Dear Friends committed to living and aging consciously:

 Welcome to the Summer, 2026 edition of Conscious Eldering Inspiration and Resources; The Journal of the Center for Conscious Eldering. In the turning of the seasons, life’s energies flow most strongly during this Summer season.  We see this aliveness in the natural world, and most of us experience it also in our bodies and psyches. While darkness seems these days to have eclipsed much of the warmth and light in the world created by humanity, we elders have a critical role to play in shining our light in the darkness. However, we cannot effectively do so without making it a priority to periodically recharge ourselves with life’s healing energies. May we all do so this Summer.  Life, beauty, and health abound all around us, to feed and heal us and energize the elder gifts so urgently needed in today’s world. Remember, allowing ourselves to become depleted serves no one.. 

May the articles and poetry in this Summer edition of our Journal support your connection with nature's energies, your remembrance what truly brings forty the best of your human potential, and your trust in the regenerative power of ending and loss. We suggest that you slowly and reflectively read and savor this edition of our Journal. May it be a meaningful resource for your growth. And may you experience the fullness of life within and around you this Summertime.

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Fall 2026 Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreat

Read More of Ron Pevny's Writing on Substack

Ron will now periodically be posting his writing on Substack. He will not be charging for access to his articles. You do have to subscribe to his Substack, which you can do by going to: roncce.substack.com/subscribe

And please tell your friends about this opportunity to be inspired by meaningful writing about conscious eldering.

Elders and “Youngers” Together taking a Stand for a Healthy Future

by Ron Pevny

Elders Throughout History

For most of recorded history until relatively recent times, the role of elder was an honored one, with the wisdom, skills and personal qualities of elders understood to be critical for the wellbeing of communities.  The role of elder was that of mentor to the younger generations in the enduring values that support harmony in the community.  Elders initiated the young. They helped adults find and develop the gifts they were to share with the community.  Because they had developed the bigger picture understanding of life that sees human wellbeing and that of the earth that supports them a inter-related and inter-dependent, it was the elders whose role it was to serve as the voice for future generations, reminding their community of the importance of making decisions with the sustainability of the culture and the earth in mind. 

Unlike the situation in industrialized societies today in which there is no defined and honored role for its older adults, and most seniors live in their own homes or retirement communities, in “traditional” societies throughout history all the generations lived together in family groups.  The roles and responsibilities of elders were integrated into the daily life of the community.  The elders lived with children and adults in a web of mutual respect for the important roles all had in supporting the life of the family and the community. 

Collaboration is Key to Survival

A growing body of research (such as that by Sidney Liebes, Elizabet Sahtouris, and Brian Swimme, authors of A Walk Through Time: The Evolution of Life on Earth), is pointing to a new (to the modern world) understanding of a key dynamic in the survival of both human and non-human communities.  The Darwinian model of competition in which the “fittest” survive is being recognized as being a distorted and only partially true depiction of life’s dynamics. This understanding shows that all members of communities, whether human or non, must contribute to the health of the larger systems in which they are imbedded if they are to remain healthy.  They must continually balance independence with interdependence, cooperating in win-win dynamics that support the wellbeing of all. 1

In contemporary culture, where older adults are largely seen as having made their contribution to society before retirement, a critical element is missing from this dynamic of cooperation.    Seniors are not expected to continue cultivating elder qualities in themselves and to use these in service to the community. A great many seniors have little regular contact with young people, aside from occasional visits with grandchildren. By and large, young people and seniors have little in common, live in vastly different sub-cultures, cannot understand each other, and find it difficult to bridge the gaps if doing so does feel important to them.

Crisis Can Bring Out the Elder in Us

However, I believe this can change.  Already, a rapidly increasing number of people are embracing an empowering vision for their aging.  Rather than drifting into a disempowered old age, they are focusing on continual personal growth work to strengthen those qualities and commitments to service that have traditionally defined the role of elder. They recognize the importance of using their passion and talents in service to their communities and the ecosystems that support life.  It seems to take crisis to galvanize people into action, and the imminent dangers of human-induced climate change and escalating societal breakdowns may well be the crises that can bring out the elder in millions more of us as we age, impelling us to begin looking at the legacy we will leave our descendants. The magnitude of this crisis is such that we cannot afford to have millions of older adults, as well as young people, standing on the sideline, not interested or not believing they can make a difference. Collaboration between elders and “youngers” can be key to success in dealing with climate change and other immediate crises that loom before us as well as envisioning longer term cultural transformation

Elder-Younger Partnerships Create Synergy

Elders can bring to the table time, money, experience creating change (e.g., the environmental, anti-war, female equality, and civil rights movements).  They can contribute long-term perspective, political and financial clout, and a sense of urgency that time is limited for them to make a difference. Many elders have an experiential understanding of the importance of healthy planetary and cultural ecosystems for human physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Elders can also bring an awareness, often not yet reached by younger people, that environmental and social action grounded in hatred and demonization of opponents most likely will only increase polarization, whereas willingness to truly listen to opposing viewpoints and act with an open heart (characteristics of true elders) can bring healing.

