POD (Poem Of the Day)

~The secrets of the ethers
Push thru the bossy wind
Striving to awaken & reveal
Will you listen?

Beyond the shouting there speaks:
We need
Truths in their wild state-
Insurrectionary Beauty
that Excites our Curiosity-
Outrageous Goodness
that drives us to perform
heroic acts of lusty Compassion-
Ingenious Justice
that endlessly affirms us –
Tricky Freedom
that is never permanent
but must be reinvented & reclaimed every day,
& a totally-serious-yet-always-laughing Love
that schemes and dreams
about how to transform the suffering
& increase the Wisdom
of every Sentient Being.
~hag

11 February 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The next constellation east of Orion is dim Monoceros the Unicorn.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY – “What is presented here can be useful to those who wish to follow the path of humankind’s spiritual development” ~Rudolf Steiner, from the original Calendar of the Soul, of which this section of the blog is dedicated.

Feast day of Saint Blaise. From being a healer of bodily ailments, he became a physician of souls, then retired for a time to a cavern where he remained in prayer. As bishop of Sebastea, Blaise instructed his people as much by his example as by his words, & by many miracles. From all parts, the people came flocking to him for the cure of bodily & spiritual ills.  He is said to have healed animals (who came to the saint on their own for his assistance) & to have been assisted by animals.

The governor was jealous, Blaise was arrested. When he was led away, the story goes, they met a poor woman whose pig had been seized by a wolf. At the command of Blaise, the wolf restored the pig to its owner, alive & unhurt. When he had reached the capital & was in prison awaiting execution, the old woman whose pig he had saved came to see him, bringing two fine wax candles to dispel the gloom of his dark cell.

In 316, Agricola, the governor of Cappadocia sent to kill the Christians, arrested the bishop Blaise. As he was being led to jail, a mother set her only son, choking on a fish-bone, at his feet, & the child was cured straight away. Regardless, the governor, unable to make Blaise renounce his faith, beat him with a stick, ripped his flesh with iron combs, & beheaded him. Consequently, Saint Blaise is invoked for protection against injuries and illnesses of the throat.

In many places on the day of his feast the blessing of St. Blaise is given: 2 burning candles, blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (“Candlemas”), are held in a crossed position by a priest over the heads of the faithful or the people are touched on the throat with them. At the same time the following blessing is given: “May Almighty God at the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, preserve you from infections of the throat and from all other afflictions“. Then the priest makes the sign of the cross over the faithful.

Blaise is considered one of the ‘Fourteen Holy Helpers’. His cult became widespread in Europe in the 11th & 12th centuries & his legend is recounted in the 14th-century Legenda Aurea. Saint Blaise is the saint of the wild beast.

In iconography, Blaise is represented holding two crossed candles in his hand (the Blessing of St. Blaise), or in a cave surrounded by wild beasts, as he was found by the hunters of the governor. He is often shown with the instruments of his martyrdom, steel combs. The similarity of these instruments of torture to wool combs led to his adoption as the patron saint of wool combers in particular, & the wool trade in general

Feast Day of St. Gobnait, Irish patron Saint of BeeKeepers. She was born in County Clare in the 5th or 6th Century, & is said to have been the sister of Saint Abban. She fled a family feud, taking refuge in the Aran Islands. Here an angel appeared & told her that this was “not the place of her resurrection” & that she should look for a place where she would find nine white deer grazing. She found the deer at the place now known as St. Gobnet’s Wood.

Celtic lore held bees in high esteem, believing the soul left the body as a bee or a butterfly. Gobnait is said to have added beekeeping to her life’s work, developing a lifelong affinity with them. She started a religious order & dedicated her days to helping the sick. She used honey as a healing aid. She is credited with saving the people at Ballyvourney from the plague.

One story tells of how she drove off a brigand by sending a swarm of bees after him and making him restore the cattle he had stolen.

St Gobnait’s well is situated to the North of Ballyagran. It is said that a white stag can sometimes be seen at the well.

