Monthly Archives: October 2017

Remembering Friedrich Rittelmeyer

Quote, Remembering

5 October 1872 – the Birthday of Friedrich Rittelmeyer, a Protestant German minister, & theologian; friend of Rudolf Steiner; co-founder & driving force of The Christian Community.

Growing up in Frankish Schweinfurt – his father was a Lutheran minister – it was already clear to him as a child that he wanted to go into a religious profession. From 1890 Rittelmeyer studied philosophy & Protestant theology. His teacher Oswald Külpe, encouraged him to write his dissertation on Friedrich Nietzsche.

He also went on a study trip to meet theologians & socially-engaged ministers of the time, as well as members of the Moravian Church. From 1895 to 1902 he was at the Stadtvikar in Würzburg. In 1903 he took up the preachership of Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Nuremberg. There he married Julie Kerler on 5 April 1904. Rittelmeyer worked & closely collaborated with Christian Geyer, the head preacher of the Sebalduskirche, together they produced two joint volumes of sermons. Around 1910 they both led discussions with the Bavarian church council on a liberal interpretation of the Bible.

Also inn 1910 the Nuremberg school teacher Michael Bauer enabled Rittelmeyer to have his first encounter with Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Rittelmeyer described the encounter & discussed Steiner’s personality & work in his book ‘Rudolf Steiner Enters my Life’.

In 1916 Rittelmeyer was sent to the Neue Kirche in Berlin, working as preacher there. He  opposed the First World War, & with 4 other Berlin theologians signed a proclamation of peace & understanding on the occasion of Reformation Day (October 1917).

In September 1922 he established the “Movement for Religious Revival” (Christengemeinschaft) Rittelmeyer acted as its first “Erzoberlenker” or Head Priest, & from its base in Stuttgart was the leading envoy right up to his death.

 

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The Birth of The Christian Community by Patrick Kennedy

In September of 1922, a group of 45 courageous, devoted and enthusiastic men and women were gathered together in Dornach, Switzerland. There, with the help of Rudolf Steiner, the inaugurator of modern spiritual science or Anthroposophy, the events took place which led to the founding of what we have come to know as The Christian Community.

For a year and a half they had been meeting, planning and seeking for a way to renew the religious life. It was poignantly felt that one could not authentically pray and experience the Spirit in the traditional forms anymore. Many of them had been through the trench-warfare and destruction of the First World War and come home to a spiritual life that was bankrupt in the face of such horrors.

Emil Bock

Although the vast majority of them were under 30 (Emil Bock was 28, Rudolf Frieling was 21) all of them, young and old, had come to recognize the spiritual giant who could lead them to the wellspring and source of religious renewal: Rudolf Steiner.

Alfred Heidenreich, who pioneered the work of The Christian Community in England, North America and South Africa, tried to express what Rudolf Steiner meant to the movement in his moving and personal book on the events surrounding the founding entitled Growing Point:

“The significance of Rudolf Steiner for Christianity is not confined to the foundation of The Christian Community. He was himself, simply as a being, an event in the history of Christianity. In the memorial article which Dr. Friedrich Rittelmeyer [first leader of the movement and one of the most well known Lutheran ministers in his day] wrote after Rudolf Steiner’s passing…:

Rudolf Steiner

“In earlier ages, the fact alone that such an all-embracing genius gave witness to Christ as being the greatest reality in earthly history, would have had a profound effect. But in Rudolf Steiner much more was present. One could put it like this: he comprehended all branches of learning so spiritually and so deeply, and he recognized Christ in such big and broad dimensions that eventually Christ shines forth as the true light in all spheres of life. He observed strictly the necessity for each sphere to form its own method according to its intrinsic laws. He never carried religion into anything from without. But he illuminated all realms of knowledge with such powerful light, that Christ became visible in it. A Christ, it is true, far greater than the Christ of the Churches; but a Christ related to the Bible and to the Christ of the early Christians.”

“Thus, he advanced the science of language to the point where it could understand why Christ is called ‘the Word’. Thus, he carried medicine to the point where medicine could understand again ‘the body of Christ’. Thus, he carried astronomy to the point where Christ became visible as the true ‘Light’…he taught how science could again become reverent and devout. He built a temple for all sciences, so high and so broad, that their servants could work in it without sacrificing an iota of their personal freedom or of the special characteristics of their province.  He united the learning of the age with Christ, and Christ with the learning of the age.”

Alfred Heidenreich wrote, “Rittlemeyer’s description opens up a vista for the future. The condition of the Middle Ages when Church and civilization were identical is not likely to be repeated. If it were, it would be a relapse into a past phase of evolution. We must move towards a future where Christianity and civilization become identical; where the very methods of scientific research will be Christian, and where it will be felt that what is not Christian is not scientific.

In this civilization, the ‘Church’ will have its special place. Like the mother whose children have grown up and become independent, the Christian Church of the future will be able to concentrate on its particular task. It will practice the personal meeting with Christ as a Being.”

Alfred Heidenreich

Heidenreich reveals the most important aspect of this founding in this last sentence. It was not a startling new teaching or religious philosophy that was formulated. If that were the case, our movement would long have faded away. No, at the beginning of a new Christian priesthood and sacramental stream stands an event: on September 16th, 1922, the first Act of Consecration of Man was celebrated by Friedrich Rittlemeyer, and in that moment the movement was granted the grace to work in Christ.  “…The event was astounding. But the reality was as plain as a sunrise. You do not dispute the sun. You bow to its rays” ~Heidenreich  This experience became the bedrock of the founders’ ability to proclaim Christ, for they had experienced him. It was not an abstract theology but an experience of the divine in the ritual that became the foundation for their and all future work in The Christian Community.

