‘‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL SOUL JOURNEY – A UNION OF WISDOM & LOVE”.
The original idea for the Soul Journey 1st came thru as part of an Easter-Tide Retreat that the Central Regional Council co-created with the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology (AAP) based on the Psychology of Karma, since the CRC theme in 2020 was Karma & Reincarnation. The Journey was then called: ‘Know Thyself: Sophia-Christos’ & was to be enacted on Holy Saturday 2020.
We were all set to bring in James A. Dyson, M.D. from Britain, along with folks from around the country: Roberta Nelson, Ph.D., & David Tresemer, Ph.D. with Susan Overhauser, Ph.D. & the CRC crew: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton, Eurythmist: Mary Ruud & myself. Registration was in full swing when the lockdown was announced…And so the Easter weekend retreat had to be canceled.
The project lay in state until it became clear that it wanted to rise up with the Sophia – reworked to serve as the heart of the Sophia Rising Convergence.
This Soul Journey strongly engages the will – the most underdeveloped soul force for most people. We recognized going in that anything new can push people out of their comfort zones, & yet it was a clear calling from the spiritual world – a wake-up call – to help folks step up in this challenging time which calls for us to become more fully embodied in our free willing.
The Journey is meant to be a new way of engaging with Spiritual Science, a practical extension, going beyond simply hearing a lecture where we sit & receive the imparted wisdom of a presenter. That is the old conference mode, which of course is still embraced, & was very powerful indeed at the Convergence.
I realized that many folks didn’t really understand what Steiner means by the ‘New Mysteries’, this inspired me to give the Prelude before the Journey.
In the Journey as a New Mystery, we activate our will thru enthusiastic feeling, to create a living experiential striving as individuals within a sacred space of other striving souls, co-creating a Holy Grail – a thinking-heart vessel for Anthroposophia.
The Journey is meant to set the stage for our individual ongoing inner development; a modern initiation, to assist in an evolutionary birthing process, allowing the wisdom from within the free human being to emerge, to personally engage & empower the Anthroposophia within.
The Soul Journey went thru dozens of revisions, a true initiation for me in letting go, of refining, of creatively getting to the essence of soul & spirit, inventing new ways of using the Word. This really stretched me as an artist & as a human being, putting me to the test, asking me to be selfless in a very practical way, to reshape the vision so that it would truly serve the highest good. This was a hard lesson, but much needed for my personal growth. I grew up in an abusive family where I had to learn to stick up for myself. My mother was so selfless that she became a victim, dying young, & I vowed never to let that happen to me. But thru Anthroposophy I have come to know that being selfless doesn’t have to mean getting stept on, that in truth it is the ultimate embodiment of the Christ Impulse. And so I am truly grateful for the humbling resistance that karmicly came my way thru this process.
The New Mysteries when met with intention opens the way to a conscious quest, which I understand not everyone is ready, willing or able to take on – Yet it is a question at the core of Being Human – the quest living in the question of how to ‘Know Thy Self’.
Along with reverence, this is the 1st step of inner development, which is ongoing – preparing the seeking soul for an Alchemical Union of the Sophia-Christos within…
Before we can make this unification we must meet Trials of the Soul which reveal the obstacles on our path to wholeness. And so the Journey begins by passing thru 3 stages: 1st – The ‘Harrowing of Hell’, (It was Orthodox Holy Saturday after all) where we face the hindrances to our Thinking, Feeling & Willing…2nd – We stand before the Guardian of the Threshold to see ourselves for what we are…something most of us try to avoid…Then strengthened by the courage of Michael, we encounter ‘the tempter’ & ‘the deceiver’…Coming into balance, we enter the 3rd stage: ‘Paradiso’ – Where we redeem the New Isis-Sophia – we gather up the dismembered parts into a wholeness – to foster Anthroposophia within our soul, & to manifest SOPHIA RISING: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human, in the world…
To get there we are empowered to become our own Charon to ferry our souls across the river Achero to meet ourselves on the inside. Dante tells us: “Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.” He also lets on that: “The path to paradise begins in hell”.
And so on Orthodox Holy Saturday 2022 we made our descent; which led to our Resurrection…The various ArtActs prepared & paved the way; including getting grounded with The ‘Constitutional Eurythmy Exercise’ & the ‘Meditation for Protection’…etc.
The Journey then progressed in our striving to consciously cross the abyss. We encountered the Time Spirit Michael, Son of The Sophia, who holds for us the countenance of the Being of Love, & waits for us to redeem the Cosmic Intelligence through our earnest heart-thinking.
We go on to meet ‘the farmer’ in the spiritualizing of the Earth. The Christ as the Being of Love & the Sophia in her Cosmic, & human aspects are introduced – The joining of Warmth – to the Light of human Understanding…
Many questions are posed. We are continually asked to make our ‘Declaration of Intent’. We can contemplate: What gifts will we bring to the world? What intentions will we consecrate in the Temple of our Heart? What do we want to come forth from this conscious union of: Soul & Spirit – Wisdom & Love – Warmth & Light. The questing is always enhanced by the ArtActs of eurythmy, singing; & at the end with a recitation of ‘Destiny’ by Rudolf Steiner:
The wishes of the soul are springing
The deeds of the will are thriving
The fruits of life are ripening…
I feel my destiny – My destiny finds me
I feel my star – My star finds me
I feel my goals in life – My goals in life are finding me
Life grows more radiant about me
Life grows more challenging for me
Life grows more abundant within me.
My soul and the world are one great unity.
We conclude the Journey with the Easter Mood Calendar of the Soul Verse & the Halleluiah in Eurythmy.
If you want a copy of the ‘Script’ which has all the verses, songs, Steiner quotes & my research in a beautifully spiral bound edition with art work – Just email me. I can mail it to you for a donation of $20 or more – I have 15 left.
The initiation continues for me, every day & especially in night school now that the Journey has been inscribed into the ethers. I am wrestling with my own doubts & fears, & the sting of imagined scorn. Did the Journey truly serve? Or was it not able to be received? Did it come too soon, missing the mark – the definition of sin…?
What I strive for is to be a Christ imbued Human Being which will unveil the Anthroposophia with the courage of Michael to serve humanity.
Please share your experience – even if it is a criticism, Any & ALL feedback is important if we are to be Spiritual Scientific researchers in earnest. The Journey did not end on Orthodox Holy Saturday, but must continue to unfold like the Mystery of Golgotha when the seed of a New Sun was planted into the ever evolving Earth & into the Temple of our Hearts…
More tomorrow
~hag
Wednesday May 4th 7 pm PDT on ZOOM for the Sacramento Faust Branch
From Necessity to Freedom – The Evolution of Human Consciousness
From the vaporous cleft of Mount Parnassus, and the birth place of Greek Philosophy, to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Grail – From Prophesy to Warning, from Fate to Karma, From Destiny to Free Will.
Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual: Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year & the ‘I Think Speech’ Podcast. Trans-denominational Minister, Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Anthroposopher – working as the Cultural Events & Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, & as the Central Regional Council representative on the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Past Video Recordings
We appreciate your support of the ongoing work of The Faust Branch in making these offerings available. Admission for lectures: Faust Branch members $5, non-members $10. No one excluded for lack of funds. Admission fees may be made via PayPal
Join Zoom Meeting – Conversation 6:45 pm PDT, Presentation 7 pm PDT
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81856833235?pwd=Z29CQ1hVUWFEUjE1alkyb2RMSVIwZz09
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