February Newsletter/Calendar 2022

The library is open 10 am-8pm every Saturday, contact Lisa Jones, lmjones1075@protonmail.com

In this Issue:

• Save the Dates

• From Spectator to Contemporary, Christine Gruwez

• Portland Eurythmy Performance

• Anne Mavor Art Exhibit Available Online

• Opportunity $4000 matching grant for 2022 Branch Space Rent

• Calendar, Events/Ongoing Groups

• Events Fliers

• Embryo DVD’s Available

• Advertisers/Sponsors

• Members/Donors

Save the Dates (more details in the Fliers, Articles & Calendar below)

• Earth: This Being Human, Portland Eurythmy Performance

• Adult Community Eurythmy with Amanda Leonard Wednesdays, February 2, 9, 16

• Anatomy with Dr. John Takacs Mondays January 31, February 7

• Painting with Cheri Munske • Saturdays February 12, March 12

• The Art Hall presents Anne Mavor’s ‘Healing Images’ Online

• Alma’s Wish – an Original Puppet Show, January 27-February 6

• Monday Evenings: Man and the World of the Stars

From Spectator to Contemporary

The excerpt below is from the book Walking With Your Time, by Christine Gruwez, originally published in our April 2015 newsletter. It seems as relevant as ever today. Ms. Gruwez offered a workshop in Portland in April 2015: Evil as a Challenge: A Manachaean Journey to the Heart of our time.

Being connected to and belonging to an all- encompassing whole, forms a key motive of the Manichaean path of practice for the redemption of evil. Where being connected can evolve, and evil is included in this process, then a start can be made for liberating evil from its compelling nature.

The primeval gesture of Manichaeism is the gesture of inclusion, welcoming, and integration. The primeval gesture of the powers of evil, as we have said before, is the gesture of fragmentation, division and exclusion. Being connected may be experienced in any of the three areas of human life described above, certainly, but in all cases we are concerned with one and the same fundamental question: In what way, when something threatens to split off, can I succeed in integrating it after all, and so allow an open space to be created for a possible (but not guaranteed) process of transformation and healing? In this process of transformation, not only will the evil gradually be freed from its own nature – at the same time the good will acquire a new form and be raised to a higher level.

The five stages of the way of initiation give a direction. No need to say that every time the state of being connected is infringed, the first thing we will feel is a sense of powerlessness and desperation. Who feels capable of facing the power of those persons who have only one unvarying thought in their minds, namely how they can drive people into division? Who feels capable of unraveling the carpet of lies when we know that every lie tears holes in the fabric of the weave? But where powerlessness is consciously admitted and accepted, lies the point of departure for the way that leads to redemption. This is the starting point that we find ourselves returning to over and over again, and we only make progress by accepting this powerlessness, accepting it and still standing upright. Here we meet with a form of silence through which it is possible to become a listener, so that in listening we experience being touched. And offer our testimony.

This five stage path is an ongoing event, a continuous process. As soon as we start to move, the process of transformation from spectator to becoming a contemporary is launched.

So what can we do? Is there something we can set opposite the turbulent whirlwind of current events that will show these in a different light – in such a way that I am no longer passively compelled to let things wash over me, but see them in a light in which I too can play some part?

This is the secret of being a contemporary. To become a contemporary is possible. We call on ourselves to take up this role.

The first decisive step is this: in researching the deeper level at which world events take place, we learn to look for the inner place at which the forces that write history ‘out there in the world’ are active within ourselves as well. You become a listener. In this resonating chamber you can then perceive the beating heart of contemporary events.

The next step is that after having become a listener, you know in yourself that powerlessness has been transformed into presence of mind. Yes, I can do something! Yes, I am prepared to act – whatever the outcome that awaits me.

No one is condemned to remain powerless. There is a real path to get out of it. Paradoxically, this path starts with external circumstances and then continues in the inner being of the individual – through our being confronted for a moment with ourselves in solitude, alone in a cloud of unknowing. Out of this nadir we then find a way of reconnecting with the other who has been through this same experience of unknowing and helplessness. And you recognize in each other the rudimentary signs of an awakening contemporaneity.

You are back to the point from which you started, but the not-knowing has now transformed into being prepared to accept whatever may come

Christine Gruwez has followed the history of Mani and his communities throughout the Far and Near East, from the Balkans to North Africa, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, along the Silk Road to Japan. The publication of Bernard Lievegoed’s The Battle for the Soul renewed her contact with the Manichaean impulse. Having studied the language and texts at university, her life’s research question became: How can we actualize what historical Manichaeism has initiated in human history?

Earth: This Being Human

Portland Eurythmy's inaugural performance as part of the Fertile Ground Festival

Thursday, January 27th through Sunday, February 6th

A 25-minute, 13-part movement exploration of how we are connected to each other and to Earth, with pieces by Walt Whitman, Chopin, Henselt, Rumi, and Opal Whiteley, among others.

Portland Eurythmy is the collaborative effort of five local eurythmists, one pianist and one speaker. We work in the medium of eurythmy, a gestural language that brings a living expression to sound and fills the dynamic space between ourselves as performers and you as the audience.

We have been tenderly sculpting our program, Earth: This Being Human, since autumn of 2019, when the world seemed a very different place than the one we now inhabit. As human beings, we have been experiencing expanding tension and polarization. The good news is that humanity is now searching for truth, with an urgency most of us have never seen.

