Dear friends – In early March when the Corona virus was coming into consciousness, we started an initiative to do the Hallelujah in Eurythmy & the Foundation Stone Meditation at Sunrise (or anytime) everyday.

This is something I have been doing for many years, although the eurythmy often changes according to my needs of the moment. Then during the Holy Nights I decided to take up working with the ‘Rhythms’ of the Foundation Stone Meditation, which I had never done before.

I have heard that many folks find speaking the entire FSM to be too much to hold, so doing the Rhythms, is a great way to take it in. And I have come to find that it has deepened my understanding of this powerful gift from Rudolf Steiner. So I thought to share Steiner’s Black Board drawings that I got from Verena Buob who brought her many years of experience to us in a workshop at the last AGM in Atlanta. For Verena, contemplating the way Steiner presented them is very important for our understanding. I made slides for our Holy Nights meetings that I hope will assist you in your own practice. I’d love to hear what insights arise for you…

26 March 2020– “Speaking with the Stars”:  Capella, The 6th largest star is high in the northwest during &after dusk. Capella is called ‘the Little She-goat‘ that the Charioteer is carrying on his left shoulder.

The early Arabs called it Al Rakib, the Driver; since, lying far to the north, it was prominent in the evening sky before other stars became visible: “The singer riding before the procession, who cheers the camels with song urging them on,” which refereed to the Pleiades,regarded as a troop of camels to be herded. It served, too, the same purpose for worship in Greece, where it may have been the orientation point of a temple at Eleusis to the goddess Diana Propyla.

Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1812 – Caracas earthquake took place in Venezuela on what was Maundy Thursday killing over 20,000 people. The seismic movement was so drastic that in a zone named Valecillo a new lake was formed & the river Yurubí was dammed up. Numerous rivulets changed their course in the valley of Caracas, which was flooded with dirty water. The earthquake consisted of two seismic shocks occurring within the span of 30 minutes. The first destroyed Caracas & the second Mérida, where it was raining when the shock occurred. Since the earthquake occurred on Maundy Thursday, while the Venezuelan War of Independence was raging, it was explained by royalist authorities as divine punishment for the rebellion against the Spanish Crown.

1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.

1827 – Death-Day of Ludwig van Beethoven, German pianist & composer

1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.

1856 – Birthday of Fritz Lemmermayer, an Austrian writer, journalist & closest childhood friend of Rudolf Steiner in Vienna. Fritz was a passionate anti-materialist, he wanted to devote his life to the creation & maintenance of spiritual values. In 1883 he completed his novel “The Alchemist”. Rudolf Steiner met Lemmermayer again in 1886 in the circle of the poet Marie Eugenie delle Grazie.  An extensive correspondence attests to the close friendship between the two (see GA 38).

Steiner says: Fritz Lemmermayer, with whom I was later on terms of intimate friendship, I came to know at one of delle Grazie’s afternoons. A highly noteworthy man. Whatever interested him he expressed with inwardly measured dignity. In his outward appearance he resembled equally the musician Rubinstein and the actor Lewinsky. With Hebbel he developed almost a cult. He had definite views on art and life born out of the sagacious understanding of the heart, and these were unusually fixed. He had written the interesting and profound romance, Der Alchemist(3), and much besides that was characterized by beauty and depth. He knew how to consider the least things in life from the view-point of the most vital. I recall how I once saw him in his charming little room in a side-street in Vienna together with other friends. He had planned his meal: two soft-boiled eggs, to be cooked in an instantaneous boiler, together with bread. He remarked with much emphasis while the water was heating to boil the eggs for us: “This will be delicious!” In a later phase of my life I shall again have occasion to speak of him ~Rudolf Steiner, The Story of My Life, Chapter VII Lemmermayer & Steiner joined the ranks of the Viennese artist circle in the house of the protestant priest Alfred Formey. In 1891 Lemmermayer was vice president of Schrifstellerbundes Iduna , named after Iduna , the Norse goddess of youth & immortality a counterweight against the currents of naturalism. Lemmermayer  became a member of the Anthroposophical Society  in 1920. He Steiner on many trips through Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland & England.  This led to his 1929 published memories,  where he spoke about Rudolf Steiner, Robert Hamerling & other personalities of the Austrian intellectual life of the 80s. In addition, Lemmermayer published in the weekly ” Das Goetheanum “.

