Daily Archives: November 23, 2019

Too Bright a light

Part 3 – Digesting the Journey (part 1, part 2 )

~ hag

The plan was to bring the All Souls Festival 1st to Atlanta, so I contacted Jolie Luba, leader of the Death Care Community, who had taken us on a moving song trail in the cemetery during the AGM. We grappled with dates & it became clear that instead, we were to have a gathering exploring the connections on 11:11 with the Mercury Transit. (Read about it here) Angela Foster suggested I come into Atlanta on the evening of November 9th (the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall) to be there for 1st Class on the 10th. This was special, since I had been in town last year doing a presentation when Atlanta had their inaugural 1st Class gathering. The power of Lesson 10 spoke right to the heart of our impending journey, giving insights that enlightened our understanding, which we lived into & brought into the work.

~photo by Angela Foster

That evening Angela & I sat together cutting out the planetary seals. We had a deep conversation where I shared stories of old karmic patterns & some hard truths about my striving to be human. When she left & I was alone at The ARC (Anthroposophical Resource Center), I was spent, so I took a shower with the intention of going to bed early. I was reading Prokofieff’s book about the Sculptural Group ‘A revelation of the Spiritual Purpose of Humanity and the Earth’ – When all of a sudden both my legs started cramping up, a horrible contorting ‘charlie horse’. I kept getting out of bed to try & walk it off. I went over to a high stair to stretch my calves, when both legs seized up & I took a tumble down the stairs. My left arm broke my fall & was sorely bruised.

Image result for Ahriman carved by Rudolf Steiner in the representative of humanity
~close up of ‘The Group’ by Rudolf Steiner

The image of Ahriman came before me as I looked at my feet, painfully contorted & unable to straighten. It was a long hard night.

When I did sleep, I dreamt that my brothers, who I haven’t seen or spoken to for years, were my children. They were literly bouncing off the walls spider man style & I was wringing my hands in worry over what to do. (This dream brought up a lot, since my own childhood was turbulent & complicated. I graduated from HS early & left home when I was 16 to get away from my incestuous father)

~photo by Bill & Bonnie Rogers, 11:11:19 Sunrise in Knoxville TN

I got finally just up at 4:44 am to do some eurythmy, meditate & watch the sunrise on 11:11.

Image result for Deb Abrahams-Dematte <deb@anthroposophy.org>

Deb arrived that morning, & had a work call. The branch council was meeting there as well. So I went out for to hike in the Clyde Shephard nature preserve. It was a cold day & I had that sacred spot to myself. While walking I came upon a platform which looked out over an open circular prairie-like area. I climbed up to observe. Why had they put this platform here? What was I to look for? Nothing was apparent, so I decided to go & walk in that place. The ground was super soft with huge cracks in the sandy soil so that my feet sunk in deeply. It was a very unnerving feeling. I had the thought that I should quickly leave or the ground would swallow me up.

~hag, Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve

After I was out, a huge great horned owl swooped past me, so that I could feel the whoosh of air from her wings on my face. And when I was leaving I meet these beautiful sheep.

Photo by one of the Hancock daughter’s

That afternoon on 11:11 at 4:11 pm – 6:11 pm we gathered at the Martin Clinic. I gave some leading thoughts, Enid Hancock gave us the story of St. Martin of Tours, Angela Foster lead us in Decoupaging candles, Mark Hancock spoke about the inspiration for his ‘Humanizing Medicine’ Martin Clinic, Jolie Luba lead us in some potent biography questions, & we sang songs like ‘This Little Heart of Mine’…An amazing program.

~hag

Angela & Patrick Foster, & their girls, Sophie & Penelope, took us out for great sushi dinner. It was a powerful, Blessed day.

~hag

Deb & I spent a great time talking into the night at the ARC. And then the next day went out for our various & sundry food supplies for the trip -Scoring also at a great consignment shop that Margret Runyon had recommended.

