SI Communicator
Editor
Judith Helburn
Graphic Designer
Anna Wisehart
Contributors
Maria Papova - Brain Pickings
Donna Bearden/Mandala Messages
Jerome Kerner
Bolton Anthony
HR Moody - Human Values in Aging
Barb Warner
Al Rider - SI Technology Coordinator
Ron Pevny
Ronni Bennet
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Coordinating Circle
Co-Chair
-
Mary Anne Ingenthron
Co-Chair
-
Jerome Kerner
Secretary
-
Marilyn Loy Every
Treasurer
-
Georgeanna Tryban
Members at Large
- Don Adams
- Bob Atchley
- Gustavo Boog
- Anne Boynton
- Jann Freed
- Pat Hoertdoerfer
- Brian McCaffrey
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Certification Coordinator
- Jeanne Marsh
Education Coordinator
- Rosemary Cox
Tech-Webinar Coordinator
- Alan Rider
Website Assistant
- Anna Wisehart
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Honored Sages
are key figures who have made significant contributions for elders in the world and who share our vision of "changing the paradigm from aging to Sage-ing®." For more information about our Honored Sages visit our website
here
.
We are grateful to have the following members in our Council of Honored Sages
:
Robert Atchley
Christina Baldwin
Gary Carlson
Connie Goldman
Eve Ilsen
Rabbi Shaya Isenberg
Lynne Iser
Richard Leider
Wendy Lustbader
Rick Moody
Bahira Sugarman
William Thomas
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Membership
Our Membership is free and open to anyone who is interested.
Benefits of membership include:
* Knowledge that you are supporting SI in its work for elders
* Knowledge that you are supporting the Sage-ing work of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
* Networking with other members through local activities and Conferences
* Discounts on merchandise
* Periodic E-newsletters and bulletins
* Discounts on workshops, national meetings and intensive weekends
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Merchandise
Any book ordered through our site gives Sage-International a percentage of the profit.
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The updated 2014 version of this popular book includes a preface which provides insight into the shifts that have taken place in our culture since the first edition of the book in 1995. An afterword provides Reb Zalman’s personal account of his experience of aging in the December Years.
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Sage-ing Workbook
A valuable resource for
your sage-ing journey, filled with information and exercises.
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Did you know that
Sage-ing Internationa
l is a registered organization with "Amazon Smile"? If you use Amazon for home or business shopping, Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of your purchase to SI. Simply go to
smile.amazon.com
and select Sage-ing International as your designated charity in "My Account". Then start all Amazon visits from that site. Let purchases you normally make support "Conscious Aging" through SI...!
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If not, we welcome you to give a gift of acknowledgment and gratitude for all Connie has shared with us as a wise elder, mentor and friend. In Connie's words, "I am humbled and deeply honored by the establishment of the Connie Goldman Scholarship Endowment Fund. I am excited and hopeful that (it) will encourage others to accept the opportunity to explore their deeper spiritual learning.
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Sage-Ing News and Happenings
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Save the date!
2018 Sage-ing International
Global Conference
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Register now
for the
Sage-ing® International 2018 Global Conference
,
“Elder Voices Transforming the World: Our Stories in Action!”
to be held at Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center, Chaska, MN,
October 25-28, 2018
. All who aspire to be on a Sage-ing (conscious aging) journey are invited to come together and stand for the well-being of the future.
The Preconference begins Thursday, October 25, at 9 am with session themes:
Spiritual Eldering, Holistic Aging, Sacred Activism and Transformative Narrative
. Post-conference session will be held Sunday afternoon.
A welcome reception begins at 5 pm, Thursday. The program continues through noon on Sunday with presentations, workshops, and various activities. Keynote speakers include
Matthew Fox, Chief Luisah Teish, Larry Long, Dorene Day, Richard Leider, Rachael Freed, and Maria Genne
. Join these and numerous others—creative thinkers, artists, writers, musicians, and more.
Register by February 28 to receive a 15% discount on conference registration fee.
For more information about the conference click
here
.
We are now accepting proposal applications for workshop sessions; for more information click
here
.
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Congratulations to our
2016-17 graduating class of Certified Sage-ing Leaders (CSLs)!
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Front Row (left)
: Karen West, St. Paul MN; Beth Conaghan, Chicago IL
Second Row
: Caroline Grace Blackwell, King George VA; Susan Davis, Olympia WA; Caryl Pripusich, Chicago IL
Third Row
: Lynn Moore, Charlottesville VA; Patricia Moore, Chicago IL; Deborah Briggs, Boca Raton FL/New York NY
Back Row
: Jeanne Marsh, Certification Program Coordinator; Julia Riley, Faculty
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Wow! Look at the size of that incoming class!