Youngers bring energy, idealism, and a wealth of experience with social media and technology in general.  They bring concern about their futures and the problems they are inheriting, and anger at the generations ahead of them that created these problems. Elders can show them how to transform this justified anger into passionate commitment and effective engagement.

In recent years, an increasing number of organizations and projects have arisen to help elders and youngers bridge the age gap to tackle climate change, social injustice and community resilience. Here are a few of these. I believe these can serve as examples of what is possible in intergenerational collaboration. Perhaps some of you reading this may feel called to take the lead in this arena of elder service. 

·      Co-Generate;  probably the best known and most active such organization with projects all around the country.

·      Third Act (elders) and The Sunrise Movement (youngers) working together

·      The Gray Panthers

·      Elders Action Network

·      Link Generations: In Maryland at this time but with great potential elsewhere) focused on historical memory and social justice storytelling.

·      Age to Age: Focused on community activism in Minnesota, and a great model for elsewhere

·      All over the world: Projects in which elders and youngers do oral history with each other

As the viewpoints, ideas and skills of different generations are brought together in service to the wellbeing of all, a synergy is created that expands the vision, creativity and effectiveness of any one group. But just as important, such collaboration can result in a long overdue cultural change, in which elders are again honored and needed, and younger people have models for healthy aging whom they can aspire to emulate. Besides helping to create a world in which all our descendants can thrive, elder-younger partnerships can help restore social balance where every generation has a role within our human community.

art by Anna Looney



A Personal Epiphany: Choosing Joy & Healing After Trauma

by J. Anna Looney

Resilience is the optimal response to the blows life deals us. Disappointments, inevitable losses and failures are part of the human condition. Sometimes resilience happens swiftly and naturally; we get back on our feet after falling down on the playground or being thrown from a horse. There’s a more complex emotional resilience that comes after having your heart broken in an early love affair. Then there are the dark times when the blow is life-changing; we need support and understanding from close friends, mentors or counselors to adapt after a job loss, bankruptcy, divorce or death – all difficulties that likely require longer recovery time before springing back. The “school of hard knocks” aptly describes the array of challenges that comes to all of us. Resilience enables us to carry on; it speaks of determination and character, self-confidence and hope.

Over my 74 years of life, I’m grateful that innate resilience helped me survive problems of life. The catalogue of challenges doesn’t matter as much as the way resilience served me through difficulties with family, schooling, career and marriage. Yet the more I think about specific times of struggle and suffering, the more conscious I am of the valuable lessons that came as a result of these difficult experiences.  

The transformation of my thinking about this bumpy road to elder adulthood occurred during the Conscious Elderhood retreats I attended in 2024 and 2025. Shifting my perspective to ‘own’ my age rather than covering it up or denying it was the necessary first step in this process. Then opening my eyes, heart and mind to acknowledge my suffering was the second. Rather than shame and despair, I began to consider my failures as better teachers than any successes I’d achieved.  Joan Borysenko wrote in her 1996 book A Woman’s Book of Life: The Biology, Psychology, and Spirituality of the Feminine Life Cycle: “Resilient people cope by finding some positive meaning in their suffering, whereas despairing people often feel victimized.” With acceptance and openness, I was primed for beginning my education in elder wisdom.

Post Traumatic Growth Gave Me New Direction

If resilience is a healthy process for coping with human struggles, what is post traumatic growth? Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun coined this term in the 1990s while researching trauma survivors. Post-traumatic growth describes how humans can transform their suffering into goodness. If we suffer trauma but deny or refuse to acknowledge it, the potential to learn from it is lost. I’ve been in school long enough to know this is not a lesson I should waste.  

Tauma is not something lightly discussed. It is not our business to compare traumas with others like badges of honor, nor to discount or judge what someone identifies as their trauma. Trauma can become redemptive when the person suffering recognizes its impact as a force for good rather than a crushing experience.  To me, Viktor Frankl and Eleanor Roosevelt are two heroes for turning their personal suffering to the greater good for humankind.  

