Break-Down

Katie Semit

“…Of course all life is a process of breaking down, but the blows that do the dramatic side of the work ­the big sudden blows that come, or seem to come, from outside ­­ the ones you remember and blame things on and, in moments of weakness, tell your friends about, don’t show their effect all at once…

…the test of a first-­rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise…~F. Scott Fitzgerald “The Crack-Up” (inspired by Sophie Senard!:)

Wendy Sharpe

Those that read this page know that I often grapple with the idea of a question as a quest…If you are looking for a solid answer, well then you better have a sense of humor & a taste for bitter-sweet truth wrought words…Living with chronic pain, exasperated by 2 years in an anxious hazy-crazy corona enshrouded earth reality, ‘answers’ become a longed for life-preserver; but often end up being a defective pool noodle. In life’s choppy sea it might keep floating for a day, but ultimately I have to sink, or swim – And the shoreline keeps receding  – moving toward a future horizon I can’t see. And so I try as F. Scott Fitzgerald tells to embrace the break-down – to look for the silver lining which grows like a rainbow in my heart gestating miracles I could never have planned.

Last night in the rumbling thunder the wind whipped the woodpeckers nest out of the white maple. I looked for them this morning.  I must trust that the elements will conspire to make strong what it does not kill. We are living in a time of increasing unpredictability – the weather-vane spinning off its hinges. Yep, we are being shaken awake.  

Perhaps the ‘answers’ will not come from human beings, but from bacteria & insects & clouds.

Questions must be relational. They involve the other. They weave roots to plants & branches to trees – nourishing bugs & bacteria – feeding the human being. Ever asking us to co-create a resilient connection between spirit & matter.

~hag

Viktoria Tormassy

RUDOLF STEINER’S CALENDAR OF THE SOUL
translated with added titles by Roy Sadler
LENT II
Joy Will Arise
v47

From worldwide womb will rise
the joy of growth, enlivening the senses’ glory;
and may it find my strength of thought
defended by the strength of God,
the living bedrock of my being.

This is a quote from Eleanor Merry in her Calendar of the Soul Commentary, “When our thinking can unite with the light of the Sun, it becomes creative for the future. And when we can be quickened within by the same powers that quicken the outer world into life, then will joy infill our deeds, and they will be in harmony with the deeds of Cosmic Beings.”

This is this week’s mirror verse.
ASCENSION
The Risen Self
v6

Arisen from my own persona
my real self appears
as revelation of the spheres
that in the powers of time and space
the world is showing me as paradigm,
God’s archetype that everywhere portrays
the image in whose mirror I come true.

6 March 2022 – “Speaking with the Stars”

Vinko Hlebs

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

12 BC – The Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the Emperor.

632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada’) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

845 – Execution of the 42 Martyrs of Amorium at Samarra

1251 – Deathday of Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint, known for her mystical gifts of foretelling the future & having miraculous powers.  Born of poor & pious parents, even as a child Rose had a great desire to pray & to aid the poor. When she was 3 years old, she allegedly raised to life her maternal aunt. At the age of 7, she had already lived the life of a recluse, devoting herself to penances. She prayed much for the conversion of sinners. Rose was not yet 10 years old when the Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have instructed her to enter the Third Order of St. Francis & to preach penance in Viterbo.

In January 1250, her native city was in revolt against the pope. When Rose took the pope’s side against the emperor, she & her family were exiled from the city & took refuge in Soriano nel Cimino. When the pope’s side won in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return.

Rose foretold the speedy death of the emperor, a prophecy fulfilled on December 13, 1250. Soon afterwards she went to Vitorchiano, whose inhabitants, were affected by a bad sorceress. Rose secured the conversion of all, even of the sorceress, reportedly by standing unscathed for three hours in the flames of a burning pyre

1475 – Birthday of Michelangelo, Italian painter & sculptor

1619 – Birthday of Cyrano de Bergerac, French author & playwright

1665 – The first joint Secretary of the Royal SocietyHenry Oldenburg, publishes the first issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

1806  – Birthday of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. – poet. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery & her work helped influence reform in the child labor legislation. Her prolific output made her a rival to Tennyson as a candidate for poet laureate on the death of Wordsworth.

1820 – The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, brings Maine into the Union as a free state, & makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free

1857 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case -a landmark decision, it held that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into the U.S., and sold as slaves”, whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court”, & that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved man of “the negro African race” who had been taken by his owners to free states attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott’s request. The decision was only the 2nd time that the Supreme Court had ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional.

