being human December 2023 - Centenary Edition by Anthroposophical Society in America

Observing the Christmas Conference Centennial

december 2023

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Contents On the Cover

52 Forming Vessels, by Frank Agrama 54 Recalling the Deed, Living with Its Shadow, by John Bloom

Laura Summer: The Foundation Stone Meditation, Panel 1

10 Note from the General Secretary, by John Bloom and Mary Stewart Adams

11 12 17 19 21

22 23 24 26

Editorial Introduction, by Thomas O’Keefe The Anthroposophical Movement Seeks an Earthly Home, by Thomas O’Keefe Prophecy, by Allan Kaplan Our Need for the Individually Conscious Forming of Community, by Thomas Külken The Christmas Conference and the Polaric Impulses of the Michaélic and Ahrimanic Schools, by Richard Ramsbotham Finding Balance, Bringing the Two Worlds Together, by Dorothea Mier Houses of Brick and Fire: Reflections on January 1, 2023, by Aaron Mirkin Founding the Bridge: The Participatory Path of New Life, by Michael Givens The Global Test and Its Results, by Gopi Krishna Vijaya

27 The Christmas Foundation Conference: A Reflection, by Virginia Sease 30 How Much Truth Can We Advance and Defend for the World in Our Lives? by Nicanor Perlas 34 Heart Thoughts from the Christmas Conference, by John Beck 36 The First Goetheanum Continues to Live Through Our Striving: On the Cupola Painting Project, by Keiko Papic 37 Art Section 49 Turning Points, by Lisa Romero 8 • being human

55 Exceptional States and New Habits of the Heart, by Nathaniel Williams

57 The Christmas Conference Impulse— A Distillation, by R. J. Harlow 60 A Poem, by Truus Geraets 61 Little-Known Statements of Rudolf Steiner on the Christmas Conference, by Thomas Meyer 63 The Connection with Rudolf Steiner and the Trial of Thinking Now Facing Humanity: One Hundred Years after the Christmas Conference, by Mieke Mosmuller 66 Risk, Opportunity, and Responsibility, Tim Nadelle 67 Ethical Individualism as a Counter-Force to the Synchronization of All toward the “Good”, by Roland Tüscher

69 The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project: Applying the Unique Insights of Spiritual Science to Social Change, by Mark McGivern and Robert (Karp) Karbelnikoff

71 The Deed of Rudolf Steiner at 100, by Christopher Houghton Budd

72 Commemoration of 100 Years, but of What?, by Richard Cooper

73 A Light That Has Changed the World, by Benjamin Cherry

75 The New Covenant for the Becoming of the Tenth Hierarchy, by Thomas Mayer 76 The Foundation Stone as a Seed, by Joel Park 77 An Opportunity for the Coming Century for Anthroposophy? A Whitsun Call!, by Thomas Heck

News for Members 80 An Introduction, by Mary Stewart Adams 81 Transitions 82 New Members 83 Report on the World Goetheanum Conference of Michaelmas 2023, by John Bloom

december 2023 • 9

from the general secretary Dear Members and Friends,

Please send submissions, questions, and comments to: editor@anthroposophy.org or to the postal address above, by 05/10/2023. being human is sent free to ASA members (visit anthroposophy.org/join) and shared free at many branches and initiatives. To request a sample copy, write or email editor@anthroposophy.org

Welcome to this special issue of being human, the primary publication of the Anthroposophical Society in America (US). This particular northern winter heralds the culmination of a significant cycle: one hundred years since the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society in Dornach, Switzerland, 1923/24. Anthroposophy was not new to the world at that moment, but this Christmas Conference marked a significant moment in world history. The Anthroposophical Society had been established in Germany, in December 1912, as a clear separation from the Theosophical Society. The Christmas Conference was convened in 1923/24, one year after the First Goetheanum was burned to the ground on New Year’s Eve 1922. Then, in 1923, Rudolf Steiner directed those present to be attentive to their responsibility that “we must everywhere, in every realm, consider the activity of building-up rather than the activity of dismantling,”1 and that the only way for the movement to be taken seriously is if “at every moment in whatever we do we feel responsible towards the spiritual world.”2 In the months between the fire and the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner traveled extensively, gathering people toward this event and encouraging the various country societies to be active participants—all the while cultivating the awareness that what was coming into formation was to be an organization that was in the world but not of it, that here would be a community based on human beings and relationships rather than on principles. At the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner took on the presidency of the Society while also appointing those to serve on its council. Throughout the gathering, but specifically through the laying of the Foundation Stone Meditation in the hearts of the members—that is, all those “whose will it is to nurture the life of soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world”3 —the work has found expression in all fields of human endeavor—be it education, agriculture, medicine, economics, science, the arts, or religion—each continually renewed by consequence of human nature and now fostered in an ongoing way for the purposes of spiritual and social renewal. To mark this seminal moment and the opportunities now available to us one hundred years on, we asked Thomas O’Keefe, editor of Deepening Anthroposophy, to be our guest editor. He proposed asking numerous authors to speak to the significance of the Christmas Conference over the last hundred years, to explore our contemporary experiences, and to discern what is calling from the future that can inform our present tasks. This is also a special issue in that it comes at a moment of transition in the US Society. It is an honor that we—John Bloom, outgoing General Secretary, and Mary Stewart Adams, incoming General Secretary—have the task of introducing this special issue at this moment in the Society’s history. Through this publication, we shine our best light on the life-work of Rudolf Steiner with the aim of highlighting how each of us, as a member, is involved in furthering Rudolf Steiner’s refounding deed—whether through our work in the Society and on its Council, through those of us active in the School of Spiritual Science, or through our links to the Goetheanum and the World Society. We offer our deepest gratitude to Thomas O’Keefe for stepping up to the

1 The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), December 26, 1923, 10am, p. 98. 2 Ibid., p. 100. 3 Paragraph 1 of the Statutes. Ibid., December 27, 1923, 11:15am, p. 120.

The Anthroposophical Society in America GENERAL COUNCIL Mary Stewart Adams, General Secretary & President Gino Ver Eecke, Interim Chair (Eastern Region) Leah Walker, Secretary (at large) Christine Burke (Western Region) Margaret Runyon (at large) John Bloom, General Secretary & President emeritus David Mansur, Treasurer emeritus Tess Parker, Director of Programs Eddie Ledermann, Director of Finance being human is published by the Anthroposophical Society in America 1923 Geddes Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1797 Tel. 734.662.9355 Past issues are online at www.issuu.com/anthrousa PRODUCTION TEAM Guest Editor: Thomas O’Keefe Editorial and Production Group: Mary Stewart Adams John Bloom Katrina Hoven Eddie Ledermann Cynthia Chelius Designer: Angelica Hesse Cover Art: Laura Summer

10 • being human

editorial challenge of this special edition, and to the Society staff and Council members who have contributed to its production. Further, we also want to acknowledge the generosity of members Jeff and Joan Ingle, whose gift allowed us to create this expanded special edition of being human.

We also want to thank our members and friends who support the Society, its work, and what anthroposophy means for the future of humanity. —John Bloom and Mary Stewart Adams

editorial introduction Dear Anthroposophical Colleagues, Earlier this year, I was asked to be the guest editor for this issue of being human, which is intended to commemorate the centenary of the Christmas Conference of 1923/24. My friend Vassag Baghboudarian had earlier suggested the idea of creating an issue of Deepening Anthroposophy by asking a number of leaders in the Anthroposophical Society and Movement: If we were to see the time of Covid as a test of humanity, to what extent have we shown ourselves to be awake or asleep to the existential challenges that we were faced with? I found this a significant and timely impulse, and therefore chose to combine this question with a question about the essential nature of the Christmas Conference impulse and an invitation to reflect on the relation between these two themes. The questions posed to those invited to contribute were: 1. What do you feel is the essential meaning and nature of the Christmas Conference impulse? Do you feel that this impulse is still living on earth as an effective force for the future of anthroposophy? If so, how? 2. If we were to see the last three years (the time of Covid) as a test of humanity, in what ways do you see humanity being awake to the challenge of our time and in what ways to do you see humanity being asleep? In addition, I welcome your thoughts on how humanity can best prepare for future iterations of this kind of challenge. 3. Optional: Feel free to share your thoughts about what relation, if any, you sense between the above two questions. I asked most contributors to limit their pieces to 800 words and to address what they found most important among these themes. I felt that posing these questions to a number of representatives of anthroposophy around the world would be a meaningful expression of how we, as a movement, experience and understand the impulse of the Christmas

Conference, as well as how we have experienced the challenges to individual physical and spiritual sovereignty that emerged vividly during recent years. My hope was that through the various contributions, different aspects of the essential tasks and challenges now facing humanity would come into focus, helping to form a living picture of the cosmic-human “story” of our time and the gravity of our responsibility in the midst of this story. I do feel that this story has, to a significant extent, succeeded in finding a clarifying expression within these pages. Another aim of this issue was to bring together voices of representatives of anthroposophy within the context of the Society and those whom I regard as representatives of the Anthroposophical Movement outside of, or even at a distance from, the Society. I believe that if today’s Anthroposophical Society is truly to have a chance of living up to the given mission of the Society founded at the Christmas Conference—namely, that of becoming a worthy vessel and home for the Anthroposophical Movement, so that we may “stand . . . at the beginning of that age when, in the souls of human beings who in their hearts ally intelligence with spirituality, Michael’s battle will be fought out to victory”11 — then we need the goodwill and collaboration of those who are working earnestly with and for anthroposophy both within and outside of the Society. What is essential is not that we share the same view on everything, but rather how we engage with disagreement and what our common tasks are despite our individual convictions and perspectives. Thank you to all the contributors, to the communications team of being human for organizing, coordinating, and supporting all the details of this process, and to John Bloom for giving me the opportunity to edit this issue. —Thomas O’Keefe deepening@protonmail.com 1 Lecture of July 19, 1924 (GA 240), in: Karmic Relationships, Vol. VI (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009), p. 163. december 2023 • 11

reflections on the two themes

The Anthroposophical Movement Seeks an Earthly Home Thomas O’Keefe One of the main principles of knowledge seems to be that if one wants to know the true nature of a phenomenon, then one must become familiar with, and immersed in, as many of its aspects and details as possible. The more aspects we are able to experience and sense into, the more opportunity we give ourselves to form a full and living inner picture out of our own individual soul-sensing. This also leads to a perception of the depth or dimensions of the phenomenon. Perceiving the nature and quality of something’s dimensions is essential, because they determine the way we understand the implications of the various facts we learn about the phenomenon in question—they comprise the lens through which these elements are brought together into a story that corresponds to the reality of the phenomenon. It is clear through the way Rudolf Steiner spoke of the Christmas Conference impulse—during the conference itself as well as in various lectures and other contexts up until the end of his life—that he experienced it as a deep and profound mystery1 whose meaning he hoped members of the Society would increasingly awaken to. There is even much that suggests he felt his very life-forces were dependent upon this awakening comprehension by the members and the inner and outer tasks implied in such an awakening.2 The essential thought of the Christmas Conference impulse is often summarized in Rudolf Steiner’s words: “How can we combine full openness with the profoundest, most serious and inward esotericism?”3 It is the challenge not merely of balancing two polar qualities (openness and inward esotericism), but of willing the inner world of spiritual ideals and our devotion to these ideals to be lived in a more deeply incarnated way into the details of everything we do. As Dorothea Mier suggests in 1 For example: “[T]his Christmas Conference . . . is to be for us a festival of consecration not merely for the beginning of a new year but for the beginning of a new Turning Point of Time to which we want to devote ourselves in enthusiastic cultivation of the life of spirit.” The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, lecture of January 1, 1924, 8:30pm. 2 See, for example, Sergei O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It! The Mystery of the Christmas Conference (Temple Lodge, 2004), Ch. 1, p. 72ff. 3 The Christmas Conference, December 26, 1923, 10am.

12 • being human

her article, it can also be seen as the challenge of bringing together within ourselves the two worlds, physical and spiritual, so that these two spheres overlap more completely. In his book A Path to Self-Knowledge, Rudolf Steiner describes the meaning of “beauty” in the suprasensory world: There, a being can only be said to be ‘beautiful’ . . . that is able to reveal all of what it experiences within itself to the other beings of its world so that these other beings may partake in the entirety of its experience. The capacity to completely reveal oneself and everything that lives within one without having to conceal anything within oneself could be called ‘beautiful’ in the higher worlds. There, this concept of beauty coincides perfectly with what might be called wholehearted sincerity, the honest acting out of what one carries within oneself.4

In this sense, the ideal of the Christmas Conference impulse can be seen as that of manifesting greater beauty, as individuals and as a community, in our work in the world—that is, the ideal of incarnating the spiritual even more deeply than before, so that anthroposophy is not merely something added to our work, but something that imbues our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The Foundation Stone Meditation is a key that characterizes the qualities of this threefold inner task of human becoming: the striving to develop true willing, true feeling, and true thinking. Virginia Sease describes how the Foundation Stone verse can be raised to the level of a mantram. And Joel Park elaborates on the Foundation Stone Meditation as a seed, with its ability to spread from heart to heart. On an earthly level, the Christmas Conference itself (as distinct from the cosmic impulse given there) was an attempt to incarnate this ideal in a practical way within the Society, thereby uniting the (cosmic) Movement with the (earthly) Society. This union was to be achieved by means of the members’ deepening of this cosmic impulse within themselves. Leading up to the conference, Rudolf Steiner saw the Society, not the Movement—which he had 4 A Path to Self-Knowledge (Chadwick Library Edition, 2019), GA 16, Seventh Meditation.

until then led without holding an official role in the Society—as being in ruins and in need of renewal: “It can be said that the Anthroposophical Society—not the Movement—has emerged riven from the War.”5 The Movement is a purely spiritual stream that does not depend on earthly institutions for its health and survival—though its ability to become effective on earth would be greatly served by an institution that is able to embody its ideals. At the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner attempted one last time to bring an impulse into the Society that could allow it to have a chance at providing a suitable home to the Movement, which he had always led and presumably always will lead, even after death, whether or not the Society is able to become a vessel for it. In order to attempt to incarnate this impulse into the Society, he agreed to take on its earthly leadership.6 This deed required a great sacrifice from Rudolf Steiner and weighed heavily upon him. The question naturally arises: What did Rudolf Steiner’s premature death signify in terms of the continued possibility of this aim of uniting the Movement with the Society, that is, the possibility of making the Society a worthy vessel for the Movement? This question is explored in detail in Sergei O. Prokofieff’s book May Human Beings Hear It!,7 a comprehensive study arising from a life devoted to a deepened understanding of the Christmas Conference impulse. R. J. Harlow, in his article, likewise attempts to distill the context in which we can explore these questions. It is essential to realize that the Christmas Conference impulse is not simply a finished and given deed whose earthly presence and grace we can always count on. Rather, its life and effectiveness on earth was said to depend entirely upon our activity. Rudolf Steiner explains this in a passage from a lecture of January 18, 1924: If this Christmas Meeting is taken simply in the way one has been only too ready to take earlier gatherings [i.e., in a casual way], then it will gradually fade away, it will gradually lose all content; and in that case it would actually have been better if we had not come together at all. For the spiritual has the property, that if it is not held fast, it disappears—not of course in the cosmos, but for the place where it is not being pursued and fos5 The Christmas Conference, December 24, 1923, 11:15am. 6 “I have now reached the realization that it would become impossible for me to continue to lead the Anthroposophical Movement within the Anthroposophical Society if this Christmas Conference were not to agree that I should once more take on in every way the leadership … of the Anthroposophical Society.” The Christmas Conference, December 24, 1923, 11:15am, p. 49. 7 Op. cit. See especially the end of Ch. 1, p. 85ff.

