Flourish As You Age

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In this episode of Flourish As You Age, host Michael C. Patterson explores the often-overlooked strengths of the mature mind. Drawing from his upcoming book Welcoming Wisdom, he challenges the myth of inevitable cognitive decline, offering instead a vision of aging as a period of continued mental development, creative growth, and integrative insight.

Through reflections on Plato’s Republic, Anne Rice’s wise vampire Marius, and Dr. Gene Cohen’s beloved metaphor of “Sky Above Clouds,” this episode reveals how age can bring about a powerful form of intelligence—what Cohen c...

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In this final episode of our opening series on Flourishing, we explore the deeper dimensions of what it means to live a meaningful and well-lived life. Drawing from awe research, contemplative neuroscience, and classical philosophy, we reflect that flourishing is not a fixed state but an emergent, relational process—one shaped by attention, moral insight, and reverence for life itself.

You’ll hear excerpts from Welcoming Wisdom: How Mature Minds Can Shape a Kinder, Wiser Future, including:

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What does it mean to live a virtuous life—and how does virtue relate to human flourishing? In this episode, we explore the moral dimensions of flourishing through both Western and developmental lenses. Drawing on classical ideas from ancient philosophy, we ask whether virtue is grounded in reason, emotion, or something deeper. 

We focsu on the work of psychologist Darcia Narvaez, whose research suggests that our capacity for virtue is rooted in the benevolent care and emotional attunement we receive in early childhood. From Aristotle to affective neuroscience, this con...

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What does it really mean to flourish as we age? In this second episode of Flourish As You Age, host Michael C. Patterson draws from his forthcoming book, Welcoming Wisdom: How Mature Minds Can Shape a Kinder, Wiser Future, to explore timeless and evolving ideas about the good life—from Aristotle and the Stoics to Buddhist teachings and modern psychology. 

This  episode invites listeners to clarify what flourishing means to them—beyond comfort or achievement—and to consider how purpose, connection, and resilience shape a life worth living.

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In this inaugural episode of Flourish As You Age, host Michael Patterson introduces a new podcast series drawn from his forthcoming book, Welcoming Wisdom: How Mature Minds Can Shape a Kinder, Wiser Future. 

The episode offers an overview of the book’s foundational ideas—redefining what it means to flourish as we age, exploring the cognitive strengths of mature minds, and presenting the provocative hypothesis that we may be living on the edge of a Second Axial Age. 

Through science, story, and philosophical reflection, Patterson invites listeners into a...

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When do we start aging?

What is aging? 

What causes aging?

These were some of the questions posed to aging experts (professionals, professors, graduate students) who were attending a conference on aging called “Systems Aging.” 

The big takeaway from the survey was that there is no consensus about what aging is. The experts disagree about the definition of aging, its causes, when it starts and what it would mean to be rejuvenated. 

The experts DO agree that aging is process of decline...

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GLP-1 Drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy, originally developed to treat diabetes, have been found to lower risk-factors for a broad-range of conditions that accelerate the aging process.  But there are also risk factors that need to be taken into account. 

The benefits of GLP-1 drugs include reduced risk of seizures, heart attack, stroke, other cardiovascular concerns, suicide ideation, self-harm, bulimia and psychotic disorders. They decrease inflammation in the brain and reduce the risk of neurocognitive disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The risks include gastrointesinal problems su...

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In this episode I focus on how our socioeconomic ecosystems affect our ability to flourish - or, more to the point, how they makes it harder for us to flourish. 

Early this year, 2025, as the Trump administration took power, a group of politically diverse scholars published a Report Card on American Well-Being. On the one hand, the economy is doing great - for the wealthy. But by most other measures the nation is floundering. We are a wealthy nation, but an unhappy nation. By many of the m...

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What is aging? 

What do we mean when we say we are aging? 

In this episode, I'll discuss our paradoxical attitude towards aging. On the one hand age implies physical and mental decline and debility. On the other hand age implies wisdom and sagacity. 

I'll discuss the differences between Chronological and Biological Aging and Primary and Secondary Aging, And I'll discuss  the difference between "life expectancy" and "lifespan."

We will also review how scientists determine biological age and why we now suff...

