The wise elder is perfecting their inner world.

However, we find little emphasis on the inner, contemplative approach to aging in which we transcend doing in favor of being, learning to plumb our psyche for the spiritual gems of wisdom that come from mining our depths. In other words, aging people need to cultivate the inwardness from which wisdom grows, but our culture celebrates staying in the saddle and being productive in later life without a corresponding emphasis on being contemplative.

Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman; Miller, Ronald S.. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older . Balance. Kindle Edition. 

The wise elder turns from focusing on the outer world to the inner world. The wise elder is not as concerned with promoting health in the body as it ages although those concerns are important, but rather looks inward to spiritual consciousness. The focus is no longer on doing but on being.

The wise elder is interested in maximizing their own potential and that of others and expanding the consciousness of all sentient beings. The goal is to create a world where everybody loves everybody all the time, what some people call heaven.

So the wise elder is centered, has their shit together, and has a well integrated personality. This is achieved by cultivating and enhancing the four cardinal stoic virtues of wisdom, self regulation, courage, and justice. The wise elder has achieved so much happiness, peace, satisfaction, and fulfillment in their life that it simply spills over onto everything that comes into their path.

Where are the wise elders who can help us ameliorate our self destructive tendencies?"

 

They harvest their life experiences, pass on their wisdom to younger people, and safeguard the health of our ailing planet. Out of their late-life explorations in consciousness, elders bestow upon the world the life-giving wisdom it desperately needs and crown their lives with respect and honor.

Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman; Miller, Ronald S.. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older (p. 10). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

The wise elder reaps the fruit of their lived experience. They reflect on the story of their life and cull it for nuggets of wisdom. These nuggets they want to pass on to others they are leaving behind in subsequent generations when they die.

Sometimes a life review at a very superficial level is described in an obituary. In past decades epitaphs on a gravestone were popular, summing up the essence of a person’s life in a few words.

In a death-avoiding society young people don’t want to consider the parting words of wisdom from the people who have lived and will die before them. It is assumed or feared that the elder will have nothing relevant, significant, and worthwhile in such technologically fast changing times to impart.

The wisdom of the elder comes not from technological knowledge and competence but from values. How can the technological marvels of contemporary times be beneficially utilized? Are the applications of modern knowledge and technology good or bad, beneficial or harmful, to be embraced or avoided?

While knowledge and information is expanding at an ever accelerating rate, and the application of this knowledge and information is applied in ever new and innovative ways, spiritual intelligence and consciousness seems to lag behind putting powerful tools in the hands of adult children who are not growing up fast enough to use the knowledge and technology wisely. This deficit in spiritual intelligence leaves homo sapiens in the position of creating the circumstances for their extinction from nuclear winter, climate warming, economic meltdown, genocide, etc.

As one dispairs at the state of the world in contemporary times, one might plaintively cry “Where are the wise elders who can help us ameliorate our self destructive tendencies?"

The function of the wise elder in society.

In Stoic philosophy the wise elder is called a "sage." The sage lives a life of virtue based on the four stoic cardinal virtues: wisdom, self discipline, courage,, and justice. The sage has practiced these virtues and aspires to develop them to perfection. The life of a sage becomes vibrant and resonant with those who come into contact with it. Wisdom rubs off. Do you know anyone like this who you feel better about yourself when you are simply around them?

With the development of the four cardinal virtues the wise elder embodies resilience, integrity, and holiness. As such the wise elder is reliable, dependable, and a beacon of guidance for decision making and action. 

The wise elder’s wisdom is not based solely on intellectual knowledge or technological skill but on values; what matters in how knowledge and technology is utilized. The wise elder provides a moral compass that comes from a lifetime of experience and reflection and increase in consciousness at a personal and a social level. The wise elder knows what to do based on a deep understanding of right and wrong given the circumstances and factors that challenge decision making. The wise elder is a light house for the ships at sea who are trying to find their way and avoid collision with the hidden obstacles and barriers that exist beneath the surface.

The wise elder has expanded their consciousness and is aware of the interdependent web of existence of which human beings are a part. The wise elder is not only aware of the interdependent web but affirms and promotes it and utilizes this awareness in their interactions with others.

