Greetings friends – We have some interesting biographies to explore today 2 September:
1889 – Birthday of Lili Kolisko a scientist & anthroposopher. The rising image method she developed enabled the detection of cosmic effects in earthly substances for the first time & made her a pioneer of biodynamic agriculture.
She was the daughter of a typesetter, born in Vienna. Together with her two step-sisters, she grew up very poor, burdened by her father’s drunkenness. Still she was able to attend high school & graduate with honors. After the outbreak of the First World War, she worked as a hospital where she learned to use a wide variety of medical laboratory techniques. This is where she met the young assistant doctor Eugen Kolisko. They were married in 1917. Both were united by a strong interest in the natural sciences & anthroposophy .
After Lili Kolisko had met Rudolf Steiner for the first time in 1915 , she wrote a letter asking for suggestions for the development of a chemistry oriented towards the humanities.
In 1919 the Kolisko couple had a daughter & the family moved to Stuttgart , where Eugen Kolisko worked as a teacher in the newly founded Waldorf School .
In July of the same year, Eugen Kolisko & Rudolf Steiner researched a cure for foot-and-mouth disease, which was rampant at the time. Lili Kolisko was entrusted with the laboratory work required to find out the correct dosage of the agent. Rudolf Steiner instructed her to carry out germination experiments on plants with various dilutions & to record the result in the form of a curve. Lili Kolisko also examined the blood of the sick animals &, in 1922, when little was known about the function of the spleen, was able to prove a metabolic regulator secreted by the spleen in her pioneering work “Spleen function and the platelet question”. In the course of this work with Steiner they founded the Biological Institute at the Goetheanum..
Rudolf Steiner considered Lili Kolisko’s research work to be very important & often visited her in her laboratory to discuss the results & provide further suggestions. He worked with both Koliskos emphasizing that science needed to overcome the prevailing materialism, to make visible the ethereal qualities in matter. Together with Steiner, Lili Kolisko developed potentization methods where the material substance was gradually thinned beyond the limits of physcial, so that the etheric efficacy emerged more & more clearly. In germination tests with plants, the dilutions, she denoted the rhythmic properties directed by Steiner’s indications.
“Lili Kolisko’s studies of the effects of the smallest entities, have put everything that has been touching in homeopathy on such a thorough scientific basis in such a brilliant way. One can consider it absolutely scientific that the smallest entities, in tiny quantities – precisely the radiant forces which are used in the organic world – are released by using these minute quantities in a corresponding way. ” ~Rudolf Steiner, GA 327
In the afterword of her study, which summarizes her work from 1923 – 1959 on the physiological & physical proof of the effectiveness of the smallest entities , Lili Kolisko writes: “In the course that Rudolf Steiner held for doctors in Switzerland in 1920, he described it as “a beautiful task to show the effects that emerge during potentiation in certain curves”. It was a nice job. Time and again one convinces oneself that if one takes Rudolf Steiner’s words seriously and follows his suggestions, they will come true in every detail. Plant growth shows an effectiveness again and again, but it is no longer bound to a substance. One perceives effects – without being able to prove a substance for it. You stand in amazement and admiration in front of the sheer effects of forces. A wonderful rhythm swings through the substance, from the terrestrial to the cosmic…You have to learn to read the curves. That too is a nice job. In Jahn in 1926, I wrote in the epilogue of the book “Physiological evidence of effectiveness smallest entities in seven metals”: The curves are spiritual into the physical shut fetched images realities they reflect Weltgesetzmäßigkeiten again! If one keeps in mind, you do not shy away from the effort to penetrate deeper into this wonderful area and to think in gratitude to Rudolf Steiner, who made this knowledge accessible to us. “~ Lili Kolisko
This rhythmization method developed by Lili Kolisko, in which she worked out differentiated shaking rhythms for individual substances, was groundbreaking for later anthroposophical research on medicinal products.
On the basis of this procedure, she also examined the influence of cosmic constellations on the creative forces in the following decades. In an elaborate series of tests with one percent metal salt solutions, she was able to determine the effect of solar and lunar eclipses and the influence of the planetary movements on the seven planetary metalsdocument. I published the results of some of her work: The “star work in earth materials” during the Cosmic & Earthly Easter event a few years back.
Together with her husband, Lili Kolisko was very active in the Anthroposophical Society. After the Christmas conference in 1924 she was commissioned by Rudolf Steiner to read the esoteric instructions given by Steiner, the so-called class hours, for the teachers of the Stuttgart Waldorf School as part of the newly established ‘First Class of the School of Spiritual Science.
After Rudolf Steiner’s death in 1925, the working conditions for the Kolisko couple, who were close to Ita Wegman & Elisabeth Vreede, became increasingly difficult due to the ongoing disputes.
Lili Kolisko’s work was also largely ignored by the anthroposophical doctors & only given little financial means, because she was not considered competent enough because she had no academic medical or pharmaceutical training. The couple left Stuttgart in 1934 & moved to London, where the ‘International Association for the Advancement of Spiritual Science’ was to be established at the suggestion of the English anthroposopher Daniel Nicol Dunlop . The plan failed because Dunlop died the following year.
In 1939 Lili Kolisko’s husband Eugen died suddenly & unexpectedly of a heart attack in a lonely train compartment of a suburban train . From then on, Lili Kolisko lived very withdrawn, but she continued her research tirelessly under the most difficult financial conditions. She also translated numerous works by her late husband into English. In 1961 she was able to complete the biography of her husband Eugen Kolisko, in which she also reports in great detail about the bitter experience with the Anthroposophical Society after Steiner’s death.
