“Spring and Winter are both present in the moment. The young leaf and the old leaf are really one. My feet touch deathlessness, and my feet are yours. Walk with me now. Let us enter the dimension of oneness and see the cherry tree blossom in Winter.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Overview

This symposium is an invitation to look back on our rich, long lives, contemplate our gains and losses, and distill the lessons we’ve learned. It’s also an invitation to look forward to becoming an Elder, step across the threshold into a new archetype, and cultivate a new stage of awareness. We will move from the Vision, through the Journey, toward the Legacy of an Elder.

With gratitude in one hand and grief in the other, we can hear the call to sacred service, bringing the boons from our heroic journeys to serve the common good in our later years. We can build bridges between the inner and outer worlds, between the soul within and the soul of the world. We can also build bridges between the generations, both past and future.

With the climate crisis, we are in a collective rite of passage. Today we are awakening from the trance of denial. We are called to bring the moral voice of the Elder to do our part for all living things. Do you hear the call? Day 3 will give you guidance to leave a beneficent legacy and become a good ancestor.

The themes and practices in this event are based on the award-winning book The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul by Connie Zweig, Ph.D.

Keynote Speakers (in Order of Appearance):

• Dennis Slattery
• Jean Shinoda Bolen
• Ken Wilber
• Bill McKibben

Featured Presenters (in Order of Appearance):

• Connie Zweig
• Fanny Brewster
• Rob Hopcke
• Will Linn
• Roger Walsh
• Harry (Rick) Moody
• Barbara Aston
• David Chernikoff
• Helen Lavretsky
• Thomas Doherty
• Jeanine Canty
• Janet Lewis
• Sarah Jornsay-Silverberg

Conference Outline with Session Descriptions

Friday, Day 1: The Vision: From Midlife Hero/Heroine to Wise Elder

Becoming an Elder: A Rite of Passage: Connie Zweig

This presentation introduces this missing but deeply needed rite of passage. It will set the context for letting go of our midlife, heroic striving and crossing a threshold into a new archetype. And it will present the inner work needed to make this transition: breaking through denial, life review, completing unfinished emotional and spiritual business, finding a spiritual practice, and leaving a legacy.

Keynote: Aging as a Hero’s Journey: Dennis Slattery

Joseph Campbell gained wide popularity with The Hero With a Thousand Faces. He laid out a three-stage journey of Departure, Initiation, and Return. Christopher Vogler expanded it in The Writer’s Journey to serve as a guide for writers. What is the aging hero’s journey? This presenter proposes a new mythic geometry of the spiral, with “nodal moments” in the hero’s journey as he or she pilgrimages into Elderhood, a deeper, more qualitatively inward version of aging. No longer merely a senior, this Hero ripens into Elderhood.

Keynote: On Becoming a Wise and Juicy Crone: Jean Shinoda Bolen

Women after midlife can trust their own instincts, choose a path with heart, and speak the truth with compassion. Crones are fierce about what matters to them—and they can change the world.

Aging While Black: Ageism and Racism: Fanny Brewster

The tradition within the Africanist cultural group is to develop and hold respect for Elders. This may be true of most cultural groups of color. But a radically different experience may occur when individuals of color are met with the ageism and racism of collective American society. What are the issues of being older and a person of color within our society? How do we provide more safety, love, and generosity to Elders so that they may age in grace?

Aging While LGBTQ: Ageism and Homophobia: Rob Hopcke

Shadow work is akin to developing a photo negative: What may appear dark and disorienting can be turned, sometimes, into clarity and direction. Those of us within the LGBTQ community are used to subverting homophobic projections onto us and dancing with the shadow, making the heteronormative bias an occasion for revolution and a celebration of freedom and fluidity. Can we queer folk do the same as we age? Can we borrow a page from our liberation playbook to make growing old a similar awakening of consciousness, personally and culturally?

Mythopoesis of Age: Personal, Cultural, Celestial Seasons of Life: Will Linn

This multi-media presentation will anchor our aging experience in nature, mythology, and the cosmos to expand our sense of self from personal to archetypal to spiritual.

What is Wisdom? A Conversation with Roger Walsh and Connie Zweig
We are currently in a race between wisdom and catastrophe. Connie will be in conversation with Roger Walsh to explore the nature of wisdom, which has long been regarded as the fruit of a life well-lived. Key questions concern the relationship between aging and human virtues, such as wisdom, maturity, and spirituality, as well as how these can be cultivated both individually and collectively.

Saturday, Day 2: The Journey: The Inner Work of Age and the Promise of a Late Renaissance

Breaking through Denial and Meeting the Inner Ageist: Connie Zweig

The first step in the inner work of age is breaking though denial and encountering a typically unconscious part of us that celebrates “young” and rejects “old” in ourselves or others, thereby colluding with ageist stereotypes. We will explore internalized ageism and its consequences for individual well-being and for society. It’s only after we’ve broken free of denial that we can hear the call to become an Elder.