The function of the wise elder in society is to facilitate the enhancement of the level of consciousness of human beings. A wise elder asks themselves what would Love have me do, and then acts accordingly.

Rejuvenating the role of the wise elder.

…, we presented the model of the sage or “elder of the tribe” who benefits from extended longevity by developing extended consciousness. Elders practice contemplative disciplines from our spiritual traditions and come to terms with their mortality.

Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman; Miller, Ronald S.. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older (p. 10). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

This is the first of several articles on the role of the wise elder in our contemporary society. In some cultures, the wise elder is called a “sage.” This role has passed out of recognition and acknowledgment although it still exists buried underneath the materialism and youth idolization of our contemporary culture.

Some wise people think that it is time for this role to be rejuvenated, nurtured, and made more visible. Ken Wilber has taught the difference between growing old and growing up. All things animate and inanimate grow old but not all things grow up in the sense that they actualize their full potential.

If we all are to actualize our innate potential what would this flowering look like? What would it look like in your life? What do we still have left to do to die with peace and satisfaction of a completed life? Wise elders not only know how to do this, but they set an example for others. The wisdom rubs off.

In silence we can remember our Transcendent Source

Some people might read this book and say, “Oh yeah? Well what about starving children in Africa? Are they poor because their consciousness is unaligned with love?” I’d like to take this opportunity to respond to that. Starving children in Africa are not poor because their consciousness is misaligned with love; they’re poor because ours is.The Law Of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson, p.xiv

The alignment of consciousness with Love is not only an individual phenomenon; it is social, communal, nondualistic. No person is an island; homo sapiens is a social animal. In spite of our illusional, egotistic idea that we are individuals, we are radically dependent on others constantly for our existence. We are drops of the ocean and think we have a separate existence but we are nothing without the ocean from which we have become separated.

When we become aware of social injustice, poverty, what we consider evil in the world something has gone wrong. The system is out of whack, off kilter, needs an adjustment. We need to recognize, acknowledge, appreciate, and care for the Transcendent Source from which our separate ego selves have emanated. 

We can take a few minutes of silence today and remember that which sustains our consciousness which is a part of the All and do what we can to help our brothers and sisters around the planet..

Love the Internal Teacher

God has introduced into our minds an Internal Teacher, authorized to help us cross the bridge from fear to love when we find it difficult to do so by ourselves. The Internal Teacher is allied by different names, from the Comforter, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit. Whatever name we use, it cannot be called on in vain. The Law Of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson, p.xiii

In Twelve Step groups the Internal Teacher is called “Higher Power” and in secular, humanist groups the “muse”.

I sometimes talk with my clients about their head and their heart. Sometimes there is a struggle because our head is full of “shoulds”, “ought too”, and “musts” and yet our heart is just not in it. When our heart is not into something usually we experience anxiety and may get the thought that we are on the wrong track. We say to ourselves, “There must be a better way!” It’s at these times we can call on the Holy Spirit for guidance, to give us a hint, to help us choose a more loving path to get on. We can always ask ourselves “What would Love have me do?”

Wisdom in difficult political times.

One of the consistent themes in psychotherapy is the development of agency in place of victimhood.

One of the stoic virtues is wisdom which comes from knowing what we can change and control and what we can't. This comes from Epictetus originally, who taught this virtue to Marcus Aurelius and in modern times has been captured in the Serenity Prayer.

Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

Epictetus; Lebell, Sharon. The Art of Living: Epictetus's Timeless Wisdom on Virtue, Happiness, and Tranquility for a Fulfilling and Ethical Life (p. 3). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

Probably one of the most important virtues of a psychotherapist is wisdom. Hopefully, we share our wisdom with our clients. 

There are  plenty of things we can be done to change the current state of affairs, the most important of which is to offer constructive beliefs that influence voting behavior and consumer choices. Do you believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person or that some people are better and more worthy than others? Do you believe in equity, justice, and compassion or a society of increased inequality and retribution?

Simple choices really if they are framed right giving people the opportunity to make good decisions. Perhaps the more relevant frame of reference in answering the question "What is to be done in these difficult times?"  is spiritual not political. If we try to answer the question from the same perspective that gave rise to the question we often arrive at the wrong answer.