From the World Society
On Uncommon Ground
Dear Members and Friends of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada,
Every morning each of us enacts a remarkable ritual. We turn back our bedding, place our feet on the floor beside our bed, and stand to face the day. What we do not recognize is that this simple, yet significant process, is based on unrecognized expectations. We expect that the ground beneath our feet will support us. We expect that the relationships we had when we went to sleep will be there to meet us; our tasks in the world will remain unchanged. We trust the garment that gives our lives meaning will be there waiting for us, that we can put it on and, with it, have our orientation to a new day.
Every day, whether we are conscious of it or not, each of us seeks for the firm ground of what has been. We look back over this year 2020 and, from the vantage point of a little distance, find ourselves uncomfortable, startled. A sense of vertigo comes and, with it, a deep unease. All that has supported us is no longer as it has been. We can observe how, in stages, our ground has shifted, continues to move. In the early months of the year we felt secure. We looked ‘there’ where, from a seemingly safe vantage point, we saw disorder entering human society. The distance soon disappeared and we found these islands of disintegrating social fabric appearing throughout our world – no longer there, but here. But this was in the spring and, despite all of the difficulties facing humanity, the awakening earth gave us assurance that the unease would pass with the season. Summer arrived and with relief we began to have a sense that the edges of ‘normalcy’ were beginning to emerge, providing a sense of the familiar. Yet - a mirage.
As autumn arrived, across the country we began to look for ways of re-establishing our connections with each other. Here and there members groups began to meet again, relieved that we could finally sit together – setting aside the virtual connections that had for a time supported us. On the one hand, we could appreciate that there had been possibilities to carry on our work at ‘safe distances’. We felt we had found new ways of meeting and were ready to now set aside the experiment and return to the familiar. We appreciated the success of our AGM that had made it possible for some to participate in ways that had not been possible before. And yet the sense of something incomplete remains. An ache, a deep sense of separation, the ever-present veil of technology between us.
As winter approaches, the temporary relief that summer had provided is evaporating. On every side, the delicate first steps taken toward meeting together again are increasingly being impinged upon. Once again, we feel ourselves on uncommon ground. Though we find ourselves seeking a return to what is familiar, what has nurtured us, we are faced with the uneasy sense that this ‘return’ may well be a distraction. Are we before a doorway? Is there something new being asked of us that we have not yet perceived? Is the readjustment of our foundations a deep shifting of tectonic plates beneath us, the structures of our shared life seeking to transform themselves?
As we look back 100 years, we can recognize ourselves in what had occurred then. The structures of human societies were disintegrating. Interrelationships, both individual and societal, that had seemed established and firm, crumbled away. New images of ourselves as human beings, as cultures, were being called for.
With reflection, we can recognize within ourselves a deep longing for a ‘new way’, a new way of discerning the hidden patterns of an emerging new reality. It is as if each morning, when we stand to face our days, the expectations of meeting what has been, masks our capacity to discern these arising patterns.
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As if in preparation for these ‘points of turning’ that were to come with our current age, Rudolf Steiner provides us with many ways of meeting what would bring about transformation. One of the striking images he gives us – a glyph for our time - is the image of a temple, raised up on high ground. A cross and roses hover before it.
As Rudolf Steiner revealed that the essence of the rose is the closest we can come to the nature, the being, of what the human being would become – will become, this image seems to indicate that this temple and its ‘rose sign’ is one guide for us in our current point of transition. The image (see above) was, and still is, huge. It spans the whole of the Goetheanum stage, the image that for 100 years meets those able to attend the Mystery Dramas as they enter the Great Hall.
Is the solid ground upon which the temple stands, that which serves humanity’s becoming? Is what this image rises to reveal with each of the dramas, what gives us a new orientation, new meaning, each new day? Is the consciousness of the community we have chosen before birth, the substance of our former lives, to be the foundation - built life after life - the solid ground given to us now to stand upon? A new centre of gravity.
Can we begin to perceive the incomprehensible significance of the person beside us, the person before us? Can we begin to apprehend that in this mutual recognition we begin to weave the living fabric of life as it can become? In this, can we begin to experience the extraordinary strenght of the new ground we long to become conscious of? Are these the foundations of a new way of standing to meet each new day?
Bert Chase
General Secretary
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Dear members, dear friends,
We are presently faced with big medical and social challenges, with often existential needs and dangers. They call for a deeper understanding and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The Goetheanum Leadership has therefore initiated a series of lectures that address questions of our time, in particular the situation arising as a result of the Corona epidemic. The lectures are held weekly in the Schreinerei at the Goetheanum and published subsequently on video, both in German and with English interpretation. With this series we hope to make spiritual-scientific aspects regarding the ‘signature of our time’ visible to a wider audience.
Dealing with virtual events
Due to isolation and social distancing, the Covid-19 pandemic leads to ever more virtual events, conferences and seminars and the lecture series made available by the Goetheanum Leadership is no exception. Questions arise as a result of this that will occupy us intensively now and in the future:
what do virtual ‘encounters’ make possible, what do they prevent? Virtuality cannot replace reality. And yet, many people are extremely grateful now for the numerous virtual or live-streamed events they can attend. We experienced this, too, recently with our major conference celebrating the centenary of Anthroposophic Medicine which was attended by around 800 people and was streamed globally.
During virtual events our perception of others is often reduced to a thumbnail image accompanied by ‘sound’. Our eyes cannot meet, nor are ‘real’ human interactions possible. The difference to real encounters is evident. And yet, elements of human encounters are possible and are gratefully received.