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In the epilogue to his book, Achieving a Good Death, author Chris Palmer summarizes his thoughts on how we might reconceptualize our basic attitudes about the process of dying and death itself.

Death tends to be a taboo subject, but death is a natural and inevitable part of life. It is death that gives meaning to life and makes it precious.

Chris says that his goal is to have a long "healthspan," and then a "Niagra Falls end-of-life." He wants to stay healthy for as long as...

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Taking steps to simplify our lives as we age has benefits not only for ourselves but also for our loved ones. In my ninth conversation with Chris palmer, author of Achieving a Good Death, we talk about simplifying, decluttering and minimalizing our physical environments. 

The wealth of possessions we have accumulated over the years often do nothing but distract us and clutter up our lives. By shedding unwanted and unused possessions we can reduce our  stress and give  more of our attention to the things that really matter. 

...

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In this episode I talk with Chris Palmer, author of the new book Achieving a Good Death, about important documents you can prepare to make sure you have the kind of end-of-life experiences you want.  

Chris and I discuss two broad classes of documents, 

The first set of documents are concerned with recording and sharing important aspects of the legacy you want to leave. Chris describes how to prepare legacy letters, ethical wills, and memoirs. 

The second class of documents are designed to make sure tha...

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This episode, number 7 in MINDRAMP's End-of-Life series, is about having “The Hard Conversations,” those difficult, but important, conversations with your family and loved ones about the kind of death you want to have. As usual I am talking with my friend Chris Palmer the author of a new book called Achieving A Good Death. 

Chris and I talk about why it is important to talk about the kind of death you want with both loved one's and care professionals. They won't be able to help you if they don't know...

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This is the sixth of my interviews with Chris Palmer, author of the new book called ACHIEVING A GOOD DEATH. 

 In this episode we discuss the purpose of remembrance rituals  - memorial services, eulogies and obituaries. Chris helps us to think about kind of memorial services we would like to have and reminds us to let our loved one’s know - ahead of time - the kind of remembrance rituals we would be comfortable with - and how we can make it easier for our loved one’s to fulf...

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This is the fifth episode of my end-of-life interviews with Chris Palmer, author of the new book called ACHIEVING A GOOD DEATH. To flourish as we age we need to live the best life we can and also have the best death we can. MINDRAMP's end-of-life series is about  the second part of that equation - figuring out what a good death means to us, and then figuring out what we need to do to make it happen. 

In this episode, Chris and I talk about body di...

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Chris Palmer, author of the new book Achieving a Good Death, and I discuss the different choices we have about how to exit our lives. 

Chris offers five "exit strategies," including: 

We discuss hospice care, palliative care and death doulas. 

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This short essay., written for the Winter 2025 edition of 3rd Act Magazine, focuses on how modern media platforms provide propagandists with powerful vehicles for the disseminating of disinformation. 

I discuss Marshal McLuhan's idea that the medium is the message, worry about the proliferation of niche media platforms and discuss how advocates of authoritarian rule, from Hitler to Steve Bannon use media to mess with our minds, stimulating the extremes of credulity or cynicism. I suggest that we can counter disinformation by continuing to call out the lies and conspiracy t...

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The third episode in our end-of-life series Chris Palmer and I (Michael C. Patterson) focus our conversation on what happens when we are in the process of dying.  

Chris points out that we can die in two ways: suddenly or slowly. Some of us might, unexpectedly, get hit by a truck and die suddenly. But, the vast majority of us these days will live a long life and will die a slow death.  Chris and I explore how we decide that we have begun the process of dying and ex...

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To flourish we need not only to live well, but also to die well. And, conversely, the best way to insure a good death is to live as well as we can. This is the second episode in a series of conversations with Chris Palmer who has recently published a book called Achieving a Good Death.

Chris explains that he became interested in end of life issues because he was quite afraid of dying and felt that the best way to allay those fears was to better understand the...

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In this series of MINDRAMP Podcasts we will continue to discuss how to flourish as we near the end of our life - but with a special focus. To flourish we need to live a good life and die a good death. 

