Please see our upcoming Sangha Calls below.
April 9th - Sangha Gathering
04-09-25 Sangha Meeting Invitation
Life Provides A Major Change -
Navigating The Experience of Accepting, Feeling and Coping
****
At the Contemporary ElderSangha, we’ve been discussing the unsettling experience of learning about a serious diagnosis for yourself or a loved one. As elders we all will come to the inescapable reality that everything in life is impermanent. As we age, our chances of encountering significant losses are increased, and the impact of the loss can be felt more intensely.
But when faced with an overwhelming loss of health, of financial security, of a life partner or friend, how do we react?
On Wednesday, April 9th we will continue our inquiry and discussion into the experience of the range and nature of responses that are possible and pose questions regarding the values associated with whatever response you discover.
Items for consideration are:
How and what do we acknowledge when our sense of loss is overwhelming?
What are our emotions and feelings with what’s acknowledged?
Is acknowledgment the same as acceptance?
Is there meaning to be found in facing traumas?
Please join us for this continued deep dive into one of life’s most complicated experiences.
In Blackwater Woods
(by Mary Oliver)
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
Join our next Call
Calls are free and open to all.
With Gratitude - The Contemporary Elder Sangha
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83175189150?pwd=uRg7DVFH3R5Qf6JZNbt7bd1VwLE5uk.1
January 8th - Sangha Gathering
01-08-25 Sangha Meeting Invitation
The Importance of Ritual
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Happy New Year to All!
In our first gathering of 2025 we invite you to join us as we take up the conversation and inquiry into what rituals are in our lives and how our lives gain value by acknowledgement and practice of rituals.
A ritual, generically speaking, is a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order, and which is often embedded in a larger symbolic system, such as religion or philosophy. But in actuality, rituals are everywhere. For example, the very specific way one makes tea or coffee in the morning is a daily ritual.
What part does ritual play in your life and what do you feel, in body and mind, when performing a ritual? How do we define ritual at an individual level and in a social context? These are just a few of the questions we encourage you to consider. We’re excited to learn what perspectives you’ll bring to the conversation when we meet.
Also, please enjoy the videos listed below:
The Sangha call is January 8th,
7:00pm EST / 4:00pm PST / 2:00pm HST
Please join us for this Sangha meeting using the link information below
Please be sure to watch these very insightful short videos below by ‘clicking’ on the italicized titles. You may find they make entry into the discussion more fruitful.
7 Daily Shinto Rituals
Rituals For a Calm & Intentional Day
Top 5 Rituals For Wellness
Rituals Will Transform Your Life
Join our next Call
Calls are free and open to all.
With Gratitude - The Contemporary Elder Sangha
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87225646688?pwd=Hw82VrmQbURPP41toi374yjGP5VO0D.1
December 4th - Sangha Gathering
Grief is not a problem we’re supposed to solve.
As Elders we hopefully come to learn and share that grief and loss are inevitable parts of life. As odd as it sounds to say, what all of us go through, relative to grief, is normal. Becoming more knowledgeable about grief will help in navigating this life experience, helping perhaps to feel less confused and alone.
“Though each experience is unique, we all grieve in our bodies,” says Meghan Jarvis.
“By recognizing grief as a kind of trauma, we better understand why our mind and body respond in sometimes perplexing ways to loss.”
Tenku Ruff has said that “Grief is not a thing, or even a feeling, it is a process—a continuum of emotions that unfolds at its own pace. We don’t get to know in advance how much time it will take, and no one can tell us. Just like everything else, we have no choice but to be present with what is, in each moment. Sometimes grief feels like an open, gaping wound, sometimes like an immense purple bruise, and sometimes like just any other day. Sometimes we can even laugh.”
If you’ve experienced the trauma of loss, you might find yourself struggling with the “whys” of grief, but you are also free or liberated to discovering ways to navigating challenges learning/knowing:
“I am allowed to grieve in my own way and time.”
