ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with 'second life' popularly known as the 'Midlife Transition' or 'Midlife Crisis'. Levinson proposed that the 'Midlife Transition' would occur somewhere between the ages of 40 and 45 for men and an almost identical range 40 and 46 for women. It has also been argued that the whole idea of a midlife transition is culture-dependent - but perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the phenomenon is a product of a society preoccupied with change, innovation and individuality - what Ken Wilber calls 'egoic consciousness'. Significant events in the lives of the parents figure heavily in the hidden calendars. Thus the early death of a mother can hardly fail to leave a trace on the growing consciousness of her children. Mainstream evolutionary theory has always maintained that characteristics acquired by individuals in their lifetime cannot be passed on genetically to their offspring.
