On May 16th at 7:30pm, teacher, writer, and editor Michael Ronall will speak about living into the spring festivals: "A New Thinking About Ascension, Whitsun… and Everything Else." Held at the Princeton (NJ) Waldorf School, the event is sponsored by the Princeton Group of the Anthroposophical Society. More details...
In connection with this Easter day and season, we have three sharings. From long-time Waldorf teacher Paul Gierlach we have "Easter Thoughts," a new posting in our Articles section. He begins, "I am always amazed that an individual life can be led based on the needs of others, both in small and large ways." Do read more...
We're also happy to share a guide to Rudolf Steiner's Soul Calendar--the timing of the verses for those following them weekly through the year. The Calendar was given in 1912 and requires some adaptation each year to the changing calendar. This guide is from Herbert O. Hagens of Princeton, NJ, and is also printed in the Spring being human which will be in the mail to members next week. The summer issue will have additional features on this remarkable "calendar of the soul."
Finally, we have posted the "Theme of the Year" from the Goetheanum, written this year by Paul Mackay: "The Identity of the Anthroposophical Society." This Theme is offered to be worked with internationally, beginning at Easter time.
If you are not familiar with Rudolf Steiner's "Soul Calendar," here with its cosmic picture of human experience at this springtime of year is the opening verse, for Easter:
When out of world-wide spaces
The sun speaks to the human mind,
And gladness from the depths of soul
Becomes, in seeing, one with light,
Then rising from the sheath of self,
Thoughts soar to distances of space
And dimly bind
The human being to the spirit’s life.
Our friends at SteinerBooks have posted a free up-to-date 28-page list of the collected works of Rudolf Steiner. "All of the works of Rudolf Steiner that have been published in German are listed by volume number, with both the original German titles and the English titles in italics of the books available in English. Books not available in English have approximate literal translations of the German titles in Roman type." SteinerBooks' Collected Works project is a very important effort to bring out volumes corresponding to the German GA listing with up-to-date notes and introductions and supporting material.
Highlighs of this March 24 conference on "being human 2012" are online. The general conference site is www.beinghuman2012.org. Sponsors included CIIS, the California Institute for Integral Studies; Mind & Life Institute; KQED; and science 2.0.
India's The Hindu reports on how Holland-based educator Miriam Haenan blends Western education and Indian philosophy to make learning a holistic experience. “'In this method of teaching you try to bring heaven and earth together in whatever you do.' While Miriam's own three children were growing up, she trained in Waldorf education. 'My children are my biggest gurus in the path of child development,' she smiles." Read more...
Wisconsin resident Lori Barian, editor of the Central Region's The Correspondence, has been keeping us informed about the Food Freedom movement in which the first biodynamic farm in the US, the Zinniker's farm, played a key role beginning in 2010. Another Wisconsin farmer, Vernon Hershberger, is putting himself on the line and in court now. A new video gives a sense of this struggle where health, nutrition, rights, community, and economics intersect.
This fine ten-minute video commissioned over a year ago by the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (similar in the UK and Ireland to AWSNA in North America) has now been published on YouTube. (How is it that British accents for the most part still seem authoritative to American ears?)
Update: The UK's The Telegraph has now printed a substantial obituary of Maria Thun.
Biodynamics pioneer Maria Thun died on February 9th shortly before her ninetieth birthday. Her research since the 1950s and her calendars and books have been a tremendous resource to the movement. We first heard of her passing by way of a blog in the Guardian - "our lunar-growing guru" - just another life she had touched! Floris Books has a proper short biography, and SteinerBooks has her titles available in the US. Sherry Wildfeuer's introduction to the 2012 Stella Natura calendar is here, and you can support the BD Association by buying her book Gardening for Life here.
Jonathan Stedall has completed his documentary on Rudolf Steiner, and the trailer alone is a wonderful six minute summary of Steiner's work. Watch it below, or go to the film site for a larger view and more details.
As the noted historian Carroll Quigley observed, people trying to help our social system evolve are too often ignorant of economics. We're grateful to Paul O'Leary for sharing a paper, "The Federal Reserve System, Fiat Money, and Fractional Reserve Banking," which is not too long or too short, and includes at the end a glossary of some key terms. Paul begins with a quote from Thomas Jefferson:
“I sincerely believe . . . that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
Thomas Jefferson1 Third President of the United States (1801 - 1809)
In May Rudolf Steiner College will present a conference, "Psychosophy and a New Mythological Consciousness," with presenters Robert Sardello, William Bento, Dennis Klocek, Orland Bishop, Cheryl Sanders-Sardello, David Tresemer, Brian Gray, and Gillian Schoemaker. "The fear of not knowing our future creates a haze that prevents an apprehension of 'what-is-coming-to-be.' New dimensions of consciousness—intelligence of the heart, a new form of empathy, and the capacity to be within creative imagination—are already present for everyone. These new aspects of our being are forming a mythological consciousness." William Bento has shared some musings on the theme.