tered. What it does is to seek out other places in the cosmos. For something like our Christmas Conference, one is not dependent on what occurs in the earthly realm. You therefore must not imagine that what evaporates through the lack of carrying out the impulses of the Christmas Conference would have to appear somewhere else on earth. That is not necessary. It can seek its further place of refuge in quite different worlds.8

On February 6, 1924, Rudolf Steiner added: The Christmas Meeting becomes a reality only through its consequences and effects. To be attentive to the Christmas Conference does require a certain sense of responsibility in the soul for actualizing it; whereas otherwise it withdraws from earth existence and moves in the same direction that I described today in regard to the moon beings [of wisdom].9

Finally, as Thomas Mayer highlights in his article, Rudolf Steiner also made a related statement in conversation with Guenther Wachsmuth, as reported by Ernst Lehrs. There, Rudolf Steiner said: “With the Christmas Conference, anthroposophy has turned from a hitherto earthly affair into a cosmic one,” and then added: Its [the Conference’s] effect upon humanity therefore no longer depends on its being accepted on earth. While it would have most painful consequences for civilization on earth if this does not happen, for human beings themselves it would then become effective from another location, for example from the moon [sphere].10

These statements make clear that the Christmas Conference impulse is not to be thought of as existing eternally and exclusively within the Society as an immutable force, as there are clearly stated alternative outcomes for it should we prove unable to foster it in the right way. Some anthroposophists have come to the conclusion that this impulse has in fact withdrawn or, in a sense, “failed.” In his contribution, Thomas Meyer quotes some reminiscences of personal encounters with Rudolf Steiner that point to this being the case. Mieke Mosmuller likewise discusses this view in her essay, and emphasizes the pri8 The Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science (The Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, 1964), GA 260a, lecture of January 18, 1924, p. 2. Supplemented by the translation in S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It!, p. 77. 9 Karmic Relationships, Vol. VI, lecture of February 6, 1924. Supplemented by the translation in S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It!, p. 77. 10 Ernst Lehrs, Gelebte Erwartung (Mellinger, 1979), p. 268. Cited in: S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It!, p. 76. “Mit der Weihnachtstagung ist die Anthroposophie von einer bisher irdischen zu einer kosmischen Angelegenheit geworden.” “Dem fügte Rudolf Steiner hinzu: Ihre Wirkung auf die Menschheit sei daher nicht mehr davon abhängig, dass sie auf der Erde angenommen wird. Wenn dies nicht geschieht, so würde das zwar für die Zivilisation auf der Erde sehr schmerzliche Folgen haben, für die Menschen selber würde sie dann von einem anderen Orte, zum Beispiel vom Monde her, wirksam werden.” december 2023 • 13

macy of our real inner connection to Rudolf Steiner as the most essential basis for the continuing work of the Anthroposophical Movement. It may be painful to experience a line of thought that attempts to substantiate the view that the Christmas Conference impulse has withdrawn from the Anthroposophical Society, especially if one has a deep relationship to this impulse and to the Foundation Stone Meditation. However, the truth—whatever it may be, including the truth of our inner experiences—is not threatened by logically grounded deliberations, but rather our questions and viewpoints can be further deepened and refined by such deliberations. In other words, such thoughts may help us in our quest to understand the dimensions of what we are dealing with. Likewise evident in the above quotations is that Rudolf Steiner characterized the Christmas Conference impulse as having such a magnitude that, while its continued presence in the Society and on earth does depend on us, its essential existence and relatedness to human beings does not (“if it is not held fast, it disappears—not of course in the cosmos, but for the place where it is not being pursued and fostered”—“for human beings themselves it would then become effective from another location, for example from the moon [sphere]”). The impulse may well seek refuge “in quite different worlds,” or “in the direction of the moon beings [of wisdom],” or in “the moon [sphere]”; there, it will continue to be effective in a certain sense, and, one might suppose, be accessible to us in a different way, perhaps in a tragically more distant way. But it will not—cannot—simply disappear or “fail” in a cosmic sense. It will continue to exist somewhere, in some capacity, and in some relation to human beings on earth, even if we have missed a decisive opportunity—that is, failed—to establish a suitable earthly vessel for it as a Society during the time following the Christmas Conference. Ita Wegman seemed to be describing a view along these lines when she wrote—on her birthday, February 22, 1935—in a letter to Maria Röschl: All the old forms, even the final form for anthroposophy, have been thoroughly broken. And it seems to me as though one no longer has to look for a form for the life of anthroposophy, but rather that every human being himself is the form with which anthroposophy wants to unite. Where this has taken place, people will find one another and unite in order to become a part of the true spiritual association.11 11 Cited in Peter Selg, Spiritual Resistance: Ita Wegman, 1933–1935 (SteinerBooks, 2014), Epilogue. In German: “Alle alten Formen, auch die allerletzte Form für die Anthroposophie,

14 • being human

A further aspect of the Christmas Conference impulse is its relation to the burning of the First Goetheanum one year earlier. In a lecture on April 22, 1924, Rudolf Steiner suggested a mysterious connection between these two events, drawing an analogy to the burning of the Temple of Ephesus and the deeper revelations that this enabled for Aristotle. These passages seem to me to provide a glimpse into many important dimensions of this impulse, its origin, and its nature: This Anthroposophical Society has before it an experience that can indeed just as well be utilized in the process of development as once a similar event was utilized: the burning of the Temple of Ephesus. Both were the result of a grave wrong; yet on different planes things have different meanings, and it is possible for a frightful iniquity, as it appears on one plane, to be employed on another for the advancement of human freedom—in the sense that precisely such horrible events can bring about a real advance in human progress. […] When the conflagration at Ephesus blazed up, first in the outer ether and then in the heart of Aristotle, it revealed anew to Aristotle the secrets that could then be epitomized in the simplest terms; and we may say in all modesty that, just as he was able to use the fire of Ephesus to this end, so it is our task—and we shall fulfill it—to use what the flames of the Goetheanum carried into the ether: the aims and purpose of anthroposophy. What do we gather from all this, my dear friends? That at the memorial service in the Christmas–New Year time [i.e., the Christmas Conference], the time in which the disaster struck us a year before, it was vouchsafed us to send forth a new impulse from the Goetheanum. How could this be? Because we are right in feeling that what had previously been a cause pertaining to this earth, worked for and established as such, was carried by the flames out into cosmic space. Because this misfortune has come to us, we are, recognizing its consequences, justified in saying: Now we understand that we may no longer represent a mere earthly cause, but must know it as one of wide etheric space in which the spirit lives: The cause represented by the Goetheanum is a cause of the cosmic ether in which lives the spirit-filled wisdom of the world. It has been carried out into the ether; and it is granted us to permeate ourselves with the Goetheanumimpulses flowing in from the cosmos. Take this in any sense—as an image, if you like: Even as an image it signifies a profound truth, a truth sind gründlich kaputt gemacht, und mir kommt es so vor, als ob man nicht mehr eine Form für das Leben der Anthroposophie zu suchen hat, sondern dass jeder Mensch selber die Form ist, mit der sich Anthroposophie vereinen will. Wo dieses geschehen ist, werden Menschen sich finden und vereinen, um ein Glied zu werden des wahren Geistesvereins.”

that can be simply expressed: The Christmas impulse calls for the permeation of anthroposophical activity with an esoteric element. This is present because what had been earthly now reacts on the impulses of the Anthroposophical Movement through the astral light in the physical fire that rayed forth into cosmic space; but we must be able to receive these impulses.12

From this, the picture can emerge that the Christmas Conference impulse was related to the “spirit of the Goetheanum” coming back to us in a spiritualized form after the fire—even that this impulse was something like the Being of Anthroposophy itself (“the aims and purpose of anthroposophy”) seeking a more complete incarnation into a community of human beings on earth. And was Rudolf Steiner able to achieve, in his final years, something similar to what was made possible for Aristotle in the sense of “secrets that could then be epitomized in the simplest terms”—for example in the Leading Thoughts, the Karma Lectures, and the Class Lessons? The topic of the fire and the subsequent task of building the “inner Goetheanum” come to expression in Aaron Mirkin’s piece. In this issue, we are also printing an artistic display of paintings of the motifs of the large and small cupolas of the First Goetheanum, introduced by Keiko Papic. It seems to me that the question of whether or not there is a possibility for the Christmas Conference impulse to continue as an effective force within the Society—whether as a currently living reality or as a mere potential—can only be an open and living question. If one is inclined to believe that it has withdrawn to “quite different worlds,” “move[d] in the same direction as the moon beings,” or relocated to “the moon [sphere],” then the next logical questions would be: What exactly would it mean— what would be the specific spiritual consequences for human beings—if this impulse were to become effective no longer from the earth but from the moon sphere? Why would the moon sphere be a likely place for this impulse to relocate to? What would be the most spiritually fruitful way to relate to and cultivate this impulse in such changed conditions? And might it then be possible, through inner work, to create the conditions within ourselves—as individuals, as an Anthroposophical Society, or as communities and groups working with anthroposophy—that would allow this impulse once again to be brought closer to our 12 Italics added. Lecture of April 22, 1924 (GA 233a), in: Easter as a Chapter in the Mystery Wisdom of Man. Recently published under the title Rosicrucianism and Modern Initiation (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2020).

earthly lives and tasks? These seem to me important and essential spiritual-scientific research questions for the Anthroposophical Movement. Mieke Mosmuller suggests in her article that there may be a certain new opportunity related to this impulse after one hundred years, and refers to Rudolf Steiner’s stirring words to Friedrich Rittelmeyer. Thomas Heck likewise discusses the tangible evidence that the one-hundred-year rhythm is a reality that is now bringing about opportunities for meaningful collaborative work. Taking an approach of spiritual realism (that is, basing our thoughts on what we can experience through a striving for objectivity in soul- and spirit-sensing), it is perhaps useful to explore the above questions by asking ourselves: Despite the tragic history of the Society, what is the path that I can enter upon with real hope and inner enthusiasm for the continued becoming of the spirit of the Anthroposophical Movement on earth? Our feeling life is not unimportant for this exploration, since it can be refined into an organ of knowledge, as Benjamin Cherry reminds us in his article.13 If one wants to deepen the impulse of anthroposophy on earth—whether within or apart from the Society, and whether or not the Christmas Conference impulse has withdrawn—then cultivating the impulse described at the Christmas Conference and articulated most clearly through the Foundation Stone Meditation would appear to be an essential path toward this aim. Christopher Houghton Budd describes this impulse as the sole beacon that can guide humanity into safe harbor. The answers to the various questions that emerge here may not be direct or easy to find, but I believe that bringing ourselves into inner activity in the search for deeper understanding strengthens the forces of the soul and creates the courage to proceed on what can feel like a dimly lit path.14 In every great epic story, there are periods of severe trial, confusion, and darkness. Perhaps we have been, and still are, in the midst of one of those periods now—a thought which Allan Kaplan moves in his article. But I trust that we have within us, in seed form, what we need to find the next step. 13 See Theosophy (GA 9), Ch. 4, “The Path of Knowledge,” where the virtue of equanimity is described. 14 Just as Rudolf Steiner stated that, with his books, he has “quite consciously endeavored not to offer a ‘popular’ exposition, but rather an exposition that makes it necessary for the reader to study the content with strict effort of thought. . . . For the calm, conscious effort of thought that this reading makes necessary strengthens the forces of the soul and through this makes them capable of approaching the spiritual world” (An Outline of Occult Science [GA 13], Preface to the 1925 Edition)—so something analogous is perhaps catalyzed through the effort of soul that our current predicament makes necessary. december 2023 • 15

If we take seriously the principle that “the Anthroposophical Society will endure only if within ourselves we make of the Anthroposophical Movement the profoundest concern of our hearts,”15 then I believe it is important to consider that many present-day representatives of the Anthroposophical Movement are an essential part of what we are trying to achieve, regardless of their outer relationship with, or inner feeling of confidence in, the Society as it exists today. And some of these representatives may be individuals in whom essential traces or echoes of the Christmas Conference impulse still live in a significant way, whether or not they consider themselves in this light. Another aspect of this impulse is that “it is not a spirit of abstractions but of living reality, a spirit that wants to speak not to the head but to the hearts of human beings.”16 In her article, Lisa Romero deepens this theme of the Mysteries of the Heart. John Beck likewise explores Rudolf Steiner’s call to the heart through the Christmas Conference, and Frank Agrama brings an artistic expression of this theme in connection with questions of social healing. Related to this, Mark McGivern and Robert (Karp) Karbelnikoff write of their initiative for an anthroposophical approach to questions of social justice. Finally, one of the most important elements of the Christmas Conference impulse is Rudolf Steiner’s emphasis on the degree of inner and outer truthfulness needed for the task of representing anthroposophy in the world.17 To have a real devotion to truth in an inner and outer sense is to have an “esoteric” attitude—and the encouragement to imbue ourselves with such an attitude was the express purpose of the Christmas Conference. In his book, The Stages of Higher Knowledge, Rudolf Steiner explains that cultivating a love of truth, and an aversion to untruth, is an important part of the path of initiation: Most systematically must the esoteric student turn his attention to his soul-life, and he must bring it about that logical error is a source of pain to him, no less excruciating than physical pain, and conversely, that the ‘right’ gives him real joy and delight. Thus, where another only stirs his intellect, his power of judgment, into motion, the esoteric student must learn to live through the whole gamut of emotions, from grief to enthusi15 The Christmas Conference, December 24, 1923, 11:15am, p. 46. 16 Karmic Relationships, Vol. VI, February 6, 1924. 17 See, for example, The Christmas Conference, December 24, 1923, 11:15am, p. 55f.