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What is the Christian Community?

The Christian Community (German: Die Christengemeinschaft) is a Christian denomination founded in 1922 in Switzerland by a group of mainly Lutheran theologians & ministers led by Friedrich Rittelmeyer, inspired by Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher & founder of anthroposophy. Christian Community congregations exist as financially independent groups with regional & international administrative bodies overseeing their work. There are approximately 350 worldwide. The international headquarters are in Berlin, Germany.

The Christian Community is led by the “circle of priests,” with leaders known as coordinators appointed within the circle. A first coordinator (Erzoberlenker) is consulted by two second coordinators (Oberlenkers). There are also third coordinators (Lenkers) on the regional level & a synod of priests. There is no additional ordination for the leadership. The priesthood of the Christian Community has always been open to women.

The Christian Community does not require its members to conform to any specific teaching or behavior.  Seven sacraments are celebrated within the Community: the Eucharist, generally called the Act of Consecration of Man, & six other sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, The Last Anointing, Sacramental Consultation (replacing Confession), &Ordination. There is also a special Sunday service for children of school age.

Rituals & sacraments are the same wherever they are celebrated. Services are generally celebrated in the language of the country in which they celebrated. The Act of Consecration of Man lasts approximately one hour. Sunday services are longer than weekday services because they contain a sermon in addition to Holy Communion. For the sacramental wine used in communion non-fermented grape juice is used rather than alcoholic wine. Three Christmas services are celebrated, one on December 24 (at midnight) & two on December 25. There are also added prayers for different liturgical seasons of the year.

Some chapels have an organ, & occasionally the organ has quarter tones in addition to the conventional (equal temperament) tuning.

The Christian Community practices a complete freedom of teaching. The Priests may exert this freedom of teaching, provided that they do not contradict the sacraments which they celebrate. There is no official theology, nor articles of belief. Whatever is taught or written is a personal view.

Basic tenets of some priests of the Christian Community are 1) free will, 2) reincarnation & 3) focus on Christ. For example, Jesus of Nazareth is seen as a physical vessel that enabled the spiritual being called Christ to influence the world.

The ideology of some priests of the Christian Community could be summarized with the following points:

The modern human being requires a renewed religious movement

The Soul is immortal via re-incarnation

Jesus & Christ are separate entities, focus is on The Christ

Christ is both, external & internal reality (Christ is not only ‘out there’ but at the same time ‘in here’) “Christ in me”

The New Testament has priority over other documents in Christianity

No missionary work or public marketing is done because finding this religion is based on free will.

~ compiled by hag

We are twilight & dawn

Autumn, Central Regional Council, Insight, Meditation, Quote, Remembering

4 October 2016 – Astro-Weather: Venus & Mars are in conjunction in early dawn tomorrow, forming a tight pair. Look low in the east to distinguish the dazzle of Venus from the dimmer lights of Mars & nearby Sigma Leonis.

The night sky’s most conspicuous harbinger of winter now rises in the east around midnight. The constellation Orion the Hunter appears on its side as it rises, with ruddy Betelgeuse to the left of the three-star belt & blue-white Rigel to the belt’s right. As Orion climbs high in the south before dawn, the figure rotates so that Betelgeuse lies at the upper left & Rigel at the lower right of the constellation pattern.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

“To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world.” Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

Feast Day of Crispus & Gaius, Martyrs baptized by St. Paul at Corinth, Greece. Crispin headed the local Jewish synagogue. Gaius served as St. Paul’s host & was praised by St. John. Before being martyred, Crispin served as the bishop of the Aegean Islands, & Gaius served as bishop of Thessalonica, Greece.

1 Corinthians 1:14 – I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius

Acts 10:48 – So he ordered that Crispus and Gaius be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

Acts 18:8 – Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.

Romans 16:23 – Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.

3 John 1:1 – The elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth

Lucas Cranach the Younger

1515 Birthday of Lucas Cranach the Younger, He is known for portraits & mythical scenes

1582 – Deathday of Saint Teresa of Ávila, a prominent Spanish mystic, saint, Carmelite nun, theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer & author during the Counter Reformation.

Her books, which include her autobiography (The Life of Teresa of Jesus) & her seminal work El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle), are an integral part of Spanish Renaissance literature as well as Christian mysticism & Christian meditation practices. She also wrote Camino de Perfección (The Way of Perfection).

Teresa of Avila was born in 1515. Her paternal grandfather, was a marrano (Jewish convert to Christianity) & was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition for allegedly returning to the Jewish faith. Her father, bought a knighthood & successfully assimilated into Christian society. Teresa’s mother, was especially keen to raise her daughter as a pious Christian. Teresa was fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints, & ran away from home at age seven with her brother Rodrigo to find martyrdom among the Moors.

When Teresa was 14 her mother died; this resulted in Teresa becoming grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother. Along with this good resolution, however, she also developed immoderate interests in reading popular fiction (consisting, at that time, mostly of medieval tales of knighthood) & caring for her own appearance. Teresa was sent for her education to the Augustinian nuns at Ávila.

In the monastery she suffered greatly from illness. Early in her sickness, she experienced periods of religious ecstasy through the use of the devotional book the Third Spiritual Alphabet. This work, consisted of directions for examinations of conscience & for spiritual self-concentration (known in mystical nomenclature as oratio recollectionis). She also employed other mystical ascetic works.

She claimed that during her illness she rose from the lowest stage, “recollection”, to the “devotions of silence” or even to the “devotions of ecstasy”, which was one of perfect union with God. During this final stage, she said she frequently experienced a rich “blessing of tears.”