The Goetheanum in relation to the Evolution of Religion in World History
Wed, May 16 2012 7:00 PM to 9:00 PMLocation: New York, NY
Ninth in a series by David Anderson, at Anthroposophy NYC [more]
Living Into the Spring Festivals
Wed, May 16 2012 7:30 PM to 9:30 PMLocation: Princeton, NJ
A New Thinking About Ascension, Whitsun… and Everything Else: A Presentation by Michael Ronall [more]
Architecture and Form
Wed, May 16 2012 7:30 PM to 9:00 PMLocation: Fair Oaks (Sacramento), CA
The discovery of the archetypal form behind the building blocks of the universe. Frank Chester at the Sacramento... [more]
Honoring 100 Years of Eurythmy
Mon, May 21 2012 7:00 PM to 9:00 PMLocation: New York, NY
An evening workshop with Linda Larson at Anthroposophy NYC [more]
Sacred Symbolic & Creative Geometry: "12," Culture, & Community
Wed, May 23 2012 7:00 PM to 9:00 PMLocation: New York, NY
An evening workshop with John Lloyd and Karl Lorenzen at Anthroposophy NYC [more]
Jonathan Stedall's Film!
The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner - Trailer from Jonathan Stedall.
"For those fortunate enough to encounter them, the unique insights and research of Rudolf Steiner into subjects such as education, medicine and agriculture have long been a source of wonder and inspiration. Since his death in 1925, Steiner’s vision has grown in both relevance and urgency, yet there are many people still unaware of his life and work. The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner, from the British film-maker Jonathan Stedall, aims to take the story to a wider audience."
Goetheanum from the Air
Das Goetheanum from Roger Maeder on Vimeo.
The Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, ten kilometers southeast of Basel, is the home of the General Anthroposophical Society and School for Spiritual Science. Designed by Rudolf Steiner, it opened in 1928. This new four-and-a-half minute video views it from the air. Start the video, then click on the four-arrow icon to view full-screen.
Arthur Zajonc, professor of Physics at Amherst College and a former general secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America, has been appointed president of the Mind and Life Institute, a Boulder, CO-based nonprofit organization dedicated to building a scientific understanding of the mind through the investigation of contemplative practices in order to reduce suffering and promote well being.
Prof. Zajonc has been visiting professor and research scientist at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, and a Fulbright professor at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. His research has included studies in electron-atom physics, parity violation in atoms, quantum optics, the experimental foundations of quantum physics, and the relationship between science, the humanities, and the contemplative traditions. He is author or editor of eight books including: Catching the Light, The Quantum Challenge, Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love, and with Parker Palmer, The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal.
Prof. Zajonc commented, "For over 20 years the work of the Mind & Life Institute has enriched our understanding of the mind by bringing together the remarkable achievements of modern research in neuroscience with the equally profound traditions of contemplative inquiry. Together they have the possibility not only of illuminating the nature of mind, but also of addressing many of the sources of suffering that are rooted there. "
Full story...
The Biodynamic Association's "Biodynamics Blog" has become an important intersection for all kinds of food movement, conservation, and of course biodynamic agriculture news. The latest post cover the state of the struggle to have GMO (genetically modified organism) foodstuffs labeled as GMO, with links to an article by Robert Karp and a video pitch for labeling. Other recent entries address saving farmland and wild space, the challenge of counting US CSA organizations (community supported agriculture), and the raw milk war. Sign up for notice of new posts.
RSF Social Finance has launched an Impact Map to share the work of the social enterprises they support."Since 1984, RSF has made over $230 million in loans and $100 million in grants, placing us in the top tier of social finance organizations worldwide. But when we evaluate success, we think beyond dollars. Explore this map to see a snapshot of the types of organizations we support and the people and places affected by our investments."
Just choose an impact area, scroll the thumbnails below it, and view photos, videos, news and blogs. Only a handful of enterprises are shown in each area so far, but the depth on each is impressive and more will be added. Click here to view the RSF Impact Map...
Mary Lee Plumb-Mentjes of Anchorage, Alaska, reports on a 2011 visit to Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg, and Kirov, Russia, meeting with Waldorf teachers."I was impressed most by our times around the Waldorf kindergarten tables with the teachers, helpers and parents all tightly squeezed around, sharing tea and cookies, intent on discussion of challenges, singing and laughing. I’ve been in Waldorf circles for many years and only in the early pioneer days of initiatives do I remember the same ability of a group to have a single focus shared together. Those we visited in Russia were not in what we would consider their 'pioneer days'; they had been at it generally since 1989 and the days of glasnost and perestroika. Part of their warm, social strength comes from the challenges they face. " Read more...
The Anthroposophical Society was founded by Rudolf Steiner in Switzerland in 1923. It seeks to support individuals who are working on their own inner development and who wish to bring the fruit of that inner work to benefit the wider world. More...
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