
Quantum Psychology
The Last Rite of Passage: Old Age
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor, AD 121-180
Here is a reality check into what it means to be old in America, and it doesn’t look good. According to the US Census Bureau, more of us are living longer. Our present life expectancy is 76 – 80, and by 2030, people 65 and older will make up 20% of the US population (71 million). When you reach 65, you will have an 80% chance of acquiring at least one chronic condition (most probably arthritis), and a 50% chance of having two. In addition to short term memory loss, there is the dreaded Alzheimer’s, which affects 10% of us over 65 and 47% of us over 85. When you get old, you can expect unrelenting deterioration of your physical health, mental faculties and quality of life – and soaring medical expenses.
So, is there anything good about getting old? Based on my recent experience at age 73, my response is a resounding, “Yes!”
By 72 I fit the aging profile (arthritis, two hip replacements) and shared my displeasure with my friend, William, then 87. “I’m younger than you,” I grumbled, “but now I have your symptoms: short term memory loss, can’t concentrate and I’m depressed and preoccupied with death. All I do is read novels, watch Netflix movies and eat ice cream. Remember, when your mother was on her death bed and told you: ‘Sonny, life is ‘bullshit?’ Well, she got that right. Do you think maybe we have Alzheimer’s?”
Now a year later, I discovered that rather than Alzheimer’s, I had been experiencing a normal life passage, one of several that occur throughout our adult lives. The first passage is adolescence, when, at about age 13, we begin to leave childhood behind. The second passage, which occurs around age 35, is the infamous midlife crisis, when we leave youth behind. The third passage occurs around age 50, when we confront the imminence of old age. When we actually reach old age, at around age 70, the challenge is to leave everything behind and confront death.
