Portland Will Host Regional Gathering for the October National AGM/Conference
The Anthroposophical Society’s annual AGM/Fall Conference will be held this year from October 7-10. While the keynote speakers and various other aspects will be viewed on Zoom, organizers have created a new model to encourage people to come together in person for conversation and conference activities. The conference itself will begin on Friday afternoon, October 8, and close on Sunday morning after a pageant.
The Portland Branch has been asked to provide this opportunity for the Pacific Northwest, and we are enthusiastic about coming together with fellow Anthroposophists in the region for all that becomes possible when we meet.
The conference will be held at our library/community space in St. Mark’s Church at 5415 SE Powell Blvd. A First Class Lesson, lesson 11, will be held on Friday morning. The theme of the conference is Building the Temple of the Heart.
Organizers characterize Rudolf Steiner’s Six Basic Exercises as the foundation for the Temple, which Michael Lipson’s keynote presentation will address. Michaela Glöckler will offer a keynote on The Etheric Heart, and Brian Gray will offer Building the Temple of the Heart – the Path of Parzival. Hub communities have been selected to present on each of the six exercises. Conversations and artistic exercises are being organized for those who will be in person in Portland.
Although the national Society’s registration materials and schedule will be coming soon, it would be helpful to us if you could indicate in the meantime whether you would have an interest in joining us in Portland. Please contact Valerie Hope at valerieannhpdx@aol.com
Looking Forward…Valerie Hope for the Portland Branch Council
Why Are the August Meteor Showers So Important for Humanity, and How Can We Benefit From Them?
In summertime we are the most materialistic, subject to our lower nature as the Christ, the Soul of the Earth, and the elementals have expanded into the cosmos and left us here in a sulfurous condition, which looks beautiful from the cosmos, but which attracts Ahriman to us.
A remedy for the fear and anxiety that we can experience comes to us with the August Meteor Showers, when Archangel Michael sends homeopathic iron, and with it forces for strength and courage.
Painting above: Michael as Globe Protector with a Rod of Iron, David Newbatt from Twelve Aspects of Michael
Rudolf Steiner tells us that it is important that we be conscious of this process, of the homeopathic iron shooting into our blood during the August meteor showers. In his lecture The Michael Imagination he describes how in summer the sulfur within us rises and our inner being begins to shine – we become visible for other planetary beings. At the same time the Ahrimanic power, which is closely related to this sulfurizing process winds its way among us trying to ensnare and embrace us. But we are not alone:
“And when in high summer, from a particular constellation, meteors fall in great showers of cosmic iron, then this cosmic iron, which carries an enormously powerful healing force, is the weapon which the gods bring to bear against Ahriman, as dragon-like he tries to coil round the shining forms of men. The force which falls on the earth in the meteoric iron is indeed a cosmic force whereby the higher gods endeavour to gain a victory over the Ahrimanic powers, when autumn comes on. And this majestic display in cosmic space, when the August meteor showers stream down into the human shining in the astral light, has its counterpart — so gentle and apparently so small — in a change that occurs in the human blood. This human blood, which is in truth not such a material thing as present-day science imagines, but is permeated throughout by impulses from soul and spirit, is rayed through by the force which is carried as iron into the blood and wages war there on anxiety, fear and hate.”
“The processes which are set going in every blood-corpuscle when the force of iron shoots into it are the same, on a minute human scale, as those which take place when meteors fall in a shining stream through the air. This permeation of human blood by the anxiety-dispelling force of iron is a meteoric activity. The effect of the raying in of the iron is to drive fear and anxiety out of the blood.” (emphasis ed. Vh)
Michael, who leads us over to the autumn time, derives his raiment “…from that which is formed in the heights through the upward-raying silver and the gold (diluted beyond human measure) that flows to meet it; from the transmutation by the sun’s power of the silver sparkling up from the Earth.”
This raiment “… first lights lights up in golden sunshine and then shines forth inwardly as a silver-sparkling radiance within the golden folds…from that which is formed in the heights through the upward-raying silver and the gold that flows to meet it; from the transmutation by the sun’s power of the silver sparkling up from the Earth. As autumn approaches we see how the silver given by the Earth to the cosmos returns as gold, and the power of this transmuted silver is the source of that which goes on in the Earth during winter…The Sun-gold, formed in the heights, in the dominion of Uriel, during high summer, passes down to weave and flow through the depths of the Earth, where it animates the elements that in the midst of winter are seeking to become the living growth of the following year.”
The August meteor showers occur every year between July 17 and August 24. This year they will peak on the night between August 12-13. Some of us will be heading for dark skies to take them in.
