From Older to Elder: Exploring the Purpose of Later Life
Online
Aug 19, 2-4 pm PDT | 5-7 pm EDT | Aug 20th, 7-9 am AEST
Register Here
What does it mean to become an elder? In a culture that often equates aging with decline, many people enter their later years without a clear understanding of the unique role, responsibility, and gifts of elderhood. Some may wonder whether they have enough wisdom to offer or how they can meaningfully contribute as their abilities and circumstances change.
In this special online teaching, Sacred Fire co-founder Don David Wiley will explore the journey from simply growing older to becoming an elder. Drawing from decades of experience walking the elder path and carrying teachings from ancient wisdom traditions, David will offer his perspective on questions like: What do we misunderstand about aging and elderhood? What is the true purpose of this stage of life? How can older people recognize and cultivate the wisdom they have to offer?
He will also address the essential relationship between elders and younger generations: How can communities create the conditions that allow elders’ greatest gifts to emerge, while also releasing them from expectations to carry burdens that no longer belong to them?
Whether you are entering your elder years, supporting an aging loved one, or seeking to understand the vital role of elders in a healthy community, this conversation offers a rare opportunity to receive guidance on one of life’s most profound transitions.
Registration
Registration is open.
A recording will be shared with all registered participants, but please join us live if you can.
Register HereSchedule
Wednesday August 19th, 2026
2-4 pm PDT | 5-7 pm EDT
Thursday August 20th, 2026
7-9 am AEST Melbourne
Please join at least five minutes before the start time so we can all begin together.
Price
Cost: This gathering is offered on a sliding scale. Please choose the amount that reflects your current means.
$10 USD
$25 USD
$50 USD
For more information
For more information, contact Anne Lafleur at anne.lafleur@sacredfire.org
Featuring
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Don David Wiley: In 1996, Don David Wiley’s life was profoundly altered when the Spirit of Fire, often called Grandfather Fire, appeared before him as an apparition in the garden of a meditation retreat center near Cuernavaca, Mexico. Grandfather sent David to study with two indigenous elders, Don Lupe Ríos Gonzales of the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition of Mexico’s Sierra Madres and Don Lucio Campos Elizalde of the Nahua tradition of the central highlands in formal medicine and ceremonial apprenticeships in these two ancestrally related shamanic paths. As a result, David received an initiation as a mara’akame – or a shamanic healer, counselor, and ceremonial leader in the Huichol tradition. He was also initiated as a quiapaquiz (caller of the sky-waters, in Nahuatl) or granicero – or weather worker in Spanish, ceremonial leader, and healer from the Nahua path.
Concurrent with Don David’s immersion in this traditional medicine path work, Grandfather Fire asked David to serve as a traditional spiritual medium, or Axihuatakame, so Grandfather could provide his teachings while speaking through Don David’s body during special gatherings. Over the years, Grandfather Fire inspired Don David and the community growing around Grandfather’s wisdom to spread traditional lifeways worldwide through two nonprofits: Sacred Fire, which trains Sacred Firekeepers and hosts events, and the Blue Deer Center, a retreat and healing center for nature’s medicine.
Through all of this, and his experience with elders of these traditions, Don David has developed a comprehensive spiritual perspective on the unfolding of life, from birth to death, that he is eager to share.