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Dear Friends Committed to Living and Aging Consciously;
We send you love and pray for your wellbeing and growth as the rich colors of autumn fade, cold weather approaches, the pandemic stages a resurgence, polarization of politics and even definition of truth continues to rear its ugly head, and warm rays of hope and vision fall on humanity--all this at the same time.
In this newsletter we bring you articles and poetry, and introduce you to resources which we hope will inspire you, comfort you, help you to remember the best in you, and give you courage to act for the greater good as, together, we live through momentous times. These are the times of breakdown and crisis that visionaries past and present have told us are necessary catalysts for humanity's collective passage into a new era of thriving for the human community and the planet that supports us.
We also include information about our planning for the programs we yearn to present in-person next year, as well as a second offering this Winter of our online course Navigating Life's Passages: Wisdom for Times of Crisis. We also present information about an exciting new online course called World Wisdom Traditions and the Spirituality of Aging, which we are co-sponsoring with it's creator, Sage-ing International.
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Elders Lead by Listening and Hearing All Voices
By Wendy Dudley
To grow into a conscious elderhood and sit in our community as an Elder is such a privilege. We prepare for this our entire lives. We are here, in waiting. And now we are being called to the front lines to help those struggling with these uncertain times.
We, the elders, were made for times like these. As the world navigates uncertainty and unrest, and embraces the letting go of what was, elders are in the position of having lived through many deaths, whether they be physical losses in the passing of family and friends, or the challenges that come with the shedding of old skins, such as the death of old patterns and worn-out beliefs. We are always re-shaping our priorities, our world views. In this sense, life itself is a flow of mini-deaths and births.
This transitional time of uprisings and shifts in consciousness has been described as the painful birthing of a new world order. It is an initiation, a death/rebirth cycle, during which humanity seems to have little choice but to release some of the old ways, and re-think the future, be it economic models, life priorities, job place modalities or our relationship to the ecological systems that support us.
It is the young who perhaps are questioning the most, as ultimately they are responsible for shaping the future. And so we, as elders and humble leaders, are here to listen, to be death doulas, assisting those in need through this crucial rite of passage.
Hopefully we elders have transcended ego, living in humility, recognizing that how we once thought or did things may not be the best way for these times, or for future generations. Perhaps we can show the youth the value in a less competitive model, and adopt a more co-operative and heart-centric community approach.
As teachers, counselors, and role models, elders are viewed as the carriers and gatekeepers of wisdom, knowledge and experience. But we also listen with an openness to the many paths the youth are walking, for they carry the energy and idealism to bring about the change that is greatly needed.
Elders do not live in judgment, having acquired the wisdom to know we all see the world differently. Our role, as it always has been, is to listen and live by example, without expectation and without the need for confirmation of our own ideas. It is no longer about us, but we remain integral. We demonstrate through our presence, words and actions that we do not succumb to the negativity pumped out daily through the media and various social platforms.
What we show (rather than tell) is the importance of resilience. We live the reality that no matter how furious the storm, we do come out the other side, changed a little or a lot, but always changed.
We help others realize there are many ways of viewing obstacles. Some of us may have weathered war zones, or experienced loss of jobs and homes, or lived through the death of loved ones. All these experiences illustrate how life doesn’t let anyone float thorough without living the whole experience of paradoxes.
What elders can do is put the light and shadows into perspective, by presenting different ways of looking at the same event. Are the crises we are living through best defined as negative experiences of breakdown, or are we living in a time of great transition, ultimately for the better? How do we move forward, instead of getting stuck in denial, anger and grief for what we have lost? In these uncertain times, it is easy to feel like a victim, to flail in trying to find the path through the storm. I believe as elders it is our role to support those who are suffering, but at the same time to help victims see different perspectives, so that they can become victors. In doing so, we are guiding youth as elders-in-training.
While in this transition, we are in liminal space, not truly knowing what lies ahead. And for many, this is their first time facing such an unknown future, of feeling like they are no longer in control. But elders have acquired the wisdom that tells us we have never truly known the layout of our futures, that certainty has always been an illusion. There are no guarantees in life. We can set intentions and we can dream and manifest those visions into being, but the path itself is the destination. And it is strewn with unexpected obstacles so that we may learn.
