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    Opus Optimus: A Model for Renewing Life’s Later Years
    Opus Optimus: A Model for Renewing Life’s Later Years
    Opus Optimus: A Model for Renewing Life’s Later Years
    Ebook221 pages2 hours

    Opus Optimus: A Model for Renewing Life’s Later Years

    By Robert V. Smith

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    About this ebook

    Don’t just age, engage.

    ​In Opus Optimus, author Robert V. Smith provides an inspirational guide about how to live your life to the fullest, particularly if you are approaching old age or who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Drawing on the amazing potential shown by the survivors of Near Death Experiences(NDEs) for transformation in this life, Smith has created the Opus Optimus model to help you get the most out of your later days. 

    Smith’s model builds upon several important elements and principles such as:

    •Developing keen intuition and the power to connect with others
    •Finding goodness and value in all days
    •Committing to doing and ensuring good
    •Forgoing materialism 
    •Regretting and fearing nothing, including death

    To illustrate these principles, Smith provides exemplars—including fascinating public figures like Michelle Obama and the late Randy Pausch—whose commendable lives show readers how they too can contribute. With advice from the practical to the spiritual, Opus Optimus will help you renew your later years.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGreenleaf Book Group
    Release dateMay 2, 2017
    ISBN9781632991171
    Opus Optimus: A Model for Renewing Life’s Later Years

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      Book preview

      Opus Optimus - Robert V. Smith

      Author

      PREFACE

      Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine, and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams—day dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing—are likely to lead to the betterment of the world.

      —L. Frank Baum (1856–1919)¹

      In Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey , the computer system HAL 9000 (addressed as Hal) interacts with humans, conversing with mission scientist Dr. David Bowman and playing chess with a crewmember. With our brain-machinery whizzing, we might envision a futuristic time when our own robotic companion could greet us each day and record our thoughts. Nothing particularly novel there!

      Now, imagine that the computer system would have the capability of not only storing thoughts but integrating them into a thought base compiled from months, years, and even decades of data accumulation. That integration and organization could prompt dialogue between humans and the computer system, such as that’s an interesting idea but in 1975, you were thinking of the following . . . Or, Hal, do you recall my favorite scene in the movie I went to in 1977 starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton? Or perhaps, more usefully, I can think of at least two cases at work where we observed this current situation. Are these all, Hal?

      The possibilities for such technology are endless. For example, might we develop permutations that would integrate intellects across generations? Could we then envision a technological companion that informs, What an interesting idea, Bob, but here is what your father (mother, grandfather, or grandmother) thought? Or how about a system that could integrate intellects across all peoples—the famous and not-so-famous—of the world? The avocational historian within us revels at the possibilities.

      Since Kubrick’s film was released in 1968, much has happened in the worlds of computer science and artificial intelligence. So much progress has occurred that, within the near future, technology like Hal could become reality and assist us with critical thinking and complex reasoning. Moreover, future generations might benefit from comparative reasoning with their parents and other ancestors through this kind of innovative technology.

      These programs could provide a tangible type of immortality.

      But whatever marvels or nightmares systems such as Hal might portend, a more important notion emanates from what may seem a harebrained-idea: that we may contribute to future generations as we live and after we die.

      The idea of giving to others is at the heart of this work, but with a new twist. Opus Optimus embraces a new model for living, a set of values including wisdom, unconditional love, and service, deduced from what we have learned about near-death experiences (NDEs) and how many near-death experiencers (NDErs) then transform their lives. This book is an opportunity to explore the model—especially its elements and principles—for all who seek greater meaning, understanding, and fulfillment in life.

      Writing this book has involved an epiphany. My beliefs concerning life, death, and an afterlife came full circle (in short, a life cycle of belief/non-belief/and belief), with new understanding and meaning of my childhood dogmas—particularly regarding potential possibilities for afterlife experiences.

      While some believe that NDEs hold out hope of a rewarding afterlife, there are more important lessons in the lives of NDErs. These led to Opus Optimus, a model that may offer a personal sense of optimism about the possibilities for greater peace and harmony among the citizens of our world community.

      ___________

      1From the To My Readers prelude to The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), the tenth of thirteen sequels produced by the man who also gave us The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)

      INTRODUCTION

      To be fulfilled we need to recognize, all of us, that the world doesn’t owe us a living—rather we owe the world a living. And in the brief time that is given to us, we must somehow learn to give ourselves away.

      —F. Forrester Church (1948–2009)²

      No one is immortal (at least, not in this earthly world). Many people, though, act as if they were—especially adolescents and retirees! At these stages in our lives, we tend to believe we have more time than we do. We may not take care of our bodies, believing they will remain intact indefinitely. We may not strive to accomplish goals, believing we’ll be able to get to them eventually. Worst of all, we may live selfishly, neglecting to reach out to others under the assumption that friends, family, and community will be able to wait for our affections. And then we’re gone. It’s too late.

      This is a book about shedding the notion of earth-bound immortality including the trappings of material possessions and fears of a loss of bodily self—especially near life’s end.

      This book contains a new model for living based on the experiences of millions of NDErs—people of all belief systems, genders, racial identities, ethnic backgrounds and cultures, lifestyles, and political persuasions. And from NDEs that have probably occurred over hundreds, if not thousands, of years (i.e., the accounts of Zoroaster [c. 1000 BCE], artistic depictions of Hieronymus Bosch, and others) as documented and studied primarily during the past fifty years.

