“No matter what aspect of your living body you're thinking about, it has to move. There has to be some movement to life. If you stop moving, you die.” - Dr. Gladys McGarey, Consulting Physician & Co-Founder of the American Holistic Medical Association
Audio:
Intro (00:00)
What’s life like at 102? (02:39)
The most important factors for a long and healthy life (04:15)
Common misconceptions about aging (07:18)
Dr. Gladys's new book (12:48)
Brain health (15:46)
Nutrition (17:51)
Holistic medicine (22:14)
The question Dr. Gladys gets asked most (30:05)
The future of holistic medicine (44:38)
On longevity (46:21)
Outro (50:36)
Video:
Intro (00:00)
What’s life like at 102? (01:54)
The most important factors for a long and healthy life (03:29)
Common misconceptions about aging (06:35)
Dr. Gladys's new book (12:17)
Brain health (15:20)
Nutrition (17:28)
Holistic medicine (21:45)
The question Dr. Gladys gets asked most (29:30)
The future of holistic medicine (44:52)
On longevity (46:38)
Outro (51:00)
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PODCAST EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Claudia von Boeselager: Welcome to another episode of the Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host, Claudia von Boeselager. I'm here to uncover the groundbreaking strategies, tools, and practices from the world's pioneering experts to help you live your best and reach your fullest potential. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to always catch the latest episodes.
Legal Disclaimer: Please note, to avoid any unnecessary headaches, Longevity & Lifestyle LLC owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of The Longevity & Lifestyle Podcast, with all rights reserved, as well as the right of publicity. You are welcome to share parts of the transcript (up to 500 words) in other media (such as press articles, blogs, social media accounts, etc.) for non-commercial use which must also include attribution to “The Longevity & Lifestyle Podcast” with a link back to the longevity-and-lifestyle.com/podcast URL. It is prohibited to use any portion of the podcast content, names or images for any commercial purposes in digital or non-digital outlets to promote you or another’s products or services.
PODCAST EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Gladys McGarey 0:00
No matter what aspect of your living body is that you're thinking about, it has to move. There has to be some movement to life. If you stop moving, you die.
Claudia von Boeselager 0:16
Are you ready to boost your longevity and unlock peak performance and welcome to The Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host Claudia von Boeselager, longevity, and peak performance coach. Each week we'll explore groundbreaking science, unravel longevity secrets share strategies to grow younger and stay up to date with world-class health and peak performance pioneers. Everything you need to live longer, live better, and reach your fullest potential ready to defy aging, optimize health, and promote peak performance. Visit LLinsider.com for more.
Hi there, it's Claudia out, and I'm super excited to invite you to my free training on achieving peak performance and increasing longevity without burning out, even if you're short on time or dealing with health issues. This is for you. As a peak performance and longevity coach, I've helped entrepreneurs and business professionals like you accomplish more while enjoying vibrant energy to live their best life. If you're ready to unlock your peak potential, grab the training free training by signing up at LLPeak.com. Today. Plus, I have a special gift for you just for joining. So don't miss out on this life-changing opportunity. Just go to ll peak.com. That's llpak.com today. See you there. Today's special guest is Dr. Gladys McGarry, with a golden age of 102. Yes, you heard correctly, 102, And as we speak today, she is still a practicing doctor and consulting physician. So quite an inspiration for us all. Dr. Gladys is regarded as a pioneer in the allopathic and holistic medical movements. She is the co-founder of the American Holistic Medical Association and has had a family practice for more than 60 years. She maintains a healthy diet and enjoys a good piece of cake every now and then she has spoken at TEDx. And she's also the author of the brand new book, The well-lived life. 102-year-old doctors have six secrets to health and happiness at every age. Welcome to The Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast. Dr. Gladys, it's a real pleasure and honor to have you with us today.
Dr. Gladys McGarey 2:36
I'm so happy to be here. London, can you believe it?
