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Programs
At this stage, in our Elderly to Elder series, what people want from us isn't more theory. They want guidence, they want honesty. They want to hear how acutal Elders do the inner work that makes Elderhood real and accessible - not as a slogan, but as a lived way of being.
Elderly or Elder, your choice.
Wednesday, February 4th at 11am HST/ 1pm PST/ 2pm MST/ 4pm EST/ and 8am (Thursday) AEDT.
Marc can now speak the indigenous language of elders, enabling him to assist others in achieving higher wisdom, transforming themselves from older to elder, generating a higher purpose, and consciously altering their relationship to growing old, death, and dying. As Cato the Elder is quoted, “Speech is the gift of all, but the thought of few.”
Elders are the thoughtful few.
Contact Marc:
Email: Marc@DrMarcBCooper.com
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarcbcooper/
Substack: drmarcbcooper.substack.com/drmarcbcooper.substack.com/
I am a retired periodontist, living on Kaua’i for twenty five years, now practicing craniosacral bodywork focused mainly on trauma, abuse and other areas of deep healing. A switch in professions shortly after I arrived on Kaua’i coincided with my vision of making each day a creative experience. So I spend my days writing novels, poetry, and painting, along with playing tennis and swimming. Tennis requires a certain kind of mindfulness that helps focus attention while the rhythmic motion of swimming through the ocean sets a context for the birth of images and ideas. More important––they are both fun.
I've been drawn to leadership roles in Rotary and in the Contemporary Elder Sangha. The common thread through all of my work and play is the development of consciousness.I believe the fundamental question at this stage of life is, how can we balance our spiritual connection with everyday life experiences while maintaining our humor, good nature and equanimity as we age? I won’t be 88 until November 2025.
My participation in the Contemporary Elder Sangha is ballast for the sometimes choppy events of life. The discussions and meditations, the retreats, have given all of my work and play an additional feeling of being grounded and present in every moment. Even more important, possibly, the Sangha provides a sense of fulfillment derived only, in my experience, from selfless service.
Watch David's Interview with Marc: https://youtu.be/hVI9_c2zskA
Contact David:
Email: gentlewaver@gmail.com
Website: https://www.contemporaryeldersangha.com/
Melissa Richardson, M. Org. Coaching, is a mentoring expert, coach, entrepreneur and lifelong advocate for intergenerational connection. Over nearly three decades, she has designed hundreds of mentoring programs and co-founded Art of Mentoring, one of the world’s leading mentoring software platforms. Tens of thousands of people have completed her mentor training programs. Melissa has contributed to several global mentoring publications and is widely recognised as a thought leader in the field. Today, she is focused on the role of elders as wisdom stewards—drawing on her experience as a grandparent, writer, and volunteer youth mentor.
She is currently writing a book that helps grandparents share their wisdom through a mentoring approach—to help raise strong, resilient grandchildren in a fast-changing world.
Watch Melissa's Interview with Marc here: https://youtu.be/KWhekegvQA0
Contact Melissa:
Email: melissa@horizonsunlimited.com.au
Website: www.melissa-richardson.com
LinkedIn: http://au.linkedin.com/in/mrichardsonhorizons
Substack: https://melissarichardson9.substack.com/
Ron Pevny, M.A., CSL has for forty years been dedicated to assisting people in negotiating life transitions as they create lives of purpose and passion. He is Founding Director of the Center for Conscious Eldering, based in Colorado, which for 23 years has presented workshops and retreats across North America to support people in bringing to their elder years purpose, growth and commitment to service. He is author of Conscious Living, Conscious Aging: Claiming the Gifts of Elderhood, published by Beyond Words/Atria Books. Ron is also a Certified Sage-ing® Leader, and has served as the host/interviewer for three Transforming Aging Summits presented by The Shift Network and co-host for the Turning Points series presented by Sage-ing International.
Watch Ron's Interview with Marc here: https://youtu.be/pGD3drww72I
Contact Ron:
Email: ron@centerforconsciouseldering.com
Website: www.centerforconsciouseldering.com
Barbara retired in 2018 from a career focused on child and youth development in local, state and national arenas. Since then, she has been on a conscious eldering journey which started with a weeklong Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreat at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico one week after retirement and has continued with participation in the Next Step program, writing articles for Conscious Eldering Inspiration and Resources newsletter, and doing the inner work that she teaches. Barb co-leads Conscious Eldering Retreats at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico annually.
