Community for
Conscious Aging
Your Resource for the Second Half of Life
The Jung Center of Houston's Community for Conscious Aging (CCA) offers unique community events and activities where all are invited to explore their gifts and challenges. We serve in community, find new purpose & passion, confront the cultural view of aging, consider end-of-life matters, combat isolation, and develop a deeper relationship with the unconscious in order to uncover what is coming alive within us.
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Click the button below and donate to us by selecting "Community for Conscious Aging" in the designation field.
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Currently Scheduled Events
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Living Our Best Life (Online)
June 04, 2025June 04, 2025Jim Benton | Wednesday, Jun 4 | 12 - 2pm CT | Explore the paradox of modern life for adults aged 55 and older, examining the impact of technology, resources, and longevity on health, well-being, and loneliness, while respecting diverse narratives about aging.
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Afternoon Artist Talks | Visions Community Exhibit (In-Person)
June 07, 2025June 07, 2025The Jung Center Artists | Saturday, Jun 7 | 2 - 3:30pm CT | FREE | Join the Community for Conscious Aging as they host an afternoon artist talk.
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The Inner Work of Age: A Book Study (In-Person)
June 11, 2025July 16, 2025Ginger Clarkson and Mark Ryan | Six Wednesdays, Jun 11- Jul 16 | 2 - 3:30pm CT | Explore the riches of psychotherapist Connie Zweig’s contemplations on aging, relating them to your own experience in conversation with fellow aspiring elders.
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June Lunch & Learn: Reimagining Your Story Through the Eyes of Wisdom (Online)
June 17, 2025June 17, 2025Dottie Lawrence | Tuesday, Jun 17 | 12 - 1p CT | Join us to learn how writing your life stories can help you gain perspective and find a path forward during life's transitions.
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Rediscovering Yourself Through Your Life Story (In-Person)
July 10, 2025July 31, 2025Dottie Lawrence | Four Thursdays, July 10 - 31 | 5:30 - 7:30pm CT | Explore your life stories through thematic journaling to uncover new meaning, gain clarity, and create a path forward.
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July Lunch & Learn | The Chessboard of Healing: Responding Creatively to Aging (Online)
July 16, 2025July 16, 2025Drew Leder | Wednesday, Jul 16 | 12 - 1p CT |Explore successful strategies for skillfully responding to aging, injuries, chronic conditions, and other limitations to reclaim your life.
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Afternoon Artist Talks | HSPVA Student Exhibit (In-Person)
August 02, 2025August 02, 2025Saturday, Aug 2 | 2 - 3:30pm CT | FREE | Join the Community for Conscious Aging as they host an afternoon artist talk.
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August Lunch & Learn | Embracing Emerging Elderhood (Online)
August 13, 2025August 13, 2025Noelle Fields | Wednesday, Aug 13 | 12 - 1p CT | Navigate the transition to elderhood, balancing personal growth and caregiving responsibilities, with wisdom and new life-stage challenges.
Our Mission
In the afternoon of our lives, our intention is to grow and sustain an inclusive learning community of vitality, purpose, wisdom, and grace.
Carl Jung's essay on aging is one of our guides.
Who We Are
The Community for Conscious Aging (CCA) is committed to approaching life with meaning and purpose as we age. Together, we discover how to shape our personal experience in a deeper way and share that discovery with others. We are guided by four pillars:
- Connection: cultivate opportunities to gather together
- Learning:
grow in wisdom and in the capacity to reflect on our rich inner lives with clarity and integrity
- Service: respond to the needs of others
- Activism:
confront the culture of ageism
Our History
The Community for Conscious Aging was formed in 2018. Our genesis came from conversations between friends about the process of aging, how to find or keep a community, and how to deal with the challenges of aging. We are a volunteer organization affiliated with The Jung Center.
We’ve presented many excellent programs: Carl Jung’s Stages of Life; Resilience and How to Develop it; Finding Purpose as We Age; A Look at Racial Conditioning. We’ve mentored coffee groups and book studies and movie nights. Our small group meetings often form communities-—part of our mission. During Covid, we set up support groups about health and well-being and offered speakers via Zoom, which will remain a permanent platform for some of our offerings.
We’d love to have you join us!
Steering Committee
- Karleen Koen - author, former editor, and teacher with four published novels, including one NY Times Bestseller. Co-founder of Women in the Visual and Literary Arts, she is interested in all aspects of creativity, having taught on the subject for years at Rice University. She uses creativity to not fall too hard as she walks into late elderhood.
- David Spaw - inspired from his personal experience of loss, set out to start a Healing Circles Program in Texas. Since the onset of COVID, their local team joined forces with the global initiative which trained Circle hosts across North America and in 48 countries. David is a retired corporate executive of a regional and international construction company. He has served on many nonprofit boards and community organizations including most recently: Greater Houston Healing Collaborative, as a Program Director of Commonweal, and supporting the Healing Circles Global initiative.