Claudia von Boeselager 2:39
Yes, I'm in a heatwave in London without air conditioning. So if you can tell my glow on the face. It's all in view of health and sweating. I think Dr. Gladys, I'd love to start with understanding you have the pleasure of taking the seat of my oldest podcast guest at the ripe tender age of 102. What is lifelike at 102? Can you share this with my audience and me?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 3:04
Well, it's just like it's always been; it's just very exciting. I mean, there's every day there's something to do. Sometimes it's kind of a drudgery, but you know, you drag yourself through that day, and you get a while, there's another one that is exciting. Is my man a matter of living in the moment enough that you're not carrying a lot of baggage that you don't need? Would you say
Claudia von Boeselager 3:31
mindset and that mentality of living in the present and finding joy in things has been one of the contributing factors to your happy long life.
Dr. Gladys McGarey 3:40
Absolutely. And having something to live for because we're each one. So our own person, no one else can do what I can do. I mean, that's pretty awesome. You know, there isn't another person in the world that can do what I can do, or what you can do, or what my son can do, you know, and each one of us has a special place in the jigsaw puzzle of life that no one else can replace. It's truly an honor. And awesome.
Claudia von Boeselager 4:15
Dr. Gladys, what would you say are some of the most important factors for living a longer, healthier life
Dr. Gladys McGarey 4:22
just kind of be sensible. Do what tell what your body tells you is good for you to do. I'm not going to be a gymnast, and I'm not going to do major stretches or anything. But my body's going to let me know what it is that I can do. And what I can do today isn't the same as what I could do yesterday or the day before because today is a different day. I got different things to do. So it's a matter of being aware enough of the lessons that our bodies and our minds have to teach us.
Claudia von Boeselager 5:04
Do you have secrets for tapping into listening to the body as you, I'm sure very well familiar with nowadays? People were so cerebral, right? We're always in our heads, and people are stressed, etc. And you mentioned a few times, you know, re-accessing the wisdom of the body. What is your advice for doing that in the best way?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 5:24
Well, it's kind of like, I had a patient and the story, I'll tell you, sure, a lovely lady came in, she was really struggling with shoulder pain, um, and she was having a lot of trouble with shoulder pain. And we sat in my office, and we talked about this, that, and the other thing, and, finally, we tapped on a couple of interesting things. But when she got up to leave, she reached over and picked up her purse. And it was a huge, heavy purse. And I said, there are your problems, you know, it's a matter of being aware. And our bodies can teach us that. If something that I do is twisting me in a different way, I better stop doing that because that's what's hurting me. However, there are times when it's not what it's doing. It's what it's not doing. I'm insisting on Well, I don't always do it. But I try to get daily steps in with my walker because I'm not steady enough now to walk without a walker. So I walk as a walker. His name is Skywalker. And we walk together. And it's I tried to do 3800 steps a day. Some days, I can't do it. Some days, I have other things that take up my time. And I'm just tired, and I can't do it that day. But my attempt is to do it daily. And I have a cell phone that records it, you know, which is, can you believe that? Yeah,
Claudia von Boeselager 7:18
I know. I've got the Apple Watch and things as well. It's, it's amazing what technology can do today. So aging, well, is a very popular and important topic. What is the one thing you think people often get wrong in how they think about aging,
Dr. Gladys McGarey 7:34
they don't understand that. It's you can actually age into health. Because the kinds of things that you find as you get older, or different from the kinds of you age things that you did when you were younger, like right now, my eyes are a big problem. I have glaucoma, and I have a blind spot and all of this kind of stuff. So I can't read. And so I may not have my eyesight. But I still have my vision. Can you get the difference between because there is something that is always lighting up my day? I mean, that vision is what keeps me going because there's something always looked at to look for in the light. Instead of going back into the darkness and saying, Oh, I can't see, I have to say that sometimes. And I say it quite often during the day. Oh, I can't I didn't see that, or I can see that. But it's just like, it's not important that I can't because the kinds of things that I, as an individual person, and becoming aware of now are so awesome. Like the whole business of phenol feasting. Do you know about fit manifesting?