Retreat as Midwife: My Experience of Post Traumatic Growth

Attending two Conscious Eldering retreats led by Ron Pevny was life-changing as I struggled to find direction for spiritual growth and clarity around the work I felt called to do. 

The first retreat in 2024 in the New Mexico desert allowed protected time to step away from the busyness and distraction of my life. The ranch itself felt infused with an austere spiritual quality, a far cry from commercial comforts of the popular self-help culture. Beginning on the first evening, Ron invited the 12 of us to enter a sacred space where we could show up exactly as we are. Our diverse group of seekers -- people with years of leadership experience and expertise—began to open up to allow unprocessed grief to emerge; individuality and career accomplishments fell away. I sensed a kinship to my companions because, essentially, we were more alike than different. 

Together with Dennis Stamper, Ron described the days ahead. There were no handouts or power point presentations to prepare us for the transformative time we had begun. Rather, we started with a ritual of connection; passing a cord from one person to the next, we named our intentions for the retreat as we knotted the cord to signify our hopes for being there. We took turns wearing the cord necklace during the week, holding each other with intentions of love and support. It was up to each of us to find what we were looking for, for bringing the buried longings of our lives to light. Like midwives, Ron and Dennis helped us along, but the labor was ours to do. 

Beginning each day with drumming, poetry and meditation, we listened deeply and generously to each other. Strong reactions came up as sensitive nerves were touched. We were surrendering to Spirit, to Universe, to Creator, to our retreat leaders whose wisdom and sensitivity to the group dictated the order. The culminating event of the retreat was the solitary day on the land. Rituals with smudging, fasting and silence led up to this profoundly moving rite of passage – a kind of vision quest that offered a time of reckoning, forgiveness, insight and renewal.

In the spaciousness of that day, I was able hear my Inner Guide. I moved through sorrows and deep regrets I’d never spoken aloud. Anger came up, as well as joy and gratitude. I owned, with humility. my own responsibility for the traumas I’d suffered. As the day drew to a close, I felt guided to draw a map of my life, a spiritual resume that put the pieces together, transforming the suffering into meaning. I felt a strong conviction that the failures and harms I’d done, as well as those I’d suffered, were necessary preparation for the work I’m called to do. These dark times and traumas had broken me down to make way for wisdom and compassion. It was as if the dawn came, and I was emerging blessed, like Jacob after a night of wrestling with the angel. Without a doubt, I saw that the traumas were preparation for this time in my life when my gifts, intuition and experience would be used in the service of others.  The vision I had late on that day became the blueprint for the next year. I left that retreat filled with deep gratitude to the Universe as teacher and a realization that my traumas and suffering were, in fact, the most powerful route to self- compassion, forgiveness and, love.  

Returning for the Next Step Retreat

Returning to Ghost Ranch for the Next Step Retreat felt like a reunion even though 10 of my companions there were new to me. As before, the initial sharing opened us to become a safe container for each other. Building on the awareness gained at the first retreat, we considered where our passions were leading us – what was lighting us up, bringing us alive – as the best way to find meaning and satisfaction. 

The message from my Inner Guide was to remember the joy, take stock of the changes and the growth – that powerful post-traumatic growth that came from the first retreat– and recommit to finding ways to be of service for healing and love.  

During my solo day on the land this time, I received a strong image of a broken heart being mended, the stitches becoming visible scars. To mend the heart back into a whole, the Creator must pierce that heart again to joins the sundered edges. This kind of heart surgery, with evidence of repair, is a cause for celebration rather than regret. In my journal, I drew my broken heart decorated with gemstones, sparkles and lights. The message that day was not to hide my trauma and brokenness, not to deny or excuse the pain, but to recognize how this suffering has made me more loving and understanding, wiser and kinder.

For healing and growth like this, there is no shortcut. It is in seeing the trauma of life as instructive and constructive that is grace in this stage of life. I am filled with gratitude for the path that has brought me here, a survivor, a resilient elder who like Jacob may walk with a limp after wrestling an angel.