Although Taney hoped that his ruling would finally settle the slavery question, the decision immediately spurred vehement dissent from anti-slavery elements in the North, especially Republicans. Many contemporary lawyers, & most modern legal scholars, consider the ruling regarding slavery in the territories to be dictum, not binding precedent. The decision proved to be an indirect catalyst for the American Civil War. It was functionally superseded by the Civil Rights Act of 1866 & by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1868, which gave African Americans full citizenship.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford is unanimously denounced by scholars, it “stands first in any list of the worst Supreme Court decisions.” “The Court’s greatest self-inflicted wound”. “Universally condemned as the U.S. Supreme Court’s worst decision “Unquestionably, our court’s worst decision ever”

1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society

1888 – Deathday of Louisa May Alcott, American novelist & poet

1943 – Norman Rockwell published Freedom from Want in The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the Four Freedoms series

1964 – Boxing champion Cassius Clay takes the name Muhammad Ali

1975 – For the first time the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown

1986 – Deathday of Georgia O’Keeffe, American painter

New Astrology Emerging(here)

Star Wisdom comes alive through active embodiment within each participant, made possible by working together in the instrument of the StarHouse—or within your sacred imagination in your own home. This immersion facilitates each participant forming conscious relationships with zodiacal and planetary beings.

Register here

Join us for an exploration, based on spiritual science and star wisdom, into the following themes:

This course, to train practitioners in Star Wisdom will take place in the StarHouse June 2022. It is designed to train beginners who are willing to ride a steep learning-curve, and long-time astrologers.

Our teaching weaves experiential activities (embodiment) and conceptual learning so you learn it more thoroughly.

On-line too: The course will also be on-line (live-streamed, interactive). A manager on our end will coordinate actively with those attending via Zoom, including relaying questions to the presenters for comment. (We plan that the event will be filmed and edited, and parts of it made available as a course through our website.)

Our approach to astrology is informed and inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s indications found sprinkled throughout his six thousand lectures, as it has been developed by a small group of astrosophers over several decades. This deeper understanding of, and interaction with, the heavens is based on: 

  • A sidereal (star-based) view of the heavens, emphasizing the active and dynamic role of the beings working from stars and constellations
  • Equal length zodiacal signs (relating to the lineage of Zarathustra), equal houses, and recognizing the Earth’s role and significance to the birth chart
  • Anthroposophy (thus called astrosophy, with its particular guidance for understanding the beings indwelling the zodiacal and planets)
  • Identifying and working with spiritual themes in our lives in a way made practical by the research of Robert Powell, and the indications of cosmic Christianity, as understood through Anthroposophy. 
  • And other features that we will teach.

Some topics that we will cover:

  • New and traditional methods for interpreting a birth chart
  • Zodiacal constellations in the birth chart
  • Understanding the meaning in the patterns of the moving planets
  • Planetary aspects in the birth chart
  • The important role of the twelve equal houses, in the birth chart
  • How transiting planets interplay in the time-stream of life, presenting challenges and opportunities
  • Determining the time of conception and its own chart
  • The care necessary to regard the information of a person’s sacred birth moment with reverence and understanding
  • The importance of understanding reincarnation and karma for human development
  • The journey between death and rebirth, and why that is important for human destiny
  • Human Life phases: the 7-year periods of our life biography and the relation of those periods to the planetary spheres
  • The role of self-development for a practitioner of New Astrology

Enrollment and Application Reister here

Commitment: This intensive requires participation in five-plus full days.

Dates: Begin Thursday evening, June 23, 2022, 7 PM, through midday Tuesday June 28. On June 24-27, we will go from 9 AM to 5 PM. Evenings are for homework, integration, and optional study groups. Lunches will be provided, including the last day, Tuesday.

Limits: Enrollment will be limited to 24 in-person participants and others will participate on-line. In-person will go through an application process. More important than years practicing astrology is your motivation to learn. Our present on-line courses (New Astrology, series 1 and series 2) will be made available to all registered participants and can provide a strong foundation to a motivated person with little experience. After application for In-person participants, one of our team will arrange a phone call to interview you.

Scholarship program: We plan to have a scholarship program to which those of means can contribute. Please consider contributing to this fund to support others taking this course.