There is a growing resurgence of global Elder voices. We are present, available, showing up, and listening. We sit by the council fires, hearing all the voices. And when it is our time to speak, we do so with empathy, with compassion, with wisdom garnered from our years of witnessing many sunrises and sunsets. We have embraced our own shadows, learned how to live without fear and without expectation. We know there are few if any guarantees in life. We know when to surrender and when to be a warrior.
It takes great courage to show up, to acknowledge feelings, to give our elder gifts—to be fully present, be there…Listen.
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An Elder Vision Quest Story
by Larry Gray
One of my favorite quotes from Henry David Thoreau echoed in my mind as I recently headed out into the Yukon wilderness for a 3-day vision quest:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
I went to the woods this time to explore what it had to teach me about being a conscious elder. I had a lot of resistance to acknowledging my age because of the tremendous amount of cultural baggage, negative stereotypes and downright ageism that exists in society. I knew in my heart and mind these cultural messages were simply wrong. They certainly didn’t mesh with my own lived experience.
I spent three days and nights on a high ridge with an expansive view of a river below, forested hills and mountains in front of and behind me and the ridgetop leading upwards to a high peak. No sign of any human presence on the landscape. There, I walked daily – more like meandering as the river was doing. I love Thoreau’s word for it: “sauntering” from his famous essay: Walking. I became acquainted with the many beings who live here – the aspens, spruce and pine, the sage and grasses, the eagles and chickadees, the wind and the rain, the hard earth and the soft composting leaves on the forest floor. Over time, I allowed all this to seep into my consciousness. Messages from Nature come in many ways and forms. But this form of wordless communication takes time, something in short supply for many of us and certainly for the culture at large. In this article, I would like to share two of these communications with you.
Meanders and Oxbows
“When a river reaches a low-lying plain in its final course to the sea or a lake, it meanders widely. Deposition occurs on the convex bank because of the 'slack water', or water at low velocity. ... When deposition finally seals off the cut-off from the river channel, an oxbow lake is formed.”
The environment surrounding me on that ridgetop afforded an expansive view of the river, its steep sandy banks, the nearby hills, the more distant mountain peaks, the dome of the sky, the movements of birds on their aerial traverses, the forests and alpine meadows and more. It was an eagle’s-eye view, as Ron Pevny has described the vantage point of an elder. Over time, I saw the meandering river before me as representative of my own life’s journey. The current was visible – a relentless onward flow of time and energy.
I was facing south and off to the east below me I could see an oxbow lake. Having taught geology before, I understood how it was formed and I could visualize the process at work over many years that formed the oxbow. One of the main intentions of doing this quest was to make peace with my former “selves” and all the hard experiences that those selves went through. These experiences had been crystallized into my neural pathways in the form of traumatic memories. I began to see the oxbow lake as representative of a traumatic memory. I realized and I could see directly that the oxbow was no longer part of the main current of the river. It had been cut off.
I walked down to the oxbow a couple of times. It was quite different than the river it was once part of. Crescent-shaped in form, it was quite swamp-like with more grasses and sedges than actual open water. I began to see my life’s journey in a new way, from a different and more expansive perspective – an eagle’s eye view. I began to see these traumatic memories that haunted my consciousness as “oxbow lakes”, no longer connected to the main flow of the river of my life. I could visit them, but no need to stay long. The river calls to me to continue my journey – ever onward.
Later in my quest, while I spent an afternoon sitting beside the river, somewhat entranced by the swift current flowing by inches from me, I was gifted with a process to heal my wounded psyche. Whenever I encounter an “oxbow lake memory”, from my elder perspective, I send love, forgiveness and gratitude to the person I was then. It’s a personal ritual or ceremony. And when it’s over, I rejoin the river of my life in the present moment, the here and now. The memory is further integrated into my psyche. For me, that’s what healing is.
Life in Death, Death in Life
When you immerse yourself in wild Nature and drop your defenses of fear, anxiety and perhaps internalized nature-averse cultural stories, strange things can happen. Boundaries become blurred, perceptions shift, perceived alienations become opportunities for deep affiliation. Even the demarcation between life and death becomes indistinct. This happened to me. Spending a prolonged time deeply immersed in and in reciprocal relationship with so many diverse natural beings, my awareness became sharpened, senses attentive and alive, perceptions crisp and clear. Where previously, I always saw life and death as discrete entities, this was not so in the natural world.
