She turns circles of elders, circles of peace

About 18 months ago, after reading Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's "From Age-Ing to Sage-Ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older," Jones started facilitating elder circles.

"I thought, 'Hey, I want to be an elder, a sage,' " said Jones, 81. She said the monthly circles offer people a safe venue to discuss their life changes and to learn about aging consciously.

Topics during 2008 will include inner wisdom, making a difference, approaches to the end of life, journeys and mentors, and facing vulnerability.

The group has a 60-member mailing list. The participants meet for monthly sessions that include movement, reading and a related topic to discuss in small circles. There's no age limit for the group. "When you're ready for this kind of circle, you'll know," Jones said.

Karen Riker Harned, 65, finds the elder circles inspiring. In small groups, she said, she has worked with others on reviewing her life, making repairs and enjoying her life as it unfolds.

"It's creative, it's the sharing of creative ideas and inspiring each other's lives to greatness and honoring one another," she said. "I'm really so grateful that it's there. It's such a support."

Cathrine Estar, 62, attends the elder circles regularly although a new grandchild has prevented her from attending some recent sessions.

"It's a chance to explore some of the subjects of life," Estar said. "A big part of it is hearing other's people's life experiences."

Estar said she also has learned to have greater sensitivity with her mother, who is 90. "It offers a different way to see our parents and their life experience," she said.

Jones' second idea for circle work was also inspired by a book. This time it was Elise Boulding's, "Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History."

So many history books focus on war, Jones said, but Boulding researched the periods of time between wars when people were working for the "cause of peace."

Jones hopes that peace circles will help people work to "build a culture of peace in their own hearts, in their homes, in their community and on the planet."

Through talking in small groups, or circles, people can learn more about what their contribution could be and how to make changes, she said.

A few peace circles have been held already, but Jones said the official kickoff will be in January.

"I just don't know anyone who doesn't want to live in a culture of peace," she said. "We can change it one chunk at a time, and I'm changing my chunk."

Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa, 57, knows Jones through Tucson's Culture of Peace Alliance and participated in the initial peace circles.

"I just think it's so important to give people an opportunity to think about peace and to develop practical ways to experience at least inner peace in ways that are meaningful to their own lives," Khalsa said.

She said people usually think of a peace movement as a way of protesting war, but she said "that's just a small portion of it."

Jones has worked for social justice and peace all her life and was recently included in a book called "Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975."

One of the first things that motivated her was the pain of being discriminated against because her father was Jewish. "In those days, anyone who was anything different than white was (singled out)," she said of her childhood years. "It became clear to me that's what it was about."

Jones lived in Philadelphia and Cleveland, where she co-founded the city's rape crisis center, before moving to Tucson in 1980. She started the Wellness Council of Tucson — now the Wellness Council of Arizona — while working at Canyon Ranch. After that, she started a health-care consulting service and ran it for 13 years.

Jones has three sons, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren with a fourth due soon. She looks to her relationships with her grandchildren as opportunities to mentor and be an elder. "I want to make sure they know the way I've spent my life, that I'm trying to make it better for them," she said.

foothills

If you go

Elder circles are held on the second Friday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, 4625 E. River Road.

For more information on the elder circles, and to learn more about the peace circles beginning in January, call Del Jones at 298-6542 or e-mail her at deljonesaz@cox.net.

Information on both groups is featured at www.cultureofpeacealliance.org.