This series of podcasts will focus on achieving a good death. The series is built around a number of interviews with my friend Chris Palmer, who is an expert on end-of-life issues. Chris has published a new book called Achieving A Good Death: A Practical Guide to t...

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This is a reading of an article I wrote for the Fall 2024 edition of 3rd Act Magazine. I recall the 60's and 70's when many of us had a youthful passion to create a better world. 

Now, decades later, we may not have the energy and exuberance of our youth, but we can still be passionate about our values and our convictions. We can still work to realize our dreams for a better world. 

I also suggest that we have the additional responsibility to use our status as...

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This episode summarizes my current thinking (as of September 2024), about how we can manage our minds to flourish as we age.  I suggest that the quirky nature of our mind is more understandable when we realize that we have multiple, semi-independent minds that compete for our attention. 

I offer four examples of multiple minds . Each one causes its own form of confusion and suggests just how we need to manage our minds to overcome conflict, confusion and mental distortions. The four multiple mind frameworks are:

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The indictment of former president Donald J. Trump related to his attempts to overthrow the 2020 election is, arguably, the most significant trial in American history.  We are all witnesses to history and should understand the full extent of the charges against Trump and the nature of the evidence being offered to back up those charges. 

To that end, I hope this reading of the full indictment makes the text more accessible to more people. 

NOTE: For those of you who listened to the previous podcast that went thr...

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Trump and MAGA Republicans are following a playbook for the future (Project 2025) that was put together by The Heritage Foundation and The Danube Institute of Hungary. 

The Danube Institute is dedicated to spreading Viktor Orban's vision of authoritarian rule around the world and The Heritage Foundation is a willing partner in this project.  

A vote for Republican's this November is a vote for an authoritarian vision of America that runs counter to the spirit of the American Revolution, The American Constitution and American democracy. 

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In addition to taking personal responsibility for your brain health and mental well-being, you must recognize that the environment you live in and the social support systems that are available to you also have a profound effect on your brain and mind. 

In this episode I am revisiting an 2022 interview I conducted with Daniel R. George, author with Peter Whitehouse of AMERICAN DEMENTIA: BRAIN HEALTH IN AN UNHEALTHY SOCIETY. 

I feature Danny's comments on: 

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On July 6, congressman Jamie Raskin send President Biden a letter encouraging him to caucus with Democratic leaders to hear their concerns about his continuing in the campaign. On July 21, Biden decided to withdraw from the campaign and to endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris to take his place on the ticker. 

Much of Raskin's letter consisted of deep raise for President Biden and his legacy. He praised Biden as "a truly great and magnificent leader."  I want to share a partial reading of Raskin's letter to highlight what a brave, selfless an...

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This episode explores how and why psychedelics, like psilocybin, are capable of making our minds more plastic and malleable. Research on Psilocybin has found that the drug de-synchronizes the Default Mode Network (DMN). 

The DMN is a brain network that becomes active when we are day-dreaming, when our mind wanders. I think of the DMN as the producer of our conceptual mind. It creates our concept of a Self, our ego. It concerns itself with how we relate to and are perceived by others.  It is the part of th...

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Neuroscientist Robin Carhart-Harris has developed the "Entropic Mind Hypothesis" that suggests our minds operate along a continuum of conscious states ranging from organized and even rigid on one end to the opposite extreme of disorganized, even chaotic at the other. 

Carhart-Harris suggests that our minds work best when they are in the middle of the continuum at a so-called point of "criticality." Our minds flourish, in other words, when we find the middle ground; where our minds are balance yet flexible. 

A strategy for flourishing, therefore, is to...

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Buddhist philosophers say that our "Self" is an illusion and that we can be much happier once we recognize this hallucination and learn to live without a Self. What does this mean?

I think the Buddhists mean we need to escape from the dictates of our EGO. But, what would life without an ego be like? Can we exist in the real world without an ego?

The story of Jill Bolte Taylor, as told in her book My Stroke of Insight offers insight into what life might...

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On July 11, The New York Times' editorial board called on voters to reject Donald Trump's reelection bid, stating that the former president is "unfit to lead" a second term. It is an important statement that should be read, or listened to, by anyone interested in the well-being of our country. 

