In a society obsessed with youth, progress, and a denial of death, the need for genuine elders becomes critical. Gabriel Halpern, renowned Iyengar Yoga teacher, joins us on this episode to unpack the meaning of the term "ritual elder" and what it means to view one's life through the lens of an elder's contribution to the renewal of meaning in a culture. This episode was inspired by both cosmic events and relevant literature: Stephen Jenkinson's book "Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble" and Pluto's ingress into the sign of Aquarius. Pluto in Aquarius presents humanity with a demand to confront the shadow of our dreams of techno-progress, the fantasies of youth lasting forever and dissociation from the vulnerabilities body. It also challenges us to wrestle the modern separation from rites of passage that tend to the link between youth and elders: how in some cases, the discarding of formalities & traditions serves to encourage a more liberated coexistence, but in other ways it alienates us from the knowledge in our bones of a future worth having. The episode's introduction explores this theme as well as telling a story about the connection between youth & elders. Then, 10 minutes in, Gabriel Halpern shares his wisdom on Elderhood and intergenerational contact.