The kernel of Teresa’s mystical thought throughout all her writings is the ascent of the soul in four stages (The Autobiography Chs. 10-22):

The 1st Devotion of Heart, is mental prayer of devout concentration or contemplation. It is the withdrawal of the soul from without & especially the devout observance of the passion of Christ & penitence

The 2nd Devotion of Peace, is where human will is surrendered to God. This is by virtue of a charismatic, supernatural state given by God, while the other faculties, such as memory, reason, & imagination, are not yet secure from worldly distraction. While a partial distraction is due to outer performances such as repetition of prayers & writing down spiritual things, yet the prevailing state is one of quietude

The 3rd Devotion of Union, is absorption in God. It is not only a supernatural but an essentially ecstatic state. Here there is also an absorption of the reason in God, & only the memory & imagination are left to roam. This state is characterized by a blissful peace, a sweet slumber of at least the higher soul faculties, or a conscious rapture in the love of God

The 4th Devotion of Ecstasy, is where the consciousness of being in the body disappears. Sense activity ceases; memory & imagination are also absorbed in God or intoxicated. Body & spirit are in the throes of a sweet, happy pain, alternating between a fearful fiery glow, a complete impotence & unconsciousness, & a spell of strangulation, sometimes by such an ecstatic flight that the body is literally lifted into space. This after half an hour is followed by a reactionary relaxation of a few hours in a swoon-like weakness, attended by a negation of all the faculties in the union with God. The subject awakens from this in tears; it is the climax of mystical experience, producing a trance. Indeed, she was said to have been observed levitating during Mass on more than one occasion.

Teresa is one of the foremost writers on mental prayer, & her position among writers on mystical theology is unique. In all her writings on this subject she deals with her personal experiences. Her deep insight & analytical gifts helped her to explain them clearly. Her definition was used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Contemplative prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” She used a metaphor of mystic prayer as watering a garden throughout her writings.

Around 1556, various friends suggested that her newfound knowledge was diabolical, not divine. She began to inflict various tortures & mortifications of the flesh upon herself. But her confessor, the Jesuit Saint Francis Borgia, reassured her of the divine inspiration of her thoughts. On St. Peter’s Day in 1559, Teresa became firmly convinced that Jesus Christ presented himself to her in bodily form, though invisible. These visions lasted almost uninterrupted for more than two years. In another vision, a seraph drove the fiery point of a golden lance repeatedly through her heart, causing an ineffable spiritual-bodily pain.

I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it…

This vision was the inspiration for one of Bernini’s most famous works, the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

The memory of this episode served as an inspiration throughout the rest of her life, & motivated her lifelong imitation of the life & suffering of Jesus, epitomized in the motto usually associated with her: Lord, either let me suffer or let me die.

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
~Teresa of Ávila

1582 – Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, & Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15

1669 – Deathday of Rembrandt

1927 – Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore

1957 – Space Race: Launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth

1960 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston’s Logan International Airport, killing 62 people (out of 72 onboard).

1963 – Hurricane Flora kills 6,000 in Cuba & Haiti

1970 – Deathday of Janis Joplin

1992 – El Al Flight 1862: An El Al Boeing 747-258F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground

2001 – Siberia Airlines Flight 1812: A Sibir Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. Seventy-eight people are killed

2004 – SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight, by being the first private craft to fly into space

2006 – Wikileaks is launched by Julian Assange

2010 – The Ajka plant accident in western Hungary releases 35 million cubic feet of liquid alumina sludge. Nine people are killed & 122 injured, & the Marcal & Danube rivers are severely contaminated

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My POD (Poem Of the Day)

~We are beastly
Forms made beautiful in the growing moonlight
Beheld by the Goddess –
Healed by Her many eyes – Held up
By the air streaming from Her full lips – Together
We are twilight & dawn –
I am the left eye – She is the right…
Beneath the old man’s eyebrows we make a fine sight...
~hag

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Meditation as antidote to the madness

Clear your mind of what fills it now & hear my words…Make yourself comfortable, as we share the air…taking a deep breath…filling your belly…Thrilling your lungs…Let your body sink deep & Relax…set the rhythm with your breath…/& as your awareness is internalized, fully connected with the Breath of Life, gently moving through you…Make all your senses alert to this life force…Enjoy its power & perfect simplicity…feel the sustaining energy behind every molecule of oxygen in every breath… Feel the life force coursing through your cells & thoughts…& when you are ready, become a channel open to the abundant potency pouring into this planet from the Heart of the Sun that we all share…feel the honey-gold radiance of the sun infusing your will with the power to manifest love…Reach out with your heart-self & let your thoughts attract & connect with the radiant-golden healing energy of our Day Star, as its power merges with your ripening heart…

Feeling balanced in this loving energy, let your feet sprout thick strong roots that pull this pure illuminated Love deep into the core of this planet, infusing all life with the brilliance of connective intelligence, healing all hate…oxidizing all dis-ease in the root rays of the solar power harmonizing with our planet made sacred…/

Remember that you are unique in the light that fuels your gifts…& when we all add our divine sparks together, we fuel the fires of transformation to create positive change…/as we find ourselves intertwined in this circle of life, forming the wholeness in the sun-heart beating in rhythm with the pulse of our Mother Earth…we know we are all beacons of this vivid starburst of evolution…Look around this amazing world, with your minds eye, & see the fields, ripe with the end of summer’s abundance…

Find yourself in the center of this abundance holding a large willow basket, eager to begin your autumn harvest…Step first into an expanse of sweet corn…See the tall, regal, green stalks…

Observe a ripe golden ear which seems to be reaching out to you…Under its wispy silk, kernels sparkle like precious gold shining through…Let it remind you of your own riches, both tangible & intangible…Reach out and pick this ear of corn and put it into your basket…/