1874 – Birthday of Robert Frost, American poet & playwright

1892 – Deathday of Walt Whitman

1902 – Deathday of Cecil Rhodes – British imperialist & mining magnate

1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin & Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C

***

POD (Poem Of the Day)

~O my soul
A winter sparrow that won’t rest
Wishing for warmth among bent feathers
Seized-songs rush
Shrill in my throat
Spreading sparks off my wings
Love forming a note
Flowing thru
Hollow bones I fly
From yesterday
The sun caught in the amber
O my hazel eye
~hag

Greetings friends – The Central Regional Council will sponsor a Zoom Study Group Meeting for April 8th on the Karma of Epidemics (details below)

ALL are welcome to join us. April 8th 2020, 7:15 pm CST (see audio conference details below)

“Imagine a people which was composed entirely of liars, the astral plane would be populated solely by the corresponding demons and these demons would be able to express themselves in a constitutional tendency to epidemics. Thus there is a certain species of bacilli who are the carriers of infectious diseases; these beings are the progeny of the lies told by human beings; they are nothing else than physically embodied demons generated by lies.” (GA 99 – L.6)

Theosophy of the Rosicrucian – The Law of Destiny – Schmidt Number: S-1539
Lecture VI https://wn.rsarchive.org/GA/GA0099/19070530p01.html

Audio Conference Details:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/451374910

Meeting ID: 451 374 910

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If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com
Let us stand together with courage in this now, as we look to our future with equanimity, holding all that comes before us as being guided by a divine directive waiting to be revealed by our patient spiritual investigation.

Many of us are doing constructive things like the Hallelujah in Eurythmy, & The Foundation Stone Meditation at Sunrise (or anytime) every morning to create a high vibration of Love & Light – Please join us for the healing of all.

Yours in service ~The CRC team: Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton

art by Daniel Ospina

***

‘The Three Days’, an On-Line Easter Festival with the Central Reginal Council

Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, all three days: April 9-12, 2020 from 3 pm – 4:15 pm CDT

We will be taking up indications from Emil Bock’s ‘The Three Years” to artistically explore the Spiritual Science of ‘The Paschal Triduum’: Following the Cosmic Sun on the ultimate path of initiation, from the Free-Will Sacrifice, through the Conquering of Death, into the Resurrection of the New Sun.

How can we as human beings in community bring a practical understanding to these mysteries?

Join us as we strive to gain the forces needed to do our part in furthering this impulse in world evolution.

FREE – ALL are Welcome – Zoom Call and other details to follow

For more info. contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@peoplepc.com

May Hope Spring Eternal –

The CRC – Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, David Howerton, Lisa Dalton 

***

The Sacred Gateway: Conscious Living, Conscious Dying, and the Journey Beyond – ONLINE APRIL 17-19, 2020 

Bring a new consciousness to your own life and death

• Support those who are crossing and who have crossed over 
• Expand your practice and knowledge of working with the dying
• Learn more about the soul’s journey from death to new life 

Through interactive workshops, biography work, keynote discussions with Rev. Patrick Kennedy and Dr. Melinda Toney,  workshops with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Sandra LaGrega Jennifer Fox, and more, as well as experiential and artistic activities, we will consciously explore the spiritual and practical aspect of human life and death. 

Conference Fees:

• $200 Supporter ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources, plus Two Sacred Gateway Webinar Series (You can see those by clicking here and here) + One Recorded Online Community Gathering ($80 value), Podcast Links. This level fully supports this conference and other events like it!
• $150 Resource Package ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources, plus Two Sacred Gateway Webinar Series (You can see those by clicking here and here) + One Recorded Online Community Gathering ($80 value), and Podcast Links 
• $95 Regular Rate ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources 
• $45 Youth Rate (Age 35 and under) ~ Live Event + Recordings and Resources
• $45 Keynotes Only ~ Live Keynotes + Recordings 
  Financial Assistance Available (Email programs@anthroposophy.org) 

Click Here to Join the ASA!

Conference Schedule

All start times in Eastern Standard Time 
(Note: Workshops Subject to Additions/Minor Changes)

Friday, April 17

7:30pm-9pm Conference Opening and Keynote

True Living is Dying: The Life-Giving Power of Death Keynote Discussion and Q&A with Rev. Patrick Kennedy 

Saturday April 18 

11:00-11:45am Welcome, Introductions and Biography Work

11:45am-1:15pm Two-Day Themed Workshops (Choose one theme and attend Saturday, and Sunday) 

• From Loss to Connection Through ]Reading for the Dead and Writing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery
• The Lemniscate Journey: Exploring the Relationships in Our Lives from Birth to Death and Death to Rebirth Through Biography and Social Art with Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
• Giving Way to Grace: Chrysalis Emerging from Conscious Living and Conscious Dying with Melinda Toney, MD, Carole Shoaf End-Of-Life Doula and Katherine Blackburn, End-Of-Life Doula and Esoteric Christian Minister
• Saturday April 18^th, 11:45am-1:15pm – Festivals for the Dead, the Unborn, and the evolution of Earth – Then and Now. with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg. How do we look at the karmic connections that shape current events? Our work with those on the ‘Other-side of the Threshold’ can give us clues about the causes and purpose of epidemics and the ways of healing ourselves, our beloved dead and the Earth.