Costs: Cost of on-site/in-person for the whole course $1100. On-line (live-streaming) $800. A deposit will hold your place.

Meals and Snacks: Lunches provided every day including Tuesday (just after the end of the course). Dietary restrictions are queried on the application. Snacks and tea are provided mid-morning and mid-afternoon every day.

Lodging: You will need to find your own lodging and transport. Some lodging is available in nearby residences, and the Retreat Cabin near the StarHouse. These can fill up quickly, so please make your request soon. Other lodgings nearby are the Boulder Adventure Lodge (a-lodge.com), which fills up in summertime quickly. More information will be sent after registration.

Questions about the course

Tune in to our Zoom broadcasts, brief presentations of aspects of this course, with lots of time for Q&A. Intended to total 20 minutes in length. These are given on different days so you might find one that would work best for you. Each of these brief sessions will be different!

  • February 19, Saturday 9 AM Mtn. (morning)
  • February 22, Tuesday, 9 AM Mtn. (morning)
  • March 14, Monday, 6 PM Mtn.
  • March 28, Monday, 9 AM Mtn. (morning)

Register here

The Anthroposophical Society in America presents: Sophia Rising: Unveiling the Wisdom of Being Human in Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ April 21-24, 2022 Hotel Santa Fe Hacienda and Spa 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 


Join us in New Mexico, the ‘land of enchantment’, resonant with light ether and deep history, as we enliven Sophia. Join together in community as Sophia emerges and rises in her many facets and expressions- past, present, and future. 

You will be an active participant in this gathering that will engage storytelling and biography, art and color, eurythmy and movement, singing and speech, with offerings from speakers Carrie Schuchardt, Mary Stewart AdamsHazel Archer-GinsbergStephanie Georgieff, and more. 

Come and experience Sophia Rising as we honor the elements, the landscape, and each other. 


VENUE & TRAVEL 

Our gathering will take place at the lovely Native American-owned Hotel Santa Fe. We recommend you book your stay with the hotel to create a connected communal atmosphere for our gathering. The hotel has a full restaurant, pool, hot tub, and spa, as well as kivas and cozy sitting areas. Please call or email to make reservations with our special room rate for suites at $179/night. Each suite includes a refrigerator, microwave and sitting area. So much of what Santa Fe has to offer is within walking distance from the hotel. 

HOW TO BOOK: Email stay@hotelsantafe.com or call reservations at  877-259-3409 

**Ask for ASA Gathering to book with our special rate of $179/night for a suite. **

Registrants will receive suggested activities from our local organizers to explore in Santa Fe before or after our gathering. Extending your stay? The special ASA hotel rate is available for 3 days prior to and 3 days after the ASA gathering. 

CLICK HERE to post on our room and rideshare board to coordinate with other participants. 

AIR TRAVEL: Fly to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (note that flights are more limited and subject to the weather as Santa Fe is a small airport.)

There is a shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe or car rentals available. Uber or Lyft is available if you fly into Santa Fe.

HOTEL and VENUE ADDRESS:
1501 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (877) 259-3409 


TICKETS
The ticket price includes access to all conference activities, snacks, coffee/tea and beverages, dessert reception Thursday, dinner Friday, lunch Saturday and brunch on Sunday.

No refunds after March 21, 2022

STANDARD TICKET (After 2/26): $350

SUPPORTER TICKET: $425 

EXHIBITORS: If you are interested in being an exhibitor please fill out this form. 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Limited assistance is available, please fill out this form. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

Early Bird Only with Room Booking – After 2/26 more tickets will be released!


SCHEDULE
(subject to minor changes)

THURSDAY, April 21

7 pm                 Gathering Together  – with a dessert reception 

7:30- 8:30 pm    ArtActs: Past – Present – Future Eurythmy, and Singing,
 

FRIDAY, April 22

                           Explore Santa Fe on your own and continued arrivals 

1:00 – 2:30 pm     Welcome: Spirit of Place with organizers 

                            WEAVING EARTH Opening Ceremony with Angela Foster and friends

2:30pm-3:00pm   Break 

3:00-4:30 pm       Encountering the Celestial Goddess Anthroposophia with Mary Stewart Adams 