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asm, from afflictive tension to transports of delight in the possession of truth. In fact, he must learn to feel something like hatred against what the ‘normal’ person experiences only in a cold and sober way as ‘incorrect’; he must enkindle in himself a love of truth that bears a personal character; as personal, as warm, as the lover feels for the beloved.18

This deepened relation to and courage for truth is essential to the path of inner development; but, also, if we take the phrase “true and genuine esotericism” seriously, then it is essential to the Christmas Conference impulse as well—an impulse that was intended to be the life-blood of the Society. In his article, Nicanor Perlas gives expression to this archetypal task of our time: that of finding the courage to bear the truth, which also means enduring the pain of untruthfulness and the encounter with evil. This overarching principle of the courage to bear the truth leads us into the many dimensions of the challenge to humanity arising from the recent years of Covid—dimensions that are addressed in articles by John Bloom, Nathaniel Williams, Gopi Krishna Vijaya, Tim Nadelle, and Richard Cooper. Rudolf Steiner also spoke in particular about the need for truthfulness in the field of medicine—a realm that today is becoming increasingly compromised. Michael Givens elaborates on the meaning of this principle of truthfulness as it relates to anthroposophic medicine in the context of our cosmic-human evolutionary journey. Richard Ramsbotham provides an important insight about the cosmic-human story unfolding in our time when he reminds us of Rudolf Steiner’s descriptions of the Michael School and its counter-impulse, the Ahrimanic School, to which the authoritarian impulses of the “Great Reset” may be related. This larger theme, which could be termed the “Medicalization of Society,” was discussed by Peter Selg in his 2020 article by the same name.19 Other aspects of this “medicalizing” impulse, the attendant authoritarian suppression of free thought and inquiry, and the effects of these impulses upon the human soul, were explored in depth in recent years by Michael Givens, Allan Kaplan, and Ricardo Bartelme and Branko Furst,20 as well as by 18 The Stages of Higher Knowledge (SteinerBooks, 2009), GA 12, Ch. 3: Inspiration. 19 See Deepening Anthroposophy issue 9.1; also published in Perspectives and Initiatives in the Times of Coronavirus (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2020), p. 143ff. 20 See Deepening Anthroposophy issues 10.1 (Givens: “Deceptive Messengers”), 11.1 (Bartelme and Furst: “A Rebuttal to the ‘Open Letter . . . Regarding the Covid Pandemic’”), and 12.1 (Kaplan: “Fugitive”), as well as Allan Kaplan’s recently published book Fugitive: Three Covid Pieces: A Goethean Appreciation (SteinerBooks, 2023).

Richard Ramsbotham, Terry Boardman, T. H. Meyer, Mieke Mosmuller, Benjamin Cherry, Nancy Jewel Poer, and others.21 It is notable that when Rudolf Steiner spoke of a coming “law that will have the goal of suppressing all individual thinking” originating in America soon after the year 2000, he specified that “a beginning toward this is already given in what today comprises purely materialistic medicine, where the soul is no longer allowed to be seen as effective.”22 One may infer from the potent ahrimanic tendencies of thought and soul inculcated into humanity in the recent years of Covid that these events were merely a prelude to a larger epochal event whose symptoms Rudolf Steiner characterized in detail.23 The forces standing opposed to the further development of individual consciousness—i.e., standing opposed to the individual’s deepened relation to truth and to the task of forming independent judgments—and the necessary challenge of the consciousness-soul era that emerges from this, are articulated with striking clarity by Thomas Külken in his article. There, he highlights the importance of the forces of conscience and question21 See New View, The Present Age, Mieke Mosmuller’s Philosophical Reflections Blog, and Nancy Jewel Poer’s book America 2022: Romanism, Christ/Michael/Sophia, and the Incarnation of the Antichrist (White Feather Publishing, 2022). 22 “It will not be long at all after one will have written the year 2000, when there will come from America not a direct prohibition, but something like a prohibition of all thinking, a law that will have the goal of suppressing all individual thinking. On the one hand, a beginning toward this is already given in what today comprises purely materialistic medicine, where the soul is no longer allowed to be seen as effective, but where, purely on the ground of outer experiments, the human being is treated as a machine.” Lecture of April 4, 1916 (GA 167), in: The Human Spirit—Past and Present (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2015). 23 See the lectures compiled under the title The Incarnation of Ahriman (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2006).

ing consciousness for the evolution of the human soul in our times. Related to this, Roland Tüscher describes the principle of ethical individualism as it stands opposed to the tendency that would bring about an automated synchronization of all toward the “good.” The final message of the late anthroposophical doctor Philip Incao (1941–2022) gives essential expression to the task of our age with regard to truth: The healing so greatly needed in the world at the present moment can only come about if enough people have the courage and will to strive for and to represent the truth. This is the only way that human lives can begin to change for the better. The present situation is crying out to all of us to become involved and active in seeking, and in living by, the Truth. Truth is a living spiritual Ideal which human life needs for its guidance, purpose, and meaning, an Ideal which empowers and unites human beings to work for the future.24

We can only meaningfully strive toward truth to the extent that our capacities of thinking, feeling, and willing are developed in harmony with their ideal or “true” archetype. The Foundation Stone Meditation is like a seed for this task, but it is also a stone, a rock: It is the spiritual foundation stone upon which can be built the community of all human beings who are willing to take up this challenge. Thomas O’Keefe is the founder of the Deepening Anthroposophy journal and editorial director of Chadwick Library Press, working as an editor and translator of Rudolf Steiner’s books and related texts. 24 The entirety of Philip Incao’s message is printed in Deepening Anthroposophy issue 11.1, p. 5.

Prophecy Allan Kaplan Rainer Maria Rilke discovers three movements. One there is through whom the godhead pours, following come those who erect the church, finally there are those who scrounge a life amongst the debris of the ruined house of prayer. And again, as the poet himself attested, nothing is final. Rudolf Steiner articulates a similar rhythm; he asks how life changes into form, and how the form disappears. Through meeting resistance, life articulates itself, dif-

ferentiates itself, the idea finds form; life passes through matter, form arises and dissolves—there would be no form if life were not restricted by the matter that enables it to form through surrendering to its forming. Life must sculpt, if it is to incarnate at all. JW von Goethe, many years prior, discovered that life must divide if it is to manifest; thus making conscious the intelligence that is life. To find infinity, first divide, then unite. december 2023 • 17

Coming later, Owen Barfield calls these journeys the evolution of conscious participation. The way of humanity traverses the narrow archway of polarity. As Rilke told us, this is where God learns. Precariously, between forming and formed. ————————————— Polarity. Always the movement. The moment of fulfillment topples the trajectory, and loss strengthens the other pole. Resistance is futile, yet surrender undermines. Humanity’s sacred frailty is the crucible of wisdom. Nothing is assured. Did the Christmas Conference, 1923, mark an end or a beginning? Nothing is final. Death and birth face each other across an infinitesimal chasm. Always the movement. The tree, nourished by wind and rain and earth and sun acting in concert to strengthen its forming, reaches the zenith of its complex, woody world. Its branches crack in the gale, its roots loosen in the rain-washed soil, its sheer majesty outweighs itself, it crashes—though it were the wisest tree in the wood. At a turning point of time, the Master’s sacrifice sacrifices the Master. That which has been built cannot hold. The way continues, but is closed. A foundation seed remains. We continue to crowd the tree, carve its wood to adorn our rituals, forgetting the seed. The seed, though, is hidden within the substance of our own hearts’ will. It bears past and future within; eternity testifies the immensity of that illimitable point—which, yet, upholds a position in the broad sweep of time. ————————————— Seed bears the unbearable polarity of center and periphery entwined. The foundation seed is a meditation, surviving the strained structures, accessible to every heart. It is prophecy, prayer, cosmology, biography, our story and our task, unveiled at last. Its cadences foment life, unveil time. Seed has power. The will to form. Yet form holds danger, the loss of will. Talk of “we” diminishes intention into sect. Through the clarity of the individual the community finds its intelligence. Attention is light on its feet, specific, universal, sanguine yet choleric. It is intended.

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Beware the moribund, fettered form. ————————————— Life. Never systemic, life lives the cleavage and clinch between center and periphery. Demanding human attention at every moment. Every moment of time a turning point. Yet are we moribund, fettered. Accommodating. Beguiled by our own accommodations. Darkness. We were warned of the darkness into which we are drawn. Be awake—only be awake—recognize the beings who descend—do not be beguiled by semblance—do not succumb to niceties. We encounter evil. Now (not at some “other” time). We are beaten on the anvil of our freedom. Yet we, too many, have chosen the path of inertia, of the void and the vacuous. We have allowed the holy polarities of life, necessarily chanced upon at every turn, to be gulled by mechanistic interpretations posing as ways through. We tamper with our own genes, allowing part to usurp whole, allowing matter to usurp spirit, encasing a world of mechanical system forever. How bitter the deception, in its endless repetition. How pathetic our own defeat. We live now in the world of the lie, where nothing can be trusted, least of all ourselves. Discards of the forge, we are matter scattered amongst debris on the smithy floor. ————————————— Our own heart’s will. We reappear through our own disappearance. So the Master, and the wild law at life’s core. Iron necessity. Darkness was always waiting, here, at this interregnum between what we were given, and what we have to give. We wrest our sovereign spirituality from chasms of emptiness. Our route through, is ourselves. Christ, reflected the poet, who passed by “close as I’m to you / yes closer,” was “made of nothing / except loneliness.”1 Allan Kaplan brings a Goethean approach to practice in the social realm. He is a practitioner, writer, and teacher living and working out of a mountain wilderness in South Africa, and the author of a number of books including Artists of the Invisible, A Delicate Activism, and most recently Fugitive. 1 EE Cummings, “No Time Ago.”

Our Need for the Individually Conscious Forming of Community Thomas Külken When Christ physically appeared on earth, the evolution of human consciousness took a leap forward. And in our time, it makes another leap: “The longing of the human soul for spiritual science is born today.”1 This means that the soul now wants and needs to become conscious of the following: My ‘I’ is not in the body; the body generates with its activities only the desire for the ‘I’—and thus the desire for spirit-knowledge; “I” am this desire and mistake this desire for the ‘I’ itself.2 “I” am the sensory self-consciousness of my ‘I’. And that which “wills to arise as Individual Consciousness since the middle of the fifteenth century in human souls”3 is the spiritual self-consciousness of my ‘I’. This Individual Consciousness first speaks through the conscience, and thus raises the “I” to a questioning consciousness. But if the will to question is paralyzed and the conscience is anesthetized, then the Individual Consciousness must take hold of the blind instincts—with fatal consequences for the individual and the community.4 This paralyzing and anesthetizing activity has been purposefully driven forward since the early twentieth century5 —and in an intensified way since 2020. With the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner appeals to our good will to find the way, through a deepening of soul, to a beholding of the spirit and a living from out of the spirit. This life from out of the spirit is the source of that attitude which must be the foundation stone of an Anthroposophical Society.6 Only individually and gradually can this attitude mature. Those who strive in this sense and who let the “Foundation Stone Medita-

tion” created by Rudolf Steiner resound again and again in their hearts will be able to selflessly found a true Society of Knowledge—for the salvation of human beings and the world. The “Foundation Stone Meditation” summarizes the way and the task of the human soul as follows: To raise the unfinished process of Creation to reality through the unified incarnation process of body, soul, and spirit in Individual Consciousness. The unrestrained spiritual and social decline of humanity in the past hundred years is (also) the result of our doubt about the path to the beholding of the spirit, our fear of living from out of the spirit, and our hatred of Rudolf Steiner’s way of expressing himself about spiritual matters.7 From out of their individual conscience, only a few people today feel responsible for their questioning consciousness and for the spiritual and social well-being and becoming of humanity. And only very few indeed are those who follow the desire for the ‘I’ by seeking the way from the questioning to the seeing consciousness and to the life from out of this consciousness.8 That is why the consciousness of so many contemporaries is neglected and dominated by a passive faith in authority; it has abandoned the task of questioning, and a parasitic, authoritarian-grafted “conscience” drowns out the individual conscience. It will not take much more before such consciousness is completely separated from Individual Consciousness. And for this, the spiritual powers that preside over the hindering of the development of consciousness9 give the suitable inspirations:

1 Rudolf Steiner: Das Lukas-Evangelium (The Gospel of St. Luke) (Dornach, 1977), GA 114, lecture of September 25, 1909 (p. 174 in German). 2 Der Goetheanumgedanke… [The Goetheanum-Thought…] (Dornach, 1961), GA 36, “Psychological Aphorisms,” July 2, 1922 (p. 74 G). 3 Heilfaktoren für den sozialen Organismus [Healing Factors for the Social Organism] (Dornach, 1969), GA 198, lecture of June 6, 1920 (p. 125 G). This lecture is also available in English on RSArchive.org under the title “Roman Catholicism,” lecture III. 4 Ibid., p. 130 G. 5 Ibid., p. 125 G. 6 Die Konstitution (Dornach, 1966) (GA 37/260a), “The New Formation of the Anthroposophical Society through the Christmas Conference: 19 Letters to Members” (p. 33f. G). In English: The Life, Nature, and Cultivation of Anthroposophy (The Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, 1963).

7 “Humanity must, however, learn to consult with Christ. How is that to come about? It can only become possible if we learn His language. Anyone who comprehends the deeper meaning of what our spiritual science intends, sees in it not merely a theoretical knowledge [. . .] but seeks in it a quite special language, a particular way of expressing itself about spiritual matters. And that we learn to speak inwardly in thought with the spiritual world through spiritual science is much more important than that we acquire theoretical thoughts. For Christ is with us always, even to the end of the earth-epochs. And we must learn His language.” Lecture of February 6, 1917 (GA 175) in Cosmic and Human Metamorphosis (SteinerBooks, 2012). 8 Vom Menschenrätsel (Riddles of the Soul) (Dornach, 1984), GA 21, Ch.: “On the Physical and Spiritual Dependencies of the Human Being” (p. 160ff. G). 9 GA 114 (op. cit.), September 25, 1909 (p. 181 G). december 2023 • 19

If one is versed in such a matter, then one tells the people, by power of authority, things which are untrue. One does this systematically. Thus one dampens their consciousness down to the dullness of dream consciousness. [...] It is a grandiose diabolical enterprise.10

In this consciousness, just as in a dream, a person “cannot verify what is truth and what is untruth.”11 It is a totalitarian consciousness that knows no truth, but consists of certainties without alternatives. Hannah Arendt states: The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lies will now be accepted as truth, and the truth be defamed as lies, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world— and the category of truth vs. falsehood is among the mental means to this end—is being destroyed.12

Thus “one dampens down consciousness so that it becomes a dull communal consciousness.”13 This unquestioning group-consciousness was deliberately created by the Corona propaganda and incited to the point of a fanatical group-moralism, which demonizes questioning and individual conscience as “socially harmful egoism.” But this is a part of the obstacles and trials that the soul has to undergo in the consciousness-soul age in order to learn to develop freedom. Spirits are at work who want to destroy the soul. By systematically lying under the power of authority, they hollow out the “I” and displace it into the unquestioning and conscienceless mood of half-dream, half-waking consciousness.—But he who stands firm, who faithfully and unflinchingly listens to his conscience and—out of love for humanity and for truth—asserts himself against the temptations of belief in authority and the suggestive influence of the mood of the masses, can of course only do so because He Who carries him (the “I”) and divinizes the ‘I’ gives him the impulse and the strength for this love and for this self-assertion. Unrecognized, He speaks in our conscience; unrecognized, He asks in our questions. Since the twentieth century, however, He recognizes in our active recognition of spiritual science.14 The one who takes up anthroposophy in active recognition brings consciousness into agree10 GA 198 (op. cit.), June 6, 1920 (p. 125f. G). 11 Ibid., p. 125 G. 12 Hannah Arendt, “Truth and Politics,” in Arendt: Between Past and Future (Penguin, 2006), p. 257. 13 GA 198 (op. cit.), June 6, 1920 (p. 125 G). 14 Die Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss (An Outline of Occult Science) (Dornach, 1989), GA 13, p. 51 G.