J. Anna Looney, Ph.D. is a retired sociologist enjoying Oregon in this new chapter of life.   Delighted to have time and energy for meaningful service, Anna facilitates Mind Body Medicine skills groups for cancer survivors and caregivers. She serves on the board of Authentic Hope Center for Peace and Empowerment and spends time volunteering for hospice. Anna has discovered the profound joy in art making with friends. Contact her at annalooney22@gmail.com for more information.

photo by Randy Morris

An Elderhood Initiation in Greece

by Randy Morris

As I entered my 76^th year, I was presented with the opportunity to undertake a pilgrimage to Greece, a land that has always fascinated me since falling in love with an illustrated book of Greek myths when I was 10.  By the time I had become a well-educated adult immersed in the Western Tradition, I knew Greece to be the origin of my culture’s identity. Democracy, Philosophy, Theater, Sciences, Music, Art -- everything that formed the bedrock of my own and my culture’s value system, including the foundations of Christianity -- had its origins in Greece.  After years of life experience and study,  I finally understood what the Greek philosophers knew all along – that the goal of my life is Eudaimonia, a way of living and an activity of soul that aligns inner virtues with the harmony of the stars, a view entirely consistent with the latest science about the evolution of an intelligent cosmos, and a valuable contribution to the emerging eco-centric global culture.  I came to understand that by clarifying and enacting my vocation --  my personal myth, my mytho-poetic identity -- I was contributing to the overall flourishing of the created order.  

But something was amiss.  While I could actualize, through a great deal of persistence and shadow work, a state of Eudaimonia (with occasional lapses, of course), the culture around me was falling apart, swirling around a giant whirlpool, aimless and lost.  And it didn’t even seem to care! The cultural critic Mark McInerny captured my feelings when he wrote:  “… after a while you see what this country can live with. Corruption without consequence. Lies without penalty. Public cruelty turned into entertainment. Civilian suffering folded into the background while the culture learns, again and again, how to keep eating dinner through it. After a while you stop asking whether the truth has been seen and start asking whether seeing it makes any difference at all.” (Smoke Signals, 3.29.26)  It’s one thing to believe in the values of the Good, the True, the Beautiful and the Just, and to know that, however flawed, Western culture judges itself in relation to these values.  But what if that culture, after 2500 years, is imploding?  Archetypal values are being rendered irrelevant by the forces of commodification and predatory capitalism.  What does it mean to be an elder in a time of diminishing expectations and moral decay?  Wouldn’t it be easiest to simply turn away from the madness, nurture my own Eudaimonic ‘sweet spot’ and ride out the storm until my own demise in the not-so-distant future?  

These were the questions I was taking into my Asklepian Dream Incubation ritual on the island of Poros in Greece.  For over 2500 years, the nearby Temple of Epidauros had served as the healing center of ancient Greece.  People from around the Mediterranean came there to sleep in the Temple and pray for a healing visitation from Asklepios, the Greek god of healing.  What could Asklepios tell me about my own healing and my role as an elder in the healing of my culture, not to mention the healing of the web of life itself?  

The dreams leading up to my Asklepian Dream Incubation were full of deep emotions – tending the wounded in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, crying at the beauty of a full orchestra playing praise music, awakening with a vibrating heart and the word Eudaimonia on my lips.  During the day of fasting that preceded my sacred night of sleep, I pondered a recent dream in which a gigantic whirlpool formed off of the beach of my childhood home.  I strain to see into the bottom, but it’s too deep.  At the last moment I see that it is being created by a laser beam of light coming from a star-like object in the blue sky, which quickly streaks across the horizon and vanishes.  What the heck was that?  

As night came, my altar was set with sacred objects and a flickering candle.  I had formulated my healing request.  I had spent my preparation time in silence and fasting.  What would Asklepios bring?  

I dream of wandering the Greek countryside in ancient times.  My name is Pausanius.  I am visited by three old women dressed in dark peasant clothing who watch me plant something in the ground as I fumble to tie a thin thread around it.  I hear echoes of poetry and song.  A snake enters my body and says, “Let’s sing!”

In the days following, I read about Pausanius, a name I had never heard before, and his 10-volume travelogue of Ancient Greece written around 150AD.  I refresh my understanding of the mythology of the Three Fates and the deft way they weave the strands of our destiny. I recall my previous initiatory encounters with Snake and vow to honor his invitation into the Orphic Mysteries of music.  I study the poems and songs whose fragments came to me, unbidden, in the night.  I revel in the companionship of my fellow pilgrims with whom I can freely share these images in solidarity and without judgement.  

So what conclusions do I draw about my initiation into a new phase of my Elderhood?  So far, here’s what I imagine the voice of Asklepios advising me:

            1.  It’s not enough to live in the privileged harmony of a personal Eudaimonia.  My destiny now is to wander, like Pausanius, into the broken places of this world, blessing each part of creation, no matter how dark and terrible. My allegiance is not only to my self, my family and the human species, but to the entire web of life.  

