Beginner's Mind
The Conscious Ageing Project is dedicated to exploring
the potential for the development of consciousness in and through ageing
as a evolutionary potential of ageing.
How does one become and stay conscious even in context of increasing decline of bodily and probably also cognitive decline?
How can we stay in a state of beginner's mind and not knowing
It aims to bring together practioners and researchers from the fields of consciousness and ageing with people with lived experience – relating to ageing and consciousness-development practices/ spiritual practices – to form a transdisciplinary, transpersonal project that extends our understanding of consciousness beyond the brain and our physical existence.
One aim of this project is to explore the foundations and background of conditions conducive to conscious ageing, in which human consciousness remains aware of itself and the context in which it perceives itself for as long as possible – perhaps until the moment of transition into another dimension, which is historically and culturally referred to as death.
Making reliable information on conscious ageing accessible to many – this is another aim of this research project.
The original question behind this project was: Can we prevent dementia through conscious ageing? It remains relevant and is woven into the bigger picture.
The project was inspired and initiated by Bettina Wichers’ initial findings on the commonalities between dementia and spiritual awakening. Throughout her research endeavours to date, Bettina has always been aware that she cannot and does not wish to tackle the complexity of the research project alone. She is making her findings to date available as part of this process.
This project is understood here as a transdisciplinary, transpersonal collective process of consciousness, from which a collectively field of consciousness emerges.
How can this be achieved?
By emergence of a field of consciousness practioners and researchers, as citizen scientists, independent scholars, academics, practioners from all varieties of activities around ageing, and people with lived experience,
– in which existing findings are collated, new fields of practice and research needs are identified and addressed, and new insights are woven back into the fabric of knowledge through an interpenetrative process.
Join us – as a practioners, a researcher, as a supporter, or as a wise elder who is sensing the significance of this work.
Conscious Ageing
Conscious Ageing refers to the potential of becoming and staying conscious about the nature of our being as consciousness during the course of the ageing process and old age.
It refers also to the work that seems to be necessary
for waking up instead of falling asleep in old age.
The evolutionary potential of ageing
Many sciences are involved into the question about the evolutionary purpose in the increasing life expectancy of humans, particularly the lengthening period following women’s reproductive years? The ‘Grandmother Hypothesis’ is one possible explanation, but is that all there is to it?
This research examines the evolutionary potential of ageing from a different understanding of evolution, incorporating the perspective of involution into the approach and following the understanding of involution and evolution as it has long been used in spiritual traditions.
In this context, evolution signifies the progressive development of consciousness: a person’s growing awareness–and human consciousness as a whole–of the nature of this existence as consciousness. Viewed from this perspective, ageing takes on a wholly different significance as a potential for human development than any previous theory of ageing has been able to perceive.
Research on Conscious Ageing
This reseach is transdiciplinary in the most comprehensive sense, and I get comments all the time that it is too complex and that something like that would have never been done before - and will not be able to performed due to problems more complex than the research itself. Good point in both cases. Maybe it's true.
And I know what I am doing, I know about my cognitive capacities, my insights and my findings so far, and when you are a complex thinker, a natural courious being and open to question given narratives radically und thoroughly, I invite you to dive deeper in the framework and theoretical approach so far.
After a long time trying to find contact to and recognition by the conventional, traditional academic field to become a scientist I recognized while laying the foundations for this project I recognized that I am already a scientist.
I will continue what I have done over the last seven, eight years: As a women ageing consciously I am following my calling and willing to learn whatever the Greater Whole needs me to do for fullfilling the divine impulse woven into me.
Join me, join us.
More informations coming soon.
Contact for now: [email protected].