When a realization flashes into our consciousness that we are aging, we tend to tighten up with fear. Negative images of our parents, grandparents, and friends loom before us. Anderson counsels us to move from that gripping fear into curiosity. She shares poignant stories about elders and luminaries such as Marion Woodman. This is a deeply personal and moving conversation. Sherry Ruth Anderson writes and teaches about spiritual development, with a special interest in women's experience and aging as awakening. Her documentary film "A Woman's Descent to the Sacred “ was an official entry in the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2011. She’s the author of The Feminine Face of God (coauthor Patricia Hopkins) (Bantam 1991), The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World (coauthor Paul Ray) (Crown 2001) and Ripening Time: Inside Stories for Aging with Grace (Changemakers Books 2013)

Interview Date: 10/3/2013    Tags: Sherry Ruth Anderson, aging, diminishment, death, ripening, lifespan, fear, forgetting, fearful, curiosity, growing older, Marion Woodman, elders, presence, deep listening, circles, nursing homes, vulnerable, vulnerability, voluntarism, laughter, Dustin Hoffman, Maurice Sendak, generosity, authenticity, Personal Transformation, Spirituality, Women’s Studies, Death & Dying, Community