HeartMath with Michele Mariscal 

4:30-4:45 pm       Break

4:45- 6:00 pm      WEAVING AIR ArtActs  Eurythmy, Singing, and Speech 

6:00-7:30 pm       Dinner Together*

7:30 pm               Fireside Chats – Story and Sharing – Breakout circles led by friends and organizers 8:30 pm               

Stargazing with Mary Stewart Adams 
 

 SATURDAY, April 23

                            Breakfast – On your own

8:30 – 9:30 am       WEAVING ETHER Eurythmy

9:30 – 10:00 am     Break  

10:00 -11:15 am      The Virgin of Guadalupe: Sophia Rising in the Americas                                 with Stephanie Georgieff – The Virgin of Guadalupe is one of the first recorded apparitions in the Americas. Revealing herself to a Nahuatl Native and ultimately to the Bishop of New Spain and his entourage in December of 1531, this image has continued to inspire countless souls for nearly 500 years. The symbolism and timing of her appearance presents deep mysteries for our age, and points to the ultimate Sophianic impulse for the present and future of Humanity. 

11:30 – 12:30 pm    WEAVING STORIES Biography Work

12:30 – 2:00 pm       Lunch Together*

2:00 – 4:00 pm  ‘ANTHROPOSOPHIA: OUR ALCHEMICAL WEDDING’ with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg and Friends. At the heart of this convergence is a Grand Experiential Soul Journey to ‘Know Thyself’’ – A Temple Experience in the New Mysteries, built up and worked on during all the WEAVING sessions, preparing us to enter a deeply intensive initiatory experience – a ‘Movable Feast’ with various stations engaging us in group eurythmy, singing, Steiner verses, color gestures in art, and a telling of the New Isis Myth. Passing through Trials of the Soul we meet powerful Spiritual Beings on the way to our sacred marriage – a union of Warmth and Light, so that we can unveil the ‘Sophia Rising’ within ourselves, and the world.   

4:00 – 4:30 pm        Break

4:30 – 5:30 pm       WEAVING COLOR Invoking Natura: Sensing the Cosmic within the Earthly Pastels with Helen-Ann Ireland

5:30 – 6:00 pm       WEAVING STORIES Biography Conversation

6:00 pm                 Dinner – On your own

8:00-9:30 pm         WEAVING COMMUNITY Sophia Rising- Past, Present, and Future MC’d by Lucien Dante Lazar & Ultra-Violet Archer. Sign up to bring something to share! Poetry, Instruments, Story 
 

SUNDAY, April 24

8:00 – 9:00 am      WEAVING LIGHT Bathe in the Natural Warmth and Harmony  of the Metal Gold with Helena Hurrell – A metal color light therapy experience inspired by the glass windows at the Goetheanum 

9:00-10:30 am      WEAVING FIRE with Carrie Schuchardt 
                           HeartMath with Michele Mariscal 

10:30 – 12:00pm  Brunch Together*

12:00-1:00 pm    WEAVING WATER Water Ritual with Joyce Reilly and Friends
                          WEAVING WHOLENESS Closing with Angela Foster and Friends 

Notes: *Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the price of the ticket – Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be provided through the conference 

A quiet ‘Sanctuary Room’ will be provided for contemplation 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER See you Santa Fe! 


PRESENTERS AND GUIDES (Not a full list-more to come!) 

Mary Stewart Adams is a Star Lore Historian, and host of the weekly public radio program and podcast “The Storyteller’s Night Sky”.  Through her research in spiritual science and her education in literary arts, Mary has developed a unique, humanities-based approach to understanding our relationship with the stars.  Her work is further augmented by an extensive knowledge of ancient mythologies and fairy tales, which she relates to the research and ideas of contemporary astronomy in order to understand the new star wisdom of astrosophy.


Eyahnna DalBo (artist of the Sophia Rising painting) came to anthroposophy 30 years ago when her daughter attended a Waldorf school. Her studies have included an undergraduate degree in fine art and graduate work in psychology using the arts for healing.  In her private practice, she developed various energetic modalities. Her experience with subtle energy fields gave her the opportunity to teach and take part in designing a curriculum for a 2-year program focusing on energy healing. As a consultant, she initiated numerous therapeutic programs to assist in pioneering the field of art therapy. Through the gift of an apprenticeship with indigenous people she was able to bring their practices and ceremonies to what she offered deepening her ability to be of service.  As an artist, she continues to utilize the spoken word, movement, sound, and visual imagery to honor and create a field that fosters awareness, growth, and transformation.