I dwelled in a world of eagles soaring on updrafts, light rain falling from grey clouds caressing the sage that embroidered the hillside, orange and rusty brown leaves composting on the forest floor giving rise to an incredible array of wild mushrooms. Aspen leaves trembled in the afternoon breeze, the river’s current visibly moving ever onward, a startled mule deer darting into the forest. Wildflowers - some still blooming - others having transformed into the dry stalks that will provide nutrients for the next generation. And on and on it goes, without beginning or end. One unbroken continuum of life and death, the two phenomena forever yoked to each other in a sublime and eternal dance that is Nature.
All these beings and all these ecological processes - growth, becoming, allowing, nurturing, being, transforming – implanted themselves into my psyche and even into my body. I realized that life and death were all around and it was impossible to distinguish between the two – living and dying are one ongoing concurrent process! Guided by this growing realization – an awakening fostered by my surroundings, I needed to look no further than my own body to deepen this even further. As I sat in the forest or on the hillside or in the meadow or lay under the bewildering maze of stars we call the Milky Way, I felt and knew deeply that life and death are happening to me right here, right now. Millions of cells in my body are dying in each moment while millions of cells are simultaneously being born. It’s all right here. My body is my home – the temple of my spirit. Nature/Earth is also my home – a home that I share with all other beings – the temple of the Great Spirit.
In order for something new to emerge, to be born and to grow, something else has to die. That is the way of Nature. I saw, smelled, tasted, touched and felt this truth directly all around me, unmediated. Amidst the rotting compost of the recent leaf fall, amongst the brown dead grasses on the hillside, mushrooms and new plant growth were emerging. So it is, I realized with myself. For my true and conscious elder self to emerge I had to let go of my attachment to my former selves. They had to become compost and fertilizer, providing the life-giving nutrients for my nascent elder self to grow.
I feel that the Nature-disconnected environments we have created (like cities, where over half of humanity lives) fail to support our most authentic selves – what I sometimes call our “ecological self”. For me, wild Nature is the healing environment that bests supports my journey of growth and expanding awareness. I have now made a personal pledge to undertake a vison quest each year – to nurture and foster my truly authentic self. Let us all use our remaining decades to become who we truly are and thereby heal ourselves and this beautiful and wondrous Earth.
Larry Gray is a professor of Environmental Studies at Yukon University in northern Canada, a guide with the Center for Conscious Eldering and Research Affiliate with the Institute for Aging & Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria. He can be reached at lgray@yukoncollege.yk.ca
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Two Years In
One Woman's Conscious Eldering Journey
by Barbara Roth
“Getting older is great, you learn to let go of stuff, like yourself.” The Nualas from The Irish Women’s Quotations Book
I used to think the only way to cope with getting older was with humor, and that you truly did have to let yourself go as you aged.
October 1, 2020 is the two-year anniversary of my retirement and the two-year anniversary of heading out to the Choosing Conscious Elderhood Retreat! These anniversaries are giving me the opportunity to reflect on these first two years of retirement. It was serendipity that led me to head out the day after retiring to this retreat, a retreat I would share with my friend and colleague Gail Vessels. We both wanted to get away after retiring, both love New Mexico and Ghost Ranch in particular, and we were initially looking for a knitting retreat. What we found was actually way more life changing for me.
I feared aging, had no plan for how to deal with it, had no idea that I would encounter the physical struggles I’ve had. Post-retirement life seemed literally like simply wasting time until you die. I have worked since I was 14 years old. One of the early batches of women to have it all, I was a working Mom, unaware until years later how the stress of doing neither my job nor parenting as well as I wanted took its toll on me.
However, my life has been one of blessings, fears, love, losses, health, illness, and survival. I have two wonderful adult daughters and four adorable grandchildren. My career took me places I could never have imagined. None of the jobs I held after my first position right out of college existed when I graduated, so I could not have aspired to them. Moving from local to state and finally national positions, allowed me to use my skills and knowledge and have a positive impact on the world, which was my goal. My work provided meaning in my life beyond the personal and I felt I made contributions that were significant in my fields. I used to say I would never quit work, I loved working, and would not know what to do with my time. I need meaning in my life, and that came from my work.
