“When we look out into the world today we see something that has already been there for many years: a tremendous amount of destructiveness. There are forces at work that give us an inkling of the abysses into which western civilization is still to plunge. Looking at those individuals who externally are the cultural leaders in the various fields of life, we notice how they are enmeshed in a terrible cosmic sleep. They think, and until recently most people thought, that until the nineteenth century humankind was childlike and primitive in its insights and views, and that now that modern science has entered into all the various fields, truth has at last arrived, truth that must be upheld forever. People who think like this are, without knowing it, are living in a state of tremendous arrogance. On the other hand, here and there amongst humankind today there are some inklings that things are perhaps not as the majority would like to imagine“.~ Rudolf Steiner – GA 260 – The Christmas Conference- Part Two: The Procedings of the Conference – Dornach, 1st January 1924
“A person who knows that love is there for the paying of debts and brings no profit, is a true Christian. To understand the nature of love — that is to be a Christian! Anthroposophy alone, Spiritual Science alone, with its teachings of Karma and reincarnation, can make us into great egoists unless the impulse of love, the Christ Impulse, is added; only so can we acquire the power to overcome the egoism that may be generated by Spiritual Science.
The balance is established by an understanding of the Christ Impulse. Spiritual Science is given to the world today because it is a necessity for humanity; but in it lies the great danger that — if it is cultivated without the Christ Impulse, without the Impulse of love — men will only increase their egoism, will actually breed egoism that lasts even beyond death. From this the conclusion must not be drawn that we should not cultivate Spiritual Science; rather we must learn to realise that understanding of the essential nature of love is an integral part of it.
Nothing is so disturbing, nothing can be so bitter and disheartening, as to experience the result of our failure to develop love and compassion in the physical world. Ascending into the spiritual world, we are filled with anguish by the selfishness and lack of love we have achieved in the physical-sense world.” ~Rudolf steiner – GA 143 – Love and Its Meaning in the World – Zurich, 17th December, 1912
“Hell begins the day that God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do.” — Goethe
19 April 2021 – “Speaking with the Stars”: First-quarter Moon is near the stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini the Twins. In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of Jupiter and Leda and brothers of Helen of Troy. They sailed with Jason as two of his Argonauts.
Pollux, represented by the brighter star, was immortal, but his brother Castor was not. When Castor was killed in a fight, Jupiter wanted the two to remain together, so he decreed that they each should spend some time in the underworld and some time in the heavens. This is a fanciful way of explaining why the constellation is above the horizon for part of each day and below the horizon for the rest. In China, these two stars were associated with water, as part of constellations representing rivers. They were sometimes also seen as the complementary elements of yin and yang.
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Feast Day of the Holy Lance – the spear of Longinus
1054 – Feast Day of Leo IX, pope of the Catholic Church. Leo IX is widely considered the most historically significant German Pope of the Middle Ages; he was instrumental in the precipitation of the Great Schism of 1054, considered the turning point in which the Catholic & Orthodox Church formally separated.
1775 – The American Revolution begins at Lexington
1824 – Deathday of Lord Byron, English-Scottish poet & playwright, who Steiner refers to as “a seeker after the Palladium” in his Karmic Relationships lecture 1/11.
1882 – Deathday of Charles Darwin, English biologist & theorist, who Steiner refers to as “a seeker after the Palladium” in his Karmic Relationships lecture 1/11.
1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign
1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 people including 19 children under the age of six
2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
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POD (Poem Of the Day)
~ I serve
As the proscenium
You must pass thru me
To reach the altar
Where I bathe the eyes of gods
With incense & streaming tears
To change the rhythm of the heart
In the warmth of Jubilation
~hag
Living into the Spheres of Cosmic Life and Cosmic Light: Easter, Ascension, Whitsun in the Calendar of the Soul with Luigi Morelli, Hazel Archer and Geoff Norris – Zoom Host Frank Agrama
13 May 2021 Ascension Thursday 5- 6:30pm PT / 6-7:30 pm MT / 7 pm – 8:30 pm CT / 8-9:30 pm ET / 1 am – 2:30 am GMT / 2 am – 3:30 am CET
Join Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/7052931041?pwd=TStPVnpFRzlwZ0NpRURBZDNyYnpBQT09
Meeting ID: 705 293 1041 – Passcode: Ascension
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/a961qZZhF
Welcome – Frank Agrama
Verse #6 – Geoff Norris
Ascension: The Secret Teachings, The Elementals, & The Etheric Christ – Hazel Archer
Calendar of the Soul – Luigi Morelli
For those who are familiar with the Calendar of the Soul we could say that during spring and summer we follow the ascent of cosmic life, cosmic light, cosmic warmth and cosmic Word as gifts bestowed upon the human being by the cosmos. By being receptive to them we strengthen our connection to cosmos and Self.
We will briefly explore the dynamics of the year, then look at what qualities of soul we need to develop as we move into spring and summer, most particularly from Easter to Ascension and Whitsun. We will look at the verses of the calendar in conjunction with the artistic renditions of Anne Stockton and Karl König, drawn for each of the verses.
We will ask ourselves: How can we live into and grow from this time of the year? How can we deepen our inner relationship to the event of Ascension? What can we receive and what can we give?
Break-out Groups
Large Group sharing: Gathering dew drops
Group Speech Work with Geoff Norris
“Angels, in the early morning
May be seen the Dews among,
Stooping — plucking — smiling — flying —
Do the Buds to them belong?”
~Emily Dickenson
Closing Thoughts – Hazel Archer
Sangraal: A Pentecost Pilgrimage & Whitsun Festival with the Central Regional Council
After working with Karma & Reincarnation for 3 years the CRC has chossen a new Theme: ‘The Mysteries of the Holy Grail, from Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation’
Join us on Whitsunday 23 May 2021, at 11 am PT / 12 noon MT / 1 pm – 2:30 pm CT / 2 pm ET / 8 pm CET
Details coming soon
You are invited to get the Book & Join us for study sessions through out the year as well.