Claudia von Boeselager 9:00
Can you share further details with my audience? Absolutely.
Dr. Gladys McGarey 9:04
I actually this also tucks into it a dream because I think it's important for us as conscious beings to pay attention to our unconscious B, which has a lot of stuff to tell us sometimes. And if we do, life goes just takes on all kinds of dimensions. So way back. Oh, it must be 10 years ago; I woke up one morning was a huge crash. I heard this crash. And I woke up, and I was both in and out of my dream like you can be, and I saw myself in the valley of the high Himalayas. I grew up in the mountains and in the valley of the high Himalayas. And on my right hand. There was a young woman splayed out on the ground and just barely breathing Then, on the left-hand side, there was a huge man dressed in armor in exactly the same position. And the voice came into my head and said, It's time that you people stopped doing this. And he heard each other. It's time for us to do this, move your fingers together and learn how it is that you can work together. And I was, I thought, wow, that's pretty interesting. And I have a friend who is a psychic in Virginia Beach, Rosalie, dear heart anyway, I was talking to her about manifesting something. And she says, You know, I've been thinking about another word that I think is useful. And she says, Why don't we ever talk about feminine feasting? And I just loved that. Because in reality, when you take my dream that I had just had into context with some other words, the woman was lying on the masculine side of our beings; that right hand is our right hand. So she had almost killed herself by trying to be more masculine, manifesting things. And the guy on the left side was saying, we'd gotten things mixed up; we thought that we women have to be masculine enough that we can manifest. Now in my way of looking at things. Manifestation is like Jacob's Ladder; it's, you take one step, you vote, you get your degree, and then you buy a house, and then you this and your debt, all of that is manifesting and climbing the ladder. But Fana's festy is a spiral. And the spiral, you can be up on the Fifth Level and know what's going on down on the second level. It's, that's how we do things. If we can get ourselves back into the position where we can really understand how it is that we need both the manifestation and the feminine station, we can age into health. Because as we do that, we find out what it is that makes our hearts sing. What is this going to manifest the way that we wake up and say, Wow, is that group
Claudia von Boeselager 12:48
uniform? Thank you for sharing that, Dr. Gladys, in your book, you share six secrets to health and happy life. Which of these secrets is the closest to your heart? And can you share a bit about how it helps you in your own life?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 13:03
You know, that's almost like asking me which of my six kids is my favorite.
Claudia von Boeselager 13:09
So you love them all. Of course,
Dr. Gladys McGarey 13:12
there is no favorite, but there's definitely a relationship of one to the other to the other to the other. I mean, life without love can't exist. I mean, love is a great healer who takes, for instance, a seed in a pyramid. It's been there for 5000 years, it's had all the energy of the universe within it. But it can't do anything until love in the form of water and attention and so on allows it to crack its shell. And then it can manifest. But feminine gestation is like pregnancy. And a pregnancy. Though it's one unit, the mother and the baby are one what the mother eats, the baby eats. But, you know, it's a complete unit. But the moment that baby takes its first breath, that baby becomes a complete unit. It manifests as who it is, but it could not manifest if it had not seven festered for nine months prior. And once it's been infested. The work of the person who's manifesting completely changed. I mean, now you have just taken care of diapers and stuff. It's, it's an amazing sequence of events. So there can't be any one of these more exciting or important or enlightened or anything else. It's a sequence. It's what life has it grows, it lives, It becomes
Claudia von Boeselager 15:01
what was your inspiration to write your book? And what is the some of the key messages you want to get out there in the world?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 15:09
