POD (Poem Of the Day)
Columbia Bless America.
O ancient Spirit of Place
Appear again as the Dove of Liberty
& teach us how to fly
Into our true destiny
That we may weave the laurel
In evolutions revolution
In this time of great turning
Let the truth of our hearts entwine
To conquer terror with tenderness
~hag
Dear friends I will be offline 6-11 July attending:
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day (RSarchives)
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (Rudolf Steiner’s original Calendar of the Soul; The Present Age, Wikipedia)
5 July 2023 – “Speaking with the Stars”
Feast Day of the Prophet Hosea (meaning ‘salvation’, ‘he saves’ or ‘he helps’) – often seen as a “prophet of doom”, but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration. The Talmud claims that he was the greatest prophet of his generation. The period of Hosea’s ministry extended to some sixty years, and he was the only prophet of Israel of his time who left any written prophecy. “They that sow the wind reap the whirlwind”
Feast Day of St. Cyril & St. Methodius, two brothers – Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries-known as the “Apostles to the Slavs”. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic.
755 – Deathday of St. Boniface, destroyer of Celtic Christianity. Some traditions credit Saint Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree. Boniface is celebrated as a missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, by German Catholics.
Birthday of St. Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury – Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the Catholic Church, who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. His works were copied and disseminated in his lifetime and exercised an influence on the Scholastics, including Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. His thoughts have guided much subsequent discussion on the procession of the Holy Spirit and the atonement. His work also anticipates much of the later controversies over free will and predestination.
As a child, he had a miraculous vision of God on the summit of the Becca di Nona near his home, with God asking his name, his home, and his quest before sharing bread with him.
Anselm’s canonization was requested of Pope Alexander III by Thomas Becket at the Council of Tours in 1163. Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church or the doctor Marianus (“Marian doctor”). A chapel of Canterbury Cathedral south of the high altar is dedicated to him; it includes a modern stained-glass representation of the saint.
1833 – Deathday of Nicephore Niepce, French inventor of the camera
1915 – In response to the First World War, Rudolf Steiner writes the essay “Thoughts during a time of war – for Germans and those who do not feel they must hate them”
“Now at a certain point of the third phase of Anthroposophy, during the war, I wrote the booklet Thoughts in Time of War. This particular work elicited inner opposition which was especially noticeable. People told me that they thought anthroposophy never intervened in politics, as if that booklet involved itself with politics! And there was more of the same. Something had affected them which should not grow on the ground of anthroposophy although it sprouts in quite different soil. There were quite a few such objections to Thoughts in Time of War, but I am about to say something terribly arrogant, but true nevertheless; no one ever acknowledged that the whole thing was not really comprehensible to them at the time but if they waited until 1935 they might perhaps understand why that booklet was written.
And this is only one example among many which demonstrates clearly the strong intervention of something whose almost exclusive purpose was to undermine the freedom and self-determination within the Anthroposophical Society which we take for granted. It should have been self-evident that the writing of this publication was my business alone. Instead, an opinion began to form: If he wants to be the one with whom we build the Anthroposophical Society, then he is allowed to write only the things we approve of.
These things have to be stated in a direct manner, otherwise they will not be understood. They are symptomatic of a mood which arose in the Society and which ran counter to the conditions governing the existence of the anthroposophical movement!” ~Rudolf Steiner, THE ANTHROPOSOPHIC MOVEMENT, GA 258, VII. The Consolidation of the Anthroposophic Movement, 16 June 1923, Dornach
(Thanks Steve Hale for shaing this quote)
I will be heading out for our next training 1-7 August 2023
Here is a newsletter with an article I wrote about my expereince working with Steiner’s Inner Realities of Evoultion
Well, it’s not so easy to describe. You can describe external things, e.g. that almost all national symbols, events, buildings are very young, at least compared to Europe. So the historical dates and events seem very strange; one stresses things for the nation that are at best of local interest in Europe.