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ment with reality, into a state of peace with the world— hearing Him speak: “Where two or more are gathered in my Name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). When will the Anthroposophical Society finally be present in this sense? When will it be present as a Society of Knowledge? Truthfully: “The kingdom of the Christ is not of this world . . .” and in openness: “. . . but it must work in this world.”15 Its absence is screaming to the heavens—also and especially in these years of dehumanization and the collective clouding of consciousness! How can this Society be founded anew? What undreamt impulses of freedom would emerge from it for the spiritual progress of all conscientiously questioning people on earth? Are our “dead” counting on our becoming serious about such questions? With the “Foundation Stone” in our hearts and the archetype of the Christmas Conference before our eyes, we can practice preparing the new foundation of the Anthroposophical Society. For it is always true—and will be true anew every day: What is spiritual wishes to reveal itself through the veils of outer appearances; and we can learn to look through the present misfortune to these spiritual revelations16 and to live and work according to them—in faithfulness to the Spirit of Truth and its way of speaking in anthroposophy: Those who speak of decline and even prove it are right about what lives in the outer world. But it is up to each individual to ensure that they are not right. For the ascent does not come from the objective; the ascent comes from the subjective of the will. Everyone must wish for and must take up the spirit anew, and must give a new impetus to the sinking civilization from the spirit that is newly taken up—otherwise, it will sink. Today, therefore, one cannot appeal to an objective law; one can appeal solely and alone to the good will of human beings.17 Thomas Külken, MD, born in 1953 in Bremerhaven, Germany, is an anthroposophic general practitioner, working group leader, speaker, and author. He lives and practices in Staufen i.Br. (Germany). 15 Bausteine zu einer Erkenntnis… (Building Stones to an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha) (Dornach, 1996), GA 175, lecture of February 6, 1917 (p. 32 f. G). 16 Die soziale Grundforderung unserer Zeit (The Fundamental Social Demand of Our Times) (Dornach, 1990), GA 186, lecture of December 21, 1918 (p. 309f. G). 17 GA 198 (op. cit.), lecture of July 2, 1920 (p. 144 G).

The Christmas Conference and the Polaric Impulses of the Michaélic and Ahrimanic Schools Richard Ramsbotham 1. In a lecture shortly before the conference, Steiner described how since Aristotle the full science of the Mysteries had been kept from humanity. One part of Aristotle’s work (to do with philosophy and logic) bore fruit in European culture through the medieval scholastics, while the other part (to do with science and Mystery-knowledge) had traveled eastwards with Alexander. This reappeared in Europe in a deadened, distorted form in materialistic natural science, but its reality was lost. In 1923, after the destruction and tragedies of the previous ten years, nothing could meet the catastrophe civilization was facing except the renewal, in contemporary form, of the full reality of which the destructive forces in the world were a caricature. Thus Steiner announced: For a while […] the other part of Aristotle’s teachings had to wait. Now the time has come, however, when these other things have waited long enough […] Alexander had, fundamentally, to bury these secrets of nature in Asia, for only their corpses were brought over to Europe. It is not our task to galvanize these corpses but to rediscover the original living truth.1

This was the civilizational deed that was enacted at the Christmas Conference. Its world-historical importance is clearly seen when we recognize that the teachings and work of the Academy (and Hospital) of Gondishapur, of such wide-ranging influence, were also a distortion of the work of Aristotle and Alexander. Steiner’s lecture The Working of the Angels in Man’s Astral Body2 (given in Zurich, where Ita Wegman was) was given immediately after his lectures on Gondishapur and reveals the forms of its negative influence today. 1 Lecture of December 15, 1923 (GA 232), in Mystery Knowledge and Mystery Centres (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2013). 2 Lecture of October 9, 1918 (GA 182), in: Death as a Metamorphosis of Life (SteinerBooks, 2008).

Modern materialistic medicine, says Steiner, is where this influence is most extreme.3 Thus a renewed “Mystery medicine” is essential to the new civilizational impulse that the Christmas Conference made possible. But this impulse has to do, ultimately, with the transformation of the whole of civilization in the way necessary if we, as humanity, are to reverse the steep downslide we are on and create a healthy social order. 2. An utterly different radical transformation of our civilization is currently being raced through and promoted as a global panacea. Named The Great Reset or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it “heralds a series of social, political, cultural, and economic upheavals that will unfold over the 21st century.”4 Its leaders (like Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab) boast that “new technologies and approaches are merging the physical, digital, and biological worlds in ways that will fundamentally transform humankind.”5 The drastic, inhuman changes to society imposed during “Covid” are, for such people, the essential first phase of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is clearly presented, as policy, in Klaus Schwab’s inaugural book, Covid 19: The Great Reset.6 Here too, therefore, “medicine” plays a key role in a far greater civilizational change. 3. We can be in no doubt that the spiritual source of the Christmas Conference is intimately connected to the 3 Lecture of April 24, 1924 (GA 316), in Understanding Healing (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2013). 4 Encyclopaedia Britannica on The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab. 5 Klaus Schwab, “Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” January 11, 2016 (posted at www. Project-Syndicate.org). 6 World Economic Forum, 2020. “COVID-19 has accelerated our transition into the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution” (Schwab). december 2023 • 21

Michaélic School in the spiritual world that Steiner described in 1924. He also described how, between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, this Michaélic School: …caused such profound disquiet and alarm to the ahrimanic demons on earth that a remarkable thing happened. Between heavenly deeds and earthly deeds at this time [a] polaric contrast was established. […] While Michaél above was teaching his hosts, there was founded in the realm lying immediately below the surface of the earth, a kind of sub-earthly, ahrimanic school. […] It is a truly overwhelming picture.7

We can also be in no doubt, once we perceive its true character, that the impulse of Covid 19: The Great Reset has its source in this “polaric . . . sub-earthly, ahrimanic school.” Many people today with no conscious connection to Rudolf Steiner’s work are actively awake to the utterly inhuman character of the “revolution” or “reset” that is underway.

Though many people committed to anthroposophy are similarly awake to this, many unfortunately are not and have, until now, failed to recognize what is at stake. The civilizational impulse of the Christmas Conference will never be realized unless it sees through and addresses the anti-Michaélic counter-impulse that seeks to hold sway in the world. Nor will the ahrimanically inspired assault on humanity—Covid 19: The Great Reset—be fully recognized and overcome without the spiritual help potentially made available for everyone through the Christmas Conference. Realizing the impulse of the Christmas Conference and countering the onslaught initiated during the last three years are therefore, ultimately, interdependent. Richard Ramsbotham is a writer and theater director, who lives in Stroud, UK. He co-runs Fourfold Living Arts, which brings together research into current themes and events with the performing arts.

7 Lecture of July 20, 1924 (GA 240), in: Karmic Relationships, Vol. VI (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009), p. 170f.

Finding Balance, Bringing the Two Worlds Together Dorothea Mier For my understanding, the most essential nature or essence of the Christmas Foundation Meeting is bringing the esoteric and exoteric together. That Rudolf Steiner connected himself to the Society is an incredible deed, a huge sacrifice, utterly Christian. This gives all of us such a responsibility and calls us to activity that we respond to his deed and try, as best we can, to follow his example—that we live and practice anthroposophy in all we do and, first and foremost, in how we do it. That we are ever conscious that, as human beings, we live equally in two worlds. As members of the School of Spiritual Science we are asked, we are committed, to represent anthroposophy, to make anthroposophy ever present at all times and in all we do. Each one of us, I am sure, has to admit, sadly, how 22 • being human

far short we are in achieving this aim, but that should not deter us from trying and continuing our striving. The Foundation Stone Meditation is such an example: The more you live with it, the more it reveals its secrets to you, nourishes you, confirms the truth living in every part of itself, and shows its relevance to everything in life. The art of eurythmy, born out of anthroposophy and inseparable from it, is another example of bringing the two worlds together. The second panel of the Foundation Stone Meditation can be a guide—“you live within the beat of heart and lung,” not in the safety and security of the heart or lung but in the movement, the activity in-between, the uncertain ever-changingness. Can we embrace, celebrate

the in-between, bring time into all we do, counteracting all that is involved in our digital age, bring life into our lives? The middle exists only through the movement between polarities—in the balance of the soul, and balance is not equilibrium but a breathing, to and fro. The middle is only possible between polarities—we need to work with Lucifer and Ahriman. Is the impulse still living? I would say yes, but in need of incredible increase and strengthening. The forces against anthroposophy are strong and getting stronger, and we are being called to counteract them, to place something to balance them out, to work towards and with those beings who have the future of mankind as their goal. We must strive to recognize, for instance, the ahrimanic forces and find the strength to not be drawn down by them. As Ita Wegman says, you cannot fight them, but you can starve them—use them consciously, where appropriate, but not allow yourself to be enslaved by them. Comfort and love of ease is possibly the most prevalent tool Ahriman has.

Covid, on the one hand, could make one more aware of the need for truly human interaction, but has also lulled one into using, for example, Zoom as an alternative. So much easier and cheaper than taking the trouble and expense to meet in person. The presence of the other human being with their spiritual qualities is lacking and one has the illusion of being together. Would Rudolf Steiner have used Zoom? Possibly, probably yes, but very consciously and where appropriate and he would have given so much more to counteract it spiritually. The Covid time made one much more awake to true values. Now is the challenge: Can we learn from this, and stay awake! Dorothea Mier was born and grew up in England in anthroposophical circles and spent twenty-five years in Dornach, where she trained and was active in eurythmy in the Savitch group at the Goetheanum. Since 1980, she has been active in Spring Valley, New York. In 2005, she retired from the leadership of Eurythmy Spring Valley but is still active teaching there, in Europe, and in Asia.

Houses of Brick and Fire Reflections on January 1, 2023

Aaron Mirkin Last night, one hundred years ago, the Goetheanum, the John building, the House of the Word, was burnt down. The very spirit home of our movement was destroyed. There was an intention to thwart something that is so very much needed in our time… Communities of free individuals who serve the Risen Christ—the Representative of Humanity. In the tale of the Three Little Pigs, it is the one who builds his house of brick, and who is able to light a fire in the hearth, that is able to save his brothers and overcome the wolf. So too might this simple tale call to us… …To build a spirit house baked in the kiln of unshakable commitment to the spirit impulses of our age—ever fresh and authentic.

…To kindle a spirit-fire burning with enthusiasm for the truth—fearless and upright. …To open our doors and hearts to all brothers and sisters who seek us—entirely without dogma or convention. Then, that which was meant to be thwarted will only grow stronger—for it is clear, what we are building is no outer building, but an inner one—an eternal Goetheanum in our hearts—and it really is there!—built on a Foundation Stone of deepest humanity—one that no wolf or outer fire can ever touch … … For no wolf can ever comprehend selfless love. Aaron Mirkin has been a priest of The Christian Community for twenty-two years and currently lives and works in Stroud, England. Prior to that, he was a biodynamic farmer in Camphill, and prior to that a chemical engineer in the petroleum industry—both in South Africa. december 2023 • 23

Founding the Bridge The Participatory Path of New Life

Michael Givens The human soul seeks the spirit in remembering what was, sensing what is, and beholding what is to come: In this threefold inner activity, in communion with the cosmic spirit, the soul awakens. Rudolf Steiner prepared the hearts of those around him one hundred years ago—and any listening hearts today—for the new participatory path to the spirit, made openly available by the Christmas Foundation in 1923–24.1 He demonstrated, leading up to his founding deed, that in the past, human beings sought the spirit in the cosmos as a path of remembrance: through rhythmic memory in our wanderings upon the earth; through temporal memory in the temples; and through thinking memory in the founding of academies. Then, this path became merely tradition, left to us as a semblance of cosmic memories, stimulated by the forms of logic and philosophy of the West, or the deeper knowledge of nature found in the East. The participatory path was forged by the Son of Man, the “Nathan Soul,” who had been held back in the spiritual world and who remembered, sensed, and beheld the suffering of humanity.2 Due to his three “pre-earthly” deeds of sacrificial prayer to the Son of God for the healing spirit, we can now stand in remembrance of, sense in listening and speaking, and behold at the threshold of thinking, the human ‘I’ within, united and bestowed with God’s light for free willing. The ‘I’ finds itself through sensing into awareness of the ‘I’ of the other through the veil of materialized physicality. There the ‘I’ finds its karma, in remembrance, in sensing-awareness, and in beholding the spirit. At the Turning Point of Time, the Son of Man, uniting completely with the Son of God and becoming truly human, died and overcame death. He glorified (by becoming the glory of) the Father, who is life, the living foundation of karma and reincarnation, within the veil of death. He became the one remaining way—the

participatory path—through which the healing spirit seeks us in our striving to consciously seek the Mystery of Golgotha; and thus, He became the Lord of Karma.3 The first and greatest commandment, re-sanctified by the life and word of Jesus and by the Mystery of Golgotha, is to love the Father with all of one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love the Father is to love the cross we each bear with our full spiritual-bodily incarnation into the veiled and confused sense-perceptible world, in community. The human ‘I’, through the ego-organization and each soul-spiritual sheath, seeks the spirit right down into the physical where it finds that which unites it with the whole cosmos. The healing spirit floods into our active warmth-enthusiasm for it like the umbilical blood of our mother, and we are truly healthy, truly nourished. Our darkened physical body bears our karma, presents the world (the other) to us, and holds within it the seed of our future, if we seek it. In freedom, we can take up our cross by following the one new commandment of Christ: To love one another amidst evil. The gods’ ancient jealousy of our ability to do this is confounded now by the jealousy of human beings who seek to glorify themselves upon the persecution of God, nature, and humanity through fear, blame, manipulation, and condemnation. Many people today believe they are in a great battle against human bodily illness, suffering, and death; yet they are being led by the blaming Accuser and those seeking to drive the soul and spirit completely from the body for their own egotistical aims.4 They are seeking to make rapid advances in science and medicine by communing with the adversaries to glorify the veil, and not the Father. This is to seek to sever the ‘I’ from human karma and thereby to (in reality) prevent the healing of sickness, which only occurs in free participation with the healing

1 Rudolf Steiner, World History and the Mysteries in the Light of Anthroposophy (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2021), GA 233, nine lectures given in Dornach, Dec. 24, 1923–Jan. 1, 1924. 2 Rudolf Steiner, “The Pre-Earthly Deeds of Christ”: lecture seven in the series Approaching the Mystery of Golgotha (SteinerBooks, 2006), GA 152, given in Pforzheim on March 7, 1914.

3 Rudolf Steiner, The Mystery of the Trinity (Part 1) (SteinerBooks, 2016), GA 214, lecture four: “The Mystery of Truth,” given in Dornach, July 30, 1922. 4 Rudolf Steiner, The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2023), GA 177, lecture five: “Changes in Humanity’s Spiritual Make-Up,” given on October 7, 1917 in Dornach.