The key message, I guess, is, I've lived this long, you know, and I've written other books, most of them are basically medical books. This one is the essence of the answers. So it's, you know, you get to a point where you have to live into Asian to health and get those answers to some questions and, and understand how everything that you've lived is a teacher. And it's my job to share what I can with whoever is available to listen to why but
Claudia von Boeselager 15:46
I'd like to switch gears and talk a bit about brain health and improving brain health. Also, to build more resilient minds, what is some advice that you share with your patients and in your community,
Dr. Gladys McGarey 15:59
you could work, you know, find something that you're stretching for, you're looking for, if you think that you've done everything, you're, and you just let your brain be there, without outgrowing into anything, it's going to just be them. You know, it's like, if I tell a patient that they, for some reason, they have to rest, you know, they, whatever, and I tell I do what I have to do it, and I say, and now go home and get a good rest. I'm not telling them to go home and do nothing. Because resting is something, you go home, and you go to rest. You don't just go home and do nothing, you go home to rest. If you go home to rest, your mind will rest. And it will allow itself to re-focus. And you might even dream. And if you dream, it might even give you something else to understand and awaken to, and so on. I mean, it's a process of understanding that no matter what aspect of your living body is that you're thinking about, it has to move. There has to be some movement to life. If you stop moving, you die. No matter what, there's your brain. If I stop moving my finger, it'll get stuck in either that position or this position or something. It won't be able to move.
Claudia von Boeselager 17:51
Yeah, the body's made for movement, right? So I mean, you're doing almost 4000 steps a day. I think putting some people to shame or like, oh, I don't even do that I'm, you know, whatever age it might be. So hopefully, it's an inspiration to everyone listening tactic lattice. I'd like to shift gears to discuss nutrition because we know that nutrition plays a key role in longevity and peak performance, and living well. Is there a rule or a routine you've applied? That has proven to have the greatest impact on your health and vitality.
Dr. Gladys McGarey 18:26
Yes, what works for me? You see that one of the problems is I can have something that is just really good for me, and I get up in the morning. And for years, I've had Raisin Bran with prunes. I mean, come on. I have lactose-free milk. Okay, that's it. Not everybody can eat grace, Trenton prunes, and you find what works for you. And if it works, you may not have to have it every day. But it may be something that becomes habitual, and your body gets used to it. And you want to have something that's alive, salad salads or fruit or something. But what I can get here in Arizona, but I've got a citrus tree in my backyard. You are in London, you can eat the same thing that I did or is not available to you. I had mangoes and papayas and stuff, and I was a kid. They're difficult to get. And so I don't have them very often. So when when when we outline a specific diet for everybody. I think we're stretching it. I think we need to say there are certain basic principles of good health that are wealth. Pay attention to it, and then find out how your body and how you work with it. It's like, I have a son who can't eat onions or garlic. Well, my goodness, growing up in India, trying to do something without onions and garlic is silly. It's a matter of whatever it is, how your body is going to accept it, and how you are going to be able to respond to what you've taken in because that's your job. That's the physical evidence of what you've bought, you're fueling your body with, if you're fueling it with fats and too much in the way of sugar and so on. You're kind of just kidding it, trying to try to teach your body what you would like to do. On the other hand, if chocolate, you know, chocolate down then or even any one piece of chocolate a day or something works for you, bless it, and eat it. But I think the underlying factor of all this is blessing your food. If you take your food in, in with an attitude of gratitude. Your tummy says, oh, yeah, this was good. And it settles in. But if you say, oh, man, I shouldn't be eating this. You know, it might be a huge thing that is wonderful. And you should read a celebration or something. If you're sitting there saying to yourself, I really shouldn't be eating this. What's your for today you got to do.