Angela Foster has been an active student of anthroposophy since 2008. After growing up in Texas, Angela is now embracing life in Atlanta, Georgia as an artist, teacher, and mom of two daughters, shepherd to two mini sheep. As a conscious practitioner of “beginner’s mind”, Angela has completed programs in foundation studies in Anthroposophy numerous times and is currently enrolled in Foundation Studies in Goethean Science through the Nature Institute. She and her husband manage the Anthroposophical Resource Center (ARC) an initiative in Decatur, Georgia that offers space for community events and serves as a little house for Anthroposophia.

Stephanie Georgieff, MS is an author, podcaster and pilgrim. Residing mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, she has written several books on The Divine Feminine as presented through the genre of The Black Madonna, The Virgin of Guadalupe and The Divine Sophia. She has spoken at conferences and venues throughout North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The Black Madonna Speaks is her latest endeavor, a weekly podcast exploring the mysteries of The Black Madonna from an Anthroposophical and Esoteric Chritian perspective, along with artists, poets, authors and scholars on the subject.

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.

Helena Hurrell joyfully met Anthroposophy in San Fransisco in 1977 and has been working with individuals and groups as a Waldorf educator since 1981 and then throughout her life trained to become a therapist while living in Australia, the UK and North America. She is currently in private practice in Colorado blending the therapeutic work she offers through her love of color ~ as an Art and Metal Color Light Glass Therapist trained in the UK and Germany. Both of these trainings are certified by the Medical Section at the Goetheanum. Metal Color Light Therapy is a relatively new initiative originated by the late Marianne Altmaier who developed this therapy and training out of her deep interest in and knowledge of the Goetheanum windows in Dornach. Helena’s website: www.helioscenter.org

Helen-Ann Ireland has been involved in anthroposophical studies for over 30 years as a Waldorf teacher, member of the School for Spiritual Science, Class holder, and now as chair of the Anthroposophical Society of America. A special interest has been in the area of the Divine Feminine and the Being of Sophia.

Michele Mariscal has 30 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She is a skilled facilitator in soft skills, speaker, coach and author. She is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist as well as a Trainer and Coach with the Institute of HeartMath. She facilitates greater heart-based living for individuals and organizations Michele is also a five-time author with her most recent publication of Growing Through Grief – The Alchemy of Healing from Loss.
 

Joyce Reilly Joyce studied psychology in college and was fascinated by the idea of a therapeutic community. She has worked in Camphill for many years, and is trained as a Waldorf and Therapeutic teacher.  She founded Gheel House, a therapeutic community near Kimberton Pennsylvania, still thriving after 37 years. Joyce’s interests expanded to international conflict work and refugee resettlement. She works with organizations such as the Janusz Korczak Association, Karuna Peacebuilders, Kiwimbi International, Good Grief, the Worldwide Storytelling and Puppetry Association, and especially with the New York Anthroposophical Branch, and also works part-time at the local public library. Joyce is also trained in Psychosynthesis therapy and Anthroposophical psychology – currently practicing as a life coach and counselor.

Carrie Schuchardt co-founded The House of Peace in 1990, a home that is a physical and spiritual refuge for victims of war in a community with adults with special needs. In the last 15 years over 400 refugees from approximately 30 countries have been received in the healing embrace of The House of Peace, giving supportive assistance in establishing themselves in the US. In addition to the daily work of The House Peace, Carrie participates in many activities for the conversion of consciousness and policies from war to peace. Carrie has begun a network of women who witness publicly, Women Weeping, where women dress in mourning carrying symbolic lifeless children in order to help people feel what is rarely expressed in the media: the grief of hundreds of thousands of mothers in war zones around the world who lose their children to the terrible violence of war.

Maria Ver Eecke is presently the therapeutic eurythmist for the School of Eurythmy, Spring Valley, NY. She taught eurythmy for forty years in Waldorf schools, a charter school, and a home-school program. Maria met anthroposophy in Maseru, Lesotho, when she was a class teacher in an English-medium preparatory school. Currently she is the editor of the newsletters for the Eurythmy Association of North America and the Association of Therapeutic Eurythmy in North America. 

13 thoughts on “Break-Down

  1. Hazel, you wrote:

    “Questions must be relational. They involve the other. They weave roots to plants & branches to trees – nourishing bugs & bacteria – feeding the human being. Ever asking us to co-create a resilient connection between spirit & matter.”

