Debbie & Sam on Getting Calm and Centered in Baja (Yes, Even Sam Felt It)

Debbie Weil brings her husband, Sam Harrington, back onto the show. A retired physician, Sam is NOT a believer in midlife-crisis camps nor in navel gazing, which is what he told family and friends Debbie was dragging him across the country to do. It took a lot of arm-twisting to persuade Sam to get on a plane and fly to Mexico’s Baja Sur, even after they had both been twice vaccinated and even after the long, dispiriting winter of the pandemic. Their destination: Modern Elder Academy.

If you've been listening to the podcast, you've heard about MEA. You could call MEA a wellness retreat. It’s idyllic: simple accommodations overlook the crashing waves of a broad mile-long beach. Birdsong fills the air, water trickles from fountains, and bright pink, yellow, and orange Bougainvillea blooms everywhere. An organic garden produces wonderful meals and a dusty dirt road leads to the nearest village.

But MEA is more than a wellness retreat. It’s also a school - and a community - of like-minded people. MEA tends to attract open-minded individuals from their 30s to 70s, who are on a quest to define "what's next” in their lives and who are willing to think differently about aging.

Guests can attend structured discussions, there’s time for journal writing and reflection, and there are meditation and yoga classes.

Debbie and Sam talk about a few of the topics that were on offer during their two-week stay, including the difference between growth vs. fixed mindsets (you can guess which one is preferable) and something called appreciative inquiry which is an expansive way of both listening and asking questions.

Sam ultimately admits that he IS feeling calm and centered.

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

• Modern Elder Academy
• El Pescadero, Baja California Sur
• What Having a "Growth Mindset" Actually Means by Carol Dweck (Harvard Business Review, Jan. 13, 2016)
• More about growth vs. fixed mindsets
• What Is Appreciative Inquiry?
• Navigating Midlife Transitions, MEA’s Online Program
• S3-EP20: Jeff Hamaoui on Navigating the Messy Middle of Transitions
• S1-EP6: Chip Conley on Growing Wise at Modern Elder Academy (Modern Elders, Part 1)
• S1-EP7: Four Different Decades on Transition and Reinvention (Modern Elders, Part 2)

Previous episodes featuring host Debbie Weil and her husband Sam Harrington:

• S3-EP16: Debbie & Sam on Fasting For Five Days and Why They Were Crazy Enough to Do It
• S2-EP24: Debbie & Sam on the Gap Year For Everyone, Silver Linings, and Not Should'ing
• S2-EP18: Debbie & Sam on the New Normal, Quarantines, Immunity Passports, and Masks & Gloves
• S2-EP12: Debbie & Sam on the Coronavirus, Magical Thinking, and Aging
• S1-EP10: On Debbie & Sam's Bucket List: Living in France
• S1-EP2: Debbie & Sam on How They Decided to Take a Gap Year at Age 62

A gift for listeners: a Baja meditation soundtrack

Debbie created a 20-minute meditation soundtrack (with help from producer Julie-Roxane) from the distinctive Baja birdsong and trickling water she heard every morning before meditation practice. Download the sound...