If you look at Italy, Venice, Assisi and Milan and all the culture that goes with them are very deeply connected with the Italian folk soul, not to mention Rome. There is nothing comparable in the New World. In the US, national pride is not based on ancient history, culture and tradition, so it is not connected to blood, but it is based on more abstract things. Democracy has almost a mystical value, it is almost a religious category that is obligatory for everyone.
But of course there is the national identification that is widespread everywhere. When “our” team plays against another national team, the identification is automatically there. So there is something that lies outside our waking consciousness, something that has a firm grip on us.
Sorry, I’m not entirely happy with what I wrote. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find better words.
It is hard to put these things into words, but your point is well taken. These subconscious adversarial forces work in us all – to recognize them & to align with our true Folk Spirit, as well as with the cosmopolitan qualities that our Time Spirit brings, is essential.
Rudolf Steiner made a reference to his essay, Thoughts in Time of War, here in the 7th lecture of The Anthroposophical Movement, given in June 1923. He makes a seemingly prophetic remark about the year 1935, and how this essay would make more sense then.
“Now at a certain point of the third phase of Anthroposophy, during the war, I wrote the booklet Thoughts in Time of War. This particular work elicited inner opposition which was especially noticeable. People told me that they thought anthroposophy never intervened in politics, as if that booklet involved itself with politics! And there was more of the same. Something had affected them which should not grow on the ground of anthroposophy although it sprouts in quite different soil. There were quite a few such objections to Thoughts in Time of War, but I am about to say something terribly arrogant, but true nevertheless; no one ever acknowledged that the whole thing was not really comprehensible to them at the time but if they waited until 1935 they might perhaps understand why that booklet was written.
And this is only one example among many which demonstrates clearly the strong intervention of something whose almost exclusive purpose was to undermine the freedom and self-determination within the Anthroposophical Society which we take for granted. It should have been self-evident that the writing of this publication was my business alone. Instead, an opinion began to form: If he wants to be the one with whom we build the Anthroposophical Society, then he is allowed to write only the things we approve of.
These things have to be stated in a direct manner, otherwise they will not be understood. They are symptomatic of a mood which arose in the Society and which ran counter to the conditions governing the existence of the anthroposophical movement!”
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA258/English/RSP1993/19230616p01.html
Thank you Steve – I remember reading this last year as an affirmation to what I found myself up against
Yes, I remember that something was going on back then. I felt it was at Ann Arbor with the new people being installed at ASiA. Your photo and video display seemed to show disappointment, and then it all seemed downhill after that. I have always stayed away from administrative matters in my true vocation. That leaves only creative expression between us. The effects for you are quite evident, and noteworthy. You keep it close to the vest, but it is shown in a number of ways. More freedom is one of these observations.
I am taking off for Viroqua this morning so I will not be able to administer the blog until I return on 10 July…
Blessings
I have always wondered how nationalism or national pride in the U.S. differs from nationalism in, say, Spain or Sweden.
Reverse Ritual’s site gives me a lot of visual material on this question.
And what deductions have come to you dear Otto?
Hazel, you have given many pictorial representations of “Uncle Sam”, which likely acknowledges Ottmar’s view of nationalistic spirit in the United States. Yet, the Columbian Spirit that espouses the feminine principle is an intuitive product. It shows how much the Consciousness Soul is embedded in the American fabric. Much like the Central European Cultural stream, which is highly oriented to the “I Am”, which Ottmar fully accepts as self evident, in spite of the opposing powers working in WWI and WWII, the American spirit sees this today, and even without an anthroposophical orientation. The pieces of the puzzle that implicates “Uncle Sam” in the sinister attempt to rule the world are becoming well known, and especially here in the good old United States. Your Columbian Initiative needs to be seen for what it is, which is inspired. It was two years ago that this was fully covered, right? It was a wonderful exposition, and gained much support. I am remembering it now.
We know what Europe thinks about America, and it cannot be helped except through spiritual-scientific research, which has the power to explain matters to the world without filters. What would a world without blinkers mean?
We can certainly see that Uncle Sam is the Double of America which has subsumed Columbia in the hearts of many, But the Spirit of Liberty lives on & the Dove of Peace calls for equity & justice for all.