I never separated retirement from other events in my life--it just happened. There were very few shock effects. It simply evolved along the continuum of aging. One has to stay clear of the stereotypes of growing senility, lest you fulfill the stereotype. Human creativity makes life a good deal easier, for it carries with it tolerance and with tolerance comes compassion.

Retirement is a time to make the inner journey and come face to face with your flaws, failures, prejudices and all the factors that generatthoughts nd unhappiness. Retirement is not a time to sleep, but a time to awaken to the beauty of the world around you and the joy that comes when you cast out all the negative elements that cause confusion and turmoil in your mind and allow serenity to prevail.

Q. Is there a book that serves as a guideline for dealing with this new phase of life?

Beware of a "book" for it can lock you into a particular perspective of the author. If there was one book that was influential for over twenty years, it was Vernon Howard's Mystic Path to Cosmic Power . It's a guideline for the spiritual journey. So too, Thomas Merton's many books played an important part. As well as Krishmamurti; Hazret Imayat Khan; Abraham Heschel; Zalman Schachter; Martin Luther King Jr.; the Peace Pilgrim, Thoreau; Rumi etc. etc. and the Oxford Book of Aging. All served as guides to a healthy and productive life.