May 19, 2016 “History is a cyclic poem written by Time upon the memories of man”. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley

1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.

1792 – Birthday of Johann Gottlieb Fichte, the philosopher of the ”I”. Rudolf Steiner reveals a past life as Spinoza in GA 158

1895 – Birthday of Emil Bock, a German anthroposophist, author, theologian & one of the founders of The Christian Community.

In 1914 he began a study of languages at the University of Bonn. However, the same year he enlisted in the First World War & was sent to the front in Flanders, where he was wounded. In 1916, he met for the first time the theologian Friedrich Rittelmeyer, & from 1918 he studied Protestant theology in Berlin, & graduated in 1921. That same year he was one of the founders of the Christian Community in Switzerland. Bock soon became the leader of the seminary of the Christian Community, & after the death of Friedrich Rittelmeyer, he became the leader of the community in 1938.

In 1941, the Nazi regime banned the Christian Community due to its alleged “Jewish” & “Masonic” influence, & Bock was sent to a concentration camp. He was released from the concentration camp in 1942, but was under surveillance for the rest of the war. Yet, Bock was instrumental in the rebuilding of the community.

1898 – Death-day of William Ewart Gladstone a British Liberal politician. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times, more than any other person, & served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times. Gladstone was also Britain’s oldest Prime Minister; he resigned for the final time when he was 84 years old. According to Alfred Meebold, a personal student of Rudolf Steiner, Gladstone was Cicero.

1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.

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~I am in the Eye

A hazel orb resting beneath golden lids encircling

Eyelashes growing like stalks of dark truth

I see beyond light shimmering

In every blade of greening leaf

Blue flames leap

Opening my pores

As I shine in & out of life

~hag

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A review from Copake:

Working of the Spirit Presents Powerful Pictures of the Soul Life of Contemporary Times in Readers Theater

This “new Mystery Drama” as it is being called is really a “must see” for anthroposophists everywhere!  It is compelling and well written, with a cast of actors well suited for the reading of such complex and compelling characters and interconnections! The actors have been assembled from around the world.

Over Whitsun weekend, Camphill Copake hosted a festival of “new mystery dramas” in “readers theater” format. Michael Burton, established author and lifetime student of Anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Dramas, wrote the Working of the Spirit drama.

Working of the Spirit will be presented in Readers Theater in two separate performances in Chicago on Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22. Tickets are available for purchase at www.workingofthespirit.org or at the door of the Chicago Branch 4249 North Lincoln Avenue. Requested donations start at $15.

Both Readers Theater performances of The Working of the Spirit will start at 10:30 a.m. As with Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Dramas, the play is an all day event, with anticipated ending at 6 p.m. (Folks are invited to come & go as they like, but if you plan to enter sometime in the middle, please buy your tickets on line ahead of time 🙂

The journey of the play is well worth the long ride, however, with rich language – very deep and beautiful – and the depicting of the lives and relationships of earthly humans as well as spiritual beings.

Twenty actors portray the many characters and do a clear and moving rendering, as they read from scripts, bringing the play to life.  At Copake, the author, Michael Burton, portrayed the part of Trautmann and also read all stage directions to stimulate the imaginations of the audience. Michael’s speech and his clear voice made it easy to “see” the play.

This new drama, based on Rudolf Steiner’s four Mystery Dramas and featuring the characters from those four plays, continues their stories into the future.

Marke Levene’s immersion in the 1990s with Portal Productions on producing and touring Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Dramas provided him a meditatively acquired outline of the fifth Mystery Drama Steiner had planned when the start of WWI blocked continuation. This play is an attempt to continue the story of these characters.  Michael Burton used Marke’s outline as his starting point.  By Patrick O’Neill