We offer our Earth program as a way to grow our connection to one another, to the Earth and to all the tenderness she possesses. May the sounds of speech and intervals of music, made visible through movement, inspire your journey. We take seriously the words of Rumi, “Welcome and entertain them all, for each has been sent as a guide from beyond.” Co-Artistic Directors: Jolanda Frischknecht & Carrie Mass
Choreographers: All Members
Videographer/Filmmaker: Sumi Wu

Collaborating Anne Mavor, 2019

Anne Mavor at the Art Hall, Exhibit Online

See Flier At the End of this Newsletter

This series began in early 2019 to support my internal healing process as I recover from Parkinson’s and transform how I approach the world. Happily, that has also included how I make art. I am so pleased to share this amazing experience with you.

Rather than try to prove anything, please anyone, or promote my career, I focused on enjoyment and connection to myself. As a result, a stream of gentle abstract shapes made from curves and circles seemed to pour out onto the paper. I made hundreds of paintings, large and small, on all sorts of pieces of paper, whatever I had on hand. If an image did not feel beautiful and true to me, I didn’t force it. Instead, I expressed thanks for what it taught me and moved on to the next one. With my goal of quantity not quality, all were successes. Common themes that surfaced were two shapes wanting to connect and lines of energy winding back to themselves.

All reveal my journey of connecting to my soul and heart.

Dear Friends,

We are excited to announce that the Portland Branch has been awarded a matching grant of $4,000 in support of our library/community space for the coming year!

Since the creative and community- building March renovation and April 1 move-in, the space has made possible a warm, lively and continued pursuit of anthroposophy and community life at a time when other venues were not available to us. Observances of the festivals have seemed to take on deeper dimensions this year. We like to think of the inspiration last year to go for a space of our own as ‘angels on the job’.

Our courage and daring has inspired an anonymous donor to offer about half of the rent needed for the next year - beginning in April 2022 - if other members will match it. We have gratefully received the donations from several members and friends, who to date have provided $1500 in matching funds, and $390 for memberships.

We are hopeful that the generosity of friends and members of the Portland Branch over the coming year will make it possible to claim the entire $4,000.

We are looking forward to sharing another sustaining year in Anthropsophy! Let us know what activities you would like to see.

Warmly, the Portland Branch Council

Christine Badura, Valerie Hope, James Knight, Walter Rice, volunteer fundraiser Marsha Johnson

Beginning Astrosophy Class First and Third Tuesdays, 7-8:30 pm • 8654 NE Boehmer St. • Contact Diane Rumage, 971-271-7479 drumage@comcast.net This class will introduce participants to the basic principles of Astrosophy in a study of the works of Willi Sucher and Diane Rumage’s work with the stars, with indications that Rudolf Steiner gave for those interested in the cosmos. No previous knowledge necessary. Please bring blank paper and colored pencils to the class in case we need to use them. If you are just curious if you’d be interested, please feel free to come and check us out. Free

The Influences of Lucifer and Ahriman Study Group First Monday of the month, 7:45-9:00 pm • Currently conducted on Zoom • Contact Heidi Sheppard, HSHEPPAR@LHS.ORG Free Please join us in lively discussions centered on Rudolf Steiner’s Influences of Lucifer and Ahriman: Human Responsibility for the Earth.

Speech Formation and Mystery Drama Group 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 7:30-9 pm • 8654 NE Boehmer St, Portland, OR 97220 • Contact Diane Rumage drumage@comcast.net or 971 271-7479. Free No experience necessary, just enthusiasm and a love of the Word. Now studying Glen Williamson’s mystery drama, Future Dawning.

Pacific Eurythmy Open Classes for the Community in Anthroposophy and the Arts Monday Evenings For details please see Pacific Eurythmy or call Jolanda, 503-896-3345 or Carrie, 415-686-3791

Man and the World of the Stars Study, led by Cheri Munske Monday Evenings, 6:30-8:00 pm • Portland Eurythmy Space – Second Floor at St. Mark’S Lutheran Church, 5415 SE Powell Blvd, $15 Suggested Donation Limited space available. If you would like to join us contact us at PacificEurythmy@gmail.com

Waldorf Education and Teacher Training Lectures and Courses Conducted throughout the year by the Micha-el Institute Contact Jen Davis, 503-449-7387 jennifer@micha-elinstitute.com

Embryo in Us & Embryo in Motion: Two Seminars with Jaap van der Waal. Two separate DVD sets recorded live in Portland in 2010 & 2017, available only here. These two seminars explore human prenatal development and show how biology is expressing the essence of human spiritual enfoldment. Jaap van der Wal, PhD, MD now retired, was an associate professor for anatomy and embryology at the University of Maastricht, Holland. Contact the Portland Branch.

Great Gratitude to our Members, Friends and Donors who make this newsletter and our library/community space possible.

Cyndia A. Ashkar, Christine Badura, Virginia Berg, SandraBurch, Wes Burch, Kathreen DeMille, Stacey Durych, Amanda Eastman, Cheryl Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Robbie Forkish, Sara Genta, Mark Hope, Valerie Hope, Lois (Tish) Johnson, Marsha Johnson, Lisa Jones, Timothy Kennedy, James Knight, Anne Kollender, Anna Krecic, Liesl Li, Robin Lieberman, Michael Limas, Mihoko Lunsford, Lisa Masterson, Brian McClure, Cheri Munske, Eric Nielson, Robin O'Brien, Nancy Peirce, Susan Rice, Walter Rice, Pamela Rico, Lowell Rheinheimer, Diane Rumage, Diane Schell-Rowley, Kimberly Sinclair, Jerry Soloway, Rebecca Soloway, Barbara Strong, Deborah Velarde, Miriam Ward, Elizabeth Webber