    This is exactly the situation that Christ found Himself in when He decided to take the disciples out of harm’s way after the raising of Lazarus. He took them into the wilderness for a nice time of teaching and contemplation:

    “Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples”. John 11, v. 54.

    Thus, we have one interlude, or gap, in the Gospel of John. It occurs here because only some forty days later does the gospel again pick up its account with the return to Bethany six days before the Passover, as seen in chapter 12.

    So, it is in the revealing of what took place at Ephraim that we gain an important measure of what Christ Himself told the disciples. You see, He had to prepare them for what they would experience with the return to Bethany on the eve of Palm Sunday. Thus, he opens with a rendition, which is very reminiscent of your own words above, Hazel. You have said these words:

    “Questions must be relational. They involve the other. They weave roots to plants & branches to trees – nourishing bugs & bacteria – feeding the human being. Ever asking us to co-create a resilient connection between spirit & matter.”

    This is exactly what the disciples were prepared at Ephraim to observe and ask about after the Gospel of John picks up again with chapter twelve. Just look at all the observations and questions that occur after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, for example, the fig tree that bears no fruit, and you see that this has all been prepared as a teaching coming out of Ephraim.

    So, Hazel, what if it can be shown that your subjective experience has an objective background here with Christ seeing the need to tell His disciples all about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above, and a thing called love?
    This did happen. And I thank you for allowing it to remain as an object of attention.

    1. What a tumultuous time happened in those chapters (11,12) that John wrote! As Hazel wrote, “as above, so below”. A tumultuous time in both the souls of humanity, as they witnessed the raising of a man from the dead, and in the spiritual world. With the advantage of hindsight, we can imagine that all of heaven could see the approaching death and resurrection of the Christ, of which the raising of Lazarus was but a foretaste. We can also imagine the stress and tension in the councils of the Jews, as their whole rulership over the Jewish populace (religiously speaking) seemed to be disintegrating before them. The Jews were leaving behind the tenets of the synagogue, and beginning to believe that indeed, Jesus was their Christ, their Messiah.

      In this tumultuous period, John records for us the precious chapters (13-17), chapters in which we feel as though we were there ourselves, taking in the words of comfort Jesus gave and watching HIs example of loving service. And I assume you’re implying, Steve, that His teaching on Oneness, as compared to the vine and the branches, is completely in sync with Hazel’s words about roots and branches and insects and bacteria, and the interrelationship of them all.

      1. What if it could be shown that the Gospel of John was not written by John, but by another close eyewitness possessed of inspirational-intuitive consciousness? We know that the first two followers of Christ were disciples of John the Baptist. From chapter one:

        35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the ]tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah”.

        The other disciple was never named. For three years this gospel was being written in a very linear and chronological fashion, which differs it from the other three, which are not so sequential. At all times, Christ is at the forefront in this eyewitness gospel. Then, a name appears suddenly after three years, at the outset of chapter 11. Lazarus. This is the unnamed disciple who first followed with Andrew, after having been a disciple of John there in Bethany when the Baptism occurred. But, there is more to this story because an incorporation also takes place in order that the true writer of the Gospel of John be the one possessed of inspirational-intuitive consciousness going back over many previous lives. This author only fully reveals himself for the first time to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb when she experiences the two Jesus entities; one of whom she does not know, ref. chapter 20.

        1. Whoever wrote the Gospel of John sure relished leaving some riddles in it. Like in the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, and then there’s the “other disciple” who went with Peter into the courtyard of the high priest. Why not just name these disciples? Mark did the same, with the “young man” who fled naked from the garden of Gethsemane. Why not name him? There’s an element of mystery, and probably for a purpose. There’s actually a lot of mystery in the Bible, right from the beginning, but with the help of higher beings and the Spirit’s help, and through earnest seeking, we can solve some of these mysteries.

          1. That is the idea taking place right now. To explain these mysteries in clear language. That is why Spiritual Science exists. It is not a matter of “whoever wrote the Gospel of John”, but Who wrote it. This can be shown, just as the “fleeing youth” in the Gospel of Mark. Who was He? We have some time to discuss these matters right here even before the Spring Equinox, and it is a blessing to be able to do so. Thanks for expressing some of the seemingly confusing aspects. Let’s keep a feeler out for what can help. I admit in knowing about it, and I hope that doesn’t create prejudice. We should be as straightforward as possible in these matters.

