“If the human being is to come to anthroposophy through their own judgement, they must become one who asks questions; they must convince themselves through their innermost freedom of judgement. They may hear words of spiritual truth but convincing themselves of it is something they have to do on their own. If they wish to participate and be active in society and the community they must do so out of their innermost heart impulses. Those who most truly take up anthroposophical spiritual science must become people who ask questions“. ~Rudolf Steiner
Ok Dr. Steiner, you got me on a roll. So…Today I am – Taking inventory of all my inner ‘voices’, noticing both the content of what they are saying & the tone with which they say it. As I grow older, I realize more & more that tone is everything; the tambour, the color, the way an idea is expressed, & the resonance it evokes as an after-image, says a lot more than words can convey. Is the tone harmonious, connective, or off-putting, & unsettling. Each has it’s place. I am also noticing how, some of the voices are chatty (O that monkey mind) & others shy, rarely forthcoming; some blaring & others seductive; some nagging or needy, or blaming & shaming, & others, selfless & insightful. I am working to Welcome all the voices in my head, calling them into the spotlight of my heart’s alert attention. I sit with them in dialogue, & ask each to step forward & reveal their agendas. Are they coming from my past, my present, or my future? Are they even part of me – or are they voices from other beings seeking to waylay, or enlighten? Which of the soul forces of thinking, feeling or willing, do they speak for? Are they trying to communicate with me so that I will pass their missives on to others – or is it a memo just for me? Can I listen without judgement, without giving away my will or freedom? What will I say in return?
***
20 October 2020 – “Speaking with the Stars”: The Great Square of Pegasus is high in the Southeast after dark.
The Orionid meteor shower, modest but definitely there, will be active in the early-morning hours for several days. It should be at its strongest from about midnight until dawn both Wednesday & Thursday mornings. You might see about 10 meteors an hour under excellent dark-sky conditions, the closer to dawn the better. The Moon will have long set. The shower’s radiant is at the top of Orion’s Club, which gets higher through the pre-dawn hours. The higher a meteor shower’s radiant, the more meteors appear in all parts of the sky.
Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures on this day – One of the many for today is : Dornach, 20 October 1917 – Excerpt from: Fall of the Spirits of Darkness LECTURE 10 – The Influence of the Backward Angels
The masses of humanity go through life as if asleep, without thought; they are completely unaware of what is going on in groups, some of them quite large, which may be right next door. Today, more than ever, people are much given up to illusion. Just consider the way in which many people keep saying today: ‘lt is amazing how effective modern communications are and how this brings people together!
I have spoken of this to show that it is entirely possible today for the mass of people to know nothing of radically new developments which are right on their doorstep.
The ahrimanic powers will also thrive if people nurture the elements which they desire to spread among people today: prejudice, ignorance and fear of the life of the spirit. There is no better way of encouraging them.
Just think how many people there are today who actually make it their business to foster prejudice, ignorance and fear of the spiritual powers.
So you see, the people who consider themselves to be the most enlightened today are living with entirely unrealistic ideas.
Since 1879 the situation is like this: people go to school and acquire scientific attitudes and thinking; their philosophy of life is then based on this scientific approach and they believe only the things which can be perceived in the world around us to be real, whilst everything else is purely imaginary. When people think like this, and infinitely many people do so today, Ahriman has the upper hand in the game and the ahrimanic powers are doing well. Who are these ahrimanic powers which have established their fortresses in human minds since 1879? They are certainly not human. They are angels, but they are backward angels, angels who are not following their proper course of evolution and therefore no longer know how to perform their proper function in the spiritual world that is next to our own. If they still knew how to do it, they would not have been cast down in 1879. They now want to perform their function with the aid of human brains. They are one level lower in human brains than they should be. ‘Monistic’ thinking, as it is called today, is not really done by humans. People often speak of the science of economics today, a science in which it was said at the time when the war started that it would be over in four months — I mentioned this again yesterday. When these things are said by scientists — it does not matter so much if people merely repeat them — they are the thoughts of angels who have made themselves at home in human heads. Yes, the human intellect is to be taken over more and more by such powers; they want to use it to bring their own lives to fruition. We cannot stand up to this by putting our heads in the sand like ostriches, but only by consciously entering into the experience. We cannot deal with this by not knowing what monists think, for example, but only by knowing it; we must also know that it is Ahriman science, the science of backward angels who infest human heads, and we must know about the truth and the reality.
