Monday, October 14, 2013

Some Pro-Aging News for YOU

Since not all of you know about the monthly newsletter I produce, I wanted to share our just-published October newsletter with you.

I think you will find that it contains some interesting news about aging, from the standpoint of various people, including author-activist Ashton Applewhite and neurologist-author Oliver Sacks. Hope you will take a moment to click the link and check it out.

I invite you to subscribe to receive the monthly newsletter in order to stay informed of creative aging programs we are presenting. You can do so at our Sage's Play website home page. 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Autumn garden, crowdfunding notes and an honoring ceremony

Pink sedum, yellow and gold crysanthemums
 The front garden is ornamented with some lovely autumn flowers. It's such a pleasure to be with the garden as it changes throughout the year. Right now there's pink sedum, red penstemon, yellow and rust colored crysanthemums, tall pink hyssop, and the roses are uttering their last blooming breaths before getting quiet for the winter.

I've planted winter vegetable starts and I hope that they flourish. It makes such a difference to have some fresh, home grown greens in the fall and winter.

We are well into our IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. We have raised $600 from 12 donors so far. I've been emailing and posting the news about our project to various groups and communities, and I hope that some more folks join our tribe during the campaign. We want to raise $25,000, so we have a bit of a hike to get there from here. That is one of my understatements.

A couple of days ago I sent an email to Dr. Andrew Weil and one to author/neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, too. I figure, what the heck? Both of them are certainly pro-aging types. One never really knows who will become a fan or supporter. And if people have never heard about what you are doing, they never have a chance to take part. Communication. Connecting. Visibility. All important.

I've been making some new friends at the Chamber of Commerce meetings. That's  fun, and I'm sure it will continue in that vein. Chamber members are very supportive of each other. That's one of the great things about being part of the Chamber. And I am also enjoying visiting various business locations in the city. It's interesting and refreshing to experience the variety of businesses and nonprofits here and to get to know the people who are involved with them.

My hypnotherapy/ rapid eye practice has been rewarding. That's nothing new, really. I love doing this kind of work because people get positive results from it. I did some hypnotherapy sessions with a 91-year old woman who was experiencing severe chronic pain. She was quite open and she got the gist of the work right way. By the end of the session, she was pain free. It was really great to help her gain some tools to shift her awareness in order to reduce and manage her pain sensations. Hypnotherapy is wonderful for transforming many issues and difficulties. The unconscious mind does all the work, while the person just rests and relaxes.

New and exciting in my world! This weekend, I am leading an elder honoring ceremony for the 88th birthday of a woman well loved and respected in the local womens' community. I am pleased to have been invited to conduct the ceremony, share some songs from A New Wrinkle, and lead a conversation on aging, including some talk about ways to respond to ageism.

I  will be offering elder honoring ceremonies through Sage's Play and will be writing more about them in a future post.

On another note, it would sure be great if you or your friends would like to support our IndieGoGo campaign. You can listen to the cute song Laura Rich and I created and read all about our musical revue at this link here.

Doing this IndieGoGo campaign is a great learning experience, no matter how much we raise. Of course, the closer we can get to our fundraising goal, the better off our project will be. Your help is most welcome. If the spirit moves you, send us a tax-deductible donation. No donation is too small or too large.

Hope all is flowing well in your life. Sending a smile and wishing you a beautiful autumn season. Have the leaves started to fall where you live? Here, they have not, but by tomorrow who knows?