Update: The Portland Waldorf School, because of misunderstandings that they are aware of, has asked the Portland Branch Council to clarify that, “The opinions expressed in the ‘Message in a Bottle Posting’ by Sarah Genta in no way are reflective of the Portland Waldorf School’s views, policies, or practices.”
What is Expected of Waldorf Schools During the Covid-19 Pandemic?
By Dr. Michael a Glockler
This text is from a book called: Corona – a Crisis: How do we overcome it? May 2020. Data in this piece is from available sources at that time, we are aware that new information is coming out all the time. Great thanks to Astrid Schmitt-Stegmann who graciously translated this piece at our request.
Children and young people were and continue to be particularly affected by the pandemic. They not only experienced the fear of the adults falling ill themselves or of seeing close relatives fall ill, they were also strictly obliged to protect themselves and others, quite apart from the fact that regular school attendance was no longer possible from one day to the next. The Waldorf schools were faced with additional challenges, because movement and artistic activity are an important part of the lesson, the inclusion of digital devices must be age-appropriate, i.e. usually does not happen in the lower grades, and, in addition because of the integrative picture of the human being, which is not reduced to only the scientifically tangible aspect of the human being and the world. In my contribution, I am primarily concerned with the aspect of children’s health and with a holistic view of the pandemic.
What should we be conscious of within the context of the school?
“This pandemic violates interests, affects biographies, endangers existences. There are no perfect resolutions these days” – said Gabor Steingart in his morning briefing of November 19, 2020. Countless livelihoods are at risk, internationally hunger and poverty are assuming unbearable proportions, the refugee crisis continues to worsen, fear and aggression are omnipresent. Every day we hear the new numbers of infections and the danger looms that even if there are enough intensive care beds, there may be a shortage of nurses and then the patients might not receive the necessary care.
Society is becoming increasingly polarized, even in families, colleges and work contexts. In the process, conversations between “alarmists” and “covidiots” are almost impossible. And in addition there is the fear of the “covidiots” being put into the corner of right-wing radicals or conspiracy theorists. In many Waldorf schools, the consequence of this problem is a new unwritten law: one keeps silent about the topic, implements the authority requirements and concentrates on the form of teaching that is possible in each situation. For children and young people, however, such an atmosphere of lack of communication is even more unsettling. For it is precisely now that they need orientation and also the opportunity to discuss different points of view. Children and young people need role models of confidence, joie de vivre and healthy optimism – especially in difficult times! Fear and insecurity are not good co-educators. The children who experienced the nights of bombing in the bunkers during the Second World War later reported as adults how crucial it was for them to experience adults who were not afraid and who could spread calm and confidence around them.
But where can internal security come from? One can ask oneself: What authority can I awaken in myself in view of the contradictory opinions and information, the flood of news and media, that can help me judge the controversies on the internet? Is so-called common sense doomed to impotence in this situation? Is everyone who does not hold the opinion of the mass media a corona denier and/or a conspiracy theorist? What does my voice of conscience say? Where are the sources of courage, soul health and confidence located? How can I develop my health potential and work constructively on the complex aftermath of the pandemic? And what can Waldorf education do here, which is based on the spiritual orientation of anthroposophic knowledge of the human being?
The more adults face these questions and look for answers and solutions, the more of a role model they are for children and young people. Especially since the fear of illness is compounded by serious social problems. More and more people are asking themselves how humanity can cope with all the current threats and crises, and how they will live in ten years’ time. Children and young people experience this and are grateful if their concerns and questions in this regard are taken seriously, even if they are often unable to articulate them clearly.
In the business section of the Neue Züricher Zeitung on 20 December, it was reported that the ten richest people in the world will have 40% more money at the end of 2020 than at the beginning of the year, i.e. they will have benefited greatly from this pandemic year. The resulting dramatic increase in the gap between rich and poor is leading sociologists and political scientists to make gloomy predictions about social unrest in the coming years and further floods of refugees.
The pandemic is also accompanied by an unprecedented surge in digitization. Not only in all areas of life, including schools and kindergartens, but also with regard to electronic monitoring and tracking of the pandemic. In Geneva, the Swiss foundation “Botnar” is already laying the foundations for an organization that aims to regulate the handling of health data globally. As understandable as it is that international cooperation is an important prerequisite for effectively countering security risks in the face of terrorism and health threats, it is also clear that the surveillance state is a possibility, posing a new and major challenge to democratic systems. This changes the social role of kindergartens and schools, and thus the question becomes more important: What cultural and structural conditions do educational institutions need so that values such as freedom and dignity can develop in children and young people? They cannot be taught – they have to develop – and for that to happen, they need role models and the possibility to learn from their own experiences.
