Member Intro's Roll Call: Round Three

Answering the Call to Join our Community of Like-Hearted Others

Dear Tribe of Kindred Old Souls,

Here is our next round of introductions by members of the Spiritual Aging Study and Support (SASS) Group here on Substack, helping us put added dimension to our names as we take our conversation ever deeper. If you missed Round One, click HERE. For Round Two, click HERE.

If you aren’t a paid member, and are missing out on the weekly study guides and great conversation taking place between members in comments 24/7, it’s not too late.

It’s also not too late to join a live SASS on Zoom sponsored by one of our partner organizations but the deadline for Sage-ing International’s immersive year-long program is this Monday, February 10. I lead the monthly gathering and smaller SASS groups meet together with a trained facilitator an additional two times a month. For information, click HERE

Spirit of Sophia is still accepting members to their women-only SASS which meets the first Thursday of every month. For information, click HERE.

And now, without further ado…

SASS ROLL CALL III

Glen Dunbar

I am on a journey to understand the purpose and meaning of Aging, my own in particular. I have held roles as a social gerontologist, a health and human services policy specialist, a father, and an educator. I attempt to apply the principles of active aging to my personal life.

I have a life-long addiction to learning and volunteer service. I have an MPA from the Center for Studies in Aging at the University of North Texas, a PgD in End-of-Life Studies from the University of Glasgow, and more certification in managing health and chronic conditions than I care to remember. My passions are promoting end-of-life planning and understanding the inner world of a person with dementia. I look forward to getting to know you.

Bickley Wilson

I am 78 years old, very healthy, happy, and busy! I am a Spiritual Director and a retired Marriage and Family Therapist. I have been retired since 2008 and have never been busier. I have been here for 3 years living at The Mayflower Senior facility in Winter Park, Florida and my friend Susan Rogers, who is a member, told me about you and your program and I’m excited about becoming a member, too.

I am a spiritual person, doing spiritual reading and meditating in the morning and before bed. My mission is to help others and to do GOD’s will! I got Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life and am reading it at night. This process means sooo much to me and my days/life. One time, I skipped it for about 5 days when I was on vacation, and boy, did I feel it! Not good! I have two wonderful children and three grandchildren, two of which live right here close to me! What a gift!

Susan Rogers

Happily, ensconced at a retirement community in Florida, I feel as if I have been given even more opportunities for growth. New friends, daily activities, there is more to life ahead. Despite my body’s wearing down I can share this with supportive friends and a friendly staff. To reach out online to a new community is frosting on the cake.

Dan Tufford

I am 72 years old and was raised in a strong protestant Christian home. I rejected all organized religion while in my 20s but maintain an immense interest in spirituality that I have explored, on and off, over the decades. I retired several years ago and now focus much more of my mental capacity on spirituality. I also pursue a much broader range of philosophical avenues including Buddhism and related belief systems, cosmology, origin stories, aboriginal beliefs, and related topics. I read a great deal but not comprehensively; I do not seek to be an expert in any of these areas. I find it fascinating to explore and think about the unknown and unknowable and how people have actualized their beliefs and understanding over time.

I retired as a research professor in the natural sciences at a large university so I have a dominant evidence-based approach to most aspects of my life and what I encounter. Obviously my philosophical pursuits require me to suspend disbelief which, perhaps surprisingly, does not create a quandary for me. Quite the opposite it allows me to explore yet one more dimension of existence, namely the intersection of what we know and what is unknowable in the present.

I live in Washington state, having moved here in 2017 from South Carolina where my wife and I lived for 37 years. We spend as much time as possible traveling in our RV with our dog. When at home we enjoy social time with our neighbors and friends and the cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities available in the Puget Sound region.

Beverly Flanagan

A Native New Englander, I have 71 years of life experience. My husband John has 75 years of life experience. We are each others' "second chance", as he was widowed and I was divorced; we have been married 17 years. Between us we have four adult children with spouses and significant others, and three grandchildren. My 50 year career was in health and human services. Now retired, I work part time for a small nonprofit in a nearby town, which is a caregiver respite retreat with accessible gardens to be enjoyed by them and their care partners. I volunteer for our local community access tv station, mostly on the production crew, and write monthly articles for a hyperlocal publication on that community's businesses, families, individuals, and non-profits. Between these activities and family, especially my grandson, who loves every sport there is, meaning I go to many games, I keep busy.

When I was 60, I began to feel great angst, noticing that there was more behind than ahead. I came across Reb Zalman's book FROM AGE-ING TO SAGE-ING in our public library. A very timely bit of serendipity. I read through it, journaled, realized I needed to own it, looked for a Wisdom Circle and the closest one, at that time, was two states away. I connected with that group, and with Sage-ing International. Ultimately I completed the year long Internship and am now a Certified Sage-ing Leader. I facilitate or co-facilitate a couple of Wisdom Groups, have facilitated a couple of Online Awakening the Sage Within series, and mostly provide Tech Hosting for other facilitators. I am definitely in a time of my life craving slower, deeper and more spirit-centered focus, and this year long series, on Spiritual Aging with a Study and Support Group, is another bit of serendipity. I look forward to sharing all that is to come with those in the group I am part of.

Marcia Hensley

I've been a fan of Carol's blogs for a couple of years. Her Spiritual Aging book and this opportunity to study it with others comes at a time when I feel I need guidance as I near my 83rd year. I know I am transitioning to a new stage, slowing down, having more health issues, wondering what my future holds and wanting to make the best of the time I have left.

I taught English for twenty years at the high school and college levels. After retiring I became a writer and public speaker. My first book was non-fiction Staking Her Claim: Women Homesteading the West about women who homestead on their own. My second book is a memoir Away From it All : A Wyoming Love Story about being drawn back to Wyoming and finding my heart's home there.

I grew up in the Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was active in MYF and in college served in The Christian Ministry in the National Parks in Yellowstone National Park, a life changing spiritual experience. Although I returned to Tulsa to marry, become a mother and teach for the next 20 years, a divorce gave me the opportunity to return to Wyoming with my two daughters to teach for the rest of my career. I now live in Laramie, Wyoming,

The devastating experience of losing my beloved husband 10 years ago to Alzheimer's led me to deepen my spiritual life with the help of a wonderful group of women at the Methodist Church in Arvada, CO in a class called Women's Spiritual Journey. The books we read and discussed, and the friendship of these women sustained and enriched my life, leading me further and deeper on my spiritual journey.

By joining with others in this study, I hope to find inspiration, courage and comfort for the journey ahead.

Please take this opportunity to introduce yourself to the group. In your own words (150ish max) either enter it in the comments below or email it to me at Corsborn@aol.com to be included in our next Roll Call.