Events for November 20 - October 22

Sage-ing International (SI) is excited to be able to partner with the Gay Elder Circle to present this webinar. While the path to becoming an Elder or a Sage is for the few and far between, for the LGBTQ+ community the “road less traveled” may have been erased by the predominant culture. How then does an LGBTQ+ individual find this path? What does this path look like? Who is there to accompany an LGBTQ+ individual on this journey and help them face their challenges? Join us as we explore this path.

In November 2020, in the midst of some of the most devastating times of the global Covid pandemic, then 61-year-old Ronnie Dunetz, a CSL in training and a doctoral student of Wisdom Studies asked himself the question: What does it mean to harvest and cultivate one's wisdom in later life? The question prompted him to create an ongoing innovative workshop structure in which group participants could come together to explore, reflect upon, share, "think together" and gain a sense of clarity and accountability about many questions, topics, and challenges in their lives. Thus, "Harvesting Your Wisdom" workshops were born, and since then, a small, international group has engaged online in more than 120 such sessions, with a pipeline full of programs awaiting them!

This is the second episode in a series focused on the life of Sage-ing founder, Rabbi Reb Zalman. This episode tells of the Schachter family’s passage through post-war trauma, grieving for their lost home and family, and adaptation to a new life in a new world. We learn how young Zalman was drawn into a life commitment to spirituality, andhow his inquiring heart and mind took him on international adventures that he never could have foreseen. We discover that the same people and issues that inspired the US Civil Rights Movement and Peace Movement also shaped young Zalman himself, as well as Jewish Renewal and the global Sage-ing project that he conceived and founded.

As a Certified Sage-ing Leader (CSL), Jann Freed, PhD, often says, “Sage-ing International changed my life.” Jann is the author of Breadcrumb Legacy: How Great Leaders Live a Life Worth Remembering and Leading with Wisdom: Sage Advice from 100 Experts. In this workshop, Jann will share what she learned from interviewing hundreds of thought leaders about living a life with wisdom. Many of the Sages she interviewed are members of Sage-ing International. Come learn from Jann what she has learned on this journey of how to live in the way you want to be remembered.

In this uplifting new webinar series, David Chernikoff will draw on Buddhist and other contemplative teachings to guide us in cultivating and celebrating the blessings of spiritual maturity. In seven once-a-month webinars beginning on June 19th, we will study and experientially explore the following topics: integrity, generosity, patience, compassion, wisdom, lovingkindness, and equanimity. Together we will create a safe, supportive learning community as we increasingly embody the wise and loving elder we each have the potential to be.

Amikaeyla Gaston is a singer, activist, and executive director/founder of the International Cultural Arts & Healing Sciences Institute. She has traveled worldwide to work with political refugees, war survivors, and marginalized populations. Amikaela is the recipient of many awards including the United Nations Global Woman Award.

Empathy lies at the heart of human connection and compassion. Deepening one’s empathy enhances the capacity of elders to serve as wise and compassionate sages. This program will focus on how to cultivate an empathy that enables older adults to connect deeply with others without becoming emotionally overwhelmed.

In this session, David Chernikoff will give a talk and introduce some of the methods that help us to develop patience in the midst of uncertainty. We’ll discuss the special relevance of this quality at the present time on our planet. At our own pace, we’ll each move toward a deeper understanding of patience and an enhanced ability to suffuse our daily life with it.

In our last (but not least) session, we will explore what it truly means to be “Aging in Community.” How can we serve as mentors, in ways that create our legacy through service? What is our role in healing our own families, the communities we live in, and the world? How can we organize in wisdom circles and guilds and bring about the change we dream of, in ways that will survive us?

Heidi Neumark’s life changed when a few computer keystrokes exposed generations of family secrets, raising questions she could not answer: How did she never know of her grandfather’s murder? Or that her grandmother was a death-camp survivor? Why had the family history and Jewish faith been hidden? What did this mean for her work as a pastor, community organizer, and advocate with marginalized and oppressed communities? Seeking answers to these questions, Heidi traveled across the ocean and into the depths of her soul to encounter a family and spiritual heritage she never knew she had. For any who have had secrets, closeted identities, and silence shape their lives, Heidi’s journey is a courageous call to discover what can happen when all that has been hidden is finally brought to light.

In her Sage-ing presentation, Lori Erickson will reflect on her experiences writing her book and guide us as we collectively ponder mortality—the ways we avoid it, the ways we cope with it, and the ways in which life is made more precious by accepting it. Through her personal reflections as well as her travels, Erickson will help us see that one of the most life-affirming things we can do is invite death along for the ride.