In a November 2, 2020 interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Nobel Prize winner for literature Mario Vargas Llosa said, “The line between reasonable measures to contain the pandemic and usurpations of power by politicians is by its very nature very thin (…) And if we lose freedom, in the long run we lose everything. Without it, everything is nothing.” It seems to me essential that, in addition to being individually affected by the pandemic, these social and political concomitants be openly discussed and that students be able to witness that they are standing in the middle of a significant historical turning point in which it is crucial to orient themselves and work on constructive perspectives.
What are the most important findings at the moment?
According to the Robert Koch Institute’s website, Covid 19 is usually asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic in children who are not predisposed to lung disease or heart disease. It is also true for them that the dreaded pneumonia is extremely rare, whereas flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, aching limbs, and gastrointestinal involvement are more prominent. There is a risk that children can infect adults, although it has been shown that the reverse is more common.
In general, however, experience to date shows that of the 20 – 25% who test positive, no symptoms develop. They are quarantined because it is not certain whether they will develop symptoms and because the risk of infection may already be present before the onset of symptoms – although fortunately this is rarely the case. On the other hand, 75 to 80% of those who do test positive develop or have mostly mild to moderate symptoms. A small number turn out to be severe and are then admitted to intensive care units. The number of deaths from and with Corona on January 31, 2021, was 2.5%. Of course, given these numbers, one can focus on the uncertainty that, after all, no one can know if they might not be part of that 2.5%.
However, in view of these figures, one can also make clear how great the chances are of remaining healthy, or of being healthy again after the illness, namely 97.5 %. At least this percentage is higher than the chances of success for the protective effect of the vaccinations, which, depending on the vaccine, lie between 60 and 95 %, although the studies were carried out on healthy test subjects and not on representatives of the risk groups. I do not want to trivialize the Covid 19 pandemic! On the contrary. Especially if you consider the risk of contracting the disease to be low and equate it with the normal risks of life that you are always exposed to – whether it be an accident on the road or an unexpected diagnosis of a serious illness – then it is all the more necessary to take the fears and concerns of others seriously. It is just as important to take the concern about falling ill seriously when talking to parents or colleagues in Waldorf schools as it is to take joy in how small the risk of falling ill actually is in the end. This mutual respect in view of the other person’s attitude to life and opinion is the necessary prerequisite for being able to make clear agreements in individual cases.
Anyone who is worried or belongs to the risk group can protect themselves effectively with very good FFP 2 or FFP 3 masks. This applies to adults as well as children. Otherwise, after consultation with parents, students and teachers, one could contact the local health authority representatives and make an agreement, as soccer clubs have done: that one forms a so-called ‘cluster’. Then the team can practice, but is required to go into complete quarantine should a Covid 19 case occur among them. Applied to school, this could mean that the mask requirement ends at the door to the classroom, so that normal classes can take place – including all artistic subjects! And the risk of being quarantined in the event of a positive test is accepted.
After all, what stimulates the immune system? In addition to a healthy lifestyle, these are above all physical exercise, positive feelings, joyful activity. Whereas psychoneuroimmunology as well as saluto-genetic research have long proven the extent to which negative feelings and a lack of self-activity, initiative and physical activity weaken the immune system.
What tasks need to be addressed?
I believe it is essential that Waldorf schools send out the message that the image of the human being cultivated there takes the spiritual-emotional dimensions just as seriously – also in terms of health – as the physical aspect of possible infection by the virus. For: Why have only 2.2 million of the 83 million people in Germany tested positive so far, that is, “only” 2.8% ? And why do 20 to 25% % of those who tested positive remain without symptoms or become healthy again? Because their physical defenses are working. So it is not the virus that causes the disease, but the human organism, which is susceptible to the virus because its physical defenses are too low.
The strategy of pandemic control so far has been primarily oriented towards the risk groups – i.e. people with pre-existing conditions and people in their last decades of life. For their sake and in order not to overburden hospitals, the decision was made to drastically restrict public life. For this reason, there is a justified increase in the number of voices saying that now that we know the disease better, we should move from crisis management to risk-stratified action. After all, the “fear pandemic” that has gripped the population as a whole as a result of the one-sided reporting must be approached in just as strategically helpful a manner as the virus pandemic itself. And there, in addition to the prospect of vaccination, the wealth of health-promoting measures that strengthen the immune system should also be communicated. It seems to me that this is necessary in view of the fact that even the best forecasts for the vaccines currently on the market assume only 91 to 95 percent effectiveness, and that far too little is known about the extent to which vaccinated persons can become infected and thus also spread the virus. In view of all these residual uncertainties, what is needed is an image of humanity that is fit for life and with whose help the risks and opportunities of life that exist (not only in times of pandemic) can be confronted in a motivated and development-oriented manner.
