Vital Presence

Massad and Fridley, both Eastside Institute faculty, are changing the narrative around dementia with their "Joy of Dementia"  workshops. The workshops allow paritcipants impacted by dementia to play together, while challenging assumptions about how we work with people with dementia.

Conversation about how the author was able to let go of what was keeping her from finding enough and how she was able to find the joy of enoughness in community.

Sally Fox, head of this podcast, has the tables turned on her by Ellia Harris who interviews Sally about her book-in-progress Meeting the Muse after Midlife.  They talk about creativity, moving beyond the myths of aging, and tapping the special Superpowers that can come win the 2nd half of life.

Tina Shattuck is a social entrepreneur who takes big ideas and then brings them down to earth in the community. She has founded two organizations focused on the empowerment of women and girls Working Mothers Revolution and Women Hold the Key. We talk about how she has developed her projects from a foundation, always, of community. She's currently working on an initiative to connect women of differ...

Dana Lynne Andersen, founder of Awakening Arts Academy of Art, Creativity, and Consciousness speaks on the importance of awakening our creative and artistic expression for our development and for the world.

Pat Samples is a author, coach, and teacher who has led clients and groups to rediscover the magic of the information living in their bodies. 

Why are elders needed in these troubled times? Michael Meade, internationally known author, storyteller and mythologists has addressed this question in his latest book: Awakening the Soul: A Deep Response to a Troubled World. We talk about his insights in this conversation about keeping the soul alive when the world is struggling.

Dr. Stevens-Long is the author of Living Well, Dying All: A guide to choices, costs, and consequences .   Judy is an expert in adult development and wrote the classic text on that subject,  Adult Development , which is still in use today.   Judy brings her research background, curiosity, and a wealth of personal experience to the study of how we can prepare for death. With the large baby boomer po...

Nan Narboe is an author, therapist, and trainer who has created a tantalizing and compassionate collective portrait of what aging creatively can look like. What does the face of aging look like, especially among creatives? What might sixty, seventy, eighty or beyond look like? These were questions Nan Narboe asked as she began her compilation of stories from writers sharing their experiences in th...

Lynn Jericho has studied the work of Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, economist, and esotericist Rudolf Steiner as well as other spiritual teachers, and puts these to work in her approach to coaching and in her online programs. 

Ann Hedreen is working on her second memoir, titled  The Observant Doubter and talks about the writing path. She is the author of the memoir  Her Beautiful Brain  (She Writes Press, 2014). Ann and her husband Rustin Thompson own  White Noise Productions  and together have made more than 100 documentary films, including  Quick Brown Fox: an Alzheimer's Story .

Kathyrn Carole Ellison is about to publish her ninth book of poetry–at age 80. She writes to send a message of hope to the world and distill lessons to share from the richness and challenges she encountered in  a long life, well lived.

Jand Howard lives in Hawaii where she personally experienced the devastation of the Leilani Estates by the volcanic eruption in 2018. Jane is an artist, environmentalist, educator and eco-tour leader who could be a role model for resilience.

Dr. Carol Orsborn is the best-selling author of 30 books including the book she wrote with Dr. Robert Weber Consciously Aging:  The Spirituality of Age: A Seeker's Guide to Growing Older  which won a 2015 Gold Nautilus Book Award winner in the category of Consciously Aging. She recently published a novel: Angelica's Last Breath .

Dr. Harry "Rick" Moddy has been a leader in the field of conscious aging, through his senior positions, books and articles, talks and wisdom. He explores some of the possibilities and challenges behind this exciting stage of life.

Ellia Harris shares ideas about how to declutter and organize in a mindful way that supports our thriving as we age.

Patricia Hunt-Perry has had a remarkable life. She's worked with many of the world's spiritual luminaries, hosted her own radio and PBS series introduced innovative courses in a university setting and been a Dharma teacher.  Now in her eighth decade, she shares some of her wisdom. 

Maria Genné is a dancer, choreographer, and educator who has created amazing programs that bring people together across generations to interact through dance, music and story. She helps older adults tap into their creativity and joy through the arts. Her organization, Kairos Alive, is a performing and participatory dance, music, and theatre arts organization,  led by a core group of professional a...

Activist and author Kit Bakke didn't start writing seriously until after 50 when the events of 9-11 motivated her to start. She talks about her first book, Miss Alcott's E-mail, her recent book Protest on Trial and how dissent is so important to a democracy.

Painter, writer, and Sage-ing facilitator Anne Boynton talks about infusing more creativity into your life in your 3rd Act, or any age.

Author and Sage-ing facilitator Ina Albert talks about how we can counter ageism to choose a more empowering path to aging.

Rachael Freed is an author, workshop leader and expert in the area of writing your legacy. She shows us how we can find personal fulfillment as we age and bring joy to others by writing legacy letters and giving blessings.

  John C. Robinson is a clinical psychologist with a second doctorate in ministry. He's an ordained interfaith minister and the author of nine books and numerous articles on Aging, examining its psychology, spirituality and mystical dimensions. He speaks at Conscious Aging Conferences across the country.

Marilyn Paul, Author of An Oasis in Time  describes the benefits of taking a rest day off a week.