Leave the corn field, & enter an apple orchard…See the beauty of these trees…these majestic symbols of the Great Goddess Herself…Feel the fullness of her boughs…the ripeness of her ruby red apples, the fruit of knowledge…Reach up, way up, & pick two…Put one in your basket & eat the other…Taste & enjoy this perfect fruit…For in this gracious garden, tasting the fruit of knowledge is never forbidden…

Now move toward an onion field, which beckons to you…Once green, now browning spikes, point up to you, tempting you to dig below…Pull gently & the ground gives birth to an iridescent, opal bulb, full of body & character & strength…A vegetable with the power to make you feel the beauty of your tears of joy…Add this to your growing harvest…/

Notice ahead thick bushes of ripened raspberries, Sharp brambles protecting their precious, succulent garnets…The juicy nectar of these berries reminds you of your own sensuality, your own ability to feel, express, extend all that is sweet & loving & honest to others…Take your time here, & pick plenty of these supple jewels for your basket…/

Step away now & look around you, Find a patch of fruit or vegetables that appeals to you…Enter it, admire its offerings, select a precious jewel of your own to harvest…Choose a resource that will sustain you in the upcoming time of cold & darkness…glean some warmth & light & savor its presence…/

With your arms now laden with this basket of bountiful treasures, it is time to rest…Take your harvest to a clover covered knoll in the still warm sun, just beyond, to sit & bask in the glory of its healing heat…Rest in contentment knowing you have gathered in all that you need, to give you strength & balance, peace & nourishment in the winter days to come… /

Put yourself back in the sky now…Become the sun once again…Shine down upon yourself & your hardy harvest…Absorb the energy of the fruits of your labors, bless the seeds you planted in the Spring & nurtured to fruition through the summer…

Be the sun…Shine down upon all that is good & giving…spread the light of hope & peace, love & understanding, to all you shine upon…/Everything you have touched with your luminous rays is vibrating in harmony, in the eternal truth of our authentic selves…/& as we begin to integrate & Cultivate these blessings received…opening to the vision of our Divine-self, in the wholeness of our heart soul, we can Resolve to act on our own unique life-purpose & make it ever more real…ever more whole…/

Gradually bring your experience to the present once again, to the here and now…Feel your body refreshed & renewed, here & now, in your room, in your sacred space…know you are sacred…know you are here for a reason…

& Gently, joyfully, when you are ready, open your senses…to see the unity of your community… know in your heart of hearts that the journey we have taken together, wheather near or far in the flesh, is full of effulgent effective power which we manifest within ourselves & for the planet, a healing harvest of love’s light…remember to  give peace a dance everyday as we live our lives, in balance & joy…blessed be…

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg 

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Two Anthroposophical Events to which you are warmly invited!

The Central Regional Council invites all members in the central region to consider participating in the ASA’s Annual General Meeting and conference in October. The focus of the year’s event is on taking action, and working inwardly and outwardly to help humanity evolve. The work we have undergone in the central region has often been developed toward this aim of taking action and responding to the world in a meaningful way.

Rise Up! Life as a Labor of Love – Anthroposophical Society in America
Annual General Meeting and Conference – Fri, Oct 13 at 1:00 pm to Sunday, Oct 15 at 1:00 pm at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ

Wednesday and Thursday ‘How We Will Rise Up! Youth and Youthful Gathering’ at Desert Marigold. Email for more information. 

Also: at the Heard Museum Friday morning, October 13, from 9:30-11:30 am for members of the School for Spiritual Science. Bring your blue cards!

Please register online through www.anthroposophy.org!

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All Souls Festival and Retreat
At the Minnesota Waldorf School in the Twin Cities, MN. 

Week-end Retreat including Festival
Fri, Nov 3 at 7:00 pm to Sunday, Nov 5 at 11:00 am

Cost $75 (registration required, click here)

Journey of the Soul Festival – Saturday, Nov 4 at 7:00 to 9:00 pm -Suggested Donation $10 at the door – All are welcome

Walk the pathway of our beloved across the threshold, being present for them, and preparing for our own journey.

“Life after death
Life before birth
Only by knowing both
Do we know eternity”
~ Rudolf Steiner

Culmination of “The Bridging Project: Between Life and Death from Soul to Sou

Sponsored by: Central Regional Council (CRC) and Twin Cities Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

Questions: Dennis Dietzel dennis.dietzel@gmail.com, Marianne Dietzel mariannemdietzel@gmail.com, Linda Bergh hellolindabergh@gmail.com

Walking the Peace Path

Autumn, Celestial Event, Central Regional Council, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering

3 October 2016 – Astro-Weather: Vega is the brightest star very high in the west at nightfall. Arcturus, equally bright, is getting low in the west-northwest. The brightest star in the vast expanse between them, about a third of the way from Arcturus up toward Vega, is Alphecca,— the crown jewel of Corona Borealis. Alphecca is a 17-day eclipsing binary, but its brightness dips are too slight for the eye to see.

Saturn remains a tempting target in this week’s early evening sky. The ringed planet stands above the southwestern horizon as darkness falls. Cronos appears significantly brighter than any of the background stars in its host constellation, Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer.

