Friday, November 28, 2008

Why Would Someone Be Thankful for Achieving Immortality?

On this American Holiday weekend, I have pondered my many blessings; and what things I would be thankful for by achieving immortality? Here is a short list which I invite all of you to contribute to:

1. A longer life would give one the time to do all of those things we wished we had done with our lives. We all have things that we wish we just had the time or the money or both to do with our lives. A much longer life would at least give us the time to do those things we have struggle most of our lives for a chance to do.

2. Living beyond our years will give our investments a chance to mature into a nice nest egg to retire from. We all wish we could actually make a few dollars from our savings accounts, our 401K's, our investment club's, etc. Giving any investment time, even a simple "passbook savings account" will eventually accumulate money. Some accounts take longer than others. However, if we only had the time to allow our investments to grow, say 50 to 100 years, we could eventually retire, permanently.

3. Extending our lives allows us to see other things grow around us. Many of us would love to see children, grand children ,and possibly great-grand children blossom before our eyes. Isn't it a shame, that most of us never get that chance? Would it not be a blessing if we could have the time to watch and participate in the lives of our offspring and our future generations. Perhaps spending more quality time with them as they begin their new lives?

4. Getting all of our tax money back. One day I sat and calculated how old would I have to be to get back all of my money thatI paid in taxes in the form of social security checks. I figured it would be about when I reached 127 years old. I am sure, by the time I actually reach 127 years of age, that the actual number would be much higher than that. However, the though of living old enough to get back all of my hard earn tax money back into my pocket had a special feeling about it.

5. Receiving that senior discounts, permanently. Ok, this is another money thing, but to many people, this adds up to a nice bonus. Receiving this bonus for 60 to 600 years or more, would bring about a nice little bit of pocket change. Just a nice, pleasant thought.

6. How about learning another career or a new hobby? Some people would like to try a different career or try that other hobby that they have dreamed about. Here is another benefit of receiving those extra years so we could try new things, work a new profession, and in a sense become a different person. With time on your side, all things are possible.

7. With more time on your hands and time on your side, love can become quite interesting. With more time in your life, you can find that special soul-mate, or even soul-mates, to make your new years quite enjoyable.

8. "Time heals all wounds". So the saying goes. Healing old wounds helps us live longer, healthier, and happier lives. With enough time, you can get past those painful memories or injuries.

9. And last but not least, with the extra days in your life, you can finally get the opportunity to clean your house; especially your bedroom; enough to meet your mother's expectations.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Is There a Cure for Human Aging on Its Way?





Episode 6 of Achieving Immortality Channel podcast with your host, Benjamin Grundy, is ready and waiting for you.

Listen Now to this podcast, click here

Episode 6 will present several articles and blog posts describing a possible cure for human aging. We will then delve into the possibility of immortality from people who know a few thingsabout the possibilities of immortality; and perhaps will reveal a few of their secrets to human longevity.

In Episode 6, Ben Abba will be devulging the secret of immortality and 7 tips of extending our lives from the 2,800 year old man whom Ben Abba has been writing about.

This and a lot more can be heard in Episode 6 of Achieving Immortality podcast radio.

Episode 6 of Achieving Immortality is sponsored by Ben Abba, author of forth coming books: “Secrets of an Immortal - An Eyewitness Account of 2,800 Years of History” and now ““Wake Up! Live the Life You Love - Wake Up Moments - Book 2”.

Both of these books will introduce to the world the possibility that one or more real immortals walk among us and what can learn from them.

Tags for this post are: Health, Immortality, Immortals, Leonid Gavrilov, Longevity, Medieval Scotland, Ray Kurweil, Science, Secrets of an Immortal, aubrey de grey, ben abba, human longevity, telomeres, wake up moments

Monday, November 10, 2008

Supercentenarians of Record Who Lived More Than 150 Years - Part 3

The ABC network ran a recent Barbara Walters special called “Live to 150 … Can You DO It?”. This special show several segments about extending our lives from several of the experts of our time.

One segment of this TV special described how a nutrient found on red wine called Resveratol, has shown to slow down our bodies aging process. The special went on to interview a scientist who is trying to patent a concentrated formulation with Resveratol to give us a new pill for life extension.

A very interesting segment in this show centered around a group of “calorie restrictors” who weigh and measure every calorie they consume. They believe that by reducing their calorie intake by 30% from the average American, they can improve their energy, memory, eyesight, and extend their lives. Ben Abba will have present more information on the Calorie Restrictive Diet on a future podcast.

The main segment of this Barbara Walters Special was about the man well know as the authority on anti-aging, Dr Aubrey de Grey, PhD. Dr. de Grey is a British biomedical gerontologist educated at Cambridge University and is presently the chairman and chief science officer of The Methuselah Foundation and editor in chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research.

Dr. de Grey fully believes that “a cure for human aging” through science is very possible in our near future. In fact, he has identified what he concludes are the seven area of the aging process that need to be addressed medically.

