Ageing Upwards – the course
This is a 6 weeks online course using the framework from the book Ageing Upwards. The course is for people of any age, as the skills you learn are mindfulness based lifeskills that can be applied to any situation or challenges you might face in life. However, the course is aimed at people from 50+. The course springs out of Berit Lewis´ many years experience of teaching Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course and her research on Mindfulness and Ageing at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. It aims to give the participants the skills to embrace ageing with acceptance and kindness.
Curses are offered when enough people have shown an interest. Please send an email to berit@thrivinglife.eu if you are interested in being put on a list, letting me know when you can join the course, what time of the day you prefer, and if taught online or face-to-face. You can see a recording of a previous information meeting on this link.
The course is open to anyone who wishes to join globally.
Session outline:
The course outline follows the chapters in the book, Ageing Upwards, a mindfulness based framework to the longevity revolution:
| Session | Title | Chapter |
| 1 | Introduction Introduction to each other and the Framework. Starting to practice attentional control. Working on the ability to step out of automatic pilot and to Notice it! |
Up till ch 3 |
| 2 | Gaining Awareness Continuing to practice attentional control and starting to gain awareness of our habitual patterns of thoughts and behaviour. By using the mindfulness loop and practicing the ability to Notice it, Note it! and Know it! we start to see how our thoughts, emotions and physical sensations are motivated by socially and genetically wired needs or desires (the structure of life). |
4 & 5 |
| 3 | Awareness of our constructed sense of self and what matters to us In this session we focus on gaining awareness of our sense of self and what is important to us. We learn that our selves are neither fixed nor something we need to find, but rather something that we can actively construct in a continuous interaction with life. We connect with the ‘life force’ within us which is beyond age and physical abilities. It allows us to find purpose and meaning and to set ambitions that are appropriate for our life situation. |
6 & 7 |
| 4 | Embracing life and ageing through out mindset As we become more aware we have the freedom to make new conscious choices in the way we live and respond to life. We start with the M in eMBrACe, which stands for Mindset. Most of the time, ageing isn’t the problem; rather, it is the way we think about ageing. We learn to relate in a new way to our thoughts. Although we do not have control over them, we can control our attention and our response to what we think. |
8 |
| 5 | Broadening our attention to help acceptance We work with the Br in eMBrACe, which stands for Broadening out our attention. We learn that we add more pain and suffering to ourselves when we resist difficulties. Instead, we can practice acceptance by allowing difficult sensations to be present together with everything else that is happening in the moment. This way we can dilute our struggles and do not add extra suffering to ourselves. |
9 |
| 6 | An affectionate and committed mindful life During this last session we work with the A and C in eMBrACe. A stands for Affection & C for Commited Action. We learn that compassion for others and one self is a skill we can all become better at and that it is very important to our mental wellbeing. We look ahead and see how we can continue our mindfulness practice and commit to ways to improve our wellbeing. |
10 & 11 |