            2.  Spiritual Warriorship will be required -- Courage to stand for values that are under assault, Resilience to find joy and meaning in the midst of suffering and collapse, and Service to restore harmony, as best I can, to the web of life.

            3.  The Three Fates will have their way with the human species.  What they are spinning now is unprecedented.  But I can still be ferocious in defense of life of earth.  Dreams will show the way.  Step into the breech when called. Sacrifice will make sacred the things of the world.  That said, I won’t throw my life away on false pretenses.  Discernment is required.

            4.  I no longer plan to sit in the shade of what I have planted.  Whether flower, tree or idea, they are gifts freely given to future generations. Perhaps they will see the destiny threads I tied around them, but it is no longer of consequence if they don’t.

            5.  Continue to practice the discipline of Eudaimonia, seeking balance between inner and outer worlds through nature awareness, music, random acts of Kindness and Beauty and by cultivating, always, deep gratitude for the gift of being alive.

Some lyrics from the song that appeared as an ear worm during the night of my dream incubation come to me now, courtesy of Asklepios:  

There is a hope

That’s been expressed in you

The hope of seven generations maybe more

And this is the faith

That they invest in you

It’s that you’ll do one better than was done before

Inside you know

Inside you understand

Inside you know what’s yours to finally set right

And I suggest

And I suggest to you

And I suggest this is the best part of your life.

                        -- Red Molly, May I Suggest

                                    *************************************

Note To Reader:   In every culture throughout the history of humanity – except ours – dreams have been revered as a threshold between our waking world and the world of Spirit. As we stand on the threshold seeking guidance for our journey into the fullness of elderhood, understanding the symbolic  speech of dreams can be important for many of us. Especially valuable can be learning dream incubation, taught in many cultures, in which the supplicants ritually prepare themselves, make a request of the dream world, sleep in a sacred setting, and await a response.  The story above is what happened to me in a recent dream incubation ritual in Greece led by Ed Tick.  More information on dream incubations can be found in two of Ed Tick’s books – The Practice of Dream Healing (2001) and Soul Medicine:  Healing Through Dream Incubation, Visions, Oracles and Pilgrimage (2023)

Randy Morris, Ph.D., CSL is Professor Emeritus at Antioch University Seattle, President Emeritus of the Board of Rite of Passage Journeys, Co-President of the Seattle Jung Society, and has served on the executive and ritual committees of Sage-ing International where he is a Certified Sage-ing Leader. Randy is  co-editor of the forthcoming Spiritual Eldering for the 21st Century: The Sage-ing Way. More of his work can be found on his website: randymorrisphd.net. He can be reached at rmorris@antioch.edu

art by Lorrie Eigles

Being Creative in Elderhood

by Lorrie Eigles

“What is Creativity?” Each of us has a deep internal source which we tap to produce ideas, products, feelings, images and words. Creativity is making things in ways that provide a new twist or approach to what already exists.  Or new discoveries in scientific research and artworks that haven’t existed before.  There are innumerable ways to be creative including visual arts, marketing, teaching, gardening, music, managing, writing, quilting and the performing arts. In this article we’re going to look at being creative specifically during elderhood.

In early life, people are often so busy raising children and focusing on their careers, that they do not have time to develop their creative abilities.  They are so swamped working, paying bills and handling all the everyday practicalities, that creativity is often pushed to the back burner or forgotten completely.  Some people never believed they were creative. I believe everyone is but may not yet have found their form(s) of creativity.

Being creative in our later years is unique and special in many ways. When people are approaching or have entered this next chapter in life, they may start dabbling with continuing education classes in colleges, community centers or YouTube instructions. In elderhood there is a lack of pressure when people are exploring creative venues for the sheer fun of it.  Seeing what it’s like to learn woodworking techniques or pottery making without being graded, without worrying about failing a class or not getting it right can be freeing.  Older people tend to know themselves much better and are not so vulnerable as young people who don’t yet know who they are, what their capabilities are and what they want.

Yet, as many people retire, they face the daunting situation of losing their professional identities, if this has been their primary focus.  It’s a time to discover what their identity in this new chapter will be. Being creative can provide another kind of identity.  Also, at this time in life, we no longer need to prove ourselves. We can simply love the creative process.  In the beginning of starting something new, we need to remember that we’re not immediately good at new activities.  It takes time, patience and much practice to develop creative skills.  With time we get better.