Quoting Dr. de Grey:

"It's not really a matter of living forever, it's just a matter of not wanting to die. One doesn't live forever all in one go, one lives forever one year at a time. It's just a case of "Well, life seems to be fun, and I don't see any prospect of it ceasing to be fun unless I get frail and miserable and start declining." So if I can avoid declining, I'll stay with it really."

"Adam and Eve lost it, alchemists tried to brew it and, if you believe the legends, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon was searching for it when he discovered Florida.

To live forever while preserving health and retaining the semblance and vigor of youth is one of humanity's oldest and most elusive goals.

Now, after countless false starts and disappointments, some scientists say we could finally be close to achieving lifetimes that are, if not endless, at least several decades longer.".

For more information on Ben Abba and his interviews with a living, breathing supercentenarian, check out his website at:

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Supercentenarians of Record Who Lived More Than 150 Years - Part 2

So why doesn’t Guinness World Records report any of these supercentenarians, especially Li Ching Yun, as the world’s oldest person that ever lived? Obviously the Guinness people believed they either could not confirm these people from the limited records that are available about them. Or maybe, just maybe, they did not want to confirm any of these people’s incredible age. And because Guinness World Records did not confirm these 150 plus year old supercentenarians, like Li Ching Yun, most people today do not believe it is possible to live beyond 122 years.

While it is true that records dating back 100 years or more are difficult to verify, there is a likelihood that at least some of these supercentenarians of record, did survive more than 150 years. And it is even possible, and likely, that there were many other supercentenarians throughout our history, whose long lives will never be known.

Perhaps a few of them are living among us even today?

So what can we learn from all of these people who lived more than 150 years? There are a few hints of we can learn from the records that we have:

From the stories about the life of Shirali Mistlimov the is a hint of his secret to longevity. First, right up until his final moments of life, he continued to perform his daily chores in his garden and his orchard. He never smoked or drank, but he did walk and ride horseback regularly. He spent most of his life married and raised many children.

From what we know about Javier Pereira, he too walked regularly and survived 5 marriages. Henry Jenkins, who died at the are of 169 years, was known as an excellent swimmer at the age of 100 years.

However, the best information that we have is from the Granddaddy of all known supercentenarians, Li Ching Yun. According to researchers, Li Ching Yun attributed his longevity to his life long vegetarian diet and regular use of rejuvenating herbs plus “inward calm”. He was a renowned herbalist and outlived 23 wives. When asked by a pupil for his secret to long life, Li Ching Yun replied “keep a quiet hear, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.”

For more information on Ben Abba and his interviews with a living, breathing supercentenarian, check out his website at:

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Supercentenarians of Record Who Lived More Than 150 Years

The Guinness World Records lists Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years, as the oldest person on record. She is said to have met the famed artist Vincent van Gogh at the age of 13 which caught the attention of the media in 1988. However, with all due respect to Mrs. Calment, she died quite young compared to other supercentenarians found in other records.

Many people first heard about supercentenarians from the January 1973 issue of the National Geographic about the Azerbaijani people who are known to live incredibly long lives and marry after reaching the age of 100 years. This issue of National Geographic also contained an article about the oldest living of the Azerbaijani people, a man named Shirali Mislimov.

In the following year, Time ran this obituary about Shirali Mislimov in its September 1973 issue:

“Shirali Mislimov, Died 1973 at 168 years in Azerbaijan, USSR. On his birthday in 1971 he rose at dawn to do his daily chores in the garden and orchard. Among his well-wishers were doctors who gave him his annual physical and judged his health perfect. He has never been ill, though forced to give up riding horseback recently. At 160 he journeyed to the capital city (his first visit). There a doctor recorded his pulse at 72 and blood pressure at 120/75 but then this was after a three storey climb! He neither smoked or drank. He is survived by his third wife, 107 years old, 219 other family members, including a grandchild aged 100 years.

Now from the News Review magazine, dated 22 December,1938 we have:

“Zaro Aga, according to the death certificate given by his doctor, died at the age of 157 years. He has died in Istanbul, Turkey although there exists a confusion about the death place probably because the body was sent to US right after his death.

He was born in Bitlis, Mutki,GundĂȘ Meydan , Ottoman Turkey and worked as a construction worker when he was young, then moved to Istanbul, worked as a porter for more than 100 years and finally retired as a janitor. He was a major attraction to press during his last years as the world's longest living man and traveled many countries including US, UK, Italy and France. His body was sent to US for research purposes after he died."

From the Sear's Wonders of the World, we have this one:

"December 5, 1830, died at St. Andrews, Jamaica, the property of Sir Edward Hyde East, Robert Lynch, a negro slave in comfortable circumstances, who perfectly recollected the great earthquake of 1692, and further recollected the person and equipages of the lieutenant-governor, Sir Henry Morgan, whose third and last governorship commenced in 1680, viz., one hundred and fifty years before. Allowing for this early recollection the age of ten years, this man must have died at the age of one hundred and sixty years."