660 BC – Traditional date for the founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu

AD 55 – Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman emperor-ship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome. This clears the way for Nero to become Emperor

1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England

1650 – Deathday of René Descartes, French mathematician & philosopher

1790 – The Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, petitions U.S. Congress for the abolition of slavery

1847 – Birthday of Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, developed the light bulb and phonograph

1858 – Bernadette Soubirous’s first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France. ‘I Am the Immaculate Conception’ – Today is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, & we celebrate her message of peace, & healing. In 1858, a 14-year-old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, was gathering firewood in the countryside when a beautiful woman, standing on a rock in a natural grotto, appeared to her. This began a series of 18 apparitions in which Bernadette spoke & prayed with the woman. On one visit, the mysterious woman instructed Bernadette to dig into the dry ground & drink from the spring that flowed there. Although no spring was visible, Bernatdette scratched at the ground & a spring began to bubble up. To this day, the waters continue to flow, which have a miraculous healing property. Lourdes is well-known for the many miracles of healing that have taken place there over the years

1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state

1937 – A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers

1971 – Eighty-seven countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, & Soviet Union, sign the Seabed Arms Control Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters

1978 – China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare & Charles Dickens

1979 – The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

1981 – Around 100,000 US gallons of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 108 workers

1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner

2011 – The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak & the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 18 days of protests

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KNOW THYSELF – Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide Retreat 9 -12 April 2020,

Registration is now open for the Easter-Tide Retreat: “Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology“, presented by the Central Regional Council and the Association for Anthroposophic PsychologyView this email in your browser

Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology — an Easter-Tide Retreat

Maundy Thursday 9 April 2020 Noon through Easter Sunday at 3 pm
Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL
 

AAP:James A. Dyson, M.D., Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., and David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.

CRC:Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

Eurythmist: Mary Ruud

Activities:

• Art-Acts
• Star Wisdom
• The Karma Exercises
• Experiential PAGEANT on Holy Saturday: ‘Know Thyself’
• Easter Sunrise Songtrail
• Optional service at the Christian Community
• Communal meals and time for Conversation

Lectures:

• ‘Living into Karma through the Senses’
• ‘How to find the Self in a Sea of Karma’
• ‘Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn Path’
• ‘The Gesture of Karma’
• ‘Christ as Lord of Karma — how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology?’

(Program subject to change)

$140 Conference fee includes 1 meal a day and artistic supplies

Click here for program information and to register

If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

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Karma and Anthroposophic Psychology –  An Easter-Tide Retreat 

April 9 – 12, 2020 – Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL

AAP: James A. Dyson, M.D., Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., and David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.

CRC: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

Eurythmist: Mary Ruud

A popular view of karma is cause and effect or tit-for-tat. Karma, however, is so much more complex, interesting, and important. The soul work of karma has to do with the unfolding of our individuality through the elements, through the ethers, and very much through relationships.

Rudolf Steiner named his core mission as bringing karma and reincarnation to the West; his teachings deserve interpretation and practical enlivening. The Central Regional Council has been exploring this theme for many months. Anthroposophic Psychology gives a unique contribution to the soul work of karma. For this conference the CRC is partnering with the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP of North America) to present ideas and experiences concerning karma—and how it impacts upon personal psychology.

Conference Fees (includes 1 meal per day & art supplies):

• $190 Supporter Level
• $140 Standard Rate
• $60 Youth Rate (Age 35 and under)

Limited scholarships available. Click here to apply.

Tentative Schedule (subject to change)

Thursday April 9

Noon: Registration & Group Lunch (provided)

2:00-3:15Welcome and ArtActs (Interactive Artistic Activity)

3:30-5:30Star Wisdom and Karma – David Tresemer, Ph.D.

5:30-7:00 Dinner (on your own)

7:00-9:00 (Evening Presentation) “The Karma Exercises” – Susan Overhauser, Ph.D.

Friday April 10

9-10:15 ArtActs

10:30-12:30Living into Karma—through the Senses —James A. Dyson, MD.

12:30-2:00 Lunch (on your own)

2:00-3:15 ArtActs

3:30-5:30How to Find the Self in a Sea of Karma – Roberta Nelson, Ph.D. This is part 1 of a deep inquiry into finding one’s self.

5:30-7:00 Group Dinner (provided)

7:00-9:00Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn path — James A. Dyson, MD.

Saturday April 11

 9-10:15 ArtActs

10:30-12:30How to Find the Self in a Sea of Karma – Roberta Nelson, Ph.D. This is part 2 of a deep inquiry into finding one’s self.

12:30-2:00 Lunch (on your own)

2:00-3:15 ArtActs

3:30-5:30The Gesture of Karma – David Tresemer, Ph.D. Guest to this presentation will be Lisa Loving Dalton.