I would like to clarify this with a recourse to the most famous integrative physician at the beginning of modern times, Paracelsus. For him, there were five causes of illness and five approaches to therapy. He describes these vividly in his “Volume Paramirum” and illustrates this with the example of a patient who died of cholera. He has six doctors gather around this person who has just died of cholera. The question is what he ultimately died of. The first doctor says that it was clearly the spoiled water that was the cause of death. (The cholera bacillus was still unknown as a pathogen at that time.) The second doctor counters and says that if the death was caused by the spoiled water, then everyone who came into contact with this water should have died. However, most of the people in the city had remained healthy or had overcome the disease. After all, it would be up to the self-healing powers how one copes with a disease. Today, one would say that immune-competence determines whether one is infected or develops mild or severe symptoms. The third doctor, on the other hand, remarks that the self-healing powers depend to a large extent on how a person is mentally tuned. This person was bitter and had strong negative feelings. These undermined his self-healing powers – he died as a result of his emotional weakness. (Today it is widely researched by psychoneuroimmunology that positive feelings strengthen the immune system, whereas negative feelings like fear and stress weaken it). The fourth doctor objected that whether a person was able to work on his negative feelings was, after all, related to personality structure and the capacity for self-control. He had also known this person – he had not been capable of such self-education in terms of character. Thereupon the fifth doctor remarks that he had looked at his horoscope – the stars had clearly said that his life clock had run out. In the face of the scourge of God, the medical art is in vain. Now everyone looks eagerly at the sixth doctor, who is Paracelsus. He says: “Each one of you is right – there are five causes of illness and five possibilities for therapy. Which is the best way to heal in each individual case requires good diagnostics and intuition.”
I very much hope that on the basis of previous experience, but also on the basis of the integrative medical view of the human being, which is the basis of Waldorf education and also includes the mental and spiritual dimensions of man, clear statements will be made that can provide a basis for risk-stratified action in Waldorf schools. Since its foundation over 100 years ago, the educational mission of Waldorf schools has not been primarily to impart knowledge, but to support the healthy physical, mental and spiritual development of children and adolescents in a manner appropriate to their age. This is what the curriculum and the subjects taught are intended to serve – even in times of pandemic.
1 See also: Michaela Glöckler, Andreas Neider eds: Das Rätsel der Immunität, Stuttgart 2020, p. 169ff.
2 https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/nCoV.html (query: 10.01.2021)
3 See also https://www.tt.com/artikel/17415771/ein-viertel-der-positiv-auf-corona-getesten-nicht-infektioes. The Innsbruck infectiologist and director of the University Clinic for Internal Medicine, Günter Weiss, publishes his research results and confirms that “20 to 25 percent, i.e. about a quarter of those tested positive, are not infectious.”
4. For example, the leading physician of the Havelhöhe Hospital in Berlin, Professor Dr. med. Harald Mattes: https://www.berliner-kurier.de/gesundheit-oekologie/berliner-arzt-scharfe-kritik-an-corona-massnahmen-li.108938 and https://info3-verlag.de/blog/die-corona-massnahmen-sind-in-dieser-pauschalitaet-nicht-mehr-zu-rechtfertigen/ (query: 10.01.2021)
5. Willem F. Daems (ed.): Paracelsus: The Occult Causes of Diseases. Volume Paramirum, Dornach 1991.
7. Michaela Glöckler: Kita, Kindergarten und Schule als Orte gesunder Entwicklung, Stuttgart 2020.
About the Author: Dr. Michaela Glöckler, pediatrician, has been for 28 years the Head of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, the anthroposophic School of Spiritual Science in Dornach/Switzerland. During this time she was lecturing worldwide on the integrative medical model of Anthroposophic Medicine. Before that she worked in the pediatric department of the Community Hospital in Herdecke/Germany and served as school doctor for the Rudolf Steiner School in Witten/ Germany. She is Co-founder of the Alliance for Childhood and the European Alliance of Initiatives for applied Anthroposophy/ELIANT. Publications in English: „Education for the Future“, „Guide to Child Health“, „The Dignity of the young child“, „Ethical Considerations in Medicine“, „Education – Health for Life“, „Education as Preventive Medicine“, „Medicine at the Threshold“, „A Healing Education“, „Developmental Insights“, „Truth, Beauty and Goodness. The Future of Education, Healing Arts and Health Care“.
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