Keynote: A Call to Grow Up, Clean Up, Wake Up, Show Up: Ken Wilber

This talk is a call to expand our personal development alongside our expanding longevity: Grow Up by moving through the stages of emotional maturation. Clean Up by doing shadow-work. Wake Up by doing spiritual practice. And Show Up by serving all living beings.

Dreams of Life Review in Film and Literature: Harry (Rick) Moody

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said that life as like a tapestry: We spend the first half of life weaving the fabric and then, in the second half, we turn it over to see how the threads are interconnected. This process of turning over the carpet and making meaning of the patterns is life review. This presentation will explore how life review happens spontaneously in the dream images and narratives of older adults. The speaker will use examples from film and literature.

Healing Past Memories to Live More Fully Now: A Native Elder’s Perspective: Barbara Aston
How can we free ourselves of painful memories and be more fully present now? How can we break the chain of intergenerational victim/perpetrator patterns, freeing our ancestors in the spirit world and our descendants in the future, thereby transforming our legacy?

We all have been hurt or betrayed by others, and the memories of these wounds may shape our experience as Elders. The hurt may have occurred in a close personal relationship or in a group that was persecuted or “othered” in some way. As a Native American Elder, the presenter will describe a multidimensional healing pathway for both personal heartbreak and intergenerational wounds.

No Regrets: A Buddhist Perspective: David Chernikoff
All of us hope to reach the end of our lives without feeling full of regret, without feeling “I wish I had…” or “I wish I hadn’t…” or “That wasn’t the life I really wanted to live.” This talk will offer spiritual teachings that enable us to live fully today, so that, when our time comes to die, we can complete our lives with authentic feelings of gratitude, peace, and love.

Mind-Body Practices to Enhance Memory, Health, and Mood: A Yoga Perspective:  Helen Lavretsky

This presentation describes the latest scientific findings about tai chi, yoga, and meditation and their beneficial effects on older adults, including improved mood and memory. It demonstrates a particular yoga practice that has been shown to improve mood, resilience, cognition, memory, and brain neuroplasticity, as well as reverse cellular aging, reduce inflammation, and improve antiviral protection.

Synchronicity and Death: Rob Hopcke      
In his books on synchronicity, Rob Hopcke explored the liminal quality of meaningful coincidences and how such events occur with surprising frequency at times of transition in our lives. There is no more profound and archetypal transition than death, whether the passing of loved ones or our own mortality.  This session, rich with stories, will explore how synchronistic events around death can guide us on our journeys through bereavement and mortality to gain a precious wisdom.

Closing: Inner Work to Outer Work: Connie Zweig

We close the day by linking the inner work of age to service or activism in the world. As we bring an Elder’s life experience, resources, spiritual awareness, and precious time to the pressing issues of our era, we can begin to experience service as spiritual practice. We can look inward at our strengths and shadow issues; we can look outward at a world that needs the moral voice of the Elder. We can move beyond ego to explore an identity that’s interconnected with all living things.

Sunday, Day 3: The Legacy: Aging, Climate, and Becoming a Good Ancestor

Building a Movement of Earth Elders: Connie Zweig

The Climate Crisis in An Aging Society: A Conversation with Harry (Rick) Moody and Connie Zweig

Globally, the 60+ population, a “continent” of a billion people, is the fastest growing age group. In the U.S., there are more than 54 million Americans 65 or older; in 2050, there will be more than 85 million. What are the interconnections between an aging population and climate change? Is the new longevity part of the problem or part of the solution? Will Elders suffer more than others from extreme weather events? How can Elders, who may feel some responsibility for the climate crisis, take meaningful action now? What is our legacy in this context?

Discovering your Environmental Identity and Sustainable Self: Thomas Doherty
This presentation will introduce the concept of environmental identity, a useful tool for all ages and a key resource for Elders and would-be Elders. Building on environmental identity, Thomas will discuss diversity and multicultural competency related to people’s eco values and activism. He will explore the importance of moving from a position of “climate hostage” to “climate cosmopolitan,” one who believes that all human beings, regardless of their differences, belong to a single community. He will share insights about coping and reclaiming a sense of meaning during the climate crisis, based on his clinical work and research.

From I to We: Collective Narcissism and Climate Justice: Jeanine Canty

While it is common in our society to identify individual narcissists, few of us recognize how our collective narcissism has resulted in extreme damage to the planet, as well as to people. We will look at collective narcissism and its relationship to planetary injustice, including racism, and contemplate the call to move from an egocentric to an ecological self.

Climate Anxiety in the Therapy Room: Janet Lewis     

As climate reality unfolds, mental health is at risk. Clinicians face patients of all ages who feel a range of distressing feelings, such as powerlessness and despair, now called eco-anxiety and climate grief, even futurelessness. Professionals in the emerging field of climate mental health are learning to create structures of support to help patients contain difficult emotions and maladaptive defenses, so that they can both face the truth and feel empowered to act. This is not cultivating conventional resilience.  Dr. Lewis says, “I don’t believe that works with climate change because there’s no going back.  There’s no return to ‘normal.’”