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spirit—they are seeking to form humanity into the image and likeness of an animalized species with a mechanized, eternally-bound spirit. We are forgetting our first love, the love of God, when we glorify the animal-machine through genetic, endocrine, psycho-neural-immunological, and ideological (word) manipulation of human health and development, and by lifting up the artifice of technology to be our savior. Rudolf Steiner, after months (and years) of arduous preparatory work, laid within human hearts—then and now—a living, glorified bridge to the participatory path, forged from out of the ashes of the Goetheanum in the image and likeness of Golgotha. At the conclusion of his founding deed, he confirmed that “it was so good to hear Dr. Zeylmans . . . say that it is no longer possible to build bridges from ordinary science to what is to be founded here in Dornach.”5 For Rudolf Steiner was on the verge of presenting to the world “a system of medicine [needed by mankind] based entirely on anthroposophy.”6 This also was his intention for all fields of anthroposophical work: Not that a bridge be founded from ordinary science to anthroposophy; rather, Rudolf Steiner was seeking to found a “central point for spiritual knowledge.” This certainly was to include and to extend—i.e., to complete—ordinary science, for spiritual knowledge seeks the truth; yet this did not mean that anthroposophy should “extend” from ordinary science. This seems to be a problematic misunderstanding in our time. “The important thing is that a branch of practical life, such as medicine, should be taken up into anthroposophical life”;7 that is to say, the path for anthroposophy opened by the Christmas Conference is not leading from ordinary science, nor it is seeking to prove its efficacy or validity, or to gain interest and approval by the weight and measure of ordinary science—in the sense of first showing people “how the medicines work in practice so that they see that they are proper medicines, and will buy them; then, if they later hear that anthroposophy is behind the medicines, they will also approach anthroposophy.”8 As Rudolf Steiner made clear at the beginning of the Christmas Conference: 5 Rudolf Steiner, “On the Right Entry into the Spiritual World: The Responsibility Incumbent on Us,” lecture and words of farewell given at the end of the Christmas Conference in Dornach, on the evening of January 1, 1924. In: The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, p. 267. 6 Ibid., lecture of January 1, 1924. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid.

Now a third example: A realm in which anthroposophy can be especially fruitful is that of medicine. Yet anthroposophy will quite definitely remain unfruitful in the realm of medicine, especially therapy, if the tendency persists to represent matters within the field of medicine in the Anthroposophical Movement in a manner which meets with the approval of those who represent medicine in the ordinary way today. We must carry anthroposophy courageously into every realm, including medicine. Only then will we make progress in what eurythmy ought to be, in what recitation and declamation ought to be, in what medicine ought to be, not to mention many other different fields living within our Anthroposophical Society, just as we must make progress with anthroposophy itself in the strict sense of the term.9

For, as he emphasized at the end of the conference, “not until we have the courage to regard such a method as dishonest, not until we detest such a method will anthroposophy find its way through the world.”10 The bridge that was to be founded is between human striving and the healing spirit, entirely from out of the spiritual life, so that anthroposophical work remains “within the bosom of anthroposophy.”11 Rudolf Steiner founded such a bridge with the call to “fight for the truth, not fanatically, but simply in an honest, straightforward love of the truth,”12 as a “festival of consecration . . . for the beginning of a new Turning Point of Time to which we want to devote ourselves in enthusiastic cultivation of the life of spirit”13 . . . “in order to do work in the world that is strong in healing.”14 We can participate in this festival, “that Good may become what we, from our (warm) hearts found, what we, from our (enlightened) heads direct, with conscious will”15 to heal the sickness of sin, in communion with the spirit of God. May we seek it courageously. Michael Givens is a practicing acupuncturist and classical Chinese herbalist, teacher, writer, and scholar (of classical Chinese medicine). He and his wife, Dr. Ali Givens, ND are working out of anthroposophy, with Waldorf community-based homeschooling, and through their medical clinic in Happy Valley, Oregon. 9 The Christmas Conference, December 24, 1923, 11:15am, p. 56f. 10 Ibid., January 1, 1924, p. 268. 11 Ibid., p. 267. 12 Ibid., p. 268. 13 Ibid., p. 270. 14 Ibid., p. 273. 15 Ibid., p. 272. december 2023 • 25

The Global Test and Its Results Gopi Krishna Vijaya Regarding the first question: The essential meaning of the Christmas Conference impulse, as I take it, is the establishment of a truly incisive cultural endeavor that can also be a practically effective organization in the everyday human sense. This meant that the organization of the Anthroposophical Society had to be suitably humanized and made flexible in direct opposition to the bureaucratic or militaristic tendencies prevalent in a subconscious way in all present-day organizations. To the extent that this humanizing, flexible impulse is still alive in small groups across the world, the impulse still exists, even if it is outside the Society. As far as I know, this impulse is barely alive as an effective force in everyday life, even though that does not take anything away from its possible latent spiritual effectiveness in the background. Cultural activities are still too hesitant, and anthroposophists are constantly either blocking or getting carried away by the waves of popular culture.

Regarding the second question: These three years were a loud wake-up call, which asked the globe to come to terms with all the pent-up antisocial impulses present in all our organizations. The dearth of organizations that simply refused to be swept along by the events, at a minimum, is a testament to this. The test was something like this: Are you ready to take up the tasks of the consciousness-soul era? Are you courageous and yet non-dogmatic in keeping a clear head and heart among the waves of “emergency” fear and panic? Are you able to recognize that there are systems set up that are completely at odds with the real soul-needs of people and violate them by simply existing? Are you willing to recognize and face evil disguised as good and “healthy”? And most importantly: Are you able to offer something better to rebuild in this context and intervene productively in life? In the first place, those who recognized the evil inherent in introducing force and punishment into what should be free activities—as was done with isolation, constraints, masks, and vaccines—passed part of the test. They recognized the inherent value of separating culture from state and economic forces—an essential aspect of 26 • being human

threefolding. Those who recognized that both the sickness and the “treatments/cures” were destructive of health and were created in a military fashion by a small group of people, passed part of the test by not quailing before a possibility of real evil, and not cushioning these actions with the hypothesis of “it was probably a mistake” or “it was well-intentioned.” If they recognized this weaponization of health, then, whether they knew it in these terms or not, such people recognized the reality of evil. Those who were able to avoid the baits of paranoia through the sensationalist conspiracy theories and actual disturbing events released from the Pandora’s Box of the last three years, and yet were able to keep a cool enough head to recognize the existence of a real conspiracy of materialism behind the play of divisive forces in public life, passed a key part of the test, in the same way that Rudolf Steiner showed us how to do it in The Karma of Untruthfulness lectures. And, most of all, those who were able to recognize the need for true cosmopolitanism and avoided the temptation to seek the solution in the authority of nation-state (country) institutions or a powerful combination of nation-states (United Nations), passed a critical part of the test, especially if they were able to reach out and work together with people of other nationalities and temperaments on productively intervening in the situation. Such people might be the only ones who may have been awake all the way to the tasks of the time, whether they were aware of anthroposophy or not. Those who were not able to pass these stages inevitably failed to come to full grips with the situation; and in terms of numbers, even among those who saw themselves as “awake,” it was probably a small percentage of people who were actually clear-sighted enough to intervene productively. But in terms of quality, their contribution is vital and immense. Future iterations are inevitable, and to come to terms with these requires a preparation based on dealing with all such past tumultuous events properly. What was done for World War I through Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on The Karma of Untruthfulness must also be done for all subsequent major world events, such as World War II, the Ho-

locaust, the Cold War and other wars, the Space Race, Nuclear Weapons, 9/11, and Covid. The degeneration of the nation-state into increasingly more toxic forms must also be understood as one of the greatest external dangers to the development of free spirituality today. How the questions of nationality, language, race, and gender play into this must be worked out along the lines of Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on The Mission of Folk Souls and other such material. With this preparation, organizations must be set up around the world to attempt to bring threefolding in a much more practical way as a response to the Covid years, starting with health and moving on to other aspects of culture like education, media, and race.

Before future financial shocks engulf us under the pretext of the “health of the planet” (whereas Covid was about the “health of the human being”), economic association work and currency work is critical, especially in rural areas. All of this will open bridges for people to take up anthroposophy—which is a crucial opportunity on the hundredth anniversary of the Christmas Foundation Conference. Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya is from Bangalore, India. He has completed his PhD in Physics (Solar Energy) from the University of Houston and is currently engaged in the Postdoctoral Research of the Reciprocal System of Physics—a way to inculcate spiritual-scientific thought into modern physics—in Salt Lake City, USA.

The Christmas Foundation Conference A Reflection

Virginia Sease | Goetheanum, August 2023 In his small but valuable book, About Your Relation to Rudolf Steiner, Ernst Katz emphasizes that in Rudolf Steiner’s reference to the last third of the nineteenth century, the year 1879, he points to the beginning of the reign of Michael, the regent of the sun. Also in the year 1879, during his early student years, Rudolf Steiner is led to the unnamed master who initiated him for his present incarnation: The master revealed to Rudolf Steiner who he is, and described to him how he would need to meet the great spiritual-earthly challenges that he will face and where his task would lie. A mandate from Rudolf Steiner’s meeting with the initiate teacher involved his task to renew and thereby make accessible to the world the teachings which were throughout all ages sequestered in the Mystery schools.1 The time of the dark ages—Kali Yuga—had expired after 3001 years and the light age was now dawning. As of the nineteenth century, this required that human beings would realize that 1 See Ernst Katz, About Your Relation to Rudolf Steiner (Ann Arbor: Rudolf Steiner Institute of the Great Lakes Area, 1985). For a detailed reference in German, see also Letters and Documents, 1901–1925 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2020), GA 262. december 2023 • 27

a human individuality would have continuity from one earthly life to the next and, through his or her karma, would work to transform the inherent qualities brought into earthly life after a sojourn in the spiritual world in order gradually, after many incarnations, to reach a level which Rudolf Steiner characterized many times as that of the “ideal human being.” When that stage is achieved, the human being will join the hierarchical beings closest to humankind—first the angels, then the archangels and archai. The central esoteric aspect of the Christmas Conference provides a guidance to this evolution and allows the individual human being to become actively engaged today. Rudolf Steiner calls it the Foundation Stone Mantram. Its significance is connected to the actual physical Foundation Stone for the First Goetheanum, which was placed into the ground as an esoteric deed on September 20, 1913. Rudolf Grosse, who was a young student at the time of the Meeting and had met Rudolf Steiner at an even younger age, describes the pathway of the Foundation Stone Mantram in his book The Christmas Foundation: Beginning of a New Cosmic Age: The Foundation Stone verses were heard [by Rudolf Steiner] supersensibly and received out of the Cosmic World. The soil into which the Foundation Stone was laid was formed from the hearts of those who were present. The substance of the Foundation Stone is cosmic-human love, the form of the Foundation Stone is cosmic-human imagination, the radiance of the Foundation Stone is cosmic-human thought.2

It would exceed the limits of these considerations to enter comprehensively into the Foundation Stone verses. Fortunately, many studies have been devoted to this theme. The more intensively one works with this unique gift which formed the center of the Christmas Foundation Meeting, the greater one has entered into the threefold call which the human being calls to him- or herself, to the higher self: Practice Spirit Recalling; Practice Spirit Awareness; Practice Spirit Vision. How do we enable these verses, including the fourth verse—“At the turning point of time…”—to ascend from a verse to a mantram? One approach may be the following: The first step involves an internalization of the verse through its language; it is the level of speech. One learns it by heart. This leads to an awareness of the correspondences between the four parts 2 Rudolf Grosse, The Christmas Foundation: Beginning of a New Cosmic Age (Steiner Book Centre, 1984), p. 73.

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of the Foundation Stone verse: three with the admonitions “Practice . . .” and the fourth which reveals the pathway of the Christ Being into earthly existence and our heart’s response in thought, feeling, and deed. We meditate this content both inwardly and as if it would resound from the cosmos. It becomes a mantram when the words begin to fall away and we experience it in its totality. For this step, Rudolf Steiner gave a “Rhythm”3 for each day, in which the correspondences are central. Entering into the correspondences lifts the verse into a living etheric dimension which initially resounds especially into one’s heart. The middle panel forms a center. “Soul of Man! Thou livest in the beat of heart and lung … Practice Spirit Awareness, in balance of the soul” … for then it becomes possible to unite with the World-I, which becomes clarified: “For the Christ-Will in the encircling round holds sway.” This represents a beginning for the pathway of the human being in the fifth epoch to reach a culmination as the “ideal human being.” Rudolf Steiner received it from the spiritual world to lead human beings through “practice” in the three spheres of human life, which he illustrated as the threefold nature of the human being. As shown in the verse, this knowledge connects the human being to the Trinity, which, in the Ancient Mysteries, was not possible as the Mystery of Golgotha had not yet occurred. To those who could make a connection with him, Rudolf Steiner revealed from whence spiritual insights concerning the Ancient Mysteries arose and how the Mystery of Golgotha changed this ancient worldview issuing from the various Mystery centers. It commenced in the heavenly Michael School, in which Rudolf Steiner, we could say, was the first initiate or first pupil of Michael. Rudolf Steiner perceives what is necessary for Michael in his tasks for humanity today. In the Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts, in the chapter entitled, “At the Dawn of the Michael Age,” Rudolf Steiner writes what it is that Michael wants today; we see here the deep connection of Rudolf Steiner with Michael: In the last third of the nineteenth century, he [Michael] wishes to live in the human souls in which the thoughts are formed.4 3 See F.W. Zeylmans van Emmichoven, The Foundation Stone (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1963). 4 Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993), GA 26, “At the Dawn of the Michael Age,” p. 53.

Before the last third of the nineteenth century, Michael let thoughts flow into the souls of human beings, but since that time: He frees the thoughts from the sphere of the head; he clears the way for them to the heart, he enkindles enthusiasm in the feelings, so that the human mind can be filled with devotion for all that can be experienced in the light of thought. The Age of Michael has dawned. Hearts are beginning to have thoughts. … Thoughts which at the present time strive to grasp the Spiritual must originate in hearts which beat for Michael as the fiery Prince of Thought in the Universe.5

This is the challenge facing humanity today: The thoughts must go through the filter of the heart and be judged before entering the will. Just because a person can think and invent something does not mean that it should be used—for example if our heart, closely connected to our conscience, says “No!” Who can take this reality—as only one example— into public awareness? If destiny permits it, then it is the anthroposophist and the Anthroposophical Society. This is already the case today on many fronts. Politics are not our task, but humanity is. It is heart-warming from the vantage point of advanced age to experience how many individuals in younger generations perceive this. They are truly in the Michael Age, whether or not they can remember a prebirth connection with Michael. If they can, however, then their contribution gains in strength. Whereas the burning of the First Goetheanum drew immediate attention worldwide and was published in many newspapers, the Christmas Foundation Meeting occurred in the Carpentry Building (Schreinerei) next to the ruins of the Goetheanum—but under the ruins, the Foundation Stone from September 20, 1913 lay unscathed and unites the present Goetheanum with the first one. During the proceedings of the Christmas Conference, in discussing Paragraph 2 of the Statutes, Rudolf Steiner read: The persons gathered at the Goetheanum in Dornach at Christmas 1923, both the individuals and the groups represented, form the nucleus of the Society. …6

Herr Van Leer raised an objection: The Goetheanum is mentioned here, but we have no Goetheanum. 5 Ibid. 6 Rudolf Steiner, The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, p. 125.

Dr. Steiner replied: We are not of the opinion that we have no Goetheanum. … We are of the opinion that we have no building, but that as soon as possible we shall have one. We are of the opinion that the Goetheanum continues to exist.