Claudia von Boeselager 21:51
That's true. Clarity here again, don't miss out; grab the free training on how to achieve peak performance and increase your longevity without burning out. Just go to L L peak.com. Today, holistic medicine an impact on the quality and longevity of your life. I'd like to dive into this area where you're a specialist as well. What are the biggest holistic medicine takeaways for people looking to be at their best each day and peak performance?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 22:23
I didn't start out with these five L's. But I've kind of morphed into this. And I think it's a nice, it's a good foundation for how we can structure how our life goes. And let me just go through these five ELLs, the first L is life. The second lap L is love. The third is laughter, The fourth is Labour, and the fifth is listening. Now, the first l like I said before, life, but life without love, can't really do anything. But when the two of them get together, love activates life. And once it activates life, we're on a roll, you know, now you keep going because love has to move. If love stops moving, it dies. But love can move into the light, into hope, into all things. But love could move into laughter, and laughter without love really mean it's cruel. It's it can do very uncomfortable things for people. But laughter was Love is happiness and joy. The fourth one is labor. Labor without love is drudgery. On gotta go to work, that is too many diapers Is this too much to do? You know, and you sort of drive yourself through it, and it becomes harder and harder. But Labour with luck is bliss. It's what you do today. I mean, why are you doing what you're doing? Because it makes you aware of something that you came to do. It's part of your purpose. It's why a singer sings it's why a page or page. It's why I became a physician, why I still consider myself a physician, you know, it's the whole energy aspect of ourselves that says, Well, this is what gives me juice. This is bliss. And the fifth one is listening. Listening without love is an empty sound is to call me and Gong and Gong, you know it just took off. But listening with love is understanding. So I've kind of put this like a carpet on my floor for what I consider a good path to take when we're considering holistic medicine, which now I'm calling living medicine,
Claudia von Boeselager 25:16
why did you change the name from holistic to living because of the five L's or
Dr. Gladys McGarey 25:22
chili, I must have been about 15 years ago, I was in the grocery store and pushing my cart, and I heard over the PA system the hardware store down the street announcing itself as a holistic hardware store. So I stopped by the cart, and I said, Well, there you have it; it's become a household word. Everybody knows, you know this, but they don't know what it is. But here it is. So we started using what we had been using, the concept of living medicine. But the whole, when we started the American Holistic Medical Association, we started, and it took us two years to figure out how to spell it. Because the root word that we were looking for was health, healing, and holy. And so, the spiritual aspect of the whole concept of living medicine was essential to start it. And that's why on my 100 and 31st-second goodness, I'm halfway there. So two and a half hours a day, I wrote a tricycle to the audience. Because it that a tricycle is a perfect example of the whole structure of holistic medicine. First of all, the things that we learned in that I learned in medical school had to do with my body and my mind, and we were during the war. And everything was a word against disease and pain. So we were trying to get rid of disease and pain. And we're still doing that. But those are the two back wheels of a tricycle. They're there that they're put together with a strong structure, it has a good infrastructure, and it's very stable, and all of that. So you've got those. So when we got when I got my degree, in medicine, as an MD, I was well instructed in and had access to working with the body and the mind. But in some places, the spirit was not being considered. And I'd grown up with parents who had taken their osteopathic medical training out to India as a whole process of their life, which is, of course, impacted by life. And I knew that the whole aspect of body and mind was essential to connect, but it had to be connected also with the Spirit. So it took us two years to find out that the health and holy, you know, for holistic, but then as you're looking at a tricycle, you have that structure. But it can't really go anyplace until it has that one wheel in the front. So you have the wheel that directs it and can go, but even that can't work. Until somebody climbs a bit bored. And at that told her the story feels, I mean the handles, and started peddling. It's the reality that the connection of life to life to life to life is essential. And if we can understand that one day does lead to the next, the next, the next, the next and be looking towards, you know, how could I possibly imagine doing what I'm doing today with you?
