Zalman Schachter-Shalomi - From Age-ing to Sage-ing

I would like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to:

Ronald S. Miller, whose insights, scholarship, and in-depth interviews with participants of spiritual eldering workshops brought sparks of creative originality to this book. Crafting words with the deft touch of spiritual sensitivity, he mothered the book as I fathered it. We stimulated and potentiated each other, guided by the spirit that wanted to be incarnated in the book.

Eve Ilsen, my wonderful partner, who constantly reminds me that physical health and the aesthetic dimension are integral aspects of spiritual eldering.

Barry and Debby Barkan and the staff of the Live Oak Institute for inspiration, friendship, and permission to use the Elder Creed in our workshops and in this book.

Lynne Iser for her organizational expertise at the Spiritual Eldering Institute.

Dr. Jean Houston for providing guidance and the practical tools that help people of all ages develop extended consciousness.

Gay Gaer Luce, whose pioneering work at the SAGE (Senior Actualization and Growth Exploration) Project provided a solid foundation upon which to build.

Phillip Mandelkorn for transcriptions of conversations we had when the spiritual eldering work was in its incipient stages.

Omega Institute for sponsoring its groundbreaking conscious aging conference in May 1992.

Rabbi Jeff Roth, who as executive director of Pnai Or Religious Fellowship prepared the organizational space to bring this project to fruition.

Susan Saxe, good friend and executive director of Aleph, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal, the umbrella organization that oversees the Spiritual Eldering Institute.

Livia Szekely and the staff of Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, for nourishing body and soul during the writing of the book.

Shrimati Ma Jaya for her inspiration, blessing, and her amazing work with AIDS patients.

A brief but by no means exhaustive list of other friends, colleagues, and teachers who influenced me in writing this book include Professor Martin Buber, Rabbi Schlomo Carlebach, Dr. Ken Dychtwald, Gerald Heard, Dr. Joan Halifax, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Dr. Sheldon Isenberg, Pir Vilayat Khan, Maggie Kuhn, Murshid Samuel Lewis, Dr. Helen Luke, Dr. David Morgenstern, Dr. Claudio Naranjo, Ram Dass (Dr. Richard Alpert), Swami Satchidananda, Grand Rabbis Joseph Schneerson and Menachim Schneerson, Dr. Howard Thurman, and Dr. Edith Wallace.

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to:

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a compassionate elder and dear friend whose vision of spiritual eldering inspired me to write from my creative depths. By sharing with me the triumphs and challenges of his own eldering process with unaffected honesty and sincerity, he has served as a model of the wise, vigorous, fully functioning elder that I am in the process of becoming.

Sarah Jane Freymann, our literary agent, who believed in this project from the very beginning and whose unqualified support helped turn a promising idea into a completed book.

Joann Davis, our editor at Warner Books, whose understanding of spiritual eldering and keen literary skills contributed to the books clarity and readability. Special thanks go to Pippa White for her skillful work on the second edition.

Jeremy Tarcher, the literary matchmaker who was instrumental in bringing Zalman and me together as partners.

Gloria Krasno for her encouragement at the beginning of the project.

Dr. Jag Deva Singh, who provided many insights about how to enrich the retirement years by applying the Indian model of human development to Western society.

Carol Segrave, a visionary gerontologist, who helped deepen my understanding of the economic, political, and psychological problems associated with aging in the United States.

Joseph Chilton Pearce for his insights in brain-mind development and human evolution.

The many wonderful participants of Zalmans spiritual eldering workshops who are quoted throughout the book.

Among the faithful friends who have offered support over the years, I would like to thank Shirin Strauss-Miller and Bobby Dean Miller, Tara Diamond, David Olson, John Narciso, Alan Wise, Michael Segal, Tim Johnson, and Grace Aspiras, an esteemed colleague and dear friend. They have graced my life with a generous supply of love and encouragement that went beyond the call of duty.

Ronald S. Miller