Ron Pevny - Conscious Living, Conscious Aging: Embrace & Savor Your Next Chapter

Praise for Ron Pevnys

CONSCIOUS LIVING

CONSCIOUS AGING

For those entering the second half of life, aging can be the great unknown. Ron Pevnys book is a much-needed map of the territory and an exciting picture of what conscious aging can be all about.

Harry R. Moody , retired Vice President, AARP and author of The Five Stages of the Soul

This powerful book helps both women and men age purposefully. Read this book and you will experience aging in a whole new way.

Richard J. Leider , bestselling author of The Power of Purpose , Repacking Your Bags , and Life Reimagined

Ron Pevnys spot-on wisdom on the elegance of aging is spiritually relevant and deeply useful. His is an inspiring voice for living in greater mindfulness within each present moment.

Michael Bernard Beckwith , author of Life Visioning

A beautifully written and important book about aging and elderhood. Pevny reminds us that consciously moving into our greater years is a major rite of passage, and he offers skilled guidance through the many questions and challenges, endings and new beginnings, that arise.

Meredith Little , cofounder of the School of Lost Borders

Ron Pevny has articulated the inner adventure available to us all in later lifeif we dare. He shows us how to access these realms, without making light of the difficulty that such deep questioning entails. But the rewards are plentiful, and the illustrative stories he provides may just goad you into your most important quest yet.

Wendy Lustbader , author of Life Gets Better

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Copyright 2014 by Ron Pevny

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The information contained in this book is intended to be educational and not for diagnosis, prescription, or treatment of any health disorder whatsoever. This information should not replace consultation with a competent healthcare professional. The content of this book is intended to be used as an adjunct to a rational and responsible healthcare program prescribed by a professional healthcare practitioner. The author and publisher are in no way liable for any misuse of the material.

Managing editor: Lindsay S. Brown

Editors: Emily Han, Sarah Heilman, Emmalisa Sparrow

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Design: Devon Smith

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Cover design: Trent Debord and Devon Smith

First Atria Paperback/Beyond Words trade paperback edition October 2014

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pevny, Ron.

Conscious living, conscious aging : embrace & savor your next chapter / Ron Pevny.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

1.Retirement.2.RetirementPlanning.3.RetireesLife skills guides.4.Older peopleConduct of life.5.AgingSocial aspects.I.Title.

HQ1062.P4852014

306.38dc23

2014009041

ISBN 978-1-58270-438-8

ISBN 978-1-4767-2963-3 (eBook)

The corporate mission of Beyond Words Publishing, Inc.: Inspire to Integrity

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

M ICHELANGELO

W hat do you aim for as you age? This book is for the millions of baby boomers in or nearing their sixties and older adults for whom this and related questions feel significant. Among these questions are, What does aging mean to me? How do I deal with my fears of aging? How can I find fulfillment and dignity as I age? What is the purpose of my life after retirement? Such questions of meaning and purpose arise in our quiet moments but are seldom addressed in public. Modern culture often only considers the monetary aspect of aging. While acknowledging our need for financial and physical security is certainly important, it is equally important to fulfill the needs of our emotional and spiritual selvesour desire to thrive as well as survive. This book is a resource for addressing these questions as you gain awareness of what is possible for you and learn how you can live into these potentials. This book is about aging with awareness and intention rather than merely growing old; its about aging consciously .

Although my primary lifes work has focused on assisting people as they negotiate and grow through life transitions, aging did not appear on my personal and professional radar until I reached my fifties. At that time, two catalysts, both personally and professionally, led me onto the path of conscious aging. I began to do video-based oral history work with my parents and other older relatives and with seniors in the hospice and reminiscence programs in my community of Durango, Colorado. As I worked, I found myself more and more intrigued with hearing others life stories. I imagined what my life would be like when I reached elderhood. In 2001 two wise elders, Wes Burwell and Ann Roberts, asked me to help create a program that would serve as a rite of passage onto the path of conscious aging. Together we designed the first Choosing Conscious Elderhood retreats. Wes and Ann served as powerful models for conscious elderhood, and I contributed my extensive experience in guiding rites of passage.

These catalysts pointed me toward my calling for this stage of my life. My trajectory solidified a few years later when my life was shaken to the core as I neared sixty and had my first encounter with my mortality. I began experiencing the first of many frightening heart arrhythmias, which were probably related to a large tumor discovered in my right lung. The ten-day wait for my biopsy results was probably the most powerful growth experience of my life. It was a time of fear alternating with a trust that seemed to be arising from somewhere deeper than my chaotic emotional self. I became acutely aware of unfinished business with others, myself, and my creator. For the first time I felt strong empathygrounded in personal experiencefor the vulnerability, fear, loss, confusion, and hope that are part of the aging process for most of us. I found that my greatest fear was not that I would die but that I would die before I fulfilled the calling my life had been preparing me for.