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Sage-ing International
extends a warm welcome to the
Class of 2017-2018
who gathered in Chicago October 12-15 to begin their one-year
Sage-ing Leader Certification Program
Internship. They will spend the coming year working with a mentor as they create and deliver workshops on the Sage-ing core concept.
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Front row:
Judith Burgin, Fiona Bacon, Felice Rhiannon.
Back row
: Jerome Kerner CSL/facilitator, Hugh Palmer, Amanda Anderson, Peter Parker, David Thurston, Bryan Tully. Oxford, UK. October 14, 2017
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Sage-ing in the United Kingdom
by Jerome Kerner, CSL
The first
Awakening the Sage Within
(ASW) workshop to be held in the U.K. was in Oxford on October 14, 2017. As the facilitator located in the USA I was dependent on assistance from an Oxford local David Thurston. David attended an introductory talk I gave last March in Marlow hosted by John Smith an Anglican pastor and David was present with enthusiasm for the Sage-ing connection and offering his assistance to help form a workshop.
The workshop participants were 4 men and 4 women each exceptional and a sage or sage to be in their own way. Of the eight three have made application for CSL training, and so the beat goes on. I feel privileged to have been able to spend the day sharing Awakening the Sage Within with this group. The sharing was deep and an indication of that is the commitment to carry on with a wisdom circle. I have offered to host the first on our Zoom platform in the near future.
It is clear to me that although there are many conscious aging options these days, Sage-ing offers a spiritual aspect that allows for trust and intimacy to develop quickly, an ingredient of aging well that there is no substitute for.
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Wisdom from Those in Care,
by
Connie Goldman, 2018
Connie Goldman has once again gifted us with her insight and skill at interviewing people in difficult situations. This time,
Wisdom from Those in Care
(to be published soon)
covers young and old, both those who are facing either the end of life and those who have survived adverse conditions. Goldman’s wise and sensitive commentary is interspersed with testimonies of women and men who have grown wiser as a result of their difficulties.
Wisdom from those in Care
is a companion to Goldman’s earlier
The Gifts of Caregiving
, completing the cycle which most of us will experience at some time. She states, “[my] curiosity inspired me to assemble this new collection of stories to give voices to those who receive care… [these stories talk about] how either receiving or providing care can nurture our spirits and transform our lives.”
Several people voiced how being present in the present is a lesson learned. One said, “Isn’t that all there really is—this very moment that is happening now between us?” Thoughtful, well written and compassionate. [Judith Helburn, editor]
Editor's Note:
An updated
Gifts of Caregiving
along with
Wisdom From Those In Care
will be available from Amazon within a few weeks
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[Image from Brain Pickings]
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Beyond the project of me.
The three secrets of aging—initiation, transformation, and revelation—may generate painful and disorienting experiences, especially if you resist them! Everything you believe and count on can disappear overnight in the aging process, sometimes erasing all the familiar landmarks of our life. But remember, loss and hardship often precede great transformations…
We grow psychologically, spiritually, and mystically only in so far as we are willing to accept change, work on our self, and strive to find the next step on a pathless path. Keep in mind that this is not just another self-improvement project; rather it invites us to experience an extraordinary consciousness in which the whole idea of self-improvement disappears as well. From this consciousness flow revelations that would never come from the project of me…
Aging in the twenty-first century can herald a completely new stage of human evolution, one that holds the key to our future on Earth, if we understand and embrace it.” John C. Robinson,
The Three Secrets of Aging.
[
Fierce with age
]
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Something has ended
, it’s true, but something new has also begun. Your youth has not been ended so much as your prolonged youth has been interrupted — not as some bum deal that comes at the end of the party, but as your salvation from ultimate meaninglessness, your one last chance to get it right.