I’ve been creating art since I was a very young child.  Drawing was just something I wanted to do without thinking about it.  It was an activity I did for myself because I loved it and drawing felt good.  Off and on throughout my life I kept creating art.  When I began my own businesses in my forties, providing career coaching and creating colored pencil drawings, I really wanted them both to be income sources.  Ultimately, I decided to focus on my coaching business for regular income. I then gave myself permission to create art when I felt like it and to do it authentically without trying to meet anyone’s expectations.

Still wanting to find new homes for my art, I began posting my art images on Facebook and Instagram.  While I sold a few pieces, I realized I didn’t post my art just for the sake of selling it.  I had gotten positive feedback about the joy my colorful abstract drawings bring to people. I then knew my purpose is to lift my viewers’ spirits with vibrant art, especially during these discouraging times.  My identity as an artist makes me feel happy that I’m making a positive difference in the world.

I’ve found that being creative has changed for me now that I’m 73. It feels much deeper and more profound since I’ve identified my purpose in making and sharing art.  I also know myself better and care much less about what people think of me and my art.  After all, I do it for myself.  Then I share it with people who resonate with it.

Creating art also has the benefit of helping me lift my own spirits.  I feel depressed at times by the horrors of the world. It’s cathartic and healing for me to create art, which brings me out of despair.  Other older people I’ve talked with have said the same thing happens to them when they use their creativity. Creativity can be a source of solace for the increasing losses that occur as we age. We deal with our own illnesses, changes in our lives, such as having to stop driving, or moving out of beloved homes.  And the loss of loved ones as they decline or die.  Being creative, whatever our form of expression, can help us put our losses aside for a while and get swept up in the positive feelings of making something uniquely our own.

In our elder years some people have more time to focus on their art.  Other people who were creative in their early years but put those interests aside, circle back to them in this new chapter of life.  One client I coached hired a piano teacher for private lessons. He had played as a child and missed it. He didn’t expect to end up in Carnegie Hall.  He simply felt joyful playing the piano, loving the process, and hearing the music that came from his efforts.

Recently, I was surprised when I saw a previous client post on Facebook a painting she’d made.  Never having known she was creative as an artist, I contacted her (I’ll call her Mary) and we had a brief and exciting conversation.

Lorrie:  How wonderful, Mary!  Have you always been involved in art?

Mary:  This is a new pursuit for me.  I’ve been taking sketching and watercolor classes for three years!

Lorrie:  That’s great!  What has it been like for you—exploring your artistic side?

Mary:  It has been a wonderful experience. I find that creating art is a new way of being in and connecting to the world.

It takes courage and curiosity to try something new, for people to get outside their comfort zone.  If they find that they like their new activity, it can be thrilling.  If they don’t like it, they have the freedom to try other activities until they find one or more types of creativity that they enjoy.  Many people, like Mary, are eager to take on these new challenges.  Others are hesitant.  Whatever your situation may be, it is worth the effort to explore this new world of creativity in elderhood!

Lorrie Eigles’ award winning abstract art has been in many art exhibitions. Her art is in both private and public collections throughout the United States. Bright and musical, her art is bursting with color. The intriguing energy of her work connects viewers to passion, possibility and power. Lorrie was a Life, Career and Retirement Coach, PCC, LPC- now retired, and in the next chapter of life! Her art reveals paths to discovery and our deep desire for creativity. Here is her contact information

lorrieeigles@icloud.com        lorrieeiglesart.com      Facebook @lorrieeigles

All My Life Is a Dance

by Nancy Wood

in Many Winters

All of my life is a dance.

When I was young and feeling the earth

My steps were quick and easy.

The beat of the earth was so loud

That my drum was silent beside it.

All of my life rolled out from my feet

Like my land which had no end as far as I could see.

The rhythm of my life was pure and free.

As I grew older my feet kept dancing so hard that I wore a spot on the earth

At the same time I made a hole in the sky.

I danced to the sun and the rain

And the moon lifted me up

So that I could dance to the stars.

My head touched the clouds sometimes

And my feet danced deep in the earth

So that I became the music I danced to everywhere.

It was the music of life.

Now my steps are slow and hard

And my body fails my spirit.

Yet my dance is still within me and

My song is the air I breathe.

My song insists that I keep dancing forever.

My song insists that I keep rhythm

With all of the earth and the sky.

My song insists that I will never die.

The Summer Day

 by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean – 

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass,

how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Sweet Darkness

by David Whyte

From The House of Belonging

Time to go into the dark

where the night has eyes

to recognize its own.

There you can be sure

your are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb 

tonight. The night will give you a horizon

further than you can see.

You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in. 