Claudia von Boeselager 29:38
I love the analogy of the tricycle and the importance of incorporating that spiritual component as well. Otherwise, it's just a structure that you know will is not going to get you very far, but the tricycle is that perfect unison right in your renowned obviously for your work. And I'm sure you meet a lot of new people every day. Dr. Gladys, what is the one question you get asked constantly, the thing that everyone is dying to know the answer to people ask the
Dr. Gladys McGarey 30:05
same question in different ways. Okay, they all want to know why I'm so old, what I'm doing, and some of the stuff I'm doing, I'm not telling anybody. You know, I mean, it's, I have my own private life too. And, anyway, my dream is that I'm going to switch it. Not as to you directly, but this is true. I really am working towards creating a village for living medicine, a village where the moment you step onto the property, your healing starts to happen in any place in the world, where love and healing and the awareness that we as human beings are really the caretakers of this earth. And that what we're doing on this earth is, what is our job. And see, I have the notion that when God created us as human beings, and he said, Okay, now, you're the one group of living aspect people, you have a choice, you have decision making, you can do this, and I'm going to give you dominion over the rest of the world. And we got really proud, and we sat back, and we said, that means dominance. Now, dominance means you're gonna just do what you want to do and make the world Earth do what it will do. To make you do you want us to do dominion means you take care of yourself, the caregiver for the earth. And if we can really recreate in our minds the fact that we're caregivers for each other, starting with ourselves, we've got to learn to love ourselves, and once love and respect ourselves, once we can do that, and really, be aware that what I have is universal, every other person has, it's just mine, and, and work with it in that way. And then be aware that my job is to take care of myself so that I can take care of the world around me. It's, we're not in this alone; we're in it together. And unless we can reclaim our dominion, which means we humans are here to protect and take care of the earth. We're going to destroy everything. If we just that just dominance.
Claudia von Boeselager 33:13
If you've shared the importance of building a community, also for health and longevity, and taking care of the planet, what do you see as the biggest challenge? Do you think it's because people are focusing only on that Dominion but on dominance? Or do you see other challenges that have come to pass either over the recent past or in the longer term that are preventing people from coming together and having that community and allowing for better health and longevity as well?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 33:43
fear people frightened when you get frightened about anything, whether it's your age or the fact that you're too hot in London right now, or you know if you can get stuck in dark places. Sometimes they're totally irresponsible dark, dark places, something that you just kind of latch on to that got stuck and, and you can't get it off your mind. Maybe somebody said something that hurt your feelings, and you took it in. If you keep building on that, you'll never get unstuck. But if you can actually realize that it's your choice. Whether you reach for the light and say, Oh, that's just not important. It's just I can have it cut on my arm and all day long pick at the scab, and it will never heal. If I let it, I look at it and do what I need to address it, and then go on with my life. There will come a time when I'll look at my arm, and I'll say, Oh, hello, I know who you are. This car will be there, but not the pain. And it's that kind of a shift of awareness that these are Satan's. were huge to learn lessons. And if we accept that and learn the lessons, it's like the whole concept of dyslexia. My first two years in school were horrible. I was the class dummy. I couldn't read, I couldn't write. And it was just really, really painful. But when we started the American Holistic Medical Association, we were sitting around the table one to have never turned on us. And we suddenly realized that of the 10 of us, severely, we six of us were severely dyslexic. And we sat back, and we said, well, that's why we had to start something that would include people who, who are in a mindset, or a life position, or a way of working with their lives. That is not just body and mind. And we incorporated the RSS spirits, you know, but it is that ability that we had because I don't know how I learned to read it. And they, we tried to tell each other how it was that we learned to read. And we couldn't because each one of us had found out a way in which we were able to do that, that we got through medical school, for crying out loud. A lot of reading textbooks. Yeah. In the process, I was sent to the psychiatrist twice, but that didn't.
