Sage-ing: from Being Elderly to Becoming an Elder in Life
http://www.csa.us/email/spirit/ssarticles/1112Lifestyle.html
A new movement called conscious aging, or sage-ing, aims to encourage seniors to view this time of life as one of profound insights that can be used to review one’s life, take steps to get rid of old grudges and negative attitudes and determine what should be done with the remaining years. Click here to view article.
When Gary Carlston retired at age 56, after a 30-year career as a scientist, he knew he wanted to explore other facets of life. For one, he wanted to take up pottery and do more volunteer work. But he also wanted to discover the “role conscious aging might play in my coming elder years.”
Conscious aging, or “sage-ing,” is a new movement that aims to encourage seniors to appreciate their own wisdom and to think of the aging process as a time to turn inward and consider their life and what they want to do with their remaining years.
In Gary’s case, he went from being a ”full-time scientist working for a large corporation one day to a full-time self-employed studio potter the next. . . . It was challenging and exhilarating to learn new skills and start a new business, and I found I loved the challenge and the change of identity that being a potter represented.”
He also became more involved in his “inner work,” while spending more time in nature, especially watching birds, and began to feel a “stronger connection with all of the animals and plants that I share this earth with.” He began meditating and practicing tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art. He volunteered at the local nature center and with hospice.
Sage-ing Guild
Eventually, he worked with others to create the Sage-ing Guild, whose focus “is to change our society’s current belief system from aging to sage-ing—that is, from simply becoming old to aging consciously.” Gary serves as an example of “conscious aging,” a time of looking inward as well as giving back to the community. He describes his years of growing into elderhood as “the best time of my life without a doubt, and I expect the joys of living and growing to continue as I enter my eighth decade” (Gary Carlson, “The Heart’s Path” Conscious Aging Network of New Mexico).
The sage-ing/conscious aging movement became well known when Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi wrote a book called From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older (with Ronald S. Miller, Grand Central Publishing, 1997). In the book, the author, one of the major founders of the Jewish Renewal movement, discusses society’s narrow view of death, as well as the role of ceremonies and the power of forgiveness. He recommends meditation, exercise and spiritual healing to help in the aging process.
In a youth-oriented culture that worships what’s new, the elderly are often pushed aside. As a consequence, many seniors feel they need to work hard to keep up with young people by trying to stay as youthful as they can. In contrast, proponents of conscious aging want to encourage “elders”—their preferred term for elderly—to value their wisdom and accept this time of life as one of profound insights.
Categories of Conscious Aging
While different concepts have been emphasized by different groups, the components of conscious aging basically fall into these categories:
Awareness. This is a period in life when we have the luxury of time to ask ourselves the deepest questions and reflect on our lives. This awareness is the first step in the process of conscious aging. When we look at past experiences that are painful, we become aware of how we’ve held onto old hurts, grudges and pains. Part of awareness is letting go of the negative emotions that don’t serve us anymore and slow us down for this next stage of life. Tools that enhance awareness include meditation, prayer, journal writing, nature walks, gardening and slow exercises such as tai chi or yoga. Writing, especially, is one way to help clarify values and better understand the meaning and purpose of our lives.
New habits. After becoming more aware of our actions, attitudes and behaviors, we can start to change what doesn’t work anymore. In our early years, we may have adopted coping behaviors, perhaps for work or raising family, that are no longer necessary. This opens the doors to new attitudes that can help us in this stage of life. Viewing our past, especially what was painful or difficult, and seeing what we’ve learned and what we can use in our elder years helps us grow. Like learning new physical skills, such as tennis or golf, we can learn new ways of thinking. Recent findings in neuroscience show that the brain can adapt to traumatic events such as strokes and find new neural pathways.
Guidance and support. We don’t have to do it alone. We can look to others, including our spiritual connection, whether it’s God or a higher power, to find support for our journey. The idea is to connect to something bigger than ourselves. This can involve meditation, contemplation, prayer, journaling, reading inspirational works, reading or writing poetry or engaging in silence. Books, classes and support groups with other seniors or individuals who are on the same spiritual path are also helpful.
A larger vision. This means thinking about our hopes for the world. What would make it a better place? What can we do to contribute to that vision? We’re not talking about a financial legacy, although it can take that form. A vision larger than our own daily concerns shifts our thinking from worrying about ourselves to considering other people. We may feel moved to be more active in the world and volunteer, like Gary did with hospice or the nature center, spend more time with family or just offer a friendly word to someone who needs it.
Accepting death. We live in a culture that wants to push all ideas of death away, seeing it as something to be controlled with medicine or surgery or hidden away in nursing homes. But conscious aging advocates urge us to accept death rather than deny it. Once we accept that we will die, we can enjoy life’s simple pleasures. We have a renewed sense of appreciation for our lives and others.
Everyone’s heard the expression, “growing old gracefully,” but what does it really mean? “This requires a true transformation in how we view life as well as, perhaps most importantly, how we hold on to what is pleasant and familiar. . . . The aging process can be an opportunity for such a transformation. . . . This involves letting go of expectations and past beliefs or experiences that may mask or block what is true in the moment. This letting go allows a deep and natural joy, a joy that lies beyond pleasure and pain, to emerge” (from Aging With Awareness).
Sources
Aging With Awareness by Ron Valle and Mary Mohs in Consciousness and Healing: An Anthology of Integral Approaches to Mind/Body Medicine, edited by In M. Schlitz, T. Amorok and M. Micozzi (Elseveir, 2004).
Awakening: A Center for Exploring Living and Dying. Conscious Aging Institute. A Curriculum for Conscious Aging by Marilyn Schlitz, Cassandra Vieten and Kathleen Erickson-Freeman, Institute of Noetic Sciences. “The Inner Work of Conscious Eldering,” by Ron Pevny, Sage-ing Guild. Gary Carlson, “The Heart’s Path,” Conscious Aging Network of New Mexico. Sage-ing Guild.
http://www.optimumseniorcare.com/services/alzheimerscare.php