Give up all the other worlds 

except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your darkness

to learn anything or anyone

that does not bring you alive

is too small for you.

GRATITUDE

by Gary Snyder – after a Mohawk prayer

Gratitude to Mother Earth, sailing through night and day

         and to her soil, rich, rare, and sweet

         in our minds so be it

Gratitude to Plants, the sun-facing light-changing leaf and fine root hairs, standing still through wind and rain, their dance is in the flowing spiral grain

         in our minds so be it

Gratitude to Air, bearing the soaring Swift and the silent Owl at dawn, breath of our song, clear spirit breeze

         in our minds so be it

Gratitude to Wild Beings, our brothers and sisters teaching secrets, freedoms, and ways, self-complete, brave, and aware

         in our minds so be it

Gratitude to Water, clouds, lake, rivers, glaciersholding or releasing , streaming through all our bodies salty seas

         in our minds so be it

Gratitude to the Sun, blinding pulsing light through trunks of trees, through mists, warming caves where ears and snakes sleep—he who wakes us—

         In our minds so be it

Gratitude to the Great Sky who holds billions of stars—and goes yet beyond that,

 beyond all powers and thoughts and yet is within us—

         Grandfather space

         The Mind is his Wife

          so be it

There is Treasure in You

by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer

If you were here

I would put my hand

on your heart

and hold it there

until our breaths

became a single tide,

hold it there until

I could feel the moment

when you remember

your infinite value.

It’s so easy to forget

we are treasure.

So easy to lose track

of our own immeasurable worth.

The chest rusts shut.

We think we are empty.

Amazing how easily

we are fooled into believing

we’re paupers.

Sometimes it takes another

to remind us

we have always been

not only the treasure

but also, the key.

Though the hinges

are a metaphor,

the treasure is not.

We were made to open,

to share our priceless gift,

to press our hands

to each other’s hearts

until we all remember.

The Shedding

 by Debbie Freed

In the 80th year of my life, I ponder

what is left that matters,

who is gone, 

what is to be.

What do I carry that has always been so,

what belongs to me.

The ancestors call me more clearly now.

They await, knowing on their numinous journeys

that chronological time is elusive, 

and mine on the earth fleeting.

I am not ready, but I am preparing….

   …. in my dreams, in my conscious thoughts, in my memories.

    … in my deepening sadness and expansive gratitude. 

I am more and more drawn to the creatives and philosophers, the poets, musicians, and mystics. They feed me.

The veils are thinning, the Cosmos and my husband beckon.

I am not ready, but I am preparing….

      …More trusting. 

      …More accepting. 

      …More present. 

I feel scared. I feel vulnerable.

I do nothing, and everything.

On a recent moonwalk by the sea, 

I find myself dancing alone in the street

to the music of Edith Piaf’s 

“Je ne regrette rien”.

My joy and acceptance envelop the grief, 

the lifetime yearning for self, belonging, and grace. 

I am arriving.

In the 80th year of my life I ponder..

A Prayer for Those Growing Older

Author Unknown

You Know Holy One that I am growing older.

Keep me from becoming talkative and possessed with the idea that I must express myself on every subject.

Release me from the craving to straighten out everyone's affairs.

Keep me from the recital of endless detail. Give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips when I am inclined to tell of my aches & pains.They are increasing with the years and my love to speak of them grows sweeter as time goes by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.

Make me thoughtful but not nosey; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom & experience, it does seem

a pity not to use it all!!!

You know Holy One, that I want to have a few friends at the end.

A Blessing of Hope

From The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr

May you give your hope room to breathe and expand.

May your anticipated dreams find a voice and a home in your life.

May hope move freely through your hearts,

Gifting your spirit with enthusiasm and joy.

May you walk through spring storms with a strong sense of purpose,

Undaunted by fear.

May you never lose confidence in your ability to grow.

May your hope stream outward to the world,

Dancing in the far realms like a feather

Floating in the April breeze,

Bringing joy to all who need it.

Upcoming Conscious Eldering Programs

Retreats

Ww have one more Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreat scheduled in 2026.  We will return to magnificent Ghost Ranch in New Mexico for our annual Fall retreat, our 25th in that stunningly beautiful and spiritually powerful place. We are also seeking to find more opportunities to present our inspiring weekend workshops and one-day introductory programs. If you know of a faith community, senior living community, or other organization that might be willing to sponsor one of these, please let us know.

