We’ve long been enchanted by the promise of transcendence — a natural and deeply human desire. The spirit of overcoming is foundational to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, religious doctrines with the largest followings, and more concretely, the American Dream. Possibilities of enlightenment, ascension, or liberation compel us to imagine beyond our circumstances. Such dreaming is a necessary ingredient for any beautiful creation or meaningful life — often associated with divinity or, at least, the mechanism of evolution.

Sometimes, in James Hollis’ language, when making our way through “the complex thickets of choice,” we discover that we are reacting with a transcendent impulse, rather than harvesting self-insight and collective wisdom in service to the ascension of soul or Self. The unconscious pursuit of transcendence yields variations of human shadow — spiritual bypassing, outright denial of human vulnerability, careless self-advancement, megalomania, grandiose entitlement, fateful self-denial, or intergenerational sabotage through destruction of resources — all with their unique contribution to personal and collective symptoms. These failing attempts at control and perfectionism are actually expressions of resistance which mask and stifle the potential for life-affirming transformation.

It’s absurd and hilarious that we do this! It reminds me of Jesus in Gethsemane — being so fearful and avoidant about his impending transformation. Okay — fair enough — he’s literally about to be crucified. Ultimately, his resistance to suffering reveals his mortal vulnerability- it’s endearing and inspiring- as he stays the course. And it is a reminder that the practice of change isn’t about the absence of fear or resistance, but about maintaining integrity through it. As seekers, we’re ignited with spiritual yearning but continually bound by earthly design and human imperfection. Reaching above the treetops, or finding sustained enlightenment, is reserved for few. For others, meaning, beauty, and truth are found only in a deeper place — through profound interconnection. Spaces between heaven and soil are windy, rocky, fiery, or watery — perilous pathways supported by helping hands, tools, and instinct. Circumstances which contain this archetypally transformative landscape include the midlife threshold, identity or existential crisis, grief and loss, and of course, bodily death — all messy and numinous endeavors.

Immersed in the liminal, we aim to honor the promise of transcendence, while integrating our human nature. This Fall, our programming bridges the two in a variety of ways:

• In September, “Death in Collectivist Cultures” illuminates relational dying – in contrast to our highly medicalized and monetized Western tendencies, alongside a practical discussion for understanding our identities and coping capacities within the “sandwich generation.”
• In October, we go deeper with “Making Peace with Aging,” an exploration of how we hold the tension of somatics and spirituality in an older body, and a book study on Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life — a guidepost for those traversing a powerful — and notoriously unmapped phase.
• In the flux, November provides an opportunity for grounding through “Mindful Practice with Nature,” followed by insights to support conscious, ascending, and rooted growth-yielding realizations which tend to imply deliverance in lieu of stagnancy. “Menopause as Psychic Rebirth” elucidates the art of alchemical processes and offers a personal entry point to the journey of aging. Our voyages are never entirely solitary — Sharon Blackie joins us for “Hags and Wise Women: Older Women In European Myth and Fairy Tales,” where we’ll dive into the collective wisdom gleaned only through community, intimacy with Earth, and feminine archetypes.
• Our season closes in December with a Lunch & Learn interlude through the phantasmal and utterly human experience of shadowy grief — alongside an invitation to light with “Turning Pages,” our annual celebration at The Jung Center bookstore. Along the way, there are opportunities for community connection following the programs which you find most resonating.

As Clarissa Pinkola Estés notes, “Even raw and messy emotions can be understood as a form of light, crackling and bursting with energy. All emotion, even rage, carries knowledge, insight, what some call enlightenment. Our rage can, for a time, become teacher.” The Community for Conscious Aging welcomes you to our space for human vulnerability, raw realization, messy but illuminating growth, and loving connection. Here, we welcome the surrender of pretense — or whatever obstructs your authentic expression — in favor of something more true, something both real and divine.

Sarah Garcia

Manager, Community for Conscious Aging

photo by Sarah Garcia