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Read my recent interview in VoyageChicago

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Lucas Cranach the Elder

508 BC – Deathday of Lucretia an ancient Roman woman whose fate played a vital role in the transition of Roman government from the Roman Kingdom to the Roman Republic. She committed suicide after being raped by an Etruscan king’s son was the immediate cause of the anti-monarchist rebellion that overthrew the monarchy. As a result of its sheer impact, the rape itself became a major theme in European art & literature

Paolo Veronese

Deathday of Jarius. The record of the daughter of Jairus is a combination of miracles of Jesus in the Gospels (Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26, Luke 8:40–56) The story immediately follows the exorcism at Gerasa. Jairus, a patron or ruler of a Galilee synagogue, had asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter. As they were traveling to Jairus’ house, a sick woman in the crowd touched Jesus’ cloak & was healed of her sickness. Jesus turned round to the woman & says: “Take heart, daughter,” your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”  Moments later, a messenger arrived with the news that Jairus’ daughter had died, & he was advised not to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus responded: Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36) Jesus continued to the house, where he informed all those present that the girl was not dead but asleep. He then went upstairs & restored the little girl to life. In Mark’s account, the Aramaic phrase “Talitha Koum” (transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ meaning, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) is attributed to Jesus

Deathday of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a Syrian Christian theologian & philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the set of works commonly referred to as the Corpus Areopagiticum or Corpus Dionysiacum, portraying himself as the Athenian convert of Paul of Tarsus mentioned in Acts 17:34 (Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus) This attribution to the earliest decades of Christianity resulted in the work being given great authority in subsequent theological writing in both East & West. His works are mystical & show strong Neoplatonic influence. For example he uses Plotinus’ well-known analogy of a sculptor cutting away that which does not enhance the desired image.

In a letter addressed to Polycarp, pseudo-Dionysius asks “What have you to say about the solar eclipse which occurred when the Savior was put on the Cross? At the time the two of us were in Heliopolis and we both witnessed the extraordinary phenomenon of the moon hiding the sun at the time that was out of season for their coming together…. We saw the moon begin to hide the sun from the east, travel across to the other side of the sun, and return on its path so that the hiding and the restoration of the light did not take place in the same direction but rather in diametrically opposite directions.…” This is illustrated in an astronomical fresco in the main gallery of the Escorial Library, near Madrid, Spain, which shows Dionysius the Areopagite observing an eclipse at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.

Luke, 23-45 (It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. 45The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle) We can notice a quadrant & an astrolabe in the hands of the amazed men!

287 AD – Deathday of Saint Candidus. The Golden Legend states that he was a commander of the Theban Legion, which was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He opposed Maximian, who had ordered them to harass the local Christians in his name, stating that “we are your soldiers, but we are also servants of the true God. We cannot renounce Him who is our Creator and Master, and also yours even though you reject Him.” Candidus, along with St. Maurice, the other staff officers & 6,600 soldiers, were martyred at the Swiss town of Saint Maurice-en-Valais

1226 – Deathday of Francis of Assisi, Italian friar & saint. Based on a study of the life of Francis of Assisi, Rudolf Steiner shows how the development of morality is based on the belief in the Divine at the bottom of every human soul, on the boundless love that springs from this belief, and on the hope for each human soul that it can find its way back to the Divine. The Spiritual Foundation of Morality: Francis of Assisi and the Mission of Love see also Esoteric Christianity and the Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, Man in the Light of Occultism, Theosophy and Philosophy, Steiner says: Francis of Assisi was wholly the sentient soul of Jesus of Nazareth in Christianity in the Evolution of Mankind, Leading Individualities and Avatar-Beings. There are many other lectures where this great personality is mentioned.

1250 – Deathday of Gilbertus Anglicus. His major work, the Compendium Medicinae, written in Latin, running to seven books, is an attempt to provide a comprehensive encyclopedia of medical & surgical knowledge as it existed in his day. He quotes extensively from Roger of Palma, & acknowledges that his work is indebted to Greek physicians including Galen, Hippocrates & Theophilus Protospatharius, & Arab physicians such as Averroes & Avicenna.

1942 – Spaceflight: The first successful launch of a V-2 /A4-rocket from Test Stand VII at Peenemünde, Germany. It is the first man-made object to reach space.

1952 – The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon to become the world’s third nuclear power.

1962 – Project Mercury: Sigma 7 is launched from Cape Canaveral, with astronaut Wally Schirra aboard, for a six-orbit, nine-hour flight.

1963 – A violent coup in Honduras pre-empts the October 13 election, ends a period of reform, & begins two decades of military rule.

1981 – The hunger strike by Provisional Irish Republican Army & Irish National Liberation Army prisoners at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after 7months & 10 deaths.

1985 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its maiden flight. (Mission STS-51-J)

1986 – TASCC, a superconducting cyclotron at the Chalk River Laboratories, is officially opened

1990 – German reunification: The German Democratic Republic ceases to exist & its territory becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later became the European Union. Now celebrated as German Unity Day

1995 – O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson & Ronald Goldman

2008 – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is signed by President George W. Bush – commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis authorizing the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, & supply cash directly to banks

***

Lily Povel

My POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Walking the Peace Path
Chasing meteorites
Hot iron from fallen stars…
Climbing the Tree of Life
To anoint the sword with Sulphur…
~hag

***

Ayse Domeniconi

In the Autumn we begin to pull inward, after many months of activity, in preparation for another incubation period. We begin looking ahead to the birth of the Light at Winter Solstice & begin to reflect on our progress since the last Winter Solstice (gestation) & Spring Equinox (rebirth).

What dreams did you gestate last winter in the quiet of the night? What seeds did you plant at the Spring Equinox? How have your projects flowered under the Summer Solstice sun? What will be harvested now & what have you learned? What seeds will you carry & nurture through the dark? What gifts will you give, in the freedom of your thinking, to the waning outer light?

& so the wheel turns…

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg 

***

Two Anthroposophical Events to which you are warmly invited!

The Central Regional Council invites all members in the central region to consider participating in the ASA’s Annual General Meeting and conference in October. The focus of the year’s event is on taking action, and working inwardly and outwardly to help humanity evolve. The work we have undergone in the central region has often been developed toward this aim of taking action and responding to the world in a meaningful way.