From the April 1958 issue of Time magazine we have this interesting article:

Javier Pereira, 169, died 1958, in Columbia, S.A.

Only 4'4" tall, weighed 75 pounds. Taken to New York Hospital Cornell Medical Centre in 1956. At that time he had all his hair without any gray, teeth were all gone, skin like old brown wrinkled leather, eyes cloudy but still serviceable, hands arthritic but a powerful hand-shake firm and surprisingly youthful. Arteries showed no signs at all of deterioration. His endurance and feats were remarkable like standing on one leg and pirouetting without losing his balance, walking three blocks and climbing two flights of stairs without losing his breath. He had no immediate relatives (though married 5 times), his last grandchild had died 15 years ago at age 85 years. He was known by oldsters in his own village when they were in their teens as the "old Indian who liked to dance".

From the “Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine “ book by Gould and Pyle we have this interesting tidbits:

“Henry Jenkins, 169, died 1670, in Yorkshire England.” Present at the Battle of Flodden (1513) at age of 12. When over 100 he was still an excellent swimmer.”

"In a churchyard near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, is the following inscription: "Here lieth the body of William Edwards, of Caereg, who departed this life 24th February, Anno Domini 1668, … one hundred and sixty-eight"

"Jonas Warren of Balydole died in 1787 aged one hundred and sixty-seven. He was called the "father of the fisherman" in his vicinity, as he followed the trade for ninety-five years."

"In the chancel of the Honigton Church, Wiltshire, is a black marble monument to the memory of G. Stanley, gent, who died in 1719, aged one hundred and fifty-one.


From the book titled “History of Human Life Span and Mortality” by Acsadi and Nemeskeri we have even more interesting supercentenarians:

“Thomas Parr, 152, died 1635, in England. At the age of 130 was an active farmer, did not marry till 80, then again at 120. Presented to King Charles I in 1635. The excitement of the journey to London brought on his death-its immediate cause was over- eating. He was autopsied by Harvey who found the "internal organs in a perfect state; his cartilages were not even classified".

“John Rovin, 172, died 1741, of Temesvar, Hungry. His wife, Sarah Desson Rovin died the same year at the age of 164 after a marriage of 147 years.”

“Kentigren, 185, died 5 Jan. 600 A.D. in Scotland. Founder of Glasgow Abbey.”

"Petratsh Zartan died 1724 in Hungry at the age of 187. A few days before his death he walked a mile. Shortly before his death a Count Wallis had his portrait painted. When he died he was more than 10 years older than Abraham and 35 years older than "old Thomas Parr (who died earlier at the age of 152 years)."

In Charles Hulbert’s book titled “Museum Europaeum” published in 1825 is this interesting article:

The most remarkable instance of longevity which we meet with in British history is that of Thomas Carn, who, according to the parish register of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, died 28th January, 1588 at the astonishing age of two hundred and seven years. He was born in the reign of Richard the Second, anno 1381, and lived in the reigns of twelve kings and queens, Richard II, Henry IV, V, and VI. Edward IV and V, Richard III, Henry VII and VIII, Edward, VI, Mary, and Elizabeth. The veracity of the above may be readily observed by any person who chooses to consult the above mentioned register."


However the granddaddy of human longevity on record, is that of Li Ching Yun. The May 6th, 1933 edition of The New York Times contains an incredible article titled

“LI CHING-YUN DEAD; GAVE HIS AGE AS 197”

This article is subtitled “Inquiry Put Age At 256”

“Peiping, May 5 – Li Ching-Yun, a resident of Kaihsien, in the Province of Szechwan, who contended that he was one of the world's oldest men and said he was born in 1736 – which would make him 197 years old – died today.

A Chinese dispatch from Chungking telling of Mr. Li's death said he attributed his longevity to peace of mind and that it was his belief every one could live at least a century by attaining inward calm.”

The article continues, “In 1930 it was said Professor Wu Chung-chien, dean of the department of Education in Minkuo University, had found records showing Li was born in 1677 and that Imperial Chinese Government congratulated him on his 150th and 200th birthdays. A correspondent of The New York Times wrote in 1928 that many of the oldest men in Li's neighborhood asserted their grandfathers knew him as boys and that he was then a grown man.”

Another article found in the May 15, 1933 issue of Time magazine titled: “Tortoise - Pigeon - Dog” stated the following about Li Ching Yun:

“In the province of Szechwan in China lived until last week Li Ching-Yun. ... By his own story he was born in 1736, had lived 197 years. … Some said he had buried 23 wives, was living with his 24th, a woman of 60, had descendants of eleven generations. The fingernails of his venerable right hand were six inches long. Yet to skeptical Western eyes he looked much like any Chinese 60-year-old. “

For more information on Ben Abba and his interviews with a living, breathing supercentenarian, check out his website at: