The Bible book of Genesis speaks of seven men who lived more than 900 years, all of them being born prior to the Flood of Noah’s day. They were Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Jared, Methuselah, and Noah. (Genesis 5:5-27; 9:29)

The Bible mentions at least another 25 individuals who also reached ages beyond what is common today. Some of them lived 300, 400, even 700 or more years. (Genesis 5:28-31; 11:10-25)

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These claims are not specific to the bible. Here is another account of a Chinese herbalist who lived for over 200 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ching-Yuen

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I think this is all very interesting and it got me thinking. Is it truly possible to live that long?

Personally, I believe the majority of our physical lives are determined by our thinking. The axiom "Mind over matter" holds true in modern science. The use of placebo's or the effect of stress on the human body. These are peer reviewed and scientifically verified instances where the power of thought takes precedent over the physical body. The most simple example of this is someone breaking out with hives when they are nervous, or sweating before a speech. Clearly, the body is listening and responding to our minds.

What could have been a key factor in extended life in early human beings?

I believe our perception of time is the culprit in a shorter life. When you investigate the lives of early human beings, they did not use alarm clocks, or stop watches, or hold meetings at a specific time during the day. Their application of time was a lot simpler: Sunrise, Noon, Sunset, Night.

Is it possible that by conforming to societies ideas about time and the length of our lives, that we are essentially determining the length of our lives with our thinking?

Imagine if you were an early human being whom was keeping time with the sun alone. You had no alarm clocks, no important "dates" to remember such as a birthdays or anniversary's, there was no new years celebration, and there was nothing to track the amount of time you spent alive in a rigid and specific manner. Essentially, you had no perception of time beyond the sun itself and the changing of the seasons. Would time pass differently to you?

Consider for a moment when you are asleep. You close your eyes, and you lose complete perception of time that you immediately conform to upon waking up. 8 hours can pass in the blink of an eye while you are asleep and you are completely oblivious to it. So, does time even exist at all?

Would it be possible then to live for a much longer because you did not convince yourself that you would die at a specific period in your life? ie. "People generally live to 85 years old before they pass from old age." We hold this as self evident and true, but, is it profoundly dangerous to adopt and belief this statement as a certainty?

Is it possible that by keeping track of time in such a rigid manner, and accepting that you will die at a certain age that your body listens to your thoughts and makes it so? in the same sense that stress effects your body, or in the sense that placebo's cure an ailment?

~Experience is the currency of the soul.