1973 – Deathday of J.R.R Tolkien. His tales tell the story of human evolution in the form of a myth or fairy tale – reminiscent of the initiation rites seen in the occult traditions, & in a renewed sense in Spiritual Science. Tolkien tells about a humanity born from the Music of the spiritual Hierarchies – coming to Earth immortal & perfect, & transforming this original pureness in a love for Earth & her creations. The way Tolkien chooses numbers, images, events – everything is amazingly similar to the ancient teachings – Yes, everything reveals this presence in Tolkien’s soul – an artistic forming of past incarnations & certainly influenced by the anthroposophical Christology discussed with his friend Owen Barfield – revealing deep knowledge & images, that whisper into his inspired ear -The precise & patient, but non-intellectual, inner dialogue with the spiritual streams of a human civilization from the past, into the present & future time.
2009 – Deathday of Ernst Katz, a great teacher of anthroposophy based for many years in Ann Arbor MI, where he was professor of physics at the University there. At the recent retreat of the General Council of the ASA in Ann Arbor the local community shared many stories about this powerful thinker. We heard that at the tender age of 16 Ernst joined the Anthroposophical Society & for his long life of 96 years was fully dedicated to Spiritual Science as a way of life & method of understanding the human being’s purpose on Earth.
Ernst ran the legendary Ann Arbor study group which at first held its meetings in various members’ homes. The protocol was as the same one we use in the CRC study group: Designated people present a short recap in their own words of the Steiner lecture followed by a general discussion in the group. Many folks were drawn to Ernst’s quiet way of leading. Attendance was typically 25 to 30 eager anthroposophers, & discussion was lively.
Even his physics students at the university recognized his extraordinary teaching skills & moral character. It was clear to all that Ernst saw every human connection as an event of destiny, & he treated each one with respect & reverence.
It was Ernst’s suggestion that the members of the study group buy an old abandoned fraternity house to create a place for university students interested in spiritual development to live & study – & the Rudolf Steiner House of the Great Lakes Branch was born. For many years Ernst & his wife Katherine were overseers of the building which was donated to the Anthroposophical Society in America & is now the society’s headquarters. He is still teaching from the spiritual world today! xox
~I carry the tectonic plates
Of my skull
& the bones of my back
That I might recollect myself,
That I may become
A pillar, a watchtower, a hermits lantern…
I gather my opposites, my fragments
& walk on…
~hag
So are you coming?
Join us at the Rudolf Steiner Branch in Chicago
- 1st make sure you are registered at https://www.anthroposophy.org/fallconference and have indicated that you will be attending in person at the RSBranch Chicago.
- Then Register by October 1st with the Chicago Branch using PayPal (this requires that you have a PayPal account of your own).
OR
- Register and write a check and it mail by October 1st to: Rudolf Steiner Branch, Attn: Jenny Doty 4249 N Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60618
OR
- Register and contact jenny.meyer17@gmail.com to make alternative payment arrangements.
Details for the in-person conference:
- $75 will cover the expenses for facilities, 3 lunches and 3 dinners, snacks, and printing.
You will enjoy a pre-AGM dinner on Thursday Oct. 7 Doors open at 5 pm (AGM starts promptly at 6:3opm CT)
Lunch and Dinner on Fri.and Sat.
and Lunch post-conference on Sunday.
As well as Snacks/Coffee-Tea during the breaks.
- $40 will cover only the bare expenses – no meals
- Be a Master Builder Patron for $100 or more, to help pay for the tech costs!
- For any other questions, please contact Jenny Doty at jenny.meyer17@gmail.com
Hey friends, Maybe you didn’t get this far in the post. If you did – Please help support the Anthroposophical Prison Outreach DANCE-A-THON 2021
Greetings kindred souls – This year for the APO fund raiser I plan to hold a Dance-A-Thon & Biodynamic Prep-stir on Friday 24 September 2021 at the Rudolf Steiner Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in America – Chicago
DJ’s TBA – It’s a potluck community gathering, so please bring food & drink to share – Along with your donation to this amazing program.
We also plan to read some poetry from some of the inmates who are working with Anthroposophy!
If you live out of town you can dance in your neck of the woods in solidarity with us. Please show your generous support…
Xox ~hag, hazel@reverseritual.com
Donate here https://secure.anthroposophy.org/…/anth…/campaign.jsp…
Festival Gathering: Tuesday 28 September on the eve of Michaelmas with Rev’s Jeana Lee & Victoria Capon
Potluck at 5:30
Talk at 7pm
At the Rudolf Steiner Branch, 4249 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
Meeting The Dragon With Our Four Fold Being – A talk and collaborative sculptural creation
Bring Food & drink for the potluck & a found objects to help build the dragon!
Then our inspiration can come to life through our collaboration.
Jeana Lee was recently ordained as a priest of the Christian Community Movement for Religious Renewal and sent to the congregation in Chicago. Previously she taught chemistry and math at Green Meadow Waldorf high school. She enjoys swimming in the lake and is interested in questions of sin and redemption.
Victoria Capon hails from the east coast and is new to Chicago. Before attending seminary she taught at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod. Now she is happily settling into serving the chicago CC congregation and exploring the Windy City