 5:30-7:00 Group Dinner (provided)

 7:00-9:00 PAGEANT: ‘Know Thyself’ by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, the CRC, and consultant Margot Hodgson, LPC

Sunday April 12

Easter SunriseSongtrail at the Lake with Marianne Fieber

At the Christian Community 2135 W. Wilson Ave · Chicago, Il 60625

9:30 Children’s Stories

10:00 Children’s Service

10:30 Adult Easter Service

11:30 Potluck Feast

12:30LEADING THOUGHTS: Christ as Lord of Karma—how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology? – James Dyson, MD.

1:30Gatheringexperiences and reflections.

2:30CRC business

3:00Closing

CRC: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

AAP:

• James A. Dyson, MD, Senior Faculty, Assoc. for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP), North America; Faculty Member, English International Training in Anthroposophic Medicine
• Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., licensed addiction and clinical counselor; Faculty Chair for Assoc. for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP), North America. Contributor to The Counselor … as if Soul and Spirit Matter.
• Susan Overhauser, Ph.D., licensed psychologist, California; Associate Presenter for Assoc. for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP), North America.
• David Tresemer, Ph.D., President, Assoc. for Anthroposophic Psychology. Editor and contributor, The Counselor … as if Soul and Spirit Matter; editor, Slow Counseling; column in Lilipoh for the last seven years. Author of Star Wisdom & Rudolf Steiner.

About AAP: The foundation course in the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP) is a three-year (three times a year) training, starting up again in April 2021. See www.AnthroposophicPsychology.org

P.O. Box 2180, Boulder, Colorado 80306

E: Admin@AnthroposophicPsychology.org

Web: AnthroposophicPsychology.org

Activities:

• Art-Acts
• Star Wisdom
• The Karma Exercises
• Experiential PAGEANT on Holy Saturday: ‘Know Thyself’
• Easter Sunrise Songtrail
• Optional service at the Christian Community
• Communal meals and time for Conversation

Lectures:

• ‘Living into Karma through the Senses’
• ‘How to find the Self in a Sea of Karma’
• ‘Unfolding the Enigma of the Saturn Path’
• ‘The Gesture of Karma’
• ‘Christ as Lord of Karma — how do I access this in terms of my personal psychology?’

(Program subject to change)

$125 Conference fee includes 1 meal a day

For more information and to register, contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

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The Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond 2020

04/16/2020 – 2:00 PM – 04/19/2020 -1:00 PM PT

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

April 16 – 19, 2020
Detroit Waldorf School, Detroit, MI

• Bring a new consciousness to your own life and death
• Support those who are crossing and who have crossed over 
• Expand your practice and knowledge of working with the dying

Through interactive workshops, triad sharing, keynote discussions with Rev. Patrick Kennedy, Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox, Dr. Melinda Toney, and Hazel Archer-Ginsberg,  and more, as well as experiential and artistic activities, we will consciously explore the spiritual and practical aspect of human life and death. 

Conference Fees:

• $280 Supporter Level
• $195 Standard ASA Member Rate
• $215 Non-Member Rate 
• $60 Youth Rate (Age 35 and under)

Limited scholarships available. Click here to apply.

Click Here to Join the ASA!

Conference Schedule 
(Note: Workshops Subject to Additions/Minor Changes)

Pre-conference Activities: 

Thursday, April 16  

2 pm Tour of Brightmoor Maker’s Space  

4 pm  Screening of short film The Art of Natural Death Care  Detroit Waldorf School Auditorium- By Donation  

7pm Screening of a Will For The Woods Detroit Waldorf School Auditorium- Open to the public!  $10 Suggested Donation 

Friday, April 17

10:00-1:00p Registration Opens 
10:00-12:00p Choose from two pre-conference activities at the Detroit Waldorf School 

• Exploring the Beauty of home funerals and green burial: Photo essay and Q&A with Merilynne Rush, MS, End-of-Life Doula Trainer and Home Funeral Guide (Open to the public. Donation accepted at the door) 
• The Story of Detroit: A Walking Songtrail (Meet in the school playground. Approx. two mile walk)

12:00p Bag Lunch (For Purchase) 
1:00p  Conference Opening 
1:45-3:00p  Keynote Discussion with Rev. Patrick Kennedy: Befriending Death 
3:00-3:30p Break
3:30-5:00p  Three-Day Themed Workshops (Chosen on site. Choose one theme and attend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) ALL WORKSHOPS CHOSEN ON SITE  
Fuller descriptions coming soon! 