In 2018, when my organization offered early retirement to my department, I thought it made sense to take them up on it as I was 65 and tired of traveling. This brought me to the precipice of my eldering. Several things contributed to my transition being much better than I’d feared.
I believe one of the biggest contributions to the positive nature of my transition into retirement was the participation in the Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreat.
Having never attended a retreat that was not part of my work life, I really didn’t know what to expect. I read the description and did (most of) the pre-work. It all excited me and piqued my interest. I went into the retreat with an open heart and mind, albeit with a few fears. Those fears focused mostly on the day of solitude and fasting. That seemed out of my comfort zone!
The retreat provided so many enriching experiences and served as a real and specific transition for me. The day of fasting and solitude was actually wonderful, as the preparation and instructions for it were gentle and helpful. The night before our day of solitude included a ritual to offer up something in our lives we needed to shed to be able to move on. The send-off the morning of the day of solitude was at once deeply spiritual and supportive. My day of solitude provided me with a new sense of time, a renewed comfort with nature, and a heightened confidence in my own physical abilities. These three things have been a thread throughout the first two years of this journey for me.
I never imagined what could unfold for me in this conscious eldering process. Much like the fact that none of the jobs in my career existed when I graduated, the options and freedoms for this last third of my life were unknown to me. That retreat at magnificent Ghost Ranch was truly a rite of passage for me, helping me to start the process of shedding what I needed to shed to move forward, to catch glimpses of the richness that life could now be for me, and developing practices that have continued to be crucial in this process.
My body and mind have changed as I’ve delved into the third wave of my life. I recognize the richness, growth, and opening that are possible. I know that my wisdom is important to the world, even as I struggle to find the right ways to share it. I now know that this is not a time of simply waiting for death as I’d feared in the past. It is a time to prepare for death, but also a time of inner awareness, of mining the truths in my soul, and a time of patience for myself and others.
Some of the practices that I started developing at the retreat are now effortlessly woven into my life, including: Journaling: Contemplation and Tonglin Prayer; Spiritual and other daily Reading; Connecting with Nature/ Forest Bathing/Learning from animals; Sitting with myself/Being Patient with myself (and others); and Days of Solitude
There are of course even more, but what I want to emphasize here is that when this eldering journey began for me these all seemed like another list of goals, like my work had been, a check list of “to-dos”. But as a result of my conscious eldering journey my daily life has become more and more integrated and calm, and these practices aren’t a to-do list, they are the essence of my growth.
Wisdom from Sonny Rollins, jazz legend, at 89 when asked if he gets lonely living all alone, perhaps says it best: “I have a lot of spiritual materials I need to get with. I have to deal with myself. That’s what it gets down to for each of us. Understanding is up to you. It’s up to me. There’s no escape. I got pains and aches all over, but spiritually, man, I feel better than I’ve ever felt. I’m on the right course.”
Man, so do I!
Barbara Roth has been retired from non profit work for a little over 2 years. In her career she focused on child and youth development in both local, state and national arenas. You can reach Barbara through email at barbaraanneroth@gmail.com
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Who Will It Be? by Marilyn Loy Every
It is human nature
to look for the path
of least resistance through tough times
The resilient path calls us one of generous love of kindheartedness
of courage to stand up for needs of another
While many turn away from frightening truths guarding edgy discomfort, we are named to recognize hardships that cannot be passably ignored in this symbiotic world... a connected reality longing for coherence
So, who will it be
who shelters in their arms, carries in their hearts, speaks out fervently for one neglected child
one abused woman
one immigrant man
one element of nature even just one at a time
It must be you
It must be me
It must be us—
who have witnessed other fruitless ways, who are courageous, who will speak for truth emboldened, fearless with compassion crucial for these times
The path of a sage
is always possible —
a conscious choice
a trustworthy way affirming all life with heart-centered sagacity for nations, communities for our neighbors, families for you, ...and for me.
Believe in your power Our world longs to hear your voice rising
in a mortal wilderness rising from the core of human wisdom
Will you dare speak?
Will you bravely shout?
Will you author a new story?
Come...Elder voices together, we will transform the world! Come...Elder voices together, our stories proclaimed “in action!” Hands open, voices strong for our generation, and for seven more to come!