- Mark B. Ryan - holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, where for more than 21 years he was a residential college dean and on the faculty in American Studies. Subsequently, he was titular professor, Director of U.S. Studies, and Dean of the Colleges at the Universidad de las Américas, Puebla in Mexico. Certified as a facilitator of Holotropic Breathwork, he is author of books and articles focusing primarily on transpersonal psychology and thought, as well as on higher education.
- Dina McMearn - holds a BBA in Marketing/Management from the University of Texas at Austin and recently retired after 35 years in the high-tech industry. Dina is passionate about inclusion, connection, and honest conversation using social and community engagement. As an emerging elder, she’s exploring the joy and meaning of this stage of life and sharing what she learns along the way. She sees her work with the committee as an opportunity to serve with purpose and learn how to be the best version of herself. Talk to her about travel, living in Ireland, good books, and creative ways of documenting life.
- Karen Waldman, PhD - is a licensed psychologist whose long-standing interest in older adults led her to specialize in geropsychology. Semi-retired from almost 20 years in the VA hospital system, she enjoys traveling with her husband and visiting their four kids and 11 grandchildren.
- Judy Wilbratte - holds a BBA and has a background as Director of IT Operations. After retirement, she transitioned to teaching the Enneagram personality system and volunteering for the Community of Conscious Aging at the Jung Center. With a profound passion for empowering individuals, Judy focuses on helping people unveil unconscious patterns, opening doors to transformative ways of engaging with themselves and the world around them.
- Beth Quill - brings her experience as a nurse practitioner, public health and non-profit administrator, educator, author, advocate, coach and consultant, to the work of Conscious Aging. She is focused on learning and sharing the aging process and exploring pathways to health and social justice. Her special interest is Emerging Elders. “One way or the other, we have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life and dedicate ourselves to that.” - Joseph Campbell.
- Hadley McIntosh - has been a teacher and a lawyer, and is now a professional organizer in Houston. She discovered Jungian psychology during some emotional and practical shifts at midlife, and has been fascinated by its wonder and its practical application ever since. Her work at Hadley McIntosh Organizing focuses on downsizing and decluttering, and on helping people with the psychology of organization and of our relationship to our possessions.
- Sarah Garcia - holds degrees in English Literature and master-level Social Work and continues pursuing a certificate in Applied Philosophy and Ethics to reinforce her work with marginalized populations. The Love Ethic, built primarily on insights from bell hooks, influences her approach. Her experience ranges from pet training to grassroots organizing & environmental lobbying, to social work in nursing facilities and hospice. She has a 200-hour certificate in Trauma-Informed Hatha Yoga and has been a grief support group facilitator for years. Reading, feminism, hiking, kayaking, photography, researching & writing are among her other passions.
Emerging Elderhood
Do you question- What lies ahead as I age? What does retirement mean? How will I chart the best course for me to be healthy and happy as I age?
You are not alone.
Most likely, you're
an Emerging Elder.
.
These questions, often unspoken, occupy many adults experiencing mid-life
transitions. Further, there's no blueprint for approaching the second half of life, much less
specific guidelines for aging.
Want to learn more?
Explore emerging elderhood through our Lunch & Learn with Sean Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., Executive Director of The Jung Center of Houston
Connect with the Community for Conscious Aging
Recommended Resources
- Sage-ing® International is a community of elders and elders-to-be who are ready to explore new ways of aging. Beginning as a networking organization for professionals, we have expanded our focus, reaching out to everyone approaching or in the second half of life. Our vision includes teaching/learning, service and community as three vitally important aspects of the sage-ing® journey.
- Oasis is a national nonprofit organization offering enriching programs for retirees. We offer special interest classes, health programs, and volunteering opportunities.
- At Being Mindful.com, community member, Stan Merrill, offers a ten-minute guided meditation to help relax and calm. Stressful situations trigger the body’s fight or flight response releasing adrenaline into the bloodstream. When we are able to breathe long, slow, and deep while focusing our attention on the present moment, our disposition will change.
- The practice of gratefulness is said to help with more positive emotions, better sleep, and stronger immune systems. Learn more at Gratefulness.org
Catching up in the Age of Technology
Social media and video conferencing have become common tools for connection. Platforms like Facebook, FaceTime (Apple), Zoom, Skype, and WhatsApp are free and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and/or Google Play. YouTube instructional videos are available online to help you set up and use these tools for technology-based connection.
Here are some other ways to get started:
FaceTime
WhatsApp
Zoom
Join CCA on Facebook
Community for Conscious Aging members can share information, get to know each other, and provide mutual support by joining our online Facebook (FB) group created just for us. It’s called Community for Conscious Aging Houston. This is a closed group and completely separate from anyone’s personal FB page. You will be able to post information, ask questions, and dialogue about age-related issues and stresses. This is not a replacement for our website but an additional way to communicate. You must have a Facebook account to join the CCA closed group.
If you don’t have a Facebook page, you can get started HERE