“I am not alone in my pain; we are all interconnected in our suffering.”
“I release my attachments and allow the natural flow of life to unfold.“
“I honor the memories of my loved one and carry their love with me always”
“I am worthy of self-compassion and kindness during this difficult time.”
With Gratitude - The Contemporary Elder Sangha
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82258649519?pwd=JzbNtu5laKCleHHeEJoQ2zo1M5C5ZV.1
October 9th - Sangha Gathering
Almost everything we do depends on trust.
This week at our Sangha zoom gathering, we will be exploring the obvious and the nuance of trust.
A major foundation for almost everything we do depends on trust. Trust, i.e., the belief that someone or something can be relied on to do what they say they will—is a key element of social relationships and a foundation for belonging and cooperation. And… trust comes in as many varieties as there are connections between people. Trust functions in many ways as the key to social harmony and can also develop a larger sense of safety, allowing more effort towards improvement versus self-protection. It’s been said that "If we can learn to trust one another more, we can have unprecedented human progress".
How to build (and rebuild) trust
With Gratitude - The Contemporary Elder Sangha
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85879417869?pwd=1TqGCcH7NNrbEUgxN8qkcQ8txmryop.1
September 25 - Sangha Gathering
Our upcoming Sangha session will continue our journey in conversation and investigation into the subject of abandonment. Our main focus will be on the three main parts of abandonment which are:
1. I have been abandoned!
2. Who have I abandoned!?
3. Have I abandoned myself and in what ways!?
In having more awareness and understanding of the many forms of abandonment we take steps towards getting beyond the wounds of abandonment and reconciling those wounds from being adopted as our identity. This is the beginning of healing and acceptance and progress in becoming Elders, gaining equanimity. Following are a couple of short videos which are not mandatory to view but can be valuable in gaining insight on the subject.
7 signs of abandonment issues
Brene Brown – true belonging
Alan Robarge - The abandoned self, wounds and identity
With Gratitude - The Contemporary Elder Sangha
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84344996695?pwd=XWxihr2kf4uGQqTkoucRGXPb4SSRBU.1
September 11 - Sangha Gathering
Greetings Everyone -
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle,
but you are worthy of love and belonging”
Brene Brown
As human beings we are possessed with a natural, inborn powerful need to belong. We live our life’s searching to satisfy that need by joining, searching and sometimes surrendering to people, places and things. When we believe we are left out, we can experience painful feelings of rejection. As elders this can be especially common and deeply troubling. How do we react? Do we become more aggressive? Withdraw? Rationalize the feelings away?
This week at our Sangha Zoom gathering, we will be exploring the powerful feelings related to the need to belong. Please join us.
With Gratitude - The Contemporary Elder Sangha
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86806709953?pwd=ViSf76jSf8AuPCWrfP7nbOqUKxVG6f.1
August 14 - Sangha Gathering
Join us on Wednesday, August 14th at 7pm EST/ 4pm PST for a thoughtful Sangha call. All are welcome.
The topic of the call is based on a TED talk by Brene Brown (click her name for the video) where she explores the nature of interpersonal connection and speaks to what keeps us connected and what gets in the way. Issues we’ll discuss are vulnerability, whole heartedness, self-worth, and self-compassion.
As we engage in this discussion, consider what are your barriers to love of self, of others? What does it mean to be wholehearted?
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89644436732?pwd=1vUtv6gbW4tqoqCQpXpbOIVU9SoOFc.1
July 24 - Sangha Gathering
Join us on Wednesday, July 24th at 7pm EST/ 4pm PST for a thoughtful Sangha call. All are welcome.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89644436732?pwd=1vUtv6gbW4tqoqCQpXpbOIVU9SoOFc.1
July 10 - Sangha Gathering
Join us on Wednesday, July 10th at 7pm EST/ 4pm PST for a thoughtful Sangha call. All are welcome.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84766918858?pwd=JzoWHy7JZZvIDXCxbrzY1PCGCeLAuO.1