Claudia von Boeselager 37:14
I know. I mean, thankfully, we've moved on in terms of understanding the benefits, and yeah, how many almost superpowers you have with that in terms of thinking outside of the box, creative thinking, etc., which are great for entrepreneurs, like yourself as well sending up new associations. And I'd love to touch on a point around lifelong learning, what makes the principles of lifelong learning so fundamental for maintaining good health and longevity, that keeps
Dr. Gladys McGarey 37:42
your juices going for one thing, lifelong learning, is something that we can say to ourselves; there's always something new. There's always something that's different today than it was yesterday. It's that ability to be aware that you can reach for what it is that you're longing for. And it'll show itself in different forms. And different ways of doing it. For instance, when when I was a kid, my older brother was dating a woman who was a nurse. Now, the way she was in nurses training, and she was on at a place that was 10 days out that was 1000 feet lower than Well, our house was up on the mountain and a mile, so there was no way of him setting up time with her so that they could meet. So they could go on with their getting to know each other. We had black labs. And they were good 100 dogs, and they were just great dogs. One of them, Larry, was John's particular dog. And John could write a note and say to Laddie, take two ad a, and he'd tuck it in the collar, and that he would go dry running down the hill and down to the nurse's station. And the nurses, one of the nurses would look out and say, either your mailman is here, and she would go out and know why we put and give it back to Laddie and say, take to John. Well, you know, it's that kind of they were reaching for love. All right. And they found a way to do it. I mean, no one else had a Laddie that could go do the exam. But they did. See, it's that kind of looking for what it is that I have that I can use My daughter has things that she can use today. In the field of medicine, she's a doctor, she lives in a big house, and I can't use those things. Because, you know, in my day, we did it differently. It's a, it's life rose. And it's part of just actually saying, It's so awesome that at this moment in time, here we are, you know, you think that's easy, or it's a wow,
Claudia von Boeselager 40:35
it's a definite Well, we think what goes on, and you talked about gratitude before how grateful we need to be I mean, we don't have to think about a lot of things or heartbeats. Without us thinking about it. We can hear, we can speak without, you know, really thinking about it. All these wonderful things are available. And one point you made there, which I love a mentor mentioned to me before, it's not about the resources; a lot of people say I can't do it because I don't have the education or I don't speak that language, or I don't have the money. I don't have the time. But it's not about the resources. It's about resourcefulness, right? Because if when there's my mother always taught me this as well, where there's a will, there's a way. Yeah. So it's just, you know, you might fall down a few times trying to get to your destination. But if you pick yourself back up again, you know you will get there. So just to highlight one of the points you made there, I really love that reminder. So thank you for sharing them. You talked about love and choosing love. Can you share a story or a situation where choosing love helped you overcome a challenge in your life?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 41:41
Oh, my, do I; I mean, every day of my life when Bill McGarry and I started our practice in family medicine in Wellsville, Ohio. And then, he was called back into the Korean War. And I was there with four children under the age of five and had the whole practice done with 1000 people in the town. So I would be so tired and worn out by the time I got home in the evening, or sometimes at noon. But the thing that allowed me to keep going was I had an 18-month-old son who knew I'd be coming home pretty soon; he'd be sitting on the steps and walking in the house. And I'd pick him up and take him in, sit in my rocking chair and rock him, and he'd pat pat my shoulder. Now, it was that whole process that allowed me to keep on going. I mean, these kids were buying juice. They were the ones who were really doing things that I thought were amazing. Like, there's this little one at 18 months when he was three. He came in one day. And he said to me, Mom, I know something. And I said, What's that Bobby? He said If I make a friend, and he makes a friend, and he makes a friend, it's going to go all around the world and come back to me. Of course, the psychologist, you know, of course, he came to do. And then my son, retired Presbyterian minister, he, he was seven, and he came in, and he said, I wish Jesus was here. And I said, Well, I do too, but why you? And he says because I've got questions. And I said, Okay, as we see, maybe I can help you. He says, but you don't have the answers. And I said, well, just try me. So he says, Okay, how can God be if he never got started? And I said, Oh, yeah, okay, well, maybe it's like a circle. It doesn't have a beginning or an end. He said I knew you didn't have the answers and ran out. But you see, it's that kind of capturing a moment in time, with our relationship with the world around us. That allowed us to have memories that could keep going for 102 years, you know,