Rise Up! Life as a Labor of Love – Anthroposophical Society in America
Annual General Meeting and Conference – Fri, Oct 13 at 1:00 pm to Sunday, Oct 15 at 1:00 pm at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ

Wednesday and Thursday ‘How We Will Rise Up! Youth and Youthful Gathering’ at Desert Marigold. Email for more information. 

Also: at the Heard Museum Friday morning, October 13, from 9:30-11:30 am for members of the School for Spiritual Science. Bring your blue cards!

Please register online through www.anthroposophy.org!

***

All Souls Festival and Retreat
At the Minnesota Waldorf School in the Twin Cities, MN. 

Week-end Retreat including Festival
Fri, Nov 3 at 7:00 pm to Sunday, Nov 5 at 11:00 am

Cost $75 (registration required, click here)

Journey of the Soul Festival – Saturday, Nov 4 at 7:00 to 9:00 pm -Suggested Donation $10 at the door – All are welcome

Walk the pathway of our beloved across the threshold, being present for them, and preparing for our own journey.

“Life after death
Life before birth
Only by knowing both
Do we know eternity”
~ Rudolf Steiner

Culmination of “The Bridging Project: Between Life and Death from Soul to Sou

Sponsored by: Central Regional Council (CRC) and Twin Cities Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

Questions: Dennis Dietzel dennis.dietzel@gmail.com, Marianne Dietzel mariannemdietzel@gmail.com, Linda Bergh hellolindabergh@gmail.com

Will to Awaken

Autumn, Celestial Event, Poetry, Remembering

2 October 2016 – Astro-Weather: Tonight marks the unofficial start of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Although the Orionids won’t peak for nearly three weeks (on the night of October 20/21), you should start to see a few shower members in the early morning hours. These meteors appear to radiate from the northern part of the constellation Orion the Hunter.

***

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Mehregān (Persian: Mithra Festival) is a Zoroastrian & Persian festival, celebrated since the Zoroaster era, celebrating the Persian god Mithra (an earlier incarnation of Michael), & to honor the Yazata of “Mehr” which is responsible for friendship, affection & love. It is also widely referred to as Persian Festival of Autumn. Mehrgān was celebrated in an extravagant style at Persepolis. Not only was it the time for harvest, but it was also the time when the taxes were collected. Visitors from different parts of the Persian Empire brought gifts for the king all contributing to a lively festival.

If the gift-giver needed money at a later time, the court would then return twice the gift amount. Kings gave two audiences a year: one audience at Nowruz & another at Mehregān. During the Mehregān celebrations, the king wore a fur robe & gave away all his summer clothes.

Nowadays for this celebration, the participants wear new clothes & set a decorative, colorful table. The sides of the tablecloth are decorated with dry marjoram. A copy of the Khordeh Avesta (“little Avesta”), a mirror & a sormeh-dan (a traditional eyeliner or kohl) are placed on the table together with rosewater, sweets, flowers, vegetables & fruits, especially pomegranates & apples, & nuts such as almonds or pistachios. A few silver coins & lotus seeds are placed in a dish of water scented with marjoram extract.

A burner is also part of the table setting for kondor/loban (frankincense) & espand (seeds of Peganum harmala, Syrian rue) to be thrown on the flames.

At lunch time when the ceremony begins, everyone in the family stands in front of the mirror to pray. Sharbat is drunk & then—as a good omen—sormeh is applied around the eyes. Handfuls of wild marjoram, lotus & sugar plum seeds are thrown over one another’s heads while they embrace one another.

 

The International Day of Non-Violence – The birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, referred to in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national festival celebrated in India to mark the occasion of the birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the “Father of the Nation”. It is one of the three national holidays of the country

Louis Janmot

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, Catholics set up altars in honor of guardian angels as early as the 4th Century, & local celebrations of a feast in honor of guardian angels go back to the 11th Century

1187 – Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule

1452 – Birthday of Richard III of England, the last king of the House of York. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of the historical play Richard III by William Shakespeare

1552 – Conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, The Grand Prince of Moscow. His conquests transformed Russia into a multiethnic & multicontinental state spanning almost one billion acres. Ivan managed countless changes in the progression from a medieval state to an empire & emerging regional power, & became the first ruler to be crowned as Tsar of All the Russias.

Historic sources present disparate accounts of Ivan’s complex personality: he was described as intelligent & devout, yet given to rages & prone to episodic outbreaks of mental instability, that increased with his age, affecting his reign. In one such outburst, he killed his groomed & chosen heir Ivan Ivanovich. This left the Tsardom to be passed to Ivan’s younger son, the weak & intellectually disabled Feodor Ivanovich.

Ivan’s legacy is complex: he was an able diplomat, a patron of arts & trade, founder of the Moscow Print Yard, Russia’s first publishing house, a leader highly popular among the common people (see Ivan the Terrible in Russian folklore) of Russia, but he is also remembered for his paranoia && arguably harsh treatment of the Russian nobility. The Massacre of Novgorod is regarded as one of the biggest demonstrations of his mental instability & brutality

1803 – Deathday of Samuel Adams, American philosopher & politician

1869 – Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian activist & philosopher

1925 – John Logie Baird performs the first test of a working television system

1928 – The Opus Dei, is founded by Josemaría Escrivá.