  2. A very timely message Hazel, and so relatable. Not the chronic pain part; learning more about you as time goes on. That ability that Fitzgerald speaks of, the “ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function” – is so necessary in these trying times in which it takes so much patience to bore down to the truth of what’s going on in the world. One side says this, another counters with an opposing view. One thing’s for certain – innocent, peace-loving people are suffering greatly for the sake of men’s egos; we can feel it in our bodies, because we’re all interconnected. That is, if we’re at all “conscious”.

    Fortunately, we have examples like Dr. Steiner to follow. He continually demonstrated this ability that Fitzgerald speaks of, this ability to hold opposing views in one’s mind and still function. This is something we’d all do well to learn from.

    I only came to realize something yesterday concerning my “characterological disposition”, to borrow Hartmann’s phrase. I realized a tendency to be overly independent, which apparently is as much a fault as being what’s called “co-dependent” on others. Somehow I need to find that middle ground. Again, can I hold opposing views, remaining functional? I hope so; I think that’s what Fitzgerald was saying, that we need to be able to have hope for the future state.

      1. I am wondering here about what characterological disposition means, especially as a Hartmann phrase. Is this Eduard von Hartmann? I too see the trend in Maverick’s seemingly over-independent thinking, but he is learning, and has been learning for some time now. For one thing , I think he has tempered down his vast affiliation for the faith of Paul above all other concerns. He is seeing that Steiner’s Gnosis is real enough on its own merits, and why Steiner placed Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus as the great theme of GA 118, “The Reappearance of Christ in the Etheric”.

        1. Good to hear from my friend Steve. This expression, “characterological disposition”, while a mouthful to speak, just happened to be on my mind. Our group study of Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path (with the Santa Fe group, Sangre de Cristo) has just started into Chapter 9. Here’s a couple of sentences to help explain it’s meaning, from pg. 139,140 of the Michael Lipson translation:

          “Willing, then, is not merely the result of the concept or mental picture, but also of the individual human make-up. We shall call this individual make-up, following Eduard von Hartmann, the characterological disposition….Our characterological disposition is shaped by the more-or-less lasting content of our subjective life — in other words by the content of our mental pictures and feelings.” R. Steiner

          Regarding my affiliation for Paul, it has only grown. This may have something to do with my having had an incarnation in that era – not associated with Paul directly, but with people who were influenced by his teachings. I’m hoping to delve into Paul’s teachings even more than I have already, but my immediate mission is to learn to read the Gospels properly. As you may recall, I’m in an ongoing study of the Revelation (the Apocalypse), and Steiner, in Lecture 3 of The Apocalypse of St. John, tells us that when people learn to read the Gospels properly, then they will correctly understand the Revelation. So I’m looking forward to diving deeper into Paul’s epistles (letters), after I’ve given some effort towards a better understanding of the Gospels – including the Fifth Gospel of Steiner’s.

          1. Excellent. Did you know that Rudolf Steiner sent Eduard von Hartmann a copy of The Philosophy of Freedom right after publication in 1893?
            Within a short period of time, Steiner received the book back with marginal notes throughout. He was very disappointed that Hartmann failed to see what was most important in the book, which is “thinking as spiritual activity”. This is covered in Steiner’s autobiography in detail.

            1. No, I don’t recall reading of that, but is completely understandable, I mean that someone could read The Philosophy of Freedom, and not get its main message. The first time I read it, it went right over my head. This is only my second time on the book, and with the help of good instruction and some helpful group perspectives, it’s registering with me in a much fuller way. Then there’s an eminent scholar like Brian Gray, who’s read it about fifteen times, and I’m sure is still getting nuggets of truth from it.

              1. Sure he is. PoF, which got a new name recently, which can be likened to a two by four between the brows, is Steiner’s whole MO for being on earth. When he was able to revise it in 1918, in order to combine it with his spiritual-scientific investigations, it got a whole new meaning, “The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity”. Yet, stalwarts like Tom Last still refrain from seeing Steiner as revising his original PoF into the book, Theosophy, in 1902. Yet, Theosophy was specifically designed to be a rewrite of PoF for a more esoteric audience. By 1918, Steiner made it plain that only sense-free thinking without a corporeal body can ascend to the heights of what true Thinking means. I hope your course invites the silence without falling asleep 🙂

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