Spiritual Aging Study and Support
You Don't Have to do Aging Alone
“How you age is not a problem to be solved but a spiritual choice.”
Spiritual Aging launched here at Substack with a mission: to gather an advanced party of old souls into a vibrant online community. We are succeeding. We are rapidly approaching 2000 free subscribers. And with a committed vanguard who have pledged to become paid members, we are on track for our January launch of the online Spiritual Aging Study and Support Group (SASS) on Substack. Our goal by launch day is 100 paid members so every pledge is cause for celebration.
If I Upgrade to Paid What Do I Get?
Only paid members will receive the Spiritual Aging Study Guide that will be published here at Substack exclusively on a weekly basis starting the first week of January. The subject matter is deep and wide-ranging, from cultivating freedom, finding joy in unexpected circumstances, navigating changing relationships and more. The study guides are based on my new book Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life which is being published December 10 by Inner Traditions, the leading publisher in the field of conscious aging and available for pre-order now HERE.
Joining Elevates and Deepens Your Connection to Equally Committed Members. Starting in January, the online comment and chat function will be available to full members only. Members will be invited to post your response, comments, questions and related issues stimulated by each week’s Study Guide and to engage with one another online at your convenience 24/7. There will also be space to ask one another for wisdom and strength on pressing issues of interest or concern related to aging. These exchanges are by posts only. For those who would like in-person or interaction on Zoom, visit HERE.
Please note: While I will be leading several SASS groups on a monthly basis for leading organizations in the field, this will be my own personal 24/7 online SASS group and I will be joining both as Carol Orsborn and when an issue warrants discretion I will switch to an anonymous name so that I can participate fully. Substack makes it easy to do either.
Why Join? Our Pledged Members Say It Best:
“I love belonging to a tribe of kindred spirits who are willing to explore aging as an important and precious aspect of living.” Charlotte Allen, UK
“I am enjoying my elderhood and my spiritual journey. I want to share my wisdom and commune on a regular basis with other wise ones…” Craig S.
Even So…
I know from your comments how grateful you are to have the opportunity to connect into a community of like-minded peers. Nevertheless, some of you are probably wondering why after so many years of free blogs from me would you want to pledge $10/month? This is a good question since all subscribers, paid or not, will continue to receive my monthly blog as well as book excerpts and updates.
HERE ARE THREE MORE REASONS TO PLEDGE
ONE: Lock in the Lowest Membership Rate That Will Ever Be Offered
In January, the annual fee for newcomers to join will go up 25%. Pledge now and you won’t be charged anything until we launch in January. This discounted rate will be locked in for you forever. There is no risk as if you change your mind, you can cancel anytime between now and then.
TWO: Pledge and You Become Part of Something Larger Than Yourself
Grassroots SASS groups are forming around the world—both in-person and on Zoom—using the book and the study guide exclusively published week-by-week on Substack as their basis. Partners who will be offering SASS groups include Sage-ing International, the leading organization in the conscious aging field and Spirit of Sophia, who will be hosting a women’s only online group. In addition, many individuals have already begun forming their own in-person or online groups and proposing the idea to their book clubs, senior centers and religious affiliations. To learn more about the options, click HERE.
THREE: Pledging Shows Your Support for This Work and Your Commitment to Your Own Spiritual Aging
For which you have my deepest gratitude and respect.
If You Need More Reasons, Here are Three More
1. Jann Freed, pledged member
I want to support Carol’s work because it is timely, accurate, relevant, and I love how she will use a little humor which is important as we grow in life experience. I want to learn as much as possible about Spiritual Aging and as soon as possible! JannFreed.com
-- Contributor to Forbes.com writing about the nonfinancial aspects of retirement.
2. Ruth Mcquirter, pledged member
I have benefited so much from Carol’s writing, her honest and penetrating insights, and the community she has fostered who care about making this phase of their lives meaningful. So often a phrase from one of Carol’s blog posts or a shared comment from a member of the online support group have popped into my mind as I navigate the joys and challenges of being in my seventies.
-- Professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
3. Judith Wolf-Mandell, pledged member
Aging can be difficult. Aging while living with chronic, debilitating pain is ultra-difficult. But Carol’s candor and enthusiasm for this part of our lives—afflicted or not-- helps me keep going. I’ve had a long career as a writer—in television production, politics, journalism, public relations and book author and I’m enthralled with Carol’s energies and brilliance as a writer. How does she do it, I wonder.? I don’t know: I’m just enriched that she does.
--Recent Author of www.sammysbrokenleg.com, Nashville, Tennessee
Fiercely Yours,
Carol Orsborn
SAMPLE SPIRITUAL AGING STUDY AND SUPPORT GROUP GUIDE
Why Aren’t I Enlightened Yet?
After all these years of spiritual practice, how can I finally get what I came here for?
“You drive yourself through life, hoping to take full advantage of every opportunity to fulfill your potential: coming to understand everything that has eluded you, resolving all your life's issues, mending every relationship and maturing spiritually. You want nothing more than culmination. But your aspirations, even as lofty as these, deplete you and keep you busy striving at a time when what is truly called for is to make space for quiet and peace and let your life flow freely as it will.”
– Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life.
Questions for Journaling or Discussion
· What do you think you “came here for?” and how would you know when you’ve achieved it?
· Can you be whole even if something in your life is incomplete or imperfect?
· What would “making the space for life to flow freely” look like for you? What would you have to sacrifice?
· What can come next, if you’re willing to take the radical leap of faith that you’re already good enough and there’s nothing more you have to do, be or prove?
Carol’s Back Story
I do not regret being a seeker, but I do admit that at times the search for meaning and purpose in my life has been exhausting. Then I read Carl Jung’s definition of life’s primary purpose as “expanding one’s consciousness.” It was a relief when I finally understood that purpose begins with coming to know more about myself and life moment by moment, even or perhaps especially when an honest appraisal causes discomfort. I have learned over time not to automatically push against obstacles but to deepen and expand.
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A Spiritual Aging Exercise
To find the cutting edge of your own growth, and to assist in your discernment, try this exercise.
1. Make a list of all your “If only…then” pairs. For instance: “If only I lived closer to my children…then I would be less anxious about older age.”
2. Now revisit this list, changing every “If only…then” to “Even though…I could be.” So in the example above, you’d rewrite it to read: “Even though I don’t live closer to my children, I could be less anxious about older age.”
You don’t have to know at this point how you are going to bring this about, for enlightenment is a process not a destination. If you find that any one or more of your “Even though…I could be” rewrites are too far a stretch for you right now, you have found the cutting edge of your spiritual growth. Be gentle with yourself as you practice the spiritual principle “progress not perfection.”
Additional Resource
To see this principle in action, and have a fun read along the way, take a look at just about any of Anne Lamott’s books including her recently published Somehow:Thoughts on Love. Anne provides a great role model for accepting one’s imperfection seasoned with equal doses of self-deprecating humor and self-acceptance. In other words, she shows us how to stop trying harder to achieve even our loftiest spiritual goals and give our hearts plenty of space to breathe.
I’ll give the last word to Anne Lamott on this one. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” To which we respond: Amen, Anne, Amen.
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Spiritual Aging is situated at the intersection of spirituality, psychology and conscious aging, supported by Carol Orsborn’s 36 books, 30 years leading retreats for global organizations like Sage-ing International and her doctorate in religion specializing in adult and spiritual development from Vanderbilt University. For more about Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. and her body of work, visit CarolOrsborn.com.