| Abstract: | SUMMARY Spirit, the activating or essential principle influencing a person, and body interpenetrate each other but do not dominate each other in predictable ways. Normal aging is neither a failure of the human spirit nor a failure in the body's Biology. The spirit becomes more apparent as a result of spiritual development. The fourth quarter of life covers age 75 to 100 years. Prior to age 75, the human spirit undergoes significant developmental events: a crisis of meaning which may result in conversion or more commonly stripping or shedding; transitions, including loss of clearly defined roles and loss of the sense that the individual's life makes a difference. One motif applied by our culture to old age is the “iconic illusion”; however, it is evident that in some respects this motif has limited application to the fourth quarter of life. “Meaning making” is, in fact, enhanced in the fourth quarter of life, given reasonable levels of cognitive health. The desire and ability to make sense out of existence, to draw together an understanding of a meaningful life trajectory, is best done in the fourth quarter of life. The dominant sense of time in the fourth quarter of life particularly facilitates spiritual development. |