Then Dr. Steiner added: The building remained in the soul. … The Goetheanum does stand before our spiritual eyes.7

Later, Rudolf Steiner speaks of the “Spirit of the Goetheanum,” meaning a specific spiritual being, not just a phrase. At the end of the Christmas Foundation Meeting, Rudolf Steiner responded to the beautiful words of deep gratitude spoken by Herr Werbeck: … I know that I have been permitted to say what has here been said, for it was said in full responsibility looking up to the Spirit of the Goetheanum. In that Spirit’s name, I have permitted myself over the last few days to say a great many things … while looking up to the good Spirit of the Goetheanum. So allow me, please, to accept these thanks in the name of the Spirit of the Goetheanum for whom we want to work and strive and labor in the world.8

Now, after one hundred years, there are many thousands of deceased members in the spiritual world who have visited the Goetheanum or have carried it in their thoughts and hearts and in their physical support. There are also many who have lived with the Foundation Stone Mantram daily. What can our contribution be? The Goetheanum is a living being, as we experience from Rudolf Steiner’s many references. Obviously even a sublime living being will experience changes, which, however, do not displace the archetypal form of its existence. On a personal note, I may add that in my nearly forty years of being in the Goetheanum almost every day, I have experienced various changes in the internal arrangements, such as: the Great Hall, the reception area, the bookstore, the addition of color in the stairways, and more. The mood is still like no other building in the world; this is something that I and thousands of others who visit every year have experienced. The Goetheanum, however, needs the protection which can continuously stream from those people who know why it is there on earth on the Dornach hill. In addition to our own efforts, can we also approach those 7 Ibid., p. 276. 8 Ibid. december 2023 • 29

members and friends in the spiritual world for help? I believe that this is possible and necessary, because the Goetheanum must continue to exist for the coming generations to experience. How can we now call upon all those who are in the spiritual world? Approaches will vary, but one avenue may be to remember them in their connection with the Goetheanum; also, one may picture the Goetheanum with these individuals surrounding it as in a circle going from the north to the east, then to the south, then to the west—the direction which the Goetheanum faces with its main entrance—and returning to the north. In our reflection, we may be aware of the three human beings inherent to the Goetheanum: Rudolf Steiner, Christian Rosenkreutz, and Master Jesus, the leaders of Western esotericism who are deeply aligned with the Christ Being.9 Rudolf Steiner expressed that the Goetheanum should always remain connected especially with Christian Rosenkreutz, according to reliable oral reports from early members. The Foundation Stone of 1913 and the Foundation Stone Mantram of the Christmas Conference for the General Anthroposophical Society bring this connection clearly to expression: 9 Rudolf Steiner, From the History and Contents of the First Section of the Esoteric School, 1904–1914 (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), GA 264, lesson of June 1, 1907, p. 312.

EDN—Ex Deo nascimur; ICM—In Christo morimur; PSSR—Per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus

These words may form the seal for our meditative reflection for the Goetheanum. From these reflections, it may be seen that I experience the Christmas Foundation Conference as a very living impulse. Today, the General Anthroposophical Society is extending steadily into other regions of the world beyond Europe and North America. This Society was founded through a highly spiritual deed; and wherever it is present, it forms a protective sheath for anthroposophy which then may radiate out even to those who have yet to discover its existence. This living impulse will continue to be strengthened when we continue to practice this mantram and to experience our heart as the Foundation Stone. Virginia Sease, born in Philadelphia in 1935, earned her PhD from the University of Southern California and has been an assistant professor of German literature at Occident College. She was also a class teacher and co-founder and co-director of the Waldorf Institute of Southern California at Highland Hall School. As of 1984, she has been a member of the Executive Council at the Goetheanum, where she also served as leader of the Section for the Arts of Eurythmy, Speech, Drama, and Music from 1991–2001 and founded the Anthroposophical Studies in English program in 2001. She is in emerita status as of 2015 and has a continuing presence at the Goetheanum and in work with Christological themes.

How Much Truth Can We Defend and Advance for the World in Our Lives? Nicanor Perlas The “Grave of All Civilization” In his lectures on Karmic Relationships, Rudolf Steiner repeatedly warned that if spiritual science does not become a significant force in world affairs, then, at around our time, humanity will plunge into the “grave of all civilization”: This battle, more than any other, is laid in the human heart. There, within the hearts of men, it is and has been waged since the last third of the nineteenth cen30 • being human

tury. Decisive indeed will be what human hearts do with this Michael Impulse in the world in the course of the twentieth century. And in the course of the twentieth century, when the first century after the end of the Kali Yuga has elapsed, humanity will either stand at the grave of all civilization—or at the beginning of that age when in the souls of men who in their hearts ally intelligence with spirituality, Micha-el’s battle will be fought out to victory.1 1 Karmic Relationships, Vol. VI (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009), GA 240, lecture of July 19, 1924.

We are in the midst of this collapse of planetary civilization. The Covid lockdowns, instituted all over the world in surprising synchrony and determined totalitarianism, are a symptom of the decadence of our current civilization. The “Great Reset” has begun. The last three years have been a very powerful demonstration of how censorship, disinformation, and lies have shattered every aspect of global civilization. We absorb the disinformation and lies that pervade the narratives on Covid-19,2 the war in Ukraine, NATO’s role in the world, democracy in the US, the climate apocalypse, the Central Bank Digital Currency debates, the WHO pandemic treaty, transhumanism, and other contentious areas of life. Institutions designed to protect humanity have become the oppressors of humanity. Witness the collapse of regulatory integrity in the CDC and FDA, the fraud that has permeated scientific publications, the lying factcheckers, the addiction of mainstream and social media to censorship and disinformation, the massive corruption of most of Congress and the US military as well as the weaponization of the US justice system, and global corporations that have changed from selling products to compelling behavioral change and turning people into products. In addition, governments have imposed psychological warfare, once reserved for foreign terrorist organizations, on their own citizens. Furthermore, cultural institutions have been weaponized. They have become places where children are programmed by drag queen indoctrination, abused by pedophiles, and manipulated to “need” transgender surgeries and mutilation. The good and progressive ideals of tolerance, diversity, and inclusion live in so many people today in a genuine way, and yet our sympathy for these ideals is now being used against us in service of a larger and more nefarious agenda.3 Even anthroposophists have not escaped the ravages of this war on Truth. Debates on facts have degenerated into accusations of having a right- or left-wing perspective. In reality, anthroposophists need to learn that objective Truth is objective Truth, whatever source that Truth may have come from. Or in Rudolf Steiner’s words, describing the consciousness soul in his book Theosophy: 2 On the topic of Covid, see, for example, the thorough study “A Rebuttal to the ‘Open Letter to the Anthroposophical Community Regarding the Covid Pandemic’” by Ricardo Bartelme and Branko Furst in Deepening Anthroposophy issue 11.1 (June 22, 2022), p. 29ff. 3 On this topic, see for example Yuri Besmenov’s statements from a 1984 interview with G. Edward Griffin (https://bigthink.com/the-present/yuri-bezmenov/).

Everyone knows how a person at first considers true what he prefers in his feelings, desires, and so forth. Only that truth is enduring, however, that has freed itself from all aftertaste of such sympathy and antipathy of feeling. The truth is true even if all personal feelings revolt against it. That part of the soul in which this truth lives will be called consciousness soul.4

The Task of Humanity: Establishing and Defending the Truth It is clear that, amidst all the chaos in the world, striving for and standing by objective and independent Truth has become the overwhelming task of humanity in this period. We live in an ocean of disinformation, further polluted with Orwellian language games. Lies become seen as the truth. Questioning authoritarian abuse is now characterized as terrorism. In his book, The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity, Rudolf Steiner emphasized the importance of objective knowledge. One key theme there is accessing this Truth totally independently of what consequences this Truth may have on one’s life. How much Truth can one accept and defend in one’s life and actions? Unconditionally accepting confirmed Truth ultimately means that peoples’ attachments to certain ideas, habits, ways of life, peer groups, reputations, behaviors, etc. that are contrary to this Truth will have to stop. People inwardly realize that standing up for and defending the Truth will result in pain and isolation. Hence there is an unconscious tendency to avoid the Truth. In the language of Christ, we take up our cross, our burden of Truth, and live out the consequences of that Truth. Tragically, the burden of Truth is sometimes more than what most people can allow themselves to bear. It seems that many in the Anthroposophical Society have a limited capacity and courage to bear pain within themselves for the sake of the world. Elite power uses language manipulation and lies to veil the Truth and manipulate the masses. The “empty phrase” is how Steiner characterized such weaponized language. There is an urge to seek for the truth in empty phrases. But however enthusiastically [people] fill their being with these phrases, this urge will never lead them to the truth. To find the truth, it is necessary to have a sense for the facts, regardless of whether these are to be found on the physical plane or in the spiritual world.5 4 Theosophy (Chadwick Library Press, 2019), GA 9, Ch. 1.4: “Body, Soul, and Spirit.” 5 The Karma of Untruthfulness, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), GA 173, lecture of December 4, 1916. december 2023 • 31

Steiner gave a series of lectures that elaborated on this point. It has been published as The Karma of Untruthfulness, Vols. 1 and 2. The attentive reader will immediately notice how similar our current situation is to the situation during World War I. Regarding this war, Rudolf Steiner said: “We could not be united in intimate circles, because a terrible world-tyranny was exercised during the war.”6 Lies pervaded the narrative of World War I. Media was the weapon for “untruthfulness.” It is no different today. The only difference is that the untruthfulness of World War I is child’s play compared to the outrageous, in-yourface lies that are being used today to control people in all areas of life.

The Reality and Task of the Christmas Conference This grave of all civilization was exactly what the Christmas Conference sought to avoid. Steiner wanted to awaken anthroposophists to the two key spiritual goals of the School of Micha-el. The first was to establish the reality of spiritual science and heighten its potency for being a principle of world civilization through the founding of the Christmas Conference. The second was to prepare all those who truly take up the substance of spiritual science and the Christmas Conference to be active at the “end of the century,” when decisive spiritual battles for the future of humanity would take place. Unfortunately, it is clear that the earthly manifestation of the impulse of the Christmas Conference has mostly been blunted in our times. Even many anthroposophical institutions have succumbed to the web of lies and disinformation spun by the dominant powers. They have mostly decided to be “politically correct” and therefore not subject to harassment. Fear overcame them. Where are the courageous anthroposophical Michaelic voices today as the global debates about the nature and future of humanity are shattering societies worldwide? Where are the anthroposophical truth-tellers at this time when there are increasingly prevalent hints suggesting that Satanism (a.k.a. Ahriman-worship) is a real factor used by powerful institutions in their collective quest to destroy planetary civilization and usher in their posthuman world via their transhumanist agenda? 6 The Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science (The Anthroposophical Society of Great Britain, 1964), GA 260a, lecture of January 18, 1924.

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Yes, they are there, but they are too few and hardly visible amidst the battles raging around the planet for the future of humanity. The “grave of all civilization” is so urgent and unprecedented that one can now gain a glimpse of what Rudolf Steiner warned would be one of the foremost challenges facing humanity in our time. This is especially true when we consider what we discussed above as key ideas of the culture wars—as disguised Marxism—happening around the world. Steiner admonished: The Sorat human beings . . . will not only scoff at everything spiritual but also oppose and want to push into the pool of filth anything that is spiritual. This will be experienced, for example, in the way something that is at present concentrated into a small space in seed form as today’s Bolshevism will become incorporated into the whole of human evolution on earth.7

Steiner calls Bolshevism “the most extreme, radical product of Western thought,” “the most extreme consequence of the most materialistic view of the world and social life.”8 In regard to the immediate future, the so-called civilized world faces only two options: Bolshevism on one side, and the threefold social order on the other. He who does not recognize that only these two alternatives exist in the near future understands nothing of the course of events on a grand scale.9

However, the spiritual substance of the Christmas Conference is very much alive. It is a spiritual force, an actual constellation of spiritual beings and Keepers of Humanity (sometimes known as the Masters) whom one can access in preparation for meaningful engagement in the world. This impulse is living within those individuals and groups who have dedicated their entire lives to fighting for a dignified human future amidst all the chaos. They receive their strength by living with the profound substance of the Christmas Conference. To be faithful to the spiritual substance of the Christmas Conference and to the expectations of the Michaelic School today is to have an almost insane amount of courage to face all the odds that are aligned against that striving person. In some, it could mean resistance to the point of physical death. Many are called but few remain standing. 7 The Book of Revelation and the Work of the Priest (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999), GA 346, September 12, 1924. 8 Spiritual Science as a Foundation for Social Forms (Anthroposophic Press, 1986), GA 199, August 21, 1920. 9 Ibid., August 7, 1920.

There are nagging question for all who would strive to stand up against the totalitarianism of lies that is now the dominant force of the world. How much Truth can we allow to enter our lives? How much of this Truth will become a force that will give us the courage to be present in the midst of the trials of humanity? When do our ideas become forceful ideals that will enable us to contribute our share towards the betterment of the world?

The Wounded Amfortas and the Healing Parsifal in Us In answering these questions, there is a shattering reality that Steiner painfully pointed out in his lecture cycle on The Mysteries of the East and of Christianity.10 Due to the natural course of human evolution, as human beings lose direct connection with the revitalizing forces of the cosmos, the forces of death have now become part of the human soul and etheric body. This makes human beings vulnerable to all kinds of lower tendencies, passions, deceit, and other weaknesses. These weaknesses imprison thoughts of a more ideal nature which reside in the living parts of the intellectual soul. The result is doubt, fear, irrational anger, apathy, and self-defeating images of oneself and of the future. Steiner calls this the “Amfortas wound” in all human beings. This Amfortas wound has deeply affected the way human beings think and the way our thinking is able to deal with the fallen and selfish tendencies anchored in the lower aspects of the human soul. This defeated inner condition hinders one from standing courageously and undefeated in battle to defend a truly human future. On the other hand, there is also the Parsifal force in all human beings. This Parsifal aspect in us can heal the wound of Amfortas. The Parsifal in us is our Fighter for Truth, the Servant of the Logos. This higher and more courageous self in us accesses the loftiest ideals of humanity and offers them to the still-living part of our intellectual soul; and, from there, this part of us becomes the master of the dead aspects in ourselves, those parts of ourselves that wallow in apathy, cowardice, and other decadent traits of the degraded and defeated human being. One of the most powerful forces of the Parsifal in us is the force of compassion and love. It would be very difficult not to act with courage in the world if we could 10 The Mysteries of the East and of Christianity (SteinerBooks, 1972), GA 144, February 7, 1913.

actually feel, in an expanded state of loving consciousness, the pain of the world as our pain, the sufferings of the world as our sufferings. This is a love that breaks all hesitancy in us to seriously face the carnage of humanity that is occurring all around us. This is also related to the second panel of the Foundation Stone Meditation, which teaches us the nature of true feeling: Practice spirit sensing / in balance of soul / where the surging deeds of the world’s becoming / do thine own ‘I’ / unite / unto the ‘I’ of the world / then, mid the weaving of the soul of man, thou wilt truly feel.11