~hag, Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve

The journey commences in earnest tomorrow…

***

Carrie Ann Baade

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~Yes, it’s true
My tone is often sharp, never flat
A briny argot crusted
With cutting honesty
I push into fathomless oceans
Reaching out to the ancient Mother who is all gristle
Salty
Trusting in nothing but death
Scoured by grace & danger
My single solace, the fate
That defines the map
Of a star dream terrain
Speaking in pure tones
Of too bright a light.

~hag

***

Image result for venus jupiter painting
~Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Venus supplicating Jupiter

23 November 2019 – “Speaking with the Stars”: At twilight tonight & tomorrow evening, Venus & Jupiter are just 1½° apart, low in the southwest. Around 7 pm CST the Great Square of Pegasus floats in very high toward the south. Its right (western) edge points down toward Fomalhaut. Its eastern edge points less directly toward Beta Ceti less far down. Near where the third corner is Alpha Phoenicis, or Ankaa, in the constellation Phoenix. In early dawn Sunday, look low in the east-southeast for the thin crescent Moon, a true chalice in the heavens. Bella Luna is there above Mercury & next to fainter Mars.

Venus and Jupiter by Raphael - Reproduction Oil Painting
~Raphael, Venus & Jupiter

 Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day 

Ayse Domeniconi

People will have to learn through the idea of karma that they may not repudiate their earlier deeds with their later deeds. A certain consequentiality in life, a readiness to take on the consequences of what one has done, will have to emerge in human evolution. When one looks more closely, one sees how far removed from this people still are. A greater feeling of responsibility for one’s actions, a greater awareness of karma, that is what a study of this sort might yield.”  ~Rudolf Steiner

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Picture of Saint Columbanus

Feast day St. Columban, Stories claim that as he walked in the woods, it was not uncommon for birds to land on his shoulders to be caressed, or for squirrels to run down from the trees & nestle in the folds of his cowl. He was a strong defender of Irish traditions. The following are the principal miracles attributed to his intercession:

Procuring food for a sick monk and curing the wife of his benefactor
Escaping injury while surrounded by wolves
Causing a bear to evacuate a cave at his biddings
Producing a spring of water near his cave
Replenishing the Luxeuil granary
Multiplying bread and beer for his community
Curing sick monks, who rose from their beds at his request to reap the harvest
Giving sight to a blind man at Orleans
Destroying with his breath a cauldron of beer prepared for a pagan festival
Taming a bear and yoking it to a plough.

Image result for 1644 – John Milton publishes Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

1644 – John Milton publishes Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

Image result for 1889 – The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

1889 – The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

Image result for 1924 – Edwin Hubble's discovery, that the Andromeda "nebula" is actually another island galaxy far outside of our own Milky Way, is first published in The New York Times.

1924 – Edwin Hubble‘s discovery, that the Andromeda “nebula” is actually another island galaxy far outside of our own Milky Way, is first published in The New York Times.

1978 – Cyclone kills about 10,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka.

1978 – The Geneva Frequency Plan goes into effect, realigning many of Europe’s longwave & mediumwave broadcasting frequencies.

1980 –Irpinia earthquake shakes southern Italy killing over 5,900, & injuring 7,700–8,934.

1981 – Iran–Contra affair: Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), giving the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit & support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Image result for 1992 – The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1992 – The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

***

13 December 2019 Rudiger Janisch:

The 3 fold human being , the Foundation Stone & the 3 fold social organism 7 pm – 9 pm

14 December 2019- 9 am – noon

Rüdiger has been working in Curative Education and teaching in professional training programs in Germany and the United States for over 40 years. A long-time student of anthroposophy, he serves on the Collegium of the School for Spiritual Science in North America. His contributions to adult education methods were recognized in the context of an international research project sponsored by the European Union. He has been a member of the core faculty of a joint ‘Training for Trainers’ program supporting Curative Education and Social Therapy in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. He has also taught as an adjunct faculty member of the M.S. Ed program in Waldorf Remedial Education at Antioch University N.H. Having taught many different aspects of anthroposophy and Curative Education, he currently is focused on action research and the development of artistic and experiential approaches to the spiritual scientific study of the human being.

Contact rjanisch@camphill.edu