Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi was one of the most influential Jewish visionaries and change-makers in the last century. Even though he was accomplished and involved in many innovative activities when he turned 60, he began to feel his body aging; he also felt some uncertainty and feared what his future in his aging years might be like. To deal with questions about the meaning and purpose of his own life, Reb Zalman went on a 40-day retreat at the Lama Foundation in New Mexico and emerged with a more promising vision for the aging years. These new insights became the foundation for his book, From Age-ing to Sage-ing, and the catalyst for the Spiritual Eldering or conscious aging movement and eventually for the formation of Sage-ing International.

Mark Ryan holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, where he was on the faculty in American Studies and History, especially focusing on the history of ideas. He was also involved in many aspects of university administration, particularly related to curriculum, teaching and learning, and student life.

In 1994, as chair of Common Quest, an interreligious organization, Ryan hosted Zalman Schachter-Shalomi for talks at Yale. Subsequently, he assumed a professorship at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico (UDLA). While there, he introduced courses in the history of transpersonal thought, which has remained his primary academic field of interest.

Dr. Ryan’s writings include A Different Dimension: Reflections on the History of Transpersonal Thought (2018), as well as articles for Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, and other scholarly journals. He is certified as a facilitator of Holotropic Breathwork and served on the Board of Trustees of Naropa University for 14 years, overlapping Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi’s tenure as the University’s World Wisdom Chair.

Currently, Dr. Ryan teaches at the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Houston and other venues; is trustee and Immediate Past Chair of the Jonathan Edwards Trust at Yale, and serves on advisory boards, including the Houston Community for Conscious Aging.

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