1:15-1:30pm Break

1:30-2:30pm Vigil Room In Our Hearts 

2:30-3:00pm Break

 3:00-4:30pm Topic Workshops

• The Soul’s Journey Through the Spheres After Death with Mary Stewart Adams 
• Acknowledging the End with Jolie Luba
• After Deathcare as a Healing Art with Tischia Bluske

4:30-5:00pm Break

5:00-6:00pm Death & Healing Keynote Conversation with Dr. Melinda Toney 

6:15- 7:00pm Group Reflections and Closing

Sunday, April 19 

11:00-11:45am Welcome, Introductions and Biography Work

11:45-12:45 Consecrating our Dying Keynote with Patrick Kennedy

12:45-1:15 Break

1:15-2:30 Two-Day Themed Workshops

• From Loss to Connection Through the Arts: Reading, Writing and Drawing with Marianne Dietzel and Maureen Flannery
• The Lemniscate Journey: Exploring the Relationships in Our Lives from Birth to Death and Death to Rebirth Through Biography and Social Art with Sandra LaGrega and Jennifer Fox
• Giving Way to Grace: Chrysalis Emerging from Conscious Living and Conscious Dying with Melinda Toney, MD, Carole Shoaf End-Of-Life Doula and Katherine Blackburn, End-Of-Life Doula and Esoteric Christian Minister
• Sunday April 19^th, 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm – Festivals for the Dead, the Unborn, and the evolution of Earth – Then and Now. with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg. Explore the many cultural expressions that work with, and celebrate our beloved dead. Prepare the way for the Unborn, and for the future of humanity. Become inspired to Renew or Create your own Tradition. Learn to find your destiny, and meet your karma. Prepare for your own conscious crossing into the journey between death and rebirth, by asking questions like: Where did I come from? What did I come into to this life to do? Who is with me on this journey?

2:30-2:45pm Break

2:45-3:30pm Green Burial Exploration and Conference Closing

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

***

Our dear Dr. Steiner said: ‘It is not the Christ we lack, but the knowledge of Christ, the Sophia of Christ, the Isis of Christ we are lacking.’ In ‘Ancient Myths and the New Isis Mystery: Their Meaning and Connection with Evolution’ Lecture 3; given in Dornach, 6 January 1918, by Rudolf Steiner; we hear how the power of ‘The Word, the power of The Logos’, must be resurrected through our striving to activate the Wisdom of Anthroposophia within each of us. Join Hazel Archer-Ginsberg for a powerful presentation Lifting the Veil of the New Isis-Sophia, to bring Light to Love.

~Vitae Sophia~A Whitsun Festival of United Soul Endeavor with Hazel Archer-Ginsberg

Saturday, 30 May, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm Groh Farm, 135 Temple Rd, Wilton, NH

Eurythmy: AUM = A – I stand for myself, U- I stand for humanity, M – I stand for Life

Social Sculpture: Steiner’s ‘Blue Dot Exercise’– Through Art, the bridge between science & spirit, we warm the ‘I’, to open the heart, in support of healthy community.

What are my gifts-What are my tools? How can I place them in right relationship within the social realm? How can I hone them to strengthen and enhance the world?

Living into the Foundation Stone of Love – How can we take our individual Inner Whitsun & expand it, into what Steiner calls the “World Festival of Knowledge” a path leading from ‘Sprit Recollection’, to ‘Sprit Sensing’, to ‘Sprit Beholding’?

Enter the Labyrinth of ‘Vitae Sophia’ – Human hearts, once warmed, can rise up to meet the source of wisdom, like flowers turning toward the sun.  

$30 suggested donation at the door, with potluck lunch to follow
(please bring a dish to share) RSVP deb@anthroposophy.org Sponsored by the Anthroposophical Society in New Hampshire

Hazel Archer-Ginsberg – Founder of Reverse Ritual Understanding Anthroposophy through the Rhythms of the Year.Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, Trans-denominational Minister, ‘Anthroposopher’, working as the Festivals Coordinator of the Chicago Rudolf Steiner Branch, The Traveling Speakers Program, & the Central Regional Council of the Anthroposophical Society.

Whitsun 2020 Vitae Sophia

as part of the tour 

3 June 2020 – a Round Table Discussion 7 pm – 9 pm on ‘The Sophia’ with John Bloom, Joan Sleigh, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg & Carrie Schuchardt  at The House of Peace in Ipswich, MA.