The generation now experiencing midlife cannot stand the thought that this was all for nothing. Dysfunctional, obsolete patterns of thought that blocked the pathway to your higher destiny are being interrupted at last. And while you might be feeling a bit depressed that you’re no longer young, you’re ecstatic that you’re no longer clueless.”--Marianne Williamson,
The Age of Miracles
[
Carol Orsborn. Fierce with Age
]
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"
Those
… who allege that old age is devoid of useful activity… are like those who would say that the pilot does nothing in the sailing of his ship, because, while others are climbing the masts, or running about the gangways, or working at the pumps, he sits quietly in the stern and simply holds the tiller. He may not be doing what younger members of the crew are doing, but what he does is better and much more important. It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment; in these qualities old age is usually not … poorer, but is even richer." From "Cicero, On Old Age" at:
http://reasonandmeaning.com/2017/08/28/summary-of-cicero-on-aging/
[
Human Values in Aging
]
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During its 18 years in existence,
Second Journey
was among a small number of emerging social change organizations whose shared mission was to birth a new vision of the rich possibilities of later life. Its online quarterly,
Itineraries
— which was published between 2005 and 2013 — became an invaluable repository of articles and issues on such themes as the inner work of eldering, serving from spirit, creating an elder culture, and aging in community. The Spring, 2011 issue was edited by SI’s Ron Pevny. With the hope that these rich resources will inspire a new generation of
elders in waiting
, they are now housed permanently in a beautifully designed archive that can be accessed with this URL:
www.boltonanthony.com
.
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In
This Our Life
Ellen Glasgow who won a Pulitzer Prize at age 67 wrote, "In the past few years I have made a thrilling discovery. That until one is over 60, one can never really learn the secret of living. The unique combination of creativity and life experiences creates a dynamic dimension for inner growth and the opportunity to shine in the second half of our lives
." [
Barb Warner@ Powerful Tools
]
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Positive Aging Conference
. The 9th International Conference on Positive Aging, will be held in Philadelphia, PA, on
Apr. 3-4, 2018
. The Conference this year is hosted by the Masterpiece Living and is sponsored, as in the past, by Fielding Graduate University and its Creative Longevity and Wisdom Program. Sessions at the conference include papers and workshops around four tracks: Wellness, Lifespan Development, Community, and Later Life Creativity. Sessions are expected on life-review, holistic health, spirituality and age, conscious caregiving, legacy work, intergenerational relationships, working against ageism, and many others topics.
[
Human Values in Aging
]
For registration and conference details, visit:
https://mymasterpieceliving.com/lyceum-2018/
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Awakening in Old Age.
"Awakening is a natural human process that dawns in old age. Many cultural forces are aligned against it in our society. Ageism, the explicit and implicit devaluing of old age, does not support heroic elders undertaking this task. The Western world does not see that elders doing life review are creating the essential seeds of human culture. We old people are the makers of myth. If you are young, sit down with an elder and ask them to tell you a story. If you are old, gather the young ones around you and start talking." Victoria Howard, "The Psychological Tasks of Old Age," The Shambhala Times (2015)
[
Human Values in Aging]
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The Power of Community In Supporting Our Growth Into a Conscious Elderhood
.
Ron Pevny. We all know that we live in a time of intense polarization in seemingly all aspects of life. To my mind, there is a potential gift in this painful polarization, and that is the reality that the human family has the opportunity to experience in a compelling way the stark difference between fear-and -ego-grounded unconsciousness, and consciousness grounded in vision of the human potential for vision, growth and wholeness. As we are assailed each day by images, messages and energies that feed fear and unconsciousness, those of us for whom the fulfillment of human potential is the highest value NEED the support of kindred spirits if we are to shine urgently needed light in a world teetering on a knife edge between transformation and collapse. All of us of any age need the support of true community; living in a culture in which there is no meaningful role for older adults, this is especially true for those of us committed to becoming the elders whose wisdom, commitment and courage can make a great difference in what the polarization of these times leads to. This article is about the importance of community in supporting our growth into a
conscious
elderhood.
I invite you to use your imagination as you begin to read this. Imagine that you live, as have so many throughout history, in a “traditional” society that recognizes the dynamics of life transition and supports its members throughout their lives in their journeys of growth. You have been so-supported throughout your life through wisdom teachings, ceremonies, and modeling and mentoring from the elders. You have been part of a community that expects -- in fact, needs -- you to discover, cultivate, and use your gifts for the wellbeing of all.
Continuing this journey of your imagination, now see yourself at the point in your life where you are undergoing the transition, both inward and outward, into elderhood. The elders have been preparing you for a while now for this passage, helping you do the work of letting go of your past identity and opening your heart and mind to the guidance of Spirit to show you how you can best serve your community as an elder. They have been helping you to understand and grow into the wholeness that will be essential if you are to serve as an elder yourself when the time is right. When you are ready, you go off alone into nature to shed your former identity, to ritually experience the power of that in-between time called the neutral zone, and to pray for vision of the gifts you are to bring to the community in your elderhood. When you return to community, you sit with the elders and younger community members and tell the stories of your rite of passage. The elders help you clarify your understanding of the gifts and personal qualities that will define your elderhood. With your community as witnesses, you affirm those gifts and have them acknowledged through word and ceremony. In this empowering way, you take the first crucial steps into your new life chapter.
