Elder Wisdom: The sacredness of our secular lives

Hello, friends. I have tried to point to a closer relationship between what we think of as the secular and the sacred. Their intimate connections are not arbitrary or insignificant. In the first chapter of the Tao Te Ching, we are told that the invisible ultimate is present in its manifestations. The sacred infuses the secular. Or, in the voice of Simone Weil, the world is the language of God. As I launch into my ninth decade, I become more convinced of this reality, especially while meditating. As an elder, I recognize the real tragedies and evils that accompany our lives, but these do not negate the sacredness of our secular lives.

As society focuses more on aging populations, there will be more need for individual- and group-counseling toward creative aging. Chapter 8 provides some techniques or guides for the contemplation of aging. Questions for personal reflection cluster around key themes of the chapters. Meditative and graphic techniques invite an individual or group to deepen their immersion into the aging journey. These meditative forays provide a way of turning discursive sections of the text into a workbook.

For more about all of my books, click on the links to the right. Best, Gene