Conscious Living, Conscious Aging: Claiming the Gifts of Elderhood

by Ron Pevny

Overview

In this newly revised and updated edition of Conscious Living, Conscious Aging, you will find an empowering guide with practical tools to help live a passionate, fulfilling, growth-oriented life.

The baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age with unprecedented good health and resources, and is no longer satisfied with their parents’ approach to aging. Many older adults are seeking an empowering vision for their future but find that hard to come by in a world that glorifies youth and has largely forgotten the gifts that can accompany the life stage of elderhood. With this expanded and updated 10th anniversary edition of Conscious Living, Conscious Aging, you will find a contemporary manual filled with practices and tools to help you navigate your elder years with purpose and clarity.

Ron Pevny’s provocative model of “conscious eldering” opens the door to the rich possibilities of intentionally growing into elderhood, as contrasted with merely growing old. Through advice, practices, and personal stories, this book will help you distill wisdom from your many years of life experience, navigate loss and grief, identify new passions and goals, and remain engaged and relevant as you enter life’s later chapters, creating a lasting legacy and a healthier world for the generations to follow. It’s time to engage with family, community, your spiritual source, and the world, which needs your talents. Don’t just grow old. Aim high and claim the gifts of elderhood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476729633
Publisher:	Atria Books/Beyond Words
Publication date:	10/07/2014
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Ron Pevny is the founder and director of the Center for Conscious Eldering. He received his master’s degree in integral counseling and psychotherapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is a Certified Sage-ing Leader with Sage-ing International and is a member of their Coordinating Circle. He is also active in the Life Planning Network and is a contributor to Second Journey. He conducts workshops across the country, including at EarthRise and IONS Retreat Center.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction xi

1 Conscious Eldering: The Journey to Wholeness As We Age 1

2 Life Transitions and Rites of Passage: Portals to Conscious Elderhood 17

3 Nature As Healer and Teacher 33

4 No Regrets: Healing the Past to Empower the Future 45

5 The Work of Forgiveness and Grief 55

6 The Power of Story to Shape Our Future 73

7 Shedding Old Skins So We May Grow 87

8 Releasing the Past in the Death Lodge 99

9 Living In-Between: Practices for Navigating the Neutral Zone 109

10 Serving and Savoring As We Age 131

11 Consciously Building Legacy 143

12 Practices for Becoming and Staying Conscious 157

13 Finding Support in Community 169

Conclusion 181

Acknowledgments 185

Exercises 191

Recommended Books for Aging More Consciously 203

Organizations That Support Aging Consciously 207

Notes 213

Editorial Reviews

08/11/2014
Aging baby boomers won’t just fade away, says Pevny: they’ve saved their best act for last. As founder and director of the Colorado-based Center for Conscious Eldering, Pevny has spent a lot of time helping the generation of “cultural creatives” to bring that same focus, passion, and spirit to their final decades on Earth. He offers advice and stories drawn from his workshops and retreats that illustrate the deep emotional and psychological work he recommends for seniors. Suggested transformative activities range from the familiar (journaling about dreams) to more unusual (participating in a rite-of-passage ritual called the Death Lodge). It takes a while to get used to Pevny’s particular vocabulary—he uses some seldom-heard words, such as “elderhood”—but it makes sense to use new words for a new way of looking at aging. There’s a lot of personal development work to be done after reading, but the book itself moves quickly, with a conversational tone, as though the reader is being spoken to directly by Pevny. Specific exercises, recommendations for further reading, and chapter notes lend valuable authority to Pevny’s visionary work. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Ron Pevny's book Conscious Living, Conscious Aging is a unique and valuable resource for those seeking purpose, service, and continual growth in the later chapters of their lives. Its uniqueness lies in its weaving together of Sage-ing and other conscious aging practices, deep wisdom about life transitions and rites of passage, and inspiring stories from those who have chosen to engage in this inner work, all with the goal of supporting the development of the conscious elders our world urgently needs.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Ron Pevny's spot-on wisdom on the elegance of aging is spiritually relevant and deeply useful. His is an inspiring voice for living in greater mindfulness within each present moment.

Michael Bernard Beckwith

I strongly suggest you explore the gift of aging with the wisdom and insights in this book. Conscious Living, Conscious Aging offers an eloquent road map to begin your journey.

Connie Goldman

For those entering the second half of life, aging can be the great unknown. Ron Pevny’s book is a much-needed map of the territory and an exciting picture of what conscious aging can be all about.

Harry R. Moody

Ron Pevny has articulated the inner adventure available to us all in later life—if we dare. He shows us how to access these realms, without making light of the difficulty that such deep questioning entails. But the rewards are plentiful, and the illustrative stories he provides may just goad you into your most important quest yet.

Wendy Lustbader

This powerful book helps both women and men age purposefully. Read this book and you will experience aging in a whole new way.

Richard J. Leider

Conscious Living, Conscious Aging fills a conspicuous gap in the literature concerning positive aspects of growing older...The book is well-documented, clearly written, and insightful.

Robert C. Atchley

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