Reactivating Spiritual Science within the Collapsing Civilization of Humanity If we want to engage the world, we have to overcome this “two souls” dilemma within ourselves. It is the foundation for our capacity to engage with and be a healing force in the world. Among other possibilities, one way to do this is to develop the capacity and courage to “bridge” spiritualscientific concepts with the highly materialistic understanding and language of the current world. We know the “sting” or the backlash that awaits us should we engage in constructive bridging work. But we need to do it if we are to be true defenders of the spiritual in the world. This is urgent because the twenty-first century is the century of ahrimanic science and technology. Steiner, very much aware of this challenge, addressed this in the tenth lecture in his cycle titled The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness: We must never forget that even people who have made a connection with the science of the spirit often have almost insuperable difficulties in building the bridge to the realm of ahrimanic science. […] I have gone to a great deal of trouble to encourage them to build bridges. Think of what could have been achieved if a physiologist or a biologist who had all the specialized knowledge that it is possible to gain in such fields today had reconsidered physiology or biology in the light of the spirit, not exactly using our terminology, but considering those individual sciences in our spirit! […] This, however, is the urgent need in our time.12

So the question for those who truly feel that they belong to the School of Micha-el is this: Can we collectively 11 The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, December 25, 1923. 12 The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2023), GA 177, October 20, 1917, emphasis added. december 2023 • 33

catch up and bring spiritual science into a meaningful and constructive engagement with the world, using the proper social tact? Can we speak a language steeped in spiritual science as a foundational framing context, and combine this with knowledge of cutting-edge, twentyfirst-century science and extensive familiarity with world events, as the comprehensive basis for this meaningful and urgent engagement with the world? This is not only needed in the sciences, but in all areas of life, especially social life, where the capacity to “bridge” is absolutely essential in order for spiritual science to permeate and heal the world. In conclusion, the greatest need in our time today is to engage in the battle for Truth. We can only succeed in

doing this if we have overcome the wound of Amfortas in ourselves and if we have awakened the Parsifal forces in our lives. Then, and only then, can we meaningfully stand in defense of the human being. And stand we will, together with the gods, to actualize the amazing future that awaits humanity. Nicanor Perlas is chairman of a large foundation helping over half a million micro-enterprising poor and the President of Solution Ecosystems Activator, which is installing large-scale societal threefolding initiatives in four towns in the Philippines. He is a key leader in the national resistance against totalitarian Covid mandates that is playing out in the Senate and the Supreme Court. For the national and global impact of his work, he received the UN Global 500 Award and the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. His website is www.covidcalltohumanity.org.

Heart Thoughts from the Christmas Conference John Beck Anthroposophy has the most impactful, fundamental, productive ideas in the world today. Cosmic in scope, intimate in quality, rooted in the depths of existence, they integrate themselves livingly into individual human consciousness to transform culture and guide evolution. Do we understand this thing “culture,” this bi-directional placenta which connects individual humans with humanity? Steiner’s own initiative—beyond education, health, healing the earth, elevating the arts—was toward a healthy global human civilization. For these ideas he could only take personal responsibility, since no one else—not even Marie Steiner or Ita Wegman—could embrace them comprehensively. He provided at the Christmas Conference “Statutes” based in reality. In describing the Society he placed before the members no future goals which they, as the Society, were not already taking up. The weight of the biggest initiative he would carry—which again reflected the reality. He expected to have another twelve years, a Jupiter cycle, to live. Finding members not up to the immediate tasks, he added no guidance in the fifteen months left him. He poured himself out for nine months, then lay at the foot of 34 • being human

his great sculptural group, continuing to follow the Christ path in what looked so much like a long crucifixion. In the Anthroposophical Society today we celebrate the Christmas Conference as if an immutable guidance. It is simplest to rely on the stenographed words (I give some page numbers for The Christmas Conference1 in this text), and on the “Statutes.” This fixed reliance, this literalism, may be a profound mistake. Celebrate this great event solemnly, reverently, and in awareness of the reality of 1923. What did that look like, the context of this Christmas Conference? In many ways the event was born out of failure. We need find no pessimism or despair in that. Failures belong to the first half of the “mystery of dying and becoming”; they ask us to die to illusions, rebirthing enthusiasm out of clearer sight. Dr. Steiner himself spelled out the context: “I have no hesitation in saying that the outer shelter for our gathering resembles nothing more than a shack erected amongst the ruins, a poor, a terribly poor shack of a home” (p. 45). The magnificent Goetheanum had burnt down at the beginning of the year; the arson was called for publicly, but 1 Anthroposophic Press, 1990.

PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN. Source: mynewsdesk.com “impulse for cultural renewal > The First Goetheanum as a community building”

its friends had not been vigilant enough. Then the divide between younger friends, oriented to action in the world, and older ones engrossed in study, had brought Steiner later in 1923 to form a “free” society for “the youth.” Five years out from the Great War, the political, economic, and moral situation was terrible. Soviet Russia was closing to anthroposophy. Steiner’s birthplace, the great tri-cultural state of Austria-Hungary, had been dismembered. His campaign for a new approach to statecraft (literally, the “three-membering of the social organism”) had failed. In Germany, armed gangs of the far left clashed with far right militias. There were huge numbers of discharged, unemployed soldiers, and the maimed survivors in every city and town. The idea took hold of Germany betrayed, “a stab in the back,” with Steiner among those blamed (for his friendship with Germany’s initial war leader Helmuth von Moltke). Resentments were paving a path for Adolf Hitler. France had occupied parts of Germany with West African troops, and with Belgium in 1923 seized the industrial Ruhr Valley, wreaking havoc with the young Weimar Republic. From early 1922 to late 1923 the exchange rate for German marks to buy one US dollar went from 160 into the high billions.

Rudolf Steiner asked that realities be embraced. “It is essential for us to stand firmly on a foundation of reality; that is, on the foundation of present-day consciousness” (p. 53). A “fundamental problem” to be solved “in our hearts” would be “that our Society, before all others, will be given the task of combining the greatest conceivable openness with true and genuine esotericism” (p. 99). Esotericism is usually seen as height and depth. How do we imagine “openness”? As infinite breadth, as radiant receptiveness? A problem for hearts. Similarly he observed, “At the present moment of the Society’s development, it is important that we make our arrangements on the basis of reality and not [on the basis] of principles. There is, is there not, a difference between the two” (p. 114). Because they call on the heart, these parts of what Steiner asked of the Christmas Meeting are easily overlooked. To be both broadly open, and deeply esoteric. And to be real. John Beck (jhbeck23@gmail.com) served as director of communications for the Anthroposophical Society in America from 2009 to 2023. Earlier he was general manager of the New York Open Center, president of the NYC Branch of the ASA, and in charge of WNYC radio/tv and WGBH Radio Boston. december 2023 • 35

The Arts

The First Goetheanum Continues to Live Through Our Striving: On the Cupola Painting Project Keiko Papic In the summer of 2022, a group of local people (from seventeen to seventy-five years old) gathered together to recreate the painting motifs of the Small Cupola of the First Goetheanum. This was the beginning of our preparation for the centenary of the Christmas Conference. The highlight of this work was attempting to paint the North Side of the Small Cupola motifs using countercolors (as originally intended by Rudolf Steiner),1 a totally new concept for all of us. According to the book The Goetheanum Motifs of Rudolf Steiner by Peter Stebbing, Rudolf Steiner gave JeanneMarie Bruinior the task of painting the motifs from the North Side of the Small Cupola in counter-colors (not the same as complementary colors), which startled her. Her reply to Steiner was, “I cannot do that, Herr Doktor.” Perhaps the reason she felt it would be impossible was because the gestures of the motifs had to be changed according to the character of the counter-color. For example, Rudolf Steiner painted the Orange Angel and the Indigo Angel with different gestures. We took up this challenge, even though we knew our efforts may not be successful, because we felt it was important to try to make this effort to honor Rudolf Steiner and to show that after one hundred years, we are still working with him. This summer, we completed the paintings of the Large Cupola motifs and called people to gather on September 30th: If the spirit of the Christmas Conference is waiting to be found in your life, join us to let it ring out from the heights If the spirit of the Christmas Conference is calling forth a new understanding in your soul, join us to ignite the fire of your soul If the spirit of the Christmas Conference is still resounding in your heart, join us for this prayer

This September 30th event had three parts: 1 See the Note on counter-colors at the end of this article.

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1. The Foundation Stone Verses 2. The Statutes of the Anthroposophical Society 3. Rudolf Steiner’s idea on how to finance the Anthroposophical Society and the School of Spiritual Science This event took place in “a” First Goetheanum, with our paintings as the architecture of the building. Each participant spoke some of Rudolf Steiner’s words from the Christmas Conference, so that together we all could revisit, even in the smallest way, the Christmas Conference of 1923. As we approach the 100-year anniversary of the Christmas Conference, we hope this event will create interest in people for (re)discovering the significance of the Christmas Conference and strengthen our will with the Power of Michael.

Names of those who contributed to the Cupola Painting Project Pamela Whitman, Nancy McMahon, Brian Gray, MariJo Rogers, Alice Stamm, Cheryl Martine, Natalie Cargill, Nora Minassian, Soley Dias, Deborah Sternin, Anthony Papic, Alejandra Nunez, Allison Newmann, Michelle Gallardo, Keiko Papic Note on counter-colors: Picture a circle of twelve points, with peach blossom color on the top and green on the bottom. These two colors have no counter-color. From peach blossom, going clockwise, we have pale rose, deep rose, red, orange, and yellow. Going counter-clockwise from peach blossom we have pale lilac, deep lilac, violet, indigo, and blue. When you connect left and right points with horizontal lines, you are connecting counter-colors. The countercolor combinations are: pale rose– pale lilac, deep rose – deep lilac, red – violet, orange – indigo, and yellow – blue. More information can be found in the book The Goetheanum Cupola Motifs of Rudolf Steiner by Peter Stebbing.

Motifs of the Large and Small Cupolas of the First Goetheanum Painted by various artists (see article on opposite page).

SM ALL CU PO L A

.View looking up into a scale model (1:10) of the Small Cupola. Built by Carl Liedvogel and painted by Hilde Boos-Hamburger. Exhibited as part of the Goetheanum Art Collection, Dornach, Switzerland. Copyright holder: M. Boos-Egli, Basel. Reprinted from p. 116 in Peter Stebbing: The Goetheanum Cupola Motifs of Rudolf Steiner (SteinerBooks, 2011).

december 2023 • 37

38 • being human

OPPOSITE PAGE. ABOVE LEFT. Faust and Flying Child (Far-North) ABOVE RIGHT. Egyptian Initiate and Athene-Apollo

(Mid-North)

BELOW LEFT. Germanic Initiate (Near-North) BELOW RIGHT. Slavic Human Being (North-East)

THIS PAGE.

Representative of Humanity between Ahriman and Lucifer (East)

december 2023 • 39

40 • being human

LARGE CUPOLA

OPPOSITE. TOP LEFT. Slavic Human Being (South-East) TOP RIGHT. Germanic Initiate (Near-South) BOTTOM LEFT. Egyptian Initiate and Athene-Apollo (Mid-South) BOTTOM RIGHT. Faust and Flying Child (Far-South)

THIS PAGE.

View looking up into a scale model (1:100) of the Large Cupola. Built by Carl Liedvogel and painted by Hilde Boos-Hamburger. Exhibited as part of the Goetheanum Art Collection, Dornach, Switzerland. (The lighting fixture is indicated by a gray disc in the middle of the dome.) Copyright holder: M. Boos-Egli, Basel. Reprinted from p. 36 in Peter Stebbing: The Goetheanum Cupola Motifs of Rudolf Steiner (SteinerBooks, 2011). december 2023 • 41

OPPOSITE PAGE > TOP L. Jehova and the Luciferic Temptation—Paradise (Center-West) R. Eye and Ear Come into Being (Center-West) MIDDLE L. The Elohim Work Creatively into the Earth (Far-West) R. The Ancient Egyptian (North-West) BOTTOM L. Atlantis (North) R. The Ancient Persian (North-East)

ABOVE L. The Round Dance of the Seven, the ‘A’ (Center-East) R. God’s Wrath and God’s Melancholy, the ‘I’ (Center-East) MIDDLE L. The Circle of the Twelve, the ‘O’ (Far-East) R. The Ancient Indian (South-East) BELOW L. Lemuria (South) R. Greece and Oedipus (South-West)

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december 2023 • 43

Van James Crisis

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ABOVE. Panel One (LEFT) and Panel Two (RIGHT) BELOW. Panel Three

Laura Summer The First Three Panels of The Foundation Stone Meditation I spent the summer of 2020 in intensive meditation with the Foundation Stone Meditation. I also read the report of the Christmas Conference. I experienced more and more how each panel of the meditation contains a stage of a process. This work led to the three paintings.

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ABOVE TWO IMAGES. The Question – Who am I? – In Search of Self

(Saturn)

ABOVE. Initial Wholeness – In the Beginning – I and the World Are One (Sun)

Regine Kurek That Good May Become .

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ABOVE. Meeting the Teacher – The Stranger – Longing for Wisdom

(Moon)

These visuals are large cotton banners that were painted during the August Manitoba Festival by eight participants. This was prepared for by some of us who set the stage, initially for the Novalis fairytale Hyacinth and Rosebud, a collaboration between the Literary and the Visual Art Sections. Because these banners showed an

ABOVE. The Long Road – The Journey Ahead – Leaving Home (Mars)

ABOVE. First Inklings – Blessings – Who Speaks to Me? (Mercury)

ABOVE. In the Presence of Wisdom (Sophia, Natura, the Goddess) – The Meeting – I Am You (Jupiter)

amazing versatility and created different moods through the lighting, they ended up accompanying all three evening performances. Every time, they seemed to create a new soul space for what was to come. In a way, one could say they reflected an archetypal journey: our human journey through time and space. Series continues on next page. december 2023 • 47

Kristin Elizabeth.

BELOW. Woodblock Print of the First Goetheanum, ca. 2008–2010

ABOVE . Home – Arriving – Illumination – I Am You – Communion (Venus)

Denis Schneider .

