November Resources on Aging

 

Hi Readers, Fall is here already! Gerontologist Dr. H.R. Moody forwarded his monthly newsletter to me full of captivating and informative resources related to aging. He included a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died at age 101, and was known for his book of poems, Coney Island of the Mind. Here is the Wiki page highlighting his achievements and accomplishments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Ferlinghetti

 

NOVEMBER 2025 ~ COMING EVENTS

 

ELDERLY OR ELDER?  Second Webinar on the meaning of wellbeing age (Nov. 3, 2025, 4 pm ET). From the Contemporary Elder Institute. With HR Moody, Ron Pevny, Connie Corley and other presenters. Registration at:  https://www.requestingwisdom.com/programs   SPIRITUAL AGING: Warrior or Saint? (Nov. 4, 2025, 8 to 9:30 am, PT).With Carol Orsborn. From Sage-ing International. Details and registration at:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vUwWdAI82twC2IrmxMNjTrqLc6tyAhdn/view   VISIONS OF ENLIGHTENMENT: Grief, Joy and Awakening (Nov. 5, 8 to 9:30 am, PT). With David Chernikoff. From Sage-ing International.  Details at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TNw2m1S32xLKnioWm0v3I8rhKk3v_RhK/view   RELAXATION: Ready, Set, Relax. (Nov. 5, 2025, 1 to 2:30 pm, ET). Guided meditation with Marla Herron, mindfulness practitioner, teacher, and coach. From Sage-ing International. Details and registration at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12xMjm5faWZnhawvZ8dyYaknonMsVzS9P/view   DEMENTIA AND SPIRIT: Beyond Memory: Connecting with the Spirit of People with Dementia. (Nov. 6, 2025, 9 to 10:30 am, MT). With psychologist Robert Best.  From Sage-ing International. Details and registration at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p51u2Ce3qj55zuXINIafmJvBdCS...   ELDER LIGHT: Shining Our Elder Light in Dark Times: An Invitation to Circle, Courage, and Co-Creation (Nov. 10, 2025, 10 to 11:30 CT). With Ron Pevny and Katia Peterson. From Sage-ing International. Details and registration at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YmPLlrkBDeBziTyCIQHkW5PPSrW3GuFu/view   CONTEMPLATIVE AGING: Contemplative Practices for Joyful Aging: From Disability to This-Ability (Nov. 11, 2025, 1 to 2:30 pm ET). With Kamilah Majied.In the 2025 World Wisdom series sponsored by Sage-ing International. Details at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KvWV9kqscIm11qeyBnDsVxdalg8ntkpy/view   DEATH AND DYING: Talking About Death Won’t Kill You (Nov. 12, 2025, 1:30 to 3:30 pm, ET). With Felice Rhiannon, Certified Sage-ing Leader and Veriditas-certified Labyrinth Walk Facilitator. From Sage-ing International. Details at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mXudju0DqfgMj_YDapbZp3vWmlX0kbRB/view   AGE & EMPLOYMENT. “How Governments Are Leading on Age-Inclusive Employment (Nov. 19, 2025, 12 to 1 pm ET).  Sponsored by the Encore Network:  https://encorenetwork.org/event-list/#!event/2025/11/19/how-...   THE GOOD LIFE: What Makes a Life Good?  (Nov. 25, 2025, 12 noon EST).  This 4th Tuesday Revolutionize Your Retirement event is intended to help create a fulfilling second half of life.   The interview features Robert Waldinger, MD., Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard Study on Adult Development. Dr. Waldinger is a sought-after speaker, TEDx presenter, and writer. He is a practicing Psychiatrist and Zen Master (Roshi) who teaches meditation in the US and internationally. He will focus on the book he co-authored with Marc Schultz, Ph.D., entitled The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. To sign up for the interview visit www.revolutionizeretirement.com ; Participants will receive a recording link after the call. Direct questions to Dori Mintzer at dorianmintzer@gmail.com

BOOKS OF INTEREST

 

SHIBUI: The Japanese Art of Finding Beauty in Aging, by Sanae Ishida (Sasquatch Books, 2025).   HANDBOOK TO AGEING IN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE AND FILM, edited by Sarah Falcus, Heike Hartung, and Raquel Medina (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023).   HOW TO BE OLD: Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon, by Lyn Slater (Plume, 2024).

WEB SITES TO SEE

 

Grandparenting. Positive aging and intergenerational connections at: https://www.grandmagazine.com/   Alive Inside. For another approach to dementia—focusing on music and memory—look at the “Alive Inside” enterprise: https://www.aliveinside.us/#l    OR https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-alive-inside/   Mythology and Age. See “Elders as Bridges” at: https://www.mosaicvoices.org/elders-are-bridges

AGING MEANS LETTING GO   "Aging is not for the weak. One day you wake up and realize that your youth is gone, but along with it, so go insecurity, haste, and the need to please... You learn to walk more slowly, but with greater certainty. You say goodbye without fear, and you cherish those who stay. Aging means letting go, it means accepting, it means discovering that beauty was never in our skin... but in the story we carry inside us."  -Meryl Streep ELDERS IN DARK TIMES

 

Conscious Aging means “Shining Our Elder Light in Dark Times”: “Many (visionaries) have been the elders or aspiring elders in their communities were coming to realize that they had an especially important role to play. That their commitments to modeling wholeness in their communities were urgently necessary for their personal and collective wellbeing, but even more so for a future in which their descendants could thrive in healthy communities on a healthy planet.” The full article is available at: https://www.centerforconsciouseldering.com/ See also the latest issue on conscious eldering at: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Autumn-2025--Conscious-Eldering-Inspiration  OR resources.html?soid=1105280230787&aid=GlblYcxeepI

PITY THE NATION ~ By Lawrence Ferlinghetti (After Khalil Gibran)

 

Pity the nation whose people are sheep And whose shepherds mislead them   Pity the nation whose leaders are liars Whose sages are silenced And whose bigots haunt the airwaves   Pity the nation that raises not its voice Except to praise conquerors And acclaim the bully as hero And aims to rule the world By force and by torture   Pity the nation that knows No other language but its own And no other culture but its own   Pity the nation whose breath is money And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed   Pity the nation oh pity the people who allow their rights to erode and their freedoms to be washed away   My country, tears of thee Sweet land of liberty!   Ferlinghetti (d. 2021) at age 95 received the Creative Longevity and Wisdom Aging Outstanding Scholar-Practitioner Award from Fielding Graduate University.