1937 – Dominican Republic ‘strongman’ Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of the Haitian population living within the borderlands; approximately 20,000 are killed over the next five days

1941 – World War II: In Operation Typhoon, Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow

1942 – World War II: Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary accidentally rams & sinks her own escort ship, HMS Curacoa, off the coast of Ireland, killing 239 crewmen

1947 – Deathday of P. D. Ouspensky, a Russian mathematician & esotericist known for his expositions of the early work of the Greek-Armenian teacher of esoteric doctrine George Gurdjieff, whom he met in Moscow in 1915. He shared the (Gurdjieff) “system” for 25 years in England & the United States, having separated from Gurdjieff in 1924 personally, for reasons he explains in the last chapter of his book In Search of the Miraculous, a recounting of what he learned from Gurdjieff during those years. After Ouspensky broke away from Gurdjieff, he taught the “Fourth Way”, as he understood it, to his independent groups.

Gurdjieff proposed that there are three ways of self-development generally known in esoteric circles. These are the Way of the Fakir, dealing exclusively with the physical body, the Way of the Monk, dealing with the emotions, & the Way of the Yogi, dealing with the mind. What is common about the three ways is that they demand complete seclusion from the world. According to Gurdjieff, there is a Fourth Way which does not demand its followers to abandon the world. The work of self-development takes place right in the midst of ordinary life. Gurdjieff called his system a school of the Fourth Way where a person learns to work in harmony with his physical body, emotions & mind. Ouspensky picked up this idea & continued his own school along this line.

He finally gave up the system in 1947. (“A Record of Meetings”, published posthumously) “you must make a new beginning” after confessing “I’ve left the system”

Marcel Duchamp

1968 – Deathday of Marcel Duchamp, French painter & sculptor

1990 – Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked & lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 128

1996 – The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton

1996 – Aeroperú Flight 603, a Boeing 757, crashes into the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff from Lima, Peru, killing 70

***

Ingrid Flowser

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~A word, a vibration, a message
Is coursing thru my blood
The rust in my veins
Causes combustion
Making room
For the cosmic iron
To etch itself into my palms
Activating my limbs –
Forging my will to awaken
~hag

***

Anna Todaro

You, my dearly beloved, need more magic in your life…
You seem to be suffering from a lack
of sublimely irrational adventures
& eccentrically miraculous epiphanies…
Not to mention inexplicably delightful interventions…
At the same time, make sure the magic you attract
is not pure fluff – It needs some grit to get a good groove on
It’s got to have a kicking big back beat
& an abyss challenging melody
that keeps you honest…

So come Be
a burning churning throb
of magic mojo

~xox

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg 

***

 

Rise Up! Life as a Labor of Love – Anthroposophical Society in America
Annual General Meeting and Conference –

Fri, Oct 13 at 1:00 pm to Sunday, Oct 15 at 1:00 pm at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ

Wednesday and Thursday ‘How We Will Rise Up! Youth and Youthful Gathering’ at Desert Marigold. Email for more information. 

Also: at the Heard Museum Friday morning, October 13, from 9:30-11:30 am for members of the School for Spiritual Science. Bring your blue cards!

Please register online through www.anthroposophy.org!

***

 

All Souls Festival Weekend Retreat and Festival
Fri, Nov 3 at 7:00 pm to Sunday, Nov 5 at 11:00 am
At the Minnesota Waldorf School in the Twin Cities, MN.

Join us for this Culmination of “The Bridging Project: Between Life and Death from Soul to Soul. Walk the pathway of our beloved across the threshold, being present for them, and preparing for our own journey.

Cost $75 (registration required, click here)

Journey of the Soul Festival – Saturday, Nov 4 at 7:00 to 9:00 pm Suggested Donation $10 at the door – All are welcome

“Life after death
Life before birth
Only by knowing both
Do we know eternity”
~ Rudolf Steiner

Sponsored by: Central Regional Council (CRC) and Twin Cities Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

Questions: Dennis Dietzel dennis.dietzel@gmail.com,@Marianne Diietel mariannemdietzel@gmail.com, Linda Bergh hellolindabergh@gmail.com

 

Ever Forging

Autumn, Celestial Event, Insight, Poetry, Quote, Remembering

1 October 2017 – Astro-Weather: Brilliant Venus rises around 4 am CDT, shortly before morning twilight starts to paint the sky. The Goddess of Love shines brilliantly pointing the way to the red planet-Mars, which rises 13 minutes later. The two planets appear just 2.5° apart, they come noticeably closer over the next few days.

Venus and Mars Botticelli

The starry W of Cassiopeia stands high in the northeast after dark. The right-hand side of the W (the brightest side) is tilted up.

***

William Blake

“History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of humanity”. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

286 -Feast Day of Saint Piatus,  a Belgian saint, native of Benevento, Italy, Tradition states that he was ordained by Dionysios the Areopagite. He was martyred under Maximian by having the top of his skull sliced off. He may be recognized in depictions holding the sliced portion of his skull. Some of his relics can be found at Chartres Cathedral

331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela

1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans

1814 – Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoleon the previous spring

1847 – Birthday of Annie Besant a prominent British socialist, theosophist, women’s rights activist, writer, orator & supporter of Irish & Indian self-rule.

In 1890 Besant met Helena Blavatsky. She became a member of the Theosophical Society & a prominent lecturer. She established the first overseas Lodge of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain. Over the next few years she established lodges in many parts of the British Empire. In 1907 she became president of the Theosophical Society, whose international headquarters were in Adyar, Madras. She also became involved in politics in India, joining the Indian National Congress. When World War I broke out in 1914, she helped launch the Home Rule Leagueto campaign for democracy in India. This led to her election as president of the India National Congress. In the late 1920s, Besant travelled to the United States with her protégé & adopted son Jiddu Krishnamurti, whom she claimed was the new Messiah & incarnation of Buddha. Krishnamurti rejected these claims in 1929. 