Connecting in spirit
What kind of activities and exercises do we need in order to enter – despite the limited quality of the virtual encounter – into a space of soul and spirit that can connect us around the world? Rudolf Steiner describes how even a book can become a conversation with its author. The challenges we are facing today call on us to be wakeful, to strengthen our judgment and act creatively.
Warm greetings,
Matthias Girke, Goetheanum
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The Goetheanum Leadership would like to encourage the development of a better understanding of and an informed approach to the current challenges by presenting a series of ten lectures under the heading The Signature of Our Time. The lectures will be available on video, in German and with English interpretation, and can be accessed from this week onwards by visiting the website. They are presented live at the Goetheanum every Monday up until Christmas and each lecture will be available one week later on video. As a first contribution Georg Soldner, deputy head of the Medical Section, spoke from the medical perspective on the subject of Covid-19 – What Medicine Can Learn from the Pandemic. Please let people around you know about these lectures.
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Interview with Micah Edelstein,
President, Anthroposophical Society in Canada
Conducted by Geraldine Snowden and Robert McKay April 25, 2020
Part 2 (Part 1 appeared in the October eNews).
Rob:
Have you had a chance to go over to the Goetheanum?
Micah:
Yes, I've been going to some of the youth conferences. And I was able to attend the AGM in, 2018, the one where the first vote happened regarding Paul MacKay and Bodo von Plato about the continuation of the next seven-year term. There was the whole build up to that. All this fighting about issues connected with their years there. They had been there for over 20 years as first members. And then this experience of having all these local anthroposophists just flood the auditorium for the vote itself. People who hadn’t participated in any of the other AGM events, but just came for the vote.
Rob:
That was interesting. What did you think of all that?
Micah:
I'm a big believer that people do always elect the right people. When it comes to elections, every decision is the right decision for that time. But, of course, we have to live with who we elect. Everything goes back to the individual. If the person we elect is a great person, is a great soul, we know we're going to be better off. If they win the election though because of their strength, through their connections, and they‘re not such a great person, I think they still deserved it, but we're just going to be a bit disadvantaged. So I agree with the decision. I think the members made the right choice. And every day we move away from that, it seems to be confirming that fact. New possibilities have been created because they are no longer forced on members, because those individuals had become very influential. For example, even physical seating in the auditorium reflected their influence. The people who really supported them were in the first 10 rows of the auditorium. As you moved up towards the back, nobody even knew who they were. And it was good because we could really look at it objectively and say, OK, these are the arguments, you know, how do I feel about this? And then, of course, there were the gasps when the results were read. There were actually gasps from the front rows. They just couldn't believe that Paul Mackay and Bodo von Plato were not reconfirmed. And that showed me that it was an unhealthy situation because as much as we have a connection with people, we also have a responsibility to also see how the other members feel about the people we might like. I think it was a good decision.
Rob:
What’s come out of it has been very interesting in terms of the way the existing Vorstand has tried to operate. What are your thoughts and perceptions about that?
Micah:
They thought they recognized that this is very much a time of transition and there is this cry for a new way of leading, as well as new demands from the world and society that they have to meet. They are going slowly. They're not electing a new Vorstand member until they solve these other challenges. They're putting most of their time into including more of the general secretaries from around the world. They want the general secretaries to take on more of the responsibilities. I don't know practically how it's going to work. It sounds good in theory. General secretaries feel very important, and they are important. But that also invites adversaries. It's always a question of whether the individuals who are the general secretaries are able to work out of service, and not out of any other reason. It's really a role for a diplomatic soul, a soul that doesn't really have any particular attachment to things, but is able to hold many concerns and many responsibilities and make a good decision. I didn't see that at the last AGM, I saw very strong individuals in general secretary roles, which is OK. But it brings a different way of working. I don’t know how it’s going to work...........Click below to continue reading
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The Parzival Group in Kelowna BC |
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On many occasions, Rudolf Steiner pointed to branch/group life as a new form of sister-brotherhood. When individuals of different races, destinies, genders, professions, points of view come together periodically to study esoteric truths or do artistic activities or plan anthroposophical events, something can light up through the bonds of soul-to-soul. We can “awaken” to each other.
This work is valuable if we can work with others who think differently. We can train ourselves to give full recognition to them as authors of their own destinies. We can leave them free to structure their thoughts which are appropriate to them as the bearers of their pre-earthly existence. In branch life, we can learn to bow in reverence to the mystery of the other. Agitation kills anthroposophy, says Steiner.[1]Our words must reflect not the propagandist’s attempt to persuade, but our pure and single-minded attempt to express the Spirit. We can show interest in each other’s point of view; we can carry questions over the days and nights between meetings and also look for the common ground from which the group can proceed.
While working together this way, the thoughts and feelings of the assembled individuals are raised into the super-sensible. Our work together can become an offering to the divine creative powers, to whom we owe our existence. The spiritual hierarchies become interested in us when we try to work together out of anthroposophy. When we develop empathy for others, when we recognize and work with spiritual impulses that want to unite with our ideals and when we develop freedom of thought and allow others to do the same, we prepare for the future epoch.[2]
Steiner believed that everyone who goes to an anthroposophical meeting should have the feeling that he will find more than if he merely studies anthroposophy on his own.
In studying anthroposophy on one’s own, the truths of existence are revealed.
In participating in groups and branches of the Anthroposophical Society, it is the life that is cultivated.[3]
[1] Rudolf Steiner, The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy (letters to members), January 27, 1924
[2] See more on this subject: Rudolf Steiner, How Anthroposophical Groups Prepare for the Sixth Epoch , June 15, 1915
[3] Steiner, The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy, February 3, 1924
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Anthroposophy Worldwide - 2020
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