Welcoming Wisdom #5 - Mature Minds and the Sky Above Clouds

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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 called developmental intelligence. It’s the synergy of cognition, emotional maturity, life experience, and social wisdom that allows us to think not just faster, but deeper.

You’ll come away with a fresh sense of what’s possible in life’s later chapters—and a renewed commitment to grow, contribute, and flourish.

Coming next: A deep dive into the three postformal thinking styles that power the mature mind: relativistic, dualistic, and systemic thinking.

🎧 Listen now and rise above the clouds

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