Carol Orsborn: A New "Click" for Old Souls

Redefining the Experiencing of Aging Together

Aging is daunting enough in the best of times. But in these fraught days, when negative images of aging bombard us daily, we are in desperate need of an at once reality-based but inspiring vision for growing older that ensures us that aging is a life stage with meaning and purpose of its own. You don’t have to do aging alone!

With this, a hearty welcome to my old and new friends who have found your way.to the new home for those of us who are growing older, wiser and fiercer. Here you will find both my new and classic blogs, book excerpts and the best of the Fierce with Age Archives showcasing the wisdom of those who walked the spiritual path through aging before us. As always, my core offering is free and meant to be shared.

An additional free offering that has been extremely well-received is the monthly 9-part Old Souls Study and Support Group Guide which includes a reflection on a particular topic, discussion questions, my additional commentary and/or group spiritual exercise. (For an example, click HERE.) The study guides we’re working with through 2024 are based on readings taken from my best-selling book Older, Wiser, Fiercer. An exciting development is the number of in-person and online study groups, both local and global, that are springing up spontaneously around the study guides, where participants meet in their own creative variation of book club and support group. To learn more about this, click HERE.

LOOKING FORWARD

In 2025, we will add on an exciting paid membership option for those who want to deepen their relationship to aging in the company of like-minded peers. Paid members will form the heart of the Spiritual Aging Study and Support Group (SASS) community, embarking upon a year of reflection turning our focus to weekly study guides based on my new book Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life. (Inner Traditions, December 10, 2024.) There will be a members only chat room available 24/7 for discussion of whatever life stage and age-related topic is on your mind. Because we are members only, we are all committed.to our own personal growth as well as the vitality of the community: small enough to get to know one another, but large enough to gain access to a diversity of voices and depth of wisdom.

For those of you new to Substack, there is a wonderful Pledge feature which allows you to indicate your intention to become a paid member now even though you won’t begin paying until January (and are free to change your mind along the way.) The advantage to pledging now is not only that you let me and the community know you support what we’re doing here, but that you permanently lock in the pre-launch membership rate at $10/month, regardless of future price increases. If you decide you want to pledge, click below. (If you prefer to continue only with the free subscription, you can indicate your choice by selecting “no pledge.”)

ROOTS IN THE SUPPORT GROUP MOVEMENT

It is no surprise that the generation who came of age with women’s support groups and men’s circles is now seeking out one another again to redefine the aging experience. Remember the “Click” that was Ms. Magazine’s call to action? Our generation of seekers is ready to pay heed to a new click: the call to come together in support groups to explore aging in the company of like-minded peers in the context of expanded consciousness

We are a generation who have redefined every societal norm we’ve transited, and aging is no different. My body of work culminating with the launch of SASS resides comfortably within this movement. Situated at the intersection of psychology and spirituality, SASS turns the outdated notions of aging as decline and marginalization upside down. We are not about solving the problem of aging because we view growing old as a life stage with meaning and purpose of its own. For us, spirituality is not something that helps us cope with aging. Aging, itself, is a spiritual experience. For more about my philosophy and qualifications, click HERE.

In the chat that accompanies this post, please let me know your thoughts about what you learned from the growth of your own consciousness and spirituality over the years that could be applied to aging or anything else that is on your mind.

Thanks for your interest. I relish walking this patch of our journey through life together.

With SASS,

Carol Orsborn