Claudia von Boeselager 44:39
uniform. What does the future of holistic medicine look like to you? What it's ideal where we'd be going?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 44:47
Ideally, we, as humans, I think, are reaching for our true humanity. I think it's what he was doing when he was talking about home I think in our core, we know that there's that, as a matter of fact, that's an interesting thing. I heard from Speaker the Welsh people, when they get up in the morning and they go into town, they don't say, good morning, how are you? They say, how is your weird is mine? Weird, the word weird means, for them, your inner core; how is this inner aspect of yourself this morning? So if we can really look to that as our guiding source, the whole concept is that the healing of our body, mind, and spirit is our responsibility. And as we begin to really understand the immensity of what that is, and use things like stem cells and use things that are become in becoming available to us, and so on, in ways that are life-giving, and loving will work, you know, life can become even more joyous
Claudia von Boeselager 46:21
back to Gladys, if you could continue to live to 150, or maybe even 200 years old, with excellent health, how would you spend it?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 46:30
You know, I never think about how long I'm going to live until I just think about tomorrow, and but it is I've got a 10-year plan because that's something that I think is doable. And but then, by the time I'm on the ninth year, if I have that option of I gotta have another 10-year plan, probably, I'm not gonna say I want to live 150 I can't even imagine being this old. You know, I can't; I can imagine that now. But I, I never thought about how old I'll be when I die. It's just unnecessary. I'm grateful for what I am and where I am, and how I am. And I'll take what I could do with that.
Claudia von Boeselager 47:24
Beautiful, I'd love to dig into your 10-year plan. Maybe people listening are curious to understand. Is this something that they should focus on? What do you put into your 10-year plan? Is it all-encompassing? Is it your favorite goal? Can you
Dr. Gladys McGarey 47:41
Share a little bit about it, it's a village for living medicine is the whole community for living medicine, where we understand what we're talking about, when we're talking about what we're talking about, you know, it's, it's not there, there'll be times we'll have debates, and we'll have discussions and all of that, but we won't be so caught up in our own concept of what is right and wrong, that we actually, don't even listen to what the other person has, say. It's just a clanging Gong, you know, it's just an empty sound. If we actually listen to what other people are, say and, and find some little thing that we're going to agree to or just decide, it's just not important. But do something with it that isn't battle to get rid of, you know, either disease or, or whatever, it is a pain or whatever. I mean, accept it as a teacher and learn what we can, and then let it go.
Claudia von Boeselager 48:55
It's that reframing of something that might be perceived as negative to actually see it as something to learn from them. I think that's really powerful as well. What excites you most about the future of health and well being, and longevity over the coming years and beyond? I don't
Dr. Gladys McGarey 49:12
think there is a most, you know, it's again, like trying to pick a child as the favorite or a time in my life, that that would be best. I just think it's amazing. To be able to do and be moment by moment. The most important moment in time is right now
Claudia von Boeselager 49:34
for my audience wanting to follow what you are up to, where is the best way they can find you online, Gladys mcgarry.com. And we'll link that in the show notes. And your books are available on Amazon and on all your books or resources, yet we'll link those to Dr. Glarus. Do you have a final ask or recommendation or any parting thoughts or message for my audience today?
Dr. Gladys McGarey 50:03
I would love it. If the physician within the person that is listening to me right now would become my colleague in working with the person that's listening right now. And we could work for you as a healing aspect and the Livi aspect of your own life. That's your divinity, your own divine power. It's a God within you,
Claudia von Boeselager 50:36
Dr. Gladys, thank you so much for taking the time to come on today. It's been an absolute pleasure. You have so much wisdom. We could continue forever, but I want to commit to that I know how busy you are and continue to be, so thank you again so much, and I look forward to meeting you.
I’m Claudia von Boeselager
Longevity Coach, detail-loving educator, big-thinking entrepreneur, podcaster, mama, passionate adventurer, and health optimization activist here to help people transform their lives, and reach their highest potential! All rolled into one.
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