Barb’s education included a B.S. in Child Development with a minor in literature and a teaching certificate, and an M.A. in Child and Human Development with a minor in Women’s Studies. Her career was varied including running a childcare center, teaching at community colleges, developing child and youth programs for a large local YMCA, managing programs through the State Department of Education and consulting on the national level for Ys around the country through the YMCA of the USA. Barbara is enthusiastic about her shift from supporting child and youth development to supporting conscious eldering, seeing it as both a natural progression and an exciting new venture.
In addition to time with her husband, children (two daughters and a stepdaughter) and grandchildren (five aged 5 through 16), Barb enjoys knitting, sewing, forest bathing, cooking, hiking & walking, and traveling. Most recently she’s spent 6 weeks in the Scottish Highlands. Barbara is the current President of the Lansing Woman’s Club, a literary club which began in 1874, and sits on the Ingham County Women’s Commission which advises County Commissioners on how their decisions impact women.
Watch Barabra's Interview with Marc: https://youtu.be/pZR62afxhFA
Contact Barbara:
Email: barbaraanneroth@gmail.com
Harry (Rick) Moody, Ph.D., recently retired as Vice President and Director of Academic Affairs for AARP in Washington, DC. He is currently Visiting Professor at Fielding Graduate University and also serves as a Senior Fellow of Encore.Org.
Dr. Moody previously served as Executive Director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College and Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel (now Road Scholar).
Contact Rick:
Email:hrmoody@yahoo.com
Website: www.hrmoody.com
Anne Wennhold (91) has been a principle in offering Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreats. Now a Choosing Elderhood Guide Emeritus, she continues her work in developing online programs for people in later Elderhood. Working out of her New Jersey home, she offers other online programs including Memoir Writing and on Shamanic Practices for Elders. In addition, she also helps individuals access their creativity and inner guidance through guided journeys and mentoring sessions. Anne has developed Shamanic circles, discussion groups regarding life transitions, and offers past life regression and a is available as a guide for spiritual retreats.
Contact Anne:
Email: annewennhold@gmail.com
This is an invitation to join the live FREE online webinar:
Elderly or Elder:
Webinar 2
Date:
Monday, November 3rd - 1pm PT/ 2pm MT/ 4pm ET/ 11am HT / 9pm GMT
A unique panel discussion featuring five different Elder voices in the transformation of aging into elderhood, followed by an interactive Q&A session.
Elderly and Elder are vastly different paradigms. Paradigm is decisive. Change the paradigm, and everything within it changes: you, it, and them.
1. Elder vs. Elderly: A Critical Distinction "Elder" represents conscious growth and wisdom-sharing. "Elderly" reflects cultural decline narratives. This distinction creates power—the ability to choose your aging path rather than drift on assumptions.
2. Purpose Evolves Beyond Self True elder purpose removes the pronouns "I, me, my." It becomes a reason for getting up that's bigger than personal pleasure—focused on legacy and service to future generations.
3. Authenticity Is Your Power Source Elders access their greatest influence when they stop performing for others and trust their authentic selves. The freedom comes from accepting "this is who I am" without apology.
4. Eldering Is Process, Not Destination Rather than achieving "elderhood," the journey involves consciously developing elder qualities through practices like contemplation, meditation, and nature connection.
5. Mortality Creates Clarity Living consciously with death's reality transforms priorities. Elders develop a different relationship with time that generates urgency for meaningful action.
6. Wisdom Must Leave the Room The critical challenge: elders gather wisdom in supportive communities but fail to influence broader decision-making. The work requires getting to tables where futures are shaped.
7. Intergenerational Responsibility Elders have a duty to share wisdom with younger generations, starting with grandchildren and extending to professional contexts. This requires both humility and courage.
8. Cultural Resistance Demands Warriorship Becoming an elder means fighting ageist messaging and reclaiming historically honored roles. This includes women embracing the "crone" archetype and men stepping into sage roles.
This program aims for conscious liberation: the freedom to be and act without being constrained by past limits or external pressures. It empowers participants to break free from self-limiting beliefs and conditioned patterns by discovering and serving their higher purpose.
Your higher purpose is both a personal gift and a contribution to others. The program guides you in unwrapping this gift.