      Based on love, service, and creativity, this new model of living is couched in our understanding of NDErs whose perspectives and behaviors have been fundamentally changed. The resulting Opus Optimus model focuses on seeking immortality, a condition attained by forgoing materialism and striving for a spiritual, service-oriented legacy through application of core elements and principles that lead to changed, enriched, and more fulfilling lives.

      Considering the character traits of NDErs and adding what can be learned from a journey through this volume, here are the key Opus Optimus elements. These form states of being (fundamental bases of beliefs and actions) for non-NDErs who wish to develop an Opus Optimus framework of understanding, meaning, and fulfillment during the later stages of life.

      OPUS OPTIMUS ELEMENTS

      •Finding goodness and value in all days

      •Developing keen intuition and the power to connect with others

      •Committing to doing and ensuring good (beneficence)

      •Forgoing materialism

      •Regretting and fearing nothing, including death

      Opus Optimus seeks to help us find special ways of giving ourselves away—through our collective works, love of others, and service to humanity.

      Considering its characteristic elements, the Opus Optimus model is empowered by principles, which may be thought of as virtues, that people should possess to address the needs of others and ensure their future welfare. Thus, while the Opus Optimus elements may be thought of as states of being, the Opus Optimus principles are conceived of as virtuous behaviors that support the elements and their sustainability in those who have adopted the Opus Optimus model for living.

      PRINCIPLES OF THE OPUS OPTIMUS WAY

      •Reverence and Humility

      •Love

      •Optimism

      •Lifelong Learning

      •Focusing on the Future

      •Service Ethic

      •Creativity

      With the Opus Optimus elements and empowering principles in place, we will go from philosophical perspectives to practical realities and, at the metaphorical close to our last days, back to the philosophical.

      In the early stages, I shared the idea of writing this book with a trusted friend. His initial reaction was one of shock, as though the creation of a book about earthly ends would somehow doom a friend or propel a trusted colleague into depression. Several times afterward, the same friend commented, "I hope you are not working on that book."

      Our ideas about death define how we live our lives.

      —Dag Hammarskjold (1905–1961)³

      Opus Optimus starts with a discussion about life and death. Perhaps you have picked up this book because you are in the concluding decades of life, or perhaps you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Perhaps you are destined to go on a particularly perilous journey, such as military service in a hostile environment.

      The chapters of Opus Optimus are arranged in a philosophical and action-based journey such as you might undertake in your twilight years; in the Tabular Review of Opus Optimus (as follows), you will see how the elements and empowering principles are woven throughout the book’s contents. Even though these components are being codified for the first time, I have highlighted one to three exemplars in each chapter who have benefited from the Opus Optimus model. I believe that readers will find these brief individual sketches intriguing because of the unique challenges and beneficent contributions throughout these exemplars’ lives.

      Tabular Map of Opus Optimus

      A Model for Renewing Life’s Later Years

      Chapter 0: Life and Death

      EXEMPLARS

      Chapter 1: Looking Forward, Looking Back

      EXEMPLARS

      Chapter 2: Planning Life’s Days

      EXEMPLARS

      Chapter 3: Physical and Emotional Health

      EXEMPLARS

      Chapter 4: Finances

      EXEMPLAR

      Chapter 5: Creating and Recreating

      EXEMPLARS

      Chapter 6: Thinking About Love

      EXEMPLARS

      Chapter 7: An Integrated Perspective

      EXEMPLAR

      At Opus Optimus’ conclusion, there is a tabular listing of places that Americans have suggested as best places to retire (appendix I) and an appendix concerning the development of living wills and less commonly known ethical wills (appendix II).

      Ethical wills, which have been carried down through the ages by people of all religious persuasions and beliefs, have their roots in the Old Testament. Traditionally, they were intended as a means for the beneficent deceased to share values and blessings with family members based on lifetime experiences and accumulated wisdom. In short, ethical wills help seniors and departed souls provide benefits of ethical context and appreciation accompanying whatever possessions or financial resources are passed on to their heirs (although admittedly, ethical wills have no legal status compared to living wills and wills of inheritance, which are commonly prepared with the help of legal counsel).

      For devotees of the Opus Optimus model, ethical wills may be enriched by including blessings and advice as well as autobiographical and memoir elements, thus becoming an analog of the thought-base noted in the preface. If our thought-bases are developed as described—and even possibly enhanced with video adjuncts—we may eventually achieve truly living ethical wills that continue to share wisdom in real time for generations to come.

      While some may characterize Opus Optimus as a self-help book, I see it as much more. It is a new model for living, loving, and serving based on the powerful effects experienced by those who have had NDEs. Moreover, it is a guidebook to assist an understanding of life in this world and beyond. Rather than telling readers what to do, advice is offered, couched in considerations rather than commands. In this process, I wish to share my writing journey with the journey I hope many will consider pursuing through their own Opus Optimus odysseys.

      ___________

      2American author and senior minister of All Soul’s Unitarian Church, New York City

      3Noted Swedish author, economist, and diplomat who served as secretary general of the United Nations during President John F. Kennedy’s term in office, and referred to by President Kennedy as the greatest statesman of the twentieth century

      Chapter 0

      LIFE AND DEATH

      "They say such wonderful things at your funeral and you miss

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