A Brave And Startling Truth
By Maya Angelou
We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth
And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms
We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines
When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear
When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.
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Hope Is Always Waiting
from The Sage’s Tao Te Ching
The sage sees life in deeper ways:
Sees intricate patterns of beauty
Embedded in life’s fabric;
Sees comfort woven within the pain;
Sees gain shining amid the loss;
Sees forgiveness binding up resentments wounds;
And sees life always rising out of death.
So much of our perception
Is conditioned by our fears and our desires.
We must learn to see the things
That others cannot see.
Then we must assure those others
Of the beauty hidden there.
Look deeply into your life.
Search out the hidden things
within your present circumstances.
The beauty is there.
Comfort and forgiveness are available.
Hope is always waiting
For you to find.
Elder Love
By Randy Morris –2002
(written while on the first Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreat)
Elder love is a marvelous thing,
Coming, as it does, at the last
Born in darkness, hardship and pain,
Broken love and loss without gain.
It circles and swirls and constellates en masse
When the spirits, in all their might,
Deem the time is right.
And when that time comes, as come it shall
The heart breaks open in love.
A love so strong and fierce and wide,
Your fear and resistance it will not abide
Your petty excuses, and calendars jammed
In this bright light are but a sham
Priorities are ordered according to fitness,
And all of existence becomes your witness.
Now elder love heals many ills,
Some too painful to mention.
When a wrinkled hand is placed in just the right spot.
On forehead or shoulder or anywhere too hot,
Love like a river pours into the bones,
And the child who receives it ceases to moan,
Knowing that she is the chosen one, placed above all.
Basking in the glory of ecstatic free-fall.
Elder love has a countenance benign
That belies its stupendous might.
When friends and animals and gardens galore,
Even enemies and soul-suckers of yore,
Are brought into the circle of elder delight
All is forgiven, and balance achieved.
Each one basks in glory that won’t leave,
And knows the gift that each must bring
And knows their place in the order of things.
So when the heavenly choir sings your tune
In the midst of your darkest hour,
When age seems a burden and love in the past,
When the body is creaking and won’t seem to last,
That’s when elder love enters your heart
With the power to bless each exquisite part
Of God’s creation, a marvelous gift,
To have brought elder love into its midst.
Navajo Blessing Way Prayer
In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
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Upcoming Conscious Eldering Programs
It has been with great disappointment that we have had to cancel all of our Autumn retreats and workshops, on top of the cancellation of all the other of our in-person 2020 programs, due to the pandemic. The retreat centers we use were closed, and, even if they were open and following strict safety protocols, we would not ask participants to take the risk of traveling in these times.
However, we were excited to present an online, four-session course this fall called Navigating Life's Passages: Wisdom forTimes of Crisis. This course filled, and we are planning to offer this timely opportunity again this coming Winter. We will send you information once plans are finalized. We are also co-sponsoring, with Sage-ing International, a six-part online series called World Wisdom Traditions and the Spirituality of Aging. See information below.
We are in the process of scheduling retreats, including weekend workshops, Choosing Conscious Elderhood and Aiming High, for 2021 with the sincere hope and prayer that we can again sit in circle in inspiring natural settings with groups of people committed to growing into the fullness of their potential elderhood. The stories that will be shared of challenge, growth, loss, vision, joy-in-the-moment, and new beginnings during these pivotal times will add another powerful dimension to the conscious eldering work we will engage with together.
Please consider joining us in 2021 if you seeking an empowering vision for your elder chapters, tools for helping make that vision reality, and the warmth of a non-virtual, flesh and blood community of kindred spirits. These will be powerful opportunities to have your idealism acknowledged, your hope rekindled and your dreams for a vital, passionate elderhood supported? Our inspiring and empowering experiences tap the loving support of strong community, the wisdom of skilled guides, and the heart-and-mind-opening energy of the natural world to open you to the rich possibiities of your later-life chapters--for growth, purpose, spiritual deepening, and giving your elder gifts to support a healthy society and planet. Our partial schedule is below:
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The Center for Conscious Eldering and Sage-ing International are partnering to bring to you an exciting, new, six-part webinar series, “World Wisdom Traditions and the Spirituality of Aging." There are six webinars presented by some well known sages, Lewis Richmond, Master Mington Gu, Barbara Aston, Imam Jamal Rahman, Rabbi Daniel Bialik and Ken Mogi. If you sign up for the entire series, you will also receive a bonus webinar on December 17th -presented by Nipun Mehta. The webinars will be recorded, and you will also be able to register for each webinar as a stand-alone. Please CLICK HERE to read more about each of the webinars and/or to register.