She is thought to be the reincarnation of Giordano Bruno

1880 – First electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison

1890 – Yosemite National Park is established by the U.S. Congress

1908 – Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.

1910 – Los Angeles Times bombing: by union members belonging to the International Association of Bridge & Structural Iron Workers. The explosion started a fire which killed 21 newspaper employees & injured 100 more.

1918 –  Arab forces under T. E. Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia”, capture Damascus

1924 – Birthday of Jimmy Carter, American lieutenant & politician, 39th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate

1928 – General Secretary Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union introduces its First five-year plan, including the creation of “kolkhoz” collective farming systems that stretched over thousands of acres of land & had hundreds of peasants working on them. This essentially destroyed the kulaks as a class, & also brought about the slaughter of millions of farm animals that these peasants would rather kill than give up to the gigantic farms. To meet the goals of the first five-year plan the Soviet Union began using the labor of its growing prisoner population. This disruption led to a famine in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan as well as areas of the Northern Caucasus.

1957 – First appearance of In God we trust on U.S. paper currency

1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is formed, becoming the country’s first centralized military espionage organization

1964 – Japanese Shinkansen (“bullet trains“) begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka

1985 – The Israeli Air Force bombs Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters in Tunis

***

Carole Voss

My POD (Poem Of The Day)

~I looked in
& saw the dragon writhing
In rags of mortality
Spitting the cold fire of fear
Binding & Hardening…
& yet my blood was hot
Pulsing with scintillating sparks
Forged From the sword of the Archai…
Now my tongue flicks flames
Licking the fingers of gods
Knowing I am
Free
~hag

***

Michaelmas is not just a day; it is a season that extends from September 29, the Feast of St. Michael & All The Heavenly Hosts, to October 31, All Hallows Eve. It is a time for harvest, a time for work, a time for storing away that which we need for the cold dark months to come.

The autumn is an exceptional time. In many parts of North America, the trees are ablaze with splendid color— the scarlet maples, the twittering yellow aspens, the orange sumac. The evening skies come alive as meteor showers streak across the dark canopy like blazing arrows. This cosmic metallic presence is absorbed into our blood from the very air we breathe, invigorating our blood with its homeopathic qualities of iron. Darkness starts to wrap around us & we are moved inside to the comfort of our homes. Our thought life also goes inward. The dreamy mood of summer is replaced by a new vigor that seems to aid us in our tasks. Beyond external observation, what does all of this mean?

An ancient intuitive wisdom placed a festival at each of the four turning points of the solar year. The autumn festival was named after the archangel Michael, the heavenly warrior. The name Michael is Hebrew, & its meaning is a question: “Who is like God?” Legend tells that Michael, along with Gabriel, Uriel & Raphael, were sent out into the cosmos by God to seek a name for man. With sublime spirit-power, Michael, as the messenger of God, proclaimed man’s earthly name: “Adam.”

There are many other legends of Michael, the most notable being of his confrontation in heaven with the rebellious angels, led by Lucifer, who sought to overthrow God. The forces of Michael cast them out of heaven & held them in control in their earthly form as dragons. Michael did not slay the dragon, but through inner forces was able to hold it in control, at the tip of his spear.

If we examine this story, we can begin to find the meaning of Michaelmas & the task of Michael. The dragon is not an external reality, but rather lives within all humankind, represented by cold, dead, rationalistic & pragmatic thinking.

It is alive within every mortal as a potentially evil force. Michael’s message to humanity is not to try to slay the dragon within ourselves, for we would not live in freedom if we did, but rather to overcome it with consciousness. It is the consciousness in our thinking which calls for exactitude & selflessness, as well as the strength of will needed to follow a moral path in life. Michaelmas is a festival of inner strength & initiative. It is a time when our higher being can conquer anxiety & fear, for it is the task of Michael to awaken humankind to the eternal within.

In earnest wakefulness & practiced Peace –

~Hazel Archer Ginsberg 

***

Two Anthroposophical Events to which you are warmly invited!

The Central Regional Council invites all members in the central region to consider participating in the ASA’s Annual General Meeting and conference in October. The focus of the year’s event is on taking action, and working inwardly and outwardly to help humanity evolve. The work we have undergone in the central region has often been developed toward this aim of taking action and responding to the world in a meaningful way.

Rise Up! Life as a Labor of Love – Anthroposophical Society in America
Annual General Meeting and Conference – Fri, Oct 13 at 1:00 pm to Sunday, Oct 15 at 1:00 pm at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ

Wednesday and Thursday ‘How We Will Rise Up! Youth and Youthful Gathering’ at Desert Marigold. Email for more information. 

Also: at the Heard Museum Friday morning, October 13, from 9:30-11:30 am for members of the School for Spiritual Science. Bring your blue cards!

Please register online through www.anthroposophy.org!

***

 

All Souls Festival and Retreat
At the Minnesota Waldorf School in the Twin Cities, MN. 

Week-end Retreat including Festival
Fri, Nov 3 at 7:00 pm to Sunday, Nov 5 at 11:00 am

Cost $75 (registration required, click here)

Journey of the Soul Festival – Saturday, Nov 4 at 7:00 to 9:00 pm -Suggested Donation $10 at the door – All are welcome

Walk the pathway of our beloved across the threshold, being present for them, and preparing for our own journey.

“Life after death
Life before birth
Only by knowing both
Do we know eternity”
~ Rudolf Steiner

Culmination of “The Bridging Project: Between Life and Death from Soul to Sou

Sponsored by: Central Regional Council (CRC) and Twin Cities Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

Questions: Dennis Dietzel dennis.dietzel@gmail.com, Marianne Dietzel mariannemdietzel@gmail.com, Linda Bergh hellolindabergh@gmail.com