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Book digs into living, aging artfully

Author gives advice for long, healthy life
Pevny

Durango is a great place for retirement, or any stage of life for that matter. The quality of life, being surrounded by nature and the opportunities for physical, intellectual and spiritual growth are many.

Local author Ron Pevny’s debut book, Conscious Living, Conscious Aging, should appeal to readers from all walks of life, especially those looking ahead to the phase of life beyond middle age. With baby boomers reaching retirement age, this book is a welcome and informative tool.

After years of professional training and experience leading workshops, retreats and then founding the Center for Conscious Eldering, Pevny has written a book that makes available to all readers the tenets of how to lead a conscious life with an emphasis on aging well. Pevny’s tone is personal and conversational, welcoming the reader to the concepts of aging as a multi-level, ongoing process.

The book is structured into 13 chapters with a section at the end of each called “Story by the Fire.” These are insights shared by people who have participated in Pevny’s sessions. These sections include exercises, recommended books and organizations that offer support for conscious aging.

In the first chapter, Conscious Eldering, Pevny explains that aging is a matter of perspective. Our current western society tends to want to prolong youth without accepting that aging is a natural part of life.

With advances in medicine and healthy lifestyles, people are living longer and better than ever. There are groups who promote positive aging but most do not emphasize the importance of spiritual growth as a person ages. Rather than taking the small world view of a mouse, Pevny encourages a change to the wider view of an eagle to acknowledge one’s place in the world as a whole.

In Chapter 2, Pevny discusses life transitions and rites of passage. As he points out, most cultures throughout time have observed rites of passage.

Today, there are still a few practiced in our society, such as bar and bat mitzvahs, graduations and weddings. But they don’t always include the changing inner and outer stages of growth, or a person’s new role in society as a whole. The process of a rite of ceremony that helps people transition to a next stage of life helps them discard what is not needed and then become open to what comes next.

Because of Durango’s rich surroundings, Chapter 3’s focus on nature as a healer and teacher is of particular note. Pevny refers to Richard Louv’s 2005 book, Last Child In The Woods, which prompted positing “nature deficit disorder” as a disease of the 21st century. Pevny describes the many benefits that can be gleaned from being out in nature and points out that exercise is not the only way to benefit from the outdoors. Sometimes, just sitting among nature’s wonders has healing properties, especially for those with internal wounds.

The importance of a life review is covered in Chapter 4 while other chapters highlight granting forgiveness, expressing gratitude, coping with loss and grief, giving to others by volunteering and finding support in community.

Conscious aging can begin in later middle years and is an ongoing process that requires focus and effort. Pevny’s book acts as a guide and points people who wish to become fulfilled elders to ways to use his tools for a richer third stage of living.

Conscious Living, Conscious Aging is a welcome addition and tool for those readers who want to add depth and breadth to their daily lives while helping them to create a legacy for those who follow.

sierrapoco@yahoo.com. Leslie Doran is a Durango freelance reviewer.

If you go

Ron Pevny will be signing copies of Conscious Living, Conscious Aging during a book event at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. Call 247-1438 for more information.



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