Choosing Conscious Elderhood

September 14-20 at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

Please consider joining us if you seek an empowering vision for your elder chapters, tools for helping make that vision reality, and the warmth of a supportive community of kindred spirits sharing and growing together in person. Our programs provide a powerful opportunity to have your idealism acknowledged, your hope rekindled and your dreams for a vital, passionate elderhood supported? They offer you 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.

If you need financial assistance to participate in a Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreat, please contact us. We have a small scholarship fund. And if you are in a position to contribute to this fund, we would love to hear from you.

For Organizations, Faith Communities, etc:

We are available to present our highly impactful 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/events

A gift for you:

Two Interviews from Turning Points

Two years ago, Ron Pevny and Katia Petersen created a 12-interview video series featuring thought leaders whose highly regarded work contributes much to the growth of conscious elders. Called "Turning Points", this series focuses on the personal journeys of these leaders--their dark nights, epiphanies, struggles and breakthroughs. These are powerful conversations which deeply touched listeners. Below you will find links to two of these interviews. Listen carefully, consider how how these accounts of their turning points can be important on your own journey, and savor the wisdom they have shared with us..

Richard Leider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF3XOS_DivU&list=PLrCxfiKS3KHgzcxdwlUIXEw3rrZPpAKcD&index=1&t=2s

Amikaeyla Gaston https://youtu.be/XkEjKVjg4tw?si=NwoTnNOIU0yS7cbi

.

Ron Pevny's Recent Interviews

The publication of the new edition of Ron’s book has resulted in many invitations to be interviewed on Aging, Wellness and related podcasts, radio shows, and summits. Here are links to several of these interviews:

The Banyen Books of Vancouver Podcast with Ross McKeachie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAUGkTKu3_Y&t

The Finishing Strong Podcast with Jamie Whyte

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finishing-strong-with-jamie-whyte/id1665911385?i=1000696270285

Glowing Older Podcast with Nancy Griffin

https://www.glowingolder.com/listen/episode/ebd7a653/episode-206-ron-pevny-on-life-transitions-and-conscious-eldering

Beth Mauroni:  Conscious Living Summit presentation

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13hYaoR9jpGl1q2WmpJmnWdzBcxjKj96c/view?usp=sharing

Jeff Armstrong:  Aging Well Podcast 

https://youtu.be/Ecsx8pTCi8U

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1907855/15445065

With Richard Cohn President of Beyond Words Publishing on Healthy Life Net

 https://healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveBW.htm

Rejuvenaging Podcast with Dr. Ron Kaiser

https://shows.acast.com/rejuvenaging-with-dr-ron-kaiser/episodes/embracing-elderhood-with-purpose-and-passion-a-conversation-

Elevating Your Life Podcast with Paula Vail

 https://youtu.be/tWHv3BfliRM  

Les Grands Createurs Podccast with Nathalie Lavoie

https://youtu.be/6hJnWkzL6lQ?si=6Mx04mtUJLzsAie0

Angels, Positivity and Love Radio Show with Michael Andre Ford

https://youtu.be/NOyq1cKLe_8

 The Integral Centering Podcast with Robert Strohmeyer

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDTaVd_l2Po

 Incredible Life Podcast with Dr. Kimberly Linert

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWB4Qzo6PqU

One of our partner organizations, the Elders Action Network is an educational non-profit organization fostering a budding movement of vital elders dedicated to growing in consciousness while actively addressing the demanding social and environmental 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. EAN offerings include, among others,

* Bi-weekly Elder Activists for Social Justice Community Conversations

*The growing and influential "Elders Climate Action" initiative

* The Empowered Elder--EAN's foundational program

* Intergenerational environmental and social action projects

*The Elders for Regenerative Living initiative

To learn about EAN and its initiatives and programs, visit www.eldersaction.org

Another of our partner organizations is Sage-ing International, the pioneering organization in promoting the principles of "Sage-ing/Conscious Aging, Their greatly expanded offerings of online workshops and seminars, Elder Wisdom Circles, and their training program for Certified Sage-ing Leaders are grounded in the work of the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter-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.

We would like to highly recommend these three of Sage-ing International’s upcoming wide variety of online programs which support the growth work of elders.  Information about all their programs can be found on the S.I. website.

***The 2026 World Wisdom Series:   https://tinyurl.com/2026WWS

***Estrangement: Fractured Familes and Reconciliation 

with Dr. Karl A. Pillemer   https://tinyurl.com/ESTRECON

***Ancestory Circle: Beginning again this Fall. A small group exploration with elders exploring their ancestral history. Go to the Sage-ing website for details

To learn about Sage-ing International: www.sage-ing.org