Navigating Life's Passages: Wisdom for Times of Crisis
an online interactive course presented this coming Winter in four 2.5-hour sessions
by Ron Pevny
Dates to be announced on our website and via email in December
Choosing Conscious Elderhood
Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
September 26 - October 2
Aiming High
Autumn, 2021
either in Northern California
or in Southern Ohio at Hope Springs Retreat
For Organizations, Faith Communities, etc:
We are available to present our weekend workshops or custom designed programs for groups who would like to sponsor one in their area. Contact us to explore possibilities.
for details on our programs and registration information, please visit
www.centerforconsciouseldering.com
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This is an important, wholistic exploration of what the baby boomers want as they(we) age, written by one of the pioneers in the study of aging. Ken Dychtwald's research encompasses most aspects of life for aging adults, including: ageism; post-retirement work and volunteering; the time affluence enjoyed by many older adults; health; relationships and community; financial sustainability; living with purpose; and legacy.
One of the book's endorsers wrote: "In What Retirees Want, Ken and Robert have given us a compelling and powerful vision of how Baby Boomers are retiring our conceptions of "retirement." This book delivers the gift of insight into a hopeful and optimistic future of purpose and opportunity."
I learned a lot from this book, which I see as a necessary complement to the inner work supported by those of us committed to conscious aging.
Ron Pevny
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"A beautifully written and important book about aging and elderhood. Pevny reminds us that consciously moving into our greater years is a major rite of passage, and he offers skilled guidance through the many questions and challenges, endings and new beginnings, that arise."
Meredith Little, Co-founder of the School of Lost Borders
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As someone who sees the wellbeing of humankind and the health of earth's incredibly diverse ecosystems as being inextricably woven together, I absolutely loved this beautiful book by a mother, scientist, decorated professor of biology and ecology, and member of the Potawatomi Native American Nation. The author's primary theme is what the human community can and must learn from nature's communities and indigenous societies about cooperation and synergy. Aging consciously is deeply dependent upon drawing strength and inspiration from a close, mutually supportive relationship with the natural world of which we are a part. Braiding Sweetgrass touches a deep level of ourselves that remembers and yearns for such relationship.
Ron Pevny
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One of our partner organizations, the Elders Action Network (formerly called the Conscious Elders Network) is an educational non-profit organization fostering a budding movement of vital elders dedicated to growing in consciousness while actively addressing the demanding challenges facing our country and planet. They work inter-generationally for social and economic justice,environmental stewardship, and sound governance. They offer their multiple talents and resources in service to the goal of preserving and protecting life for all generations to come. Anyone committed to living and serving as a conscious elder in invited to join them in this critically important endeavor. Upcoming EAN offerings include:
* Monthly Elder Activists for Social Justice Community Conversation
* The Empowered Elder--EAN's foundational program
* EAN also produces an excellent quarterly journal, Turning Point.
*The new Sunrise Movement - an intergenerational collaborative effort between EAN and Sage-ing International
To learn about EAN and its initiatives and programs, visit www.eldersaction.org
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Another of our partner organizations is Sage-ing International, the pioneering organization in promoting the principles of conscious aging, or "Sage-ing". Their work is grounded in the work of Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi, who introduced conscious aging to the world with his workshops at Omega Institute with Ram Dass and others and via his seminal book, From Age-ing to Sage-ing.
Sage-ing International is committed to transforming the current disempowering paradigm of aging to one of Sage-ing through learning, service and community.
To learn about Sage-ing International and their greatly expanded offerings of online workshops and seminars, Elder Wisdom Circles, and their training program for Certified Sage-ing Leaders, visit www.sage-ing.org.
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Ron Pevny, Founder and Director
970-247-7943
ron@centerforconsciouseldering.com
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The most common form of despair is not being who we truly are
Kierkegaard
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