How to Live a Century, Dr. James Martin Peebles

Dr. James Martin Peebles, of whom I've written much about, was a leading Spiritualist, known world-wide during the second half of the nineteenth century and into the first years of the twentieth century.  He was a minister, physician, a prolific author, world traveler, U.S.Counsel to Turkey, served on American Indian commissions, peace commissions, women's rights, and an humanitarian involved in various causes.  He was born in Vermont in 1822 and died in Los Angeles in 1922, just 40 days short of his one hundredth birthday. He was an intuitive and medium during his lifetime.  Since the death of his physical body, Dr. Peebles has communicated with us on Earth via various trance-channelers, including former medium, Thomas Jacobson (who my husband, Don Pendleton and I, wrote about in our book, To Dance With Angels); and currently, Summer Bacon; and Athena Demetrios. In my follow up book to To Dance With Angels, Three Principles of Angelic Wisdom, I clairaudiently channeled Dr. Peebles for a look at the parallels of his spiritual life and his terrestrial life.  

In 1881, he published his book, How to Live a Century and Grow Old Gracefully.   In 1912, he spoke of his dietary habits in San Diego at the 17th annual California Spiritualist Association Convention.  As principle speaker at the convention, attended by more than 500 delegates and visitors, he opened his lecture advocating total abstinence, avoiding meat, alcohol, tobacco, and all stimulants, to enable long life. 

The headline in the local San Diego Union/Times, September 6, 1912,  read:

Avoid Meat, Rum and Tobacco and Live 90 Years, Says Peebles.

“I have lived ninety years because I have abstained from animal flesh eating, intoxicating liquors, tobacco and all stimulants,” declared Dr. J. M. Peebles, the principle speaker at last night’s meeting of the California Spiritualist’s association by way of introducing himself to his audience. 

"For seventy-four years, Dr. Peebles has been a lecturer on various subjects dealing with reforms calculated to benefit humanity.  He pronounced spiritualism the direct antithesis of materialism and declared all true Christians to be real spiritualists, believing in immortality and the ministry of angels."

He lived another ten years and nearly accomplished his "Century," and Don and I often felt we had completed that for him as we wrote our book in forty days!--and brought him again to world notice with the publication of To Dance With Angels in August of 1990.  I recently published a new Intro to the book, available at Amazon.com in print and Kindle, and audiobook.  

And from everything I have researched and read about Dr. Peebles, he also accomplished "growing old gracefully."  

~Linda