Chapter 6 Dialogue with the Soul 1 Growth and Aging

In this world, everyone shares one commonality: living towards death.

According to the "Law of Conservation of Energy", each life is born when spatial energy enters the body, forming a unique combination of energies (known as "Four Pillars of Destiny"). Each life ends when the soul's energy merges back into space, returning to the collective pool of energy.

Dr. Hans-Peter Dürr, former head of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Germany, stated that, The world as we know, is only the comprehensible material aspect. Beyond this known world, there exists an infinite realm of reality... Even if the body dies, the soul remains in the quantum field of the spirit, making us immortal. He drew an analogy: just as the information of a particle is stored in the form of waves, the brain, being a tangible "hard drive", can store our information, which is then "uploaded" to the quantum field of the spirit. By extension, when the human body (or "hard drive") ceases to exist, human consciousness ("data on the hard drive") still persists.

If humans indeed possess a soul and if human consciousness can truly transcend the body and achieve immortality, then does aging resemble a piece of clothing that, though worn, eventually returns to dust?

Medical experiments have shown that human growth is not a uniform process. Compared to other mammals, humans require a significantly longer time to mature. For example, animals like cows, sheep, deer, wolves, leopards, and tigers can stand shortly after birth and run within a few hours. Young chimpanzees, aside from nursing, are almost self-sufficient and can fend for themselves within 2 months. In contrast, human babies take 2 months to lift their heads, 8 months to crawl, 12 months to stand, and only reach the maturity level of a newborn chimpanzee by 18-21 months. The journey of raising a child is well-known to be long and arduous, with parents often needing to care for them until they reach the age of 18, at which point they are legally considered "full capacity for civil acts".

However, it's still too early to celebrate. Prof. Peter Jones from the University of Cambridge believes: The human brain undergoes significant changes at 18, and even in their twenties, people are not adept at handling psychological stress, making them more susceptible to mental disorders. These issues gradually resolve by the age of 30, although some people mature earlier and others later. In other words, humans are not fully "grown up" until around 30 years old.

At first glance, this may seem hard to believe, but those who have reached their thirties often recall experiences that resonate with this idea. The most significant difference between humans and other species lies in consciousness (intellect, emotions, etc.) and the brain that stores this consciousness. A 2011 study by the Rotman Research Institute in the United States showed that: The prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational thinking and controlling emotional fluctuations, usually does not fully develop until around the age of 25. This explains why adolescents are often impulsive and rebellious, and why young adults are inexperienced; their brains simply have not matured enough.

It is precisely this "late blooming" that endows humans with intelligence far surpassing that of other animals. Confucius described the trajectory of human growth in "The Analects"（《论语》）:

 "At 15, I set my heart on learning; at 30s, I was firmly established; at 40s,, I had no more doubts; at 50s, I knew my destiny; at 60s, my ear was willing to listen anything; at 70s, I could follow my heart's desire without overstepping the bounds."

 Doing the right things at the appropriate ages and achieving corresponding abilities is a basic responsibility and respect for life. If someone doesn't study at 15 and can't support themselves at 30, they become a burden to their parents, family, and even society.

Similarly, Prof. Wang Defeng from Fudan University once remarked in a speech: "If a person at 40 still doesn't believe in fate, their insight is lacking." His point was that wealth, honor, poverty, and change are all part of fate, which young people might find hard to grasp. If someone over 40 still doesn't understand fate, it shows a lack of insight and an inability to grasp life's fundamental principles, indicating they haven't fully understood life yet.

Human growth is a process that transitions from slow to fast, appearing to have a distinct "watershed". Aging follows a similar pattern; once the body reaches a certain age, it seems to undergo sudden changes. Researchers at Stanford University published a study in Nature Medicine revealing that there are 3 ages at which people experience a "precipitous" aging.

The researchers analyzed age-related plasma proteins from 4,263 individuals aged 18 to 95, exploring changes in the plasma proteome throughout the life-cycle. They discovered that human aging does not proceed at a constant rate. Instead, there are significant changes in blood protein levels at the ages of 34, 60, and 78. In other words, people are more prone to aging at these three ages (see Figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1: Human Aging

At around 34 years old, health starts to decline. During this time, many people face heavy family responsibilities, high work pressure, and complex interpersonal relationships, all of which significantly impact physical and mental health. This period is characterized by a decline in memory and coordination, the onset of bone density loss, and a gradual decrease in lung capacity.

Crossing the "watershed" of 60 years, the body enters full-fledged old age. This period coincides with the end of menopause for many, and post-retirement lifestyle changes further accelerate aging. The main manifestations include continuous aging of the cardiac conduction system, a gradual decline in gastrointestinal function, and decreased immune function.

By 78 years old, organ systems throughout the body begin to deteriorate rapidly, including the nervous, urinary, respiratory, and circulatory systems. Additionally, some elderly individuals experience significant changes in cognition and psychological state.

In 2021, a study published in the British Medical Journal pointed out that individuals with poorer physical abilities after the age of 65 have a higher risk of mortality. A slower walking speed increases the risk of death by 22%, poor sit-stand ability increases the risk by 14%, weak grip strength increases the risk by 15%, and difficulty with daily activities increases the risk by 30%. This suggests that as physical functions deteriorate, similar to a machine that wears out with use or a piece of clothing that becomes worn with time, the decline is irreversible.

Fate dictates that birth and death are inevitable, and physical death is no exception. Just as a machine works with the aid of electrical energy, and although it stops working when the power is cut, the electricity still exists. When a car breaks down after long use, might the owner replace it with a new one? When a character's role is finished and their costume is worn out, might the performer change into a new outfit to play?

As a human being, perhaps what we should think about more is: when the human body dies, where does the soul energy that maintains the human body's spiritual and conscious activities go, and in what form this soul energy is continued.