Ageism is a prejudice hiding in plain sight,” says Sage-ing® International Seminar Leader Ina Albert.  “It’s inside you and me and affects every facet of society.  It‘s a disease that we are all exposed to—a thought virus from which none of us is immune.  But by unmasking it, we can create the vaccine together.”

Ina Albert, CSL, who has been leading seminars about growing older since 1999, will be Unmasking the Face of Ageism at her newest experiential seminar weekend at the Bozeman Dharma Center, 1019 East Main St, 2^nd Flr., from 7 pm to 9 pm Friday evening, January 26 and from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, January 27. The seminar will continue on Sunday, January 28 from 10 am to 2 pm at Beth Shalom Congregation at 2010 W. Koch St. in Bozeman and will include creating your own mask.

Based on the fear of growing old, mortality, and our obsession with looking young, Ageism tries to convince us to trade our ability to age naturally for a dream of maintaining youthful vigor, energy and physical appearance forever! Ageism is the last socially sanctioned prejudice, and society’s anti-aging marketing campaign is its public platform. Albert says it has to be confronted and disempowered.

“Society reinforces our need to maintain the charade of staying young.  But what does it do to us?’ asks Albert.  “How does trying to be something and someone we are not affect our self-esteem, relationships, health, memory, and ability to enjoy our bonus years creatively?  We are not ageless, but we are living an average of 30 years longer and stronger than previous generations. These bonus years give us the opportunity to create a meaningful legacy, pursue forgotten dreams, and establish relationships with younger relatives and friends.  There’s more time to spend with grandchildren and to enrich ourselves, our families, and our communities.”      

“Because Ageism is so much a part of our society, we don’t recognize it. It’s outside in neighborhoods, cities, small town, farms, businesses, and school in every facet of our lives. And it is inside you and me when we accept the negative judgments about older people being incompetent, grumpy, dependent and unproductive as valid.”

This seminar debunks these notions and unveils the affects of Ageism on language, communication styles, social mores, legal protections, employment practices, health care, family relationships, and more.  Its objective is to explore and discuss how we will develop as new vision of growing older that strengthens our individual and collective voices, expands our creativity, shares our dreams, our legacies, our intuitions and the powerful wisdom of our years.”

The fee for the full weekend seminar is $125 per person, or $110 if payment is received by January 15, 2018.  Checks are payable to Ina Albert, and mailed to 955 Northwoods Drive, Whitefish, MT 59937.  For questions, call 406 249-4642 or email Inaalbert@aol.com.