READ MORE
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National Center for Creative Learning conference.
October 28-9. Philadelphia. Watch for more information!
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Retire to the life you love: practical tools for designing your meaningful future
. Nell Smith. 2014. Speaking as one who wears three hats as a professional career/vocational counselor, spiritual director, and "Certified Sage-ing Leader", I am really impressed with the accessible, step-by-step process that Nell guides us through in progressive workbook fashion here. People too often think of themselves as "retiring from..." some career or other, rather than as "retiring to..." a new and awaited vocation or calling as a conscious elder. This book is terrific as a guide to prioritizing values on aging, and getting to work at implementing them. Highly recommended. [Al Rider]
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The Evolving Elder.
David “Lucky” Goff. 2017.
This author offers a rich view of what comprises elderhood. As a stage of human development, this view affords integration and a ripening of one's life that not only benefits individuals but the collective unfoldment of Life on our planet. For example, in surviving a chronic catastrophic brain syndrome, the author himself was compelled to accept and work with uncertainty. He observes: "Living near death, being aware of the fragility of existence, seems to generate a different sense of perspective, one in which the unknown and the mysterious have a role." When people learn this perspective from one another, the conditions are favorable for the development of larger, more complex wisdom at the personal and collective levels. Lucky's insights call us to become the "new old" with compassion and wisdom that our world sorely needs. [Sandra Scotchler]
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Too Soon To Say Goodbye
.
Art Buchwald. Random House. 2006 [an oldie, but goodie] "Being in the hospice didn't work out exactly as I had planned it," begins Buchwald in what may or may not be his final book. In February 2006, Buchwald was told he would need ongoing dialysis, which he promptly decided to discontinue, moving into a Washington hospice to die on his own terms. What was intended to be a three-week exit for the Pulitzer Prize-winning author turned into months of visitors, rumination and writing. The result is this hilarious, sobering and unconventional study of the issues that accompany the end of life, such as living wills and surrogates, funerals, food and even sex. As he has throughout his career, Buchwald pares down overwhelming topics into manageable steps, gently and with humor, noting that, for instance "the beauty of not dying but expecting to, is that it gives you a chance to say goodbye to everybody," and it's these goodbyes that provide Buchwald with the framework to revisit his storied career-spanning two continents, populated by global luminaries and celebrated with multiple awards. Though entertaining as a talented satirist's retrospective, it's also a valuable primer on how to meet death with bravery and grace, reminding us that "the big question we still have to ask is not where we're going, but what we were doing here in the first place."[ Publishers Weekly. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.]
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Aging with Wisdom
.
Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle. Monkfish. 2017. “Caution! Do not attempt to read this book rapidly. It is essential to pause and ponder after each brief reflection. For Olivia Hoblitzelle is a rare person and this is a rare book. The reader will be rewarded with a new paradigm to the challenge of aging with a treasure trove of inspirational insights and wisdom. A gem to be treasured!"[Rabbi Earl Grollman, author of 27 books including
Living When a Loved One Has Died.] [Editor’s note: I’ve just reviewed this. Highly recommended]
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Ending Ageism, or How Not to Shoot Old People
. Margaret Morganroth Gullette (Rutgers Univ. Press, 2017). “Margaret Morganroth Gullette is one of the shining lights of age studies. For decades she has been sweeping her bright searchlight across the landscape of American social, political and popular culture to identify and analyze ageism wherever it lurks.” [Alix Kates Shulman
author of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen and Ménage]
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Aging, an Apprenticeship.
Nan Narboe, ed. Red Notebook Pr.2017, “ So many of us long for an 'owner's manual' for both our lives and our bodies. These fastidiously curated essays are the perfect answer. With work from Judy Blume, Gloria Steinam, Kate Clinton, Ursula Le Guin, and many others, it both an excellent read, and an outstanding gift for someone you know”. Marcus on Amazon
. [
Human Values in Agng
]
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Age-Stereotype Paradox: Opportunity for Social Change
by Becca Levy at:
Ageism. Read "Why Ageism Never Gets Old"
(in The New Yorker), featuring two of our favorite gerontological writers: Ashton Applewhite and Margaret Gullette, at:
Films on Aging
. Great recommendations from the Elder Project at:
Refirement:
Paul Carter, a wise elder has developed an approach to conscious aging which he calls
Refirement.
a free highly useful e-handbook as well as a webinar series based upon his
Refirement Map
model,
www.gorefire.com
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