~ William Blake

One of the silver linings of this global pandemic and the resulting changes in social life has been the opportunity to slow down and pay attention to things we may have previously walked right past on our way to one of our many social or business engagements. Even the smallest thing can be a gateway to an experience of the extraordinary, if only we bring our attention to it. We really can see a whole World in a grain of sand. We can witness a hundred, thousand natural miracles every day, from the sun climbing in the sky to the mysterious tracks in the snow outside our window. Those miracles are there waiting for us to attend to them and, more importantly, to find our delight in theirs.

I have recently finished listening to a series of interviews between Orland Bishop, a profound mystic trained in South African, West African, and European Hermetic wisdom traditions, with American teacher, speaker and writer, Charles Eisenstein. Orland explained that African gnostic tradition doesn't hold science to fixed laws the way in which the more modern "hardened" view of science does. Among many astounding things he discussed during the interviews, he articulated that our attention is what makes something sacred. Our attention changes the thing upon which we are putting our attention.

Of course, we know this to be true with human beings. And we have observed it with our pets. But are we open to considering the possibility that simply by giving our attention to the tree or the water or the soil, we can actually help those beings become what they are meant to become? Just as do people and animals, the rest of the natural world longs for our attention.

I had the pleasure of attending the Biodynamic Agriculture conference in November. I was unsure if I would enjoy a virtual conference, as so much of the richness of assembling with a large group of gardeners, farmers and educators is, well, assembling! The Biodynamic Agriculture Association (BDA) did such a...READ MORE

I am the owner/teacher of a preschool program called Little House Preschool, where I use Waldorf methods. I’ve been teaching for a long time, here in Central Minnesota. Naturally, I too was affected with the pandemic and had to close my preschool doors for two months. I worried about the children and their families and read the Lifeways Blog to get ideas, support and an outlook into the lives of others. One day in the spring of 2020, since I wasn’t teaching, I decided to go through my teaching materials, toys and other items and clear things away that I no longer needed. There in a box, I found a handknitted mouse, whom I called Miss Mouse. Miss Mouse and I began to dialogue. She was wondering what had happened to the children, why there weren’t pieces of rice left on the floor for her to nibble on in the evenings, where had the singing and running of little feet gone too? This led me to write a one page story of Miss Mouse at Little House and her curiosity at this time of our lives, which I sent to all my current Little House families, in order to stay connected, and also to send out a feeling of hope and care. Little House was still there and I began to write stories about Miss Mouse and how she dealt with the loss of the children, or the quietness, a sad day, a rainy day, a day of spring or why she wanted to plant a garden. Those were the initial tales. We both had many stories to tell, and my basic impulse was to affirm to the children that the world is good, that a connection with nature is supportive to our well-being, and that the world at Little House and its rhythms and activities are taken up by Miss Mouse until the children return.

One sweet story begins with Miss Veronica searching for her little friend..."I looked in the play kitchen, and there was Miss Mouse, sorting the pots and pans." ...READ THE STORY HERE

Join me at the hearth on Star Dance Farm, in this year of tremendous challenges in the world and within ourselves, share in the warmth of the fire and the dancing light. As I strive to digest all that’s coming toward me, all that’s coming toward us in the Waldorf community, in my local community of Munith, Michigan, in our nation, and in our world, I find myself seeking solace and balance in many ways.

Here are a few practices that I have found enliven hope. My wish is that you will find at least one gem here that sooths your heart and soul.

So, sit with me if you will, and ponder…READ MORE

Butterflies have always held their magic for me.  In the spring I planted many butterfly and hummingbird flowers and dreamed of raising butterflies, but never really had time to organize it. My Butterfly story began unintentionally when one of the neighbors put an old fish tank out on the curb for the taking. I was excited to get the tank because I had been looking for one.  The neighbors were moving and said I could transplant any plants I wanted to my yard! I made a new garden in the front yard with many of the plants from my neighbor, but after a few days, some of the plants were not happy, (mid-summer transplanting is not recommended) so I went to clip some of the leaves and stems that were turning brown, and low and behold, there was a Monarch caterpillar on the butterfly weed (Asclepia incarnata) plant…just a tiny one! I clipped the stem and leaves it was on and brought out the fish tank and hung an old gauze curtain over the top. My journey with Butterflies had begun. I got in touch with a friend who lives in Brooklyn (yes, city) because I had been admiring her online posts about her Monarch Mama experiences and she gave me some good tips on what to do next. With my new information, I went...READ MORE

In the Christian tradition the candles which will be used in the church throughout the year are blessed on February 2. This day is also known as the Feast of the Presentation, a day which celebrates the Christ child, who came into the world to bring light and dispel darkness. One of our beloved family traditions is to make beeswax candles on Candlemas. The small, smooth (and a bit misshapen!) bearers of light are then included throughout the year on our birthday cakes. We discovered this beautiful expression of the Living Arts when my first child was a student at the nearby Waldorf School. As the years went on, each of her siblings delighted as one-by-one they grew ready to enter into this Creative process and transform the wax from the bees into delicate candles to be enjoyed throughout the year.

The Little House on the Prairie website offers a lovely tutorial for dipping your own candles at home.

From Cynthia: When we opened our first LifeWays Early Childhood Center in Wisconsin we had a lovely relationship to a local Waldorf homeschool group. They would visit us whenever they had a new play to present or perhaps to sing to us or play some games. They also joined us for our first Candlemas where we all dipped candles with each other. It was so endearing to see our little ones mixed in with the bigger homeschoolers as they circled the table dipping their candles as we sang together. Community is such a beautiful thing!