The NYT Editorial Board builds its argument around five key qualities that they say are essential in a President who is fit to lead our country; the find Trump failing in each area:

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One of the huge issues facing the nation is whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for alleged crimes committed during and after his term as President of the United States?  Is Donald Trump - or anyone else - above the law? 

On the face of it the answer seems obvious. In the United States no one is above the law, not even Presidents. But, Trump is disputing this idea. In our system of government, the courts have the final say in this kind of dispute. It is important, th...

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the nation’s second highest court, has ruled unanimously that Trump is NOT immune from prosecution, nor is he above the law. They explained every aspect of their decision in a 67-page document. 

To make it easier for everyone to have access to this important ruling, and to understand how the U.S. Court of Appeals came to their decision, I've recorded three of the four main sections of the  US Court of Appeals Ruling. 

The IS TR...

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the nation’s second highest court, has ruled unanimously that Trump is NOT immune from prosecution, nor is he above the law. They explained every aspect of their decision in a 67-page document. 

To make it easier for everyone to have access to this important decision, and to understand how the U.S. Court of Appeals came to their decision, I've recorded three of the four main sections of the  US Court of Appeals Ruling. 

The IS TR...

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As I continue to investigate how to flourish as I age, I find that the "Hemisphere Hypothesis," does a good job of defining mental changes I need and want to make. In broad terms, it will be easier to flourish  when I learn to quiet my thinking mind and instead operate more consistently out of my experiential mind. And, I find the practice of meditation to be particularly helpful in training my mind to achieve this beneficial rebalancing act  

Daily meditation practice gives me the opportunity to train my mi...

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 We are emotional illiterates. We have limited vocabularies to describe the subtleties and nuances of our moods, feelings and emotions. As a consequence, we find it hard to explain our feelings or to understand the feelings of others.  

We can start building our emotional literacy by defining  the differences between affect, feelings and emotions. We can then work to develop "emotional granularity," the exercise of defining our emotions with increasingly specific words and labels.

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In this episode I focus on two aspects of creativity, making the points that creativity is a dynamic dance between novelty and routing and that creativity is a multi-phased process that requires the use of multiple mindsets and divergent cognitive functions. 

I discuss the hemisphere hypothesis and suggest that we can keep our aging minds nimble and  adaptive if we find a collaborative balance between our experiential mind and our conceptual mind. We fall prey to limiting ageist stereotypes, however, when we allow the conceptual mind to dominate and ge...

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To improve our happiness we need to quiet the incessant internal chatter of self-criticism, self-sabotage, self-blame,  self-pity, self-aggrandizement,  and the other  forms of neurotic self-absorption that plague us.  To flourish we need to quiet our "monkey mind."

There is good evidence that these neurotic manifestations of "Self" arise from a specific region of the brain called The Default Mode Network (DMN). In this episode I discuss how we might quiet our monkey minds by  inhibiting or deactivating the DMN.  I also suggest that there are times when the DMN can be...

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This episode is the first of a two-part focus on a specific brain network known as the Default Mode Network (DMN). 

In part one I discuss how the DMN undermines our happiness and our sense of well-being. I make the case that to improve our happiness, we need to recognize when the DMN has taken over our mind and then learn to replace it with a more mindful state-of-mind.

In part two I discuss specific techniques for managing your DMN, activating it when it can be helpful a...

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Buddhist scholars suggest that the "Self" is an illusion and that awakening to the revelation of "No Self," leads to greater happiness and peace-of-mind. Just what are they talking about? 

The idea of No-Self makes more sense to me if I put the idea in the context of the hemisphere hypothesis, the recognition that the two hemispheres of the human brain provide us with two, radically different ways of relating to life.  The right hemisphere  gives us direct experience in the moment. The left hemisphere creates virtual simulations of lif...

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I’m interested in mystical and psychedelic experiences because they seem to evoke radically altered states of mind that are akin to spiritual awakening. They enable people to feel more at peace with the flow of existence and are often a portal to feelings of bliss. What's not to like about all that?  So, mysticism and psychedelics could be seen as forms of mental management that can help us to flourish as we age.  

In this episode I summarize previous episodes, discuss a couple of my own experiments with psyc...