Good Grief: From Climate Anxiety to Action: Sarah Jornsay-Silverberg
Good Grief Network facilitates peer-to-peer support groups that help individuals and communities build resilience by creating spaces where people can process their heavy feelings about the climate crisis and explore practical ways to reorient their lives toward meaningful efforts. This presentation will help people trace a path from grief and anxiety toward collective, sustainable action.

Keynote: Third Act: Calling All Elder Activists:  Bill McKibben

Experienced Americans are the fastest-growing part of the population: 10,000 people a day turn 65. That means there’s no way to make the urgently needed changes to protect our planet unless we bring the power of this group into play. As a generation, we have unprecedented skills and resources. Washington and Wall Street must listen because we vote, and we hold a huge share of the nation’s assets, perhaps an unjust share. Many of us have kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, profound reasons to work for our habitat. For this reason, Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, is now organizing Boomers to become Earth activists.

Closing: From Elder to Ancestor: The Arc of the Soul Through Time: Connie Zweig   

CE Learning Objectives

• Identify ways in which viewing the aging process as a rite of passage offers a psychological path for working through areas of denial and unresolved emotional stress
• Differentiate between the psychological orientation of a “senior” as compared to an “elder” with regards to ego and Jung’s articulation of the Self.
• Identify three factors that cause greater psychological issues in people of color as part of their aging process
• Identify the psychological dynamics behind the social prejudice of ageism
• Identify intergenerational victim/perpetrator patterns and describe a multi-dimensional pathway for working with this trauma.
• Describe two mind-body practices used to prevent mood and cognitive disorders in older adults
• Define the neurobiological mechanisms of response to the mind-body practices.
• Define Jung’s concept of synchronicity and learn how to identify and work with the synchronistic events involved in the death and dying process
• Identify the unconscious defenses that lead to a denial of the climate crisis in older adults
• Recognize the signs of environmental trauma for aging adults and learn to access sources of environmental resilience and well-being.

Online Symposium Timeline

Day 1: Friday, Dec. 2, 11:30-5:00 

The Vision: From Midlife Hero/Heroine to Wise Elder

11:30 AM              Welcome and Introduction

11:40-12:00        Connie Zweig: Becoming an Elder

12:05-12:45        Dennis Slattery: Aging as a Hero’s Journey

12:45-1:25           Jean Shinoda Bolen: On Becoming a Wise and Juicy Crone

1:25-1:55              Joint Q&A (25 mins)

2:00-2:15             BREAK 15 mins

2:17-2:45              Fanny Brewster: Aging While Black

2:50–3:20           Rob Hopcke: Aging while LGBTQ

3:20-3:45              Joint Q&A (25 mins)

3:45 – 4:00          BREAK

4:00 – 4:30          Will Linn: Mythopoesis of Age: Personal, Cultural, Celestial Seasons of Life

4:30-4:55              Connie in Conversation w/ Roger Walsh, MD: What is Elder Wisdom?

4:55-5:00              Connie Zweig: Closing: Elder W/1000 Faces

 

Day 2: Saturday, Dec. 3, 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

The Journey: The Inner Work of Age and the Promise of a Late Renaissance

10:00-10:20       Connie Zweig: Breaking through Denial and Meeting the Inner Ageist

10:30-11:10         Ken Wilber: A Call to Grow Up, Clean up, Wake up, Show up

11:10-11:30           Q&A

11:30 – 11:40       Break

11:40-12:10          Harry Rick Moody: Dreams of Life Review in Film and Literature

12:15-12:45          Barbara Aston: Healing Past Memories to Live More Fully Now

12:45-1:05:          Joint Q&A

1:00-1:45              LUNCH

1:45-2:15              David Chernikoff: No Regrets: A Buddhist Perspective

2:20-2:50            Helen Lavretsky, MD: Mind-Body Practices to Enhance Memory, Health, and Mood: A Yoga Perspective

2:55-3:25             Rob Hopcke: Synchronicity and Death

3:30-3:50            Joint Q&A for all three

3:50-4:00            Connie Zweig: Day 2 CLOSING: Inner Work to Outer Work: Elder Service as Spiritual Practice

 

Day 3: Sunday, Dec. 4, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

The Legacy: Aging, Climate, and Becoming a Good Ancestor

9-9:15 am             Connie Zweig – introduction

9:15-9:40              Rick Moody: The Climate Crisis in an Aging Society

9:45- 10:10           Thomas Doherty: Discovering your Environmental Identity and Sustainable Self

10:15 – 10:40       Jeanine Canty: From I to We: Collective Narcissism and Climate Justice

10:40 – 10:50       BREAK

10:55 – 11:20        Janet Lewis: Climate Anxiety in the Therapy Room

11:25 – 11:45         Sarah Jornsay-Silverberg: Good Grief: From Climate Anxiety to Action

11:50 – 12:20       Bill McKibben: Third Act: Calling All Elder Activists

12:20 – 1:00     Q & A

1:00 – 1:30            Connie Zweig Closing: From Elder to Ancestor