It is indeed true, and initiates have always said so: ‘When human beings are filled with spiritual wisdom, these are great horrors of darkness for the ahrimanic powers and a consuming fire. It feels good to the ahrimanic angels to dwell in heads filled with ahrimanic science; but heads filled with spiritual wisdom are like a consuming fire and the horrors of darkness to them.’ If we consider this in all seriousness we can feel: filled with spiritual wisdom we go through the world in a way which allows us to establish the right relationship with the ahrimanic powers; doing the things we do in the light of this, we build a place for the consuming fire of sacrifice for the salvation of the world, the place where the terror of darkness radiates out over the harmful ahrimanic element.
Let those ideas and feelings enter into you! You will then be awake and see the things that go on in the world. ~Rudolf Steiner
***
POD (Poem Of the Day)
~I festoon the grey day
With laser eyes & fierce cackles that call the wind to deliver me
Like a seed blown home
To fertile caverns…
I smell change a-coming
Shapes turning leaves into souls
Sheathed in paper hats torn from the mundane head
Born anew to the eternal flesh
Of freedoms reign
~hag
***
Soul to Soul’ Festival with the Central Regional Council & Special Guests 1pm – 3pm CDT (2pm – 4pm EDT) All Hallows Eve, Saturday October 31st, 2020 |
Every culture has a festival celebrating their Beloved Dead. For deep in our bones we know that those who have passed through the gates of death want to work with us on the physical world, reminding us that everything physical is an outer expression of spirit. During this time of year the veils between the worlds are thin, and the spiritual realm beckons. Having put the iron will of Michael to work in our thinking, we now have the courage to look beyond the veil of the material world into the spirit realm, the place of our beginning and our ending, only to begin again and yet again…for every ending is a new beginning. We will open with some poetry and music played by Carol Kelly, followed by an enactment of an original script by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, based on indications from Spiritual Science. We will go into small breakout groups to explore the theme: “Who do you want to be in the new year”. Eurhythmy Prayer & Halleluiah + more TBA |
Video Conference Details: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89715703794 Meeting ID: 897 1570 3794 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81116556762# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,81116556762# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 897 1570 3794 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kclU2SSTF If you have questions, please contact Alberto Loya aloyavaca@utexas.edu We are the bees of the invisible. May our collection of honey be abundant this season to offer to our Beloved Dead – The CRC – Marianne Fieber, Alberto Loya, Hazel Archer-Ginsberg, Lisa Dalton |
All Souls Election Night Vigil 7 pm – 9 pm CT. Tuesday 3 November 2020
In-person at Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & Cultural Hub with the Rudolf Steiner Branch 4249-51 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago. & ONLINE
Through Social Sculpture, we will hold space with each other, connect with our Angel, the ‘so called dead’, the Being of America…etc…to bring healing on both sides of the Threshold, during Election Night 2020, & on into the future which we are committing to consciously co-create.
Welcome – Anne Nicholson
Verse – Deborah Rogers
Why an All Souls Election Night Vigil? – Hazel Archer-Ginsberg
Metamorphosis – Lucien Dante Lazar. Through a 5-point artistic metamorphosis that will weave throughout the evening we will rise in our thinking, & engage our will, to work with the beings of color, form & gesture from point to periphery.
Intermingling: Initiatives for NOW – The 3-Fold Social Order & ALIANT Alliance – Elderberries + ALL = The Art of Goethean Conversation
Break-Out Session – groups of 3 for 15 minutes
Michael-Star Movement – Lucien + Nancy Melvin + ALL
Verse – Elizabeth Kelly
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/94319961767?pwd=S291ZmEraFlOSS9Nc2dGcWFHODlBZz09
Meeting ID: 943 1996 1767
Passcode: 494798
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Meeting ID: 943 1996 1767
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Friday 6 November 2020, 7 pm – 9 pm CT Connections Revealed
The Connection Between Epidemics, the Souls of the Dead, & the Spiritual World – Leading thoughts by Hazel Archer-Ginsberg based on Spiritual Scientific research & indications from Rudolf Steiner
Inspirations by Lelan Harris – Executive director at Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative and Managing Partner at Harris Coaching & Consulting – Studied Pastoral Ministry at Bethel Seminary
Group Eurythmy with Mary Ruud
& Break out Sessions
In-person at Elderberries Biodynamic Outpost & 3 fold Cultural Hub, in conjunction with the Rudolf Steiner Branch Chicago, 4249-51 N. Lincoln Ave.
Join Zoom Meeting hosted by Anne Nicholson
https://zoom.us/j/98412080773?pwd=NUQrQnYydmdwZWF3V1FmVjYrTS9wUT09
Meeting ID: 984 1208 0773
Passcode: 054456
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,98412080773#,,,,,,0#,,054456# US (Chicago)
+16468769923,,98412080773#,,,,,,0#,,054456# US (New York)
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+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 984 1208 0773
Passcode: 054456
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acVfkxLHkM