• From Loss to Connection Through the Arts: Reading, Writing and Drawing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery
  Together we will invite our loved ones across the threshold to join us in experiencing practices thet connect and heal. We will read to the dead, write prose and poetry, and draw from gestures of nature.
• BIOGRAPHY: GIFTS OF REVIEWING LIFE AND CONNECTING TO LIFE AFTER DEATH     Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
• A HOME DEATH CARE STORY: CONSCIOUS DYING AND THE HOME VIGIL~BASED ON DYING OF WAYNE TONEY    Dr. Melinda Toney, Carole Schoaf, and Katherine Blackburn 
• MULTI-CULTURAL APPROACHES: ANCIENT AND MODERN/ SACRED AND ESOTERIC: FESTIVALS FOR THE DEAD. THEN AND NOW. RENEW OR CREATE YOUR OWN TRADITION  Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Julia Torres and Guests 

5:30-6:30 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 
6:30 Evening Appetizer Reception (Included in registration fee) 
7:30-9:00 Evening Performance 

Saturday April 18 – All workshops chosen on site/Saturday Lunch and Dinner for purchase 

8:00 Coffee/Tea/Breakfast Snacks (Included in Regisration Fee) 
8:30-9:15 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 
9:30-11:00 Three-Day Themed Workshops   
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30 Vigil Room Experience  
12:30 – 2:00  Lunch and Table Conversations 

2:15 – 3:45 Topic Workshops
    Workshop Choices Coming Soon! 

3:45-4:15 Break

4:15-5:45 Story Space: Death & Healing 

5:45-7:00 Dinner With Your Dinner Table Groups 

7:30-9:00 Evening Performance with Sarah Putnam: Little Gidding by TS Elliot followed by Memento Mori Ritual  

Sunday, April 19 – All workshops chosen on site

8:00 Coffee/Tea/Breakfast Snacks (Included in Registration Fee) 

8:30-9:15 Choose: Eurythmy (Movement), Singing, or Poetry 

9:30 – 11:00 Three Day Themed Workshops 

11:30-1:00 Green Burial Ceremony and Closing 

Full conference: 
$280 Supporter (This level provides scholarships for other attendees!)
$195 Standard ASA Member Rate/$215 Non-Member Rate/$60 Youth 
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

Please Note: Cancellation fee of $35 before April 9. No refunds after April 10. 

**Scholarship applications open. Click here to complete your application by March 30!** 
We will get back to you by either March 15th or 30th, depending upon your application date. 

Transportation and Lodging 

Transportation
The nearest aiport is the Detroit Metro airport, which is 30 minutes away. Please take Uber/Lyft/Taxi to our site. 
Click here for a general transportation FAQ.

Lodging
Rooms reserved at the following: 

Comfort Inn Detroit at 1999 E Jefferson Ave has a block of rooms available for us. Please go to this link for the $124.00 nightly rate. Breakfast is included, as well as shuttle rides to and from the Detroit Waldorf School. You can also call 313-567-8888 and say that you are with the Sacred Gateway group. 

Want to share a ride or room? You can post your request or respond to requests at our shared room/ride board here. 

Festivals for the Dead. Then & Now. Renew, or Create Your Own Tradition.

with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year. Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.

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~Vitae Sophia~ A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor

Northeastern Tour May 2020

For more info. Contact Deb Abrahams-Dematte deb@anthroposophy.org

Eurythmy: AUM = A – I stand for myself, U- I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life

Social Sculpture: Steiner’s ‘Blue Dot Exercise’- Through Art, the bridge between science & spirit, we warm the ‘I’, to open the heart, in support of healthy community.

What are my gifts-What are my tools? How can I place them in right relationship within the social realm? How can I hone them to strengthen and enhance the world?

Enter the Labyrinth of Vitae Sophia – Human hearts, once warmed, can rise up to meet the source of wisdom, like flowers turning toward the sun.  

Living into the Foundation Stone of Love  – How can we take our individual Inner Whitsun & expand it, into what Steiner calls the “World Festival of Knowledge” a path leading from ‘Sprit Recollection’, to ‘Sprit Sensing’, to ‘Sprit Beholding’?

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year. Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator & Council Member of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.

Whitsun 2020 Vitae Sophia

as part of the tour 

3 June 2020 – a Round Table Discussion 7 pm – 9 pm on ‘The Sophia’ with John Bloom, Joan Sleigh, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg & Carrie Schuchardt  at The House of Peace in Ipswich, MA. 

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