Conscious Ageing

"The conscious dissolution of the self is the evolutionary potential of ageing."

The question "Who am I?" is probably one of the most important questions of human existence, and the endless questions that our everyday consciousness asks itself throughout the day and spends a lot of energy trying to answer all of them meaningfully lead from or to it. An impossibility, and not just because of the distractions of our time.

And the next questions arise immediately:

"What is the meaning?"

"What is meaningful in my life?"

"What am I here for?"

existential questions that people have asked themselves at all times.

All of these questions take on their own significance as we grow older, and they have to be evaluated differently in the face of increasing loss, a shortening perspective on life, illness and, in particular, in the context of declining cognitive abilities.

Who am I now, this person after family time, in retirement, in old age?

What story have I told about myself in my life so far?

What remains when this story increasingly dissolves?

As an researcher on ageing, as a gerontologist, I have asked myself - like all researchers on ageing, many sociologists, consciousness researchers and many other people - what the evolutionary meaning of ageing might be, what the reason is that we continue to live so long beyond the reproductive phase, and often for many years in good health.

There are a number of theories that try to explain this, from the theory of "disposable soma" to to the theory of "gerotranscendence", which has long come closest to my thoughts. Through my research on dementia, on ageing, but also on consciousness itself, I gained insights and experiences of consciousness that brought me to a different understanding of dementia than the conventional biomedical narrative conveys, and in turn opened up a perspective on a possible evolutionary potential of ageing that revolves around the conscious self-dissolution (rather than the unconscious self-dissolution in dementia).

In recent years, my professional self-understanding has changed from a gerontologist and adult education specialist in training and clinical case supervision in geriatric psychiatric care to a transpersonal gerontologist who combines the findings of dementia research and consciousness research to a perspective on aging as a process of consciousness development, the culmination of which may - possibly - lie in the moment of physical death, in the complete and final dissolution of the self as the gravitational center of human existence.

These pages are about this process and about my work as a gerontologist, educationalist and coach - as an orientation and development companion in ageing; as a discussion partner for people who are themselves in a process of dissolution of the self, in whatever direction; as a lecturer, teacher, coach for those who work with people in ageing; as a speaker at meetings and conferences.

I see ageing as a potential for completing the human experience of existence, as a potential for realizing the higher self and thus also the conscious transcendence of the personal ego and opening up to other dimensions of consciousness.

This transformation process leads - possibly via the above questions - first of all into a conscious perception of the personal ego identity and can then enable the transition beyond the personal ego into a transpersonal consciousness, which includes the increasing trascendence of the self.

Ageing thus takes on a deeper, broader meaning than our Western culture has offered to date. For this, it can be helpful to recognize knowledge of that which transcends our personal being and the experiential realms of our human existence, also referred to as paranormal or unusual consciousness experiences, as another truth of our lives.

The conscious self-dissolution can be another decision for the last phase of life in this physical existence; and some people will also want to consciously tackle this task earlier.

In these or similar processes of ageing, I accompany people who want to live their own ageing as a journey of development, as a transformation process, as a spiritual path - in coaching, counseling, conversations and seminars.

I also support people who perceive the first signs of a development that could lead to unconscious aging or dementia, or who are at least uncertain because they experience occasional forgetfulness and orientation problems in the world around them. These people are the focus of my particular interest, and I conduct research for and with them for a new awareness of dementia and the possibilities of stopping and possibly even reversing such a development through consciousness work.

However, my work goes beyond individual support and also relates to the collective fields of our being, in particular to ageing in working life and the social responsibility of old age, the responsibility of ageing and old people for the community in which they live and can grow old.

From my integral understanding of ageing in general and ageing in the world of work in particular, I see a responsibility for companies, businesses, administration and social institutions in general to participate in the emergence of a new awareness of the importance of ageing as an evolutionarily significant stage of life.

... see ageing as a pinnacle of life?
... accept dying as a transition or even as an awakening?
... view dementia first of all as a state of consciousness, as disorientation in the world and in one's own being, and not as an illness?...
... consider the parallels between dementia and spiritual awakening as a phenomenological (and possibly neuroscientific) reality, which recognises the dissolution of the self as a central experience in both processes?

The associated broadening of perspectives has partly grown slowly within me, and partly it has arisen within me through my own, unusual in the context of our material world view, so-called spiritually transformative experiences of consciousness, which required a longer phase of integration from me. So I know from my own experience both the challenges and the opportunities of such transformation processes for understanding one's own existence, and now see them as a natural condition of aging.

Thus, in my work, I combine my professional expertise and specialist knowledge with my in-depth experience of transformative consciousness processes and spiritual crisis, and as a conversation partner, coach and supervisor, as well as a teacher, I invite you to broaden your perspective:

• to view dementia as an invitation to strengthen the ‘I’/ the self and
• aging as an invitation to transcend and dissolve the ‘I’,
• to understand consciousness not only in evolutionary but also in involutionary terms,
• and to be inspired by my thoughts regarding the nature of this existence and our own being.

This website is in a continuous process of growth and change, just as the human experience of existence is - so some pages only emerge over time, just as we can only gradually become consciously aware of some areas of our own consciousness, of the world or of the cosmos itself, and with each new insight, perspectives on different aspects of being also change, so that my texts will also change again and again. 

If you want to know who is behind this site, you can find more information about me under I am. You can find more about my basic gerontological perspectives under Transpersonal Gerontology. One of the most radical changes in my consciousness has been in relation to my previous professional focus, dementia, which may be of particular interest to those who know me from professional contexts in earlier years - I give a little insight into my thinking about dementia under Transcending Dementia. My thoughts on what we can do to allow aging to unfold its evolutionary potential can be found under Conscious Ageing.

In the future you will find under "offers" the possibilities to be supported or advised by me, to book seminars and lectures by me, or to participate in online groups in particular to the question "How to be an Elder". The offers below are only a small first impression of the topics in which I accompany, teach or advise.

 I am. 

The moment, where I come to rest in my being and marvel at this miracle of human existence.