The Second Half of Life
Angeles Arrien
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Sounds True
ISBN: 1591792525

Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom.

In every culture, in every age, the wise have observed that in the middle of our years, we encounter a series of “thresholds” we must cross in order to fulfill the final stage of our destiny. “We are all born with a great dream of our lives... that may have been derailed along the way by family and career responsibilities or submerged by our own choices. In the second half of life, after your roots have gone deeply into the world, it is time to resurrect this dream.”

From the Introduction: “More of us are entering the second half of our lives than at any other time in history... more of us will find ourselves living much longer as elders than did our parents and grandparents... These extra years, even decades, extend the blessing of life. Yet in many ways we are not prepared to live them fully. Our culture has lost the capacity to acknowledge and value elders the way many other cultures around the world do. We have forgotten the rites of passage that help us learn to become wise elders, actively participating in our communities and living a deep, fulfilling life.”

Dr. Angeles Arrien, working with images, poetry, metaphors & other forms of symbolic language from all over the world, introduces us to the Eight Gates of Initiation so that by mastering their lessons & gifts, we may harvest the meaning & purpose of our life, readying for spiritual maturity.

We are taken step-by-step through each gate: Silver, White Picket, Clay, Black and White, Rustic, Bone, Natural & Gold, to learn more about effectively coping with the natural challenges of health & an aging body. About your secret longings: how they give you direction & inspiration. What intimacy will mean & some ways to balance the two distinct meanings of life: your external with your internal, & what retirement really could be like.

Angeles Arrien, author, cultural anthropologist, & storyteller, describes the principles that will inform the second half of our life so that we may walk “The Blessing Way” in prayer & sacredness, gratitude & affirmation.

Having reached The Second Half of Life (which at several times seemed an unlikely probability) I found the treasures within this elegant & eloquent book restorative, illuminating & gently healing -- a forthright & mind-expanding book of prayers of enlightenment.

The Second Half of Life is certainly a kind & meditative gift for those you love who are wondering what to do with the rest of their lives.

More from Angeles Arrien:
The Four-Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer, and Visionary
The Tarot Handbook
Signs of Life & more.
(07/02/06)

Rebecca