Spirituality + Health in Midlife and Beyond

Discover how to achieve “total aliveness” in your mind, body, soul, and community

When you enter midlife, your primary operating system begins to shift from your ego and your body to your soul.

Yet despite this profound change, none of us are given an explicit operating manual that shows us how to complete the transition successfully – and continue taking good care of our physical selves as well as our mental, emotional, and spiritual selves as we embrace the second half of our lives.

This is a challenge… because with more people than ever disconnected from the faith traditions of their ancestors, this means they may not be able to experience the awe, transcendence, and deep sense of connection they need to feel healthy and whole as they grow older.

That’s why it’s so important to consciously incorporate rituals, beliefs, and healing modalities that enhance all aspects of our wellbeing into our daily lives. When we take care of our spiritual health, we are much more likely to thrive in all aspects of our being.

Through a combination of our MEA Owning Wisdom curriculum and experiential activities that speak to your mind, body, heart, and soul, you will:

By the end of your five days with Chip and Stephen and the MEA faculty, you will have a much deeper appreciation for the inextricable connection between your physical health and your spiritual health.

You will be equipped with powerful spiritual and physical wellbeing practices that help you feel more completely alive in every moment.

Chip Conley

MEA Co-Founder and Author of Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age

Bestselling Author | Entrepreneur | Innovator | Disruptor | Speaker

A three-time TED speaker on the big stage, Chip Conley is one of the world's leading experts at the intersection of business innovation, psychology and spirituality.

As one of the creators of the boutique hotel movement and the "modern elder" to the young Airbnb founders, Chip's been a disruptor and expert on entrepreneurship and business leadership. He’s a globally-recognized thought leader on the future of work and the competitive advantages of a multi-generational workplace.

Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring as a “modern elder” at Airbnb – where his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary success – Chip founded MEA and has since dedicated his midlife years to reframing the concept of aging and helping people navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility.

Stephen Kiesling

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Spirituality and Health Magazine

Bestselling Author | Entrepreneur | Innovator | Disruptor | Speaker

Stephen Kiesling is a founder and editor-in-chief of Spirituality & Health magazine. He was the youngest member of the 1980 US Olympic Rowing Team and the oldest competitor at the 2008 Olympic Rowing Trials. A Scholar of the House in philosophy at Yale, he was a founding editor of American Health magazine and a spokesman for Nike Cross Training.

Stephen Kiesling is the author of The Shell Game: Reflections on Rowing and the Pursuit of Excellence and Walking the Plank: A Year Aboard the Pirate Ship Whydah. He has written for the New Yorker and Sports Illustrated, has been featured in the New York Times and Boston Globe, and has appeared on Today and All Things Considered.

A lifelong journalist, Stephen was a Scholar of the House in philosophy at Yale University. His passion is building parks and playgrounds and is current project is a whitewater park and sculpture garden at Ti’lomikh Falls on the Rogue River in Oregon. He grew up in Los Altos, California, with a Zen priest in the basement and the Parapsychology Research Group in the living room and is currently writing No Risk of Enlightenment.

Mingtong Gu

Founder of the Chi Centre

Qigong Master of the Year | MFA | BSc Mathematics | Artist

Mingong Gu was named Qigong Master of the Year by the 13th World Congress on Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He possesses a profound ability to harness energy in order to accelerate personal and global healing, making him a sought-after healer, practitioner, and teacher.

Master Gu has practiced qigong for more than 27 years and trained in China under Dr. Pan Ming, a qigong grandmaster trained in Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, and the founder of the world’s largest qigong hospital.

During his training, Master Gu observed thousands of cases of chronic and “incurable” diseases being healed at this “medicine-less” hospital, which has now treated over 200,000 patients with over 185 different illnesses, with a 95 percent effective improvement rate. Witnessing these profound healing experiences inspired Master Gu’s dedication to the teaching and practice of qigong healing, which he now teaches to thousands of people in the United States, China, and Europe through his workshops, books, and education programs.

Through practice, Master Gu has recovered from his own chronic conditions of asthma, scoliosis, back pain, and kidney weakness. His teaching emphasizes activating the power of inner self-healing, facilitating the release of chronic illness while improving health and well-being. Master Gu lives and teaches with his wife Linling, also a gifted healer, and their two children.