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LEFT. Parsifal and Mani Listening in Trevrizent’s Cave RIGHT. Acadia: The Soul Return

Turning Points Lisa Romero Turning points are inevitable in the progress of our collective human development. Sometimes these turning points are guided by initiates who can perceive the needs of the future. At the Christmas Conference, we are shown a turning point that is needed for the future growth and development of anthroposophy in the world. Other turning points come through the decline or dying of predominating systems whose relentless efforts towards continuing their domination proves their inability to create a new future. All of what the dying systems impose upon the collective induces further decline, and we saw this old system reveal its inability to create the future Good for all through the divisive and authoritarian Covid response. As the old systems of governance are surpassed in our collective development, the greater effort towards the centralization of power is being witnessed as the threat to the very change that is needed. The capacities of intellectual thinking will be and are being made manifest outside of ourselves in the various forms of artificial intelligence. As this happens, we know that the so-called pinnacle of our civilization, the capacity to “intelligently” comprehend the world, is being surpassed for a reason. The great machine of bureaucracy that promises change but repeats the same fundamental narrative is being observed by the people. Out of itself, the system does not perceive problems but rather problematic people who do not fit into “Rome’s agenda” of the centralization of power. We are faced, both individually and collectively, with the imperative need to extend beyond the content of intellectual thinking as a dominant leading force in our lives. Progress is being made towards understanding consciousness. Many want to understand the consciousness they are awakening to by means of the capacity of thinking, but the multitude of systems currently being utilized—systems that aim to produce power over others and self-gain for the few—lead us further away from spiritual understanding, or at least away from a future benefitting the collective Good, which, in contrast, the initiation path leads us towards. During Covid, we had a chance to see how the “head system” functions in its best and worst ways. And although we could see many points of view and battle our way towards figuring out how we can head up the situ-

ation differently in light of all we have learned through the mistakes, still we fundamentally had to realize that the system itself is not working. . . . Why is this “head system” no longer capable of being the sole leader for the spiritual future of the world? As the collective rebels against the dying system’s past deeds, it may well turn more attention to the dead forms in anthroposophy, and the Anthroposophical Movement’s survival will therefore be challenged all the more. The nature of the head has for so long been the most productive method. As a director and administrator, the head system is still a useful tool; but as a life-giving organ, it no longer leads. It preserves and re-imagines the past into the future, and this will always be a useful function. But for new life—something that is not a re-imagining of the past but a new life coming into being—the heart is needed. At the great Turning Point of Time at the Mystery of Golgotha, the Being of Love was crucified for this new spiritual future for all of humanity. At the Christmas Conference, we were shown how the movement from head to heart is now necessary. The change of the distribution of leadership into the hearts of all is echoed in the last verse of the Foundation Stone Meditation: Divine Light, Christ Sun! Warm Thou Our Hearts, Enlighten Thou Our Heads, That Good may become What from our Hearts we would found And from our Heads direct With single purpose. The heart of the human being is central to all that will come to life, all that will come into being in the whole living organism of the body. Its relationship to the periphery through the blood is not a one-way system. All that lives in the periphery comes back to the center—not for the benefit of the center, but for the sake of what the center can offer the periphery through the returning blood. The heart as a sense organ knows, through the blood’s movements from far and wide, what is needed december 2023 • 49

for the harmony of what is perceived as separate parts yet united as a single whole through the life-blood. Its role is not like the head, which appears as an instrument of seeing and re-seeing over and over again what has been—of perceiving and re-imagining what is perceived in a new way in order to envision, in the next movement of time, the next way to maintain itself. Although this is a necessary and needed capacity, it is not capable of the new that the heart of life can bring and that the future stands in need of. The heart of the soul is more a faculty of hearing far and wide what is speaking and who is speaking so that it may unite the periphery with another aspect of the periphery, the part with another part. It is not pumping; it is receiving and giving through endless circulation of the blood. The heart beats only in order to hear from beyond its own walls. It has to beat, as its need is to hear beyond itself. The heartbeat is found at the center and just as well at the periphery. It is hearing from the furthest reaches of the whole being. Hearing is its perceptive capacity; this sense is known as the most spiritual of all the earthly senses. Hearing beyond itself is the beginning of the heart’s awakening. In hearing the periphery, it cognizes needs and receives knowledge from the most distant parts of the whole. The heart learns to speak from hearing and the wider its hearing scope, the more what it speaks carries outward. If the centers of anthroposophy are not hearing the whole movement, then perhaps it’s not yet a fully functioning heart. The hearing heart speaks in quite different ways than the head. The heart does not want to impose itself upon the other, like the ego etching itself upon the world or the other on account of its platform or position. The ego may do this in order to know that it exists and can grow in the knowledge of its own existence. However, the heart speaks what all who can hear hope to speak… How different is the heart’s speech. It is not seeking to re-imagine what has already been imagined. The head may do this and thereby convey the truth it perceives in today’s thoughts and language. But the heart wants to add to this speech not a re-imagined picture, but words that inspire our souls through love. In order to bring the being of love through words, it seeks to love the other while we develop towards the future. The heart’s speech does not wound or create debt. It is not

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prideful or self-serving or self-preserving, but it seeks to serve the other’s growth and development. And yet, as it is itself the center, its service is not in contradiction to its own nature. The needs of the self and of the community are one. The greatest gift awakened on the path of thinking is the perception of the higher ‘I’ or second self. This second self begins to be present to our awareness in the objective ability to look upon ourselves, to be a witness or observer of our everyday self. This “witness” self is perceived by us in the space of thinking where the content of our thoughts is quietened or extinguished altogether. The greater our ability to do this, the stronger the onlooker is perceived. This higher ‘I’ is now available, in its beginning perceptions, to very many in today’s world. Look around and it is obvious that it’s now here in the collective as a common capacity. In a sense, this fortunate initiation process that was previously available only to the chosen few is now available to the many. All that is needed is that each utilize the thinking capacity, not the thought content that is offered as part of living life in our age. It is possible to witness this awakening throughout the world. We hear it sounding from well-known comedians, from corporate CEOs, from tech geniuses in Silicon Valley, and from everyday encounters; very many people are aware of the consciousness that exists at the boundary of, and goes beyond, the content of thinking. This was bound to be our next step: that we should grow into this consciousness of self and be in the presence of the second self; and yet, we are still unable to reform the systems of power that dominate over others. Still, even in the “awake ones” there are ideas that involve seeking power in one or another place or position of leadership. It is so because it is so in each of us. The path towards the awakened ‘I’ will lead us into the free spirit within, but we are taught by the Mysteries to take heed of the strength of ‘I’ that must increase in order to maintain itself in the other realms. Strength of ‘I’ is on the increase as the power of the capacity for presence is increasing. The protective inner guide is seeking the being of love. But this is not apparent in the solutions that those who are generally seen as “awake” offer us! How will this understanding come to the many as we step towards the future? Will anthroposophy continue to promote the path of mere head-oriented thinking as the singular way, when

the results of this thinking are already dominating the mainstream quality of awareness? What is yet to develop but is in need of our initiation is the awakening of the Heart Mysteries as the new center of initiation within each human being. It is of course essential and it is taught in genuine schooling that the first stage of initiation, the awakening of the “I am” consciousness, occurs first. That is the necessary step to guard against loss of sovereignty and to know that the love which is being developed on the path is in alignment with freedom and leading to spiritual progress and not mixed with the desires that bind us to greater egotism. Even then, as we are guided to this sovereign presence within ourselves, we are warned that moral development must go hand in hand with this first awakening. Why is it that this onlooker consciousness—full of presence and able to perceive errors—can, upon encountering the pain of others, simply look on, remaining unmoved and not stirred to action? We can remember from the inner schooling that we perceive the world differently from the point of view of the spirit. The spiritual view is a necessity for spiritual development, but it can be a source of harm for social development if it does not include love. If the heart does not awaken, then the spiritual insights we may gain will have little to do with the needs of the wider community. It is the spirit of the heart that perceives the needs of humanity. However, if the sovereign spirit does not awaken first, then the heart will fail to function, as intended, as a bridge between the heavens and the earth. Instead, it will bring about utopian or fantastical ideals and great proclamations of universal love that do not stay in touch with the living needs and reality of all or with the step by step progress of our collective journey. But we do need to stay in touch with the living needs of all. This appears all the more pressing in our age, and we are being shown that we cannot act for ourselves alone. How can we proceed if we do not awaken the heart center and begin to learn all about the true being of love and its ways? Anthroposophy has given so much to all who have found it living within themselves. I often wonder: Who would I be if this great body of knowledge were not made available to my path? It is because of this deep appreciation that I, along with many others, want to see it stay alive in the world. We want more people to find

this extraordinary gift. I often say: If you have found anthroposophy, you will be fine. We may be lazy, but if we just keep studying and inwardly working, we will be just fine. Life will unfold differently because you will be different. I, like so many, have found my own way with the body of knowledge offered as anthroposophy; and yet, through this inner path of awakening, I have been shown the way towards the heart as the new Mystery center. This has not happened through the welcoming soul-sun of the Society. I have not found these Heart Mysteries established there. The Society continues the Head Mysteries to hold up the dome of the temple, but the pillars are still left for Rudolf Steiner to bear upon his shoulders. I, like so many, have been on the periphery and we have not been welcomed or embraced as genuine seekers. If it were not for our own inner work and commitment to anthroposophy, we may not have been able to withstand the criticisms and accusations coming from many in central positions in our movement. I don’t know if our movement will embrace the Heart Mysteries even with all the warnings and knowledge that tell us that without love, spiritual science could become harmful. We are seeing this today; the leaders of our collective future in Silicon Valley are proving this. Many are somewhat awake, they meditate daily, they know that the power of thinking leads to a greater consciousness of self. Do we not see that the world now knows the first steps to the second self and that, if we are to light the way to the next steps, it is not enough to offer this path of thinking alone? The Heart Mysteries are needed, and all that belongs to the heart can guide us in how to work into the future. The Turning Point has been offered within the anthroposophical world three times: by the great spiritual event of Golgotha revealed in the Mysteries through the work of Rudolf Steiner, by the living soul-sacrifice of Rudolf Steiner at the Christmas Conference, and recently by the dying system’s response to Covid, the crises presently upon us, and the crises yet to come. Lisa Romero is an author of inner development books and courses, a complementary health practitioner, and an adult educator who has been offering healthcare and education enriched with anthroposophy since 1993. From 2006, the primary focus of her work has been on teaching inner development and anthroposophical meditation through the Inner Work Path and YouTube channel Astral-Arc.

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Recalling the Deed, Living with Its Shadow John Bloom One accomplishment of the 1923/24 Christmas Conference was the culmination of Rudolf Steiner’s efforts to organize lived anthroposophy as a healing force in the world. His purpose was to create an associative movement that cultivated the exercise of spiritual guidance in the affairs of human life. This moment in the evolution of anthroposophy was intended as a turning point for reawakening spirit as a reality in practical life, a microcosmic reflection of the Mystery of the Christ-Sun. Rudolf Steiner embodied this flow between spirit and matter and devoted his life to evolving research and practices that furthered others’ engagement in it. Living anthroposophy is not just the understanding of its concepts, but rather the degree to which each of us has taken these indications into our being and doing. The heart and esoteric essence of the Christmas Conference resides in the Foundation Stone Meditation. This meditation provided and continues to provide esoteric substance by expanding time and space as experienced through the sense world—past, present, future, and in the four directions—into the cosmic constellation of spirit beings, light, and movement. Working with the rhythms of this meditation, one can internalize the unity and duality of spirit and matter that Steiner articulated as essential for the future of humanity and the evolution of consciousness. From this perspective, the Christmas Conference and all that it represents are more relevant than ever. The Statutes formulated at the Christmas Conference were an attempt to frame organizational agreements in a way that all the participants could freely support. Rudolf Steiner even indicated that the Statutes were meant to be an example of healthy organizational life rather than fixed laws. For me, the Christmas Conference is the imagination of a worldwide spiritual network with a foundation in social life and shared agreements that transcend geopolitical boundaries and cultural differences. We have yet to fully realize the ideals of the Christmas Conference, the integration of spirit-self and worldly-self, individual and community. But then it sometimes takes reality to make the ideal visible. 54 • being human

In the last few years, I have experienced that my capacity for such integrative practices has been challenged by all the divergent factors and perceptions around Covid, by issues around racism, by economic, political, and relational uncertainty, and by the polarization in response to, and materialization of, what feels like virtually everything. It is as if, in the last few years, a blanket of darkness has been cast over the ideals of the Christmas Conference, as if demonic forces sensed an opportune time to undermine or attack what had served as the apparent foundations of a social and spiritual contract within the Society, and more broadly a shared understanding of the value of being human and human dignity itself. Some of this disruption has been good (as there is often good tucked somewhere in evil) as it has made the profound weaknesses and injustices in our wider culture and ecology evident and made it clear that members of the Society are not immune from such social trends. However, much of what has been made of these social trends in the US points to old power structures exacerbated by overaccumulation of wealth, even as there are initiatives attempting to transform how we work with power and capital for social good. I might characterize the situation in the following way: Democracy-based political power, one person one vote, has been co-opted and corrupted by commerce and the economic sector into hierarchical power maintained through the control of capital and natural resources with an eye toward commoditizing the human being, again. While no one has been immune from the suffering of the last few years, whether directly or indirectly, there are three casualties made spectacularly visible: freedom, truth, and authority. The question of freedom, spiritual freedom, has played out in the battle between the personal and the public, individual and community. Freedom has turned into a political battleground because it is exercised as a right, without regard to individual responsibility in light of a social ethic. Truth, the moral foundation of spiritual freedom (“the truth shall set you free”), has become a matter of the power to fabricate and disseminate propaganda whether based in fact or simply serving some belief or end. Authority, the capacity

to take responsibility for one’s own experience, has been disempowered by a reliance on centralized authority promulgated by those “experts” who know better. Without such disempowerment, the rise of an authoritarian state would be impossible. And of course, freedom, truth, and authority are interrelated and need to be viewed as parts of a whole. How do we recognize and name the power of moral and ethical corruption? Can we co-create new ways of working that reflect the ideals of the Christmas Conference as an inclusive practice where we can act locally or regionally yet do so with a worldwide consciousness? Can we collaborate in a new leadership, transforming culture, politics, and economics so that Good may become?

I can say unconditionally, I am profoundly grateful for the reflective tools given in anthroposophical practice, esoteric and exoteric, as a way to work with and maintain equanimity. Such a way of knowing and acting extends beyond what arises as self-knowledge, to recognizing and understanding others as colleagues on a path of navigating the space, time, and spiritual world within which anthroposophical knowing stands in service. The moral atmosphere in which spiritual and cultural freedom can guide being in community awaits the renewal of a true social ethic in which truth and authority arise from love. That is the healing task ahead. John Bloom was General Secretary of the US Anthroposophical Society from 2016–2023. He is an artist, author of several books, and organizational advisor, and lives in San Francisco.

Exceptional States and New Habits of the Heart Nathaniel Williams We live in a time of uncertainty. A superficial review of history reveals the precariousness of our moment. The future is difficult to imagine; what is known seems unstable; what is emerging, full of challenges. We are faced with the task of grasping enduring questions of the human experience in our own lives even as they make their appearances in the most confusing new forms. As we look to coming years of unprecedented emergencies and “states of exception,” ideas about the constitutional rule of law must be thought anew. This is particularly important for liberal democratic states. The suspension of constitutional order and the rights they “protect” was traditionally reserved for times of war. In recent years, such suspensions increasingly have a “humanitarian” character. The great variety of emergencies connected to climate change and the ecological crisis, food insecurity, and public health measures have led to many “states of exception.” During the coronavirus pandemic this challenge appeared in bold relief. Clearly, in the coming decades, “states of exception” will be increasingly less exceptional. One important question is how to face these challenges without normalizing rule by decree. To a certain extent we can sense that the humanitarian nature of these

crises justifies the suspension of constitutional rights and requires a trust they will be restored when the danger has passed. This trusting attitude is perhaps possible in some privileged settings, but should not provide a guide. The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben has emphasized that the “state of exception” cannot be understood as a normal legal status that can be easily integrated into our understanding of a constitutional republic. He characterizes those who think we can rely on the return of constitutional order as naive and deluded. They do not see that they are playing with fire. Agamben senses a vertiginous fall in connection to the “state of exception,” one which never promises a return, especially for those who do not sense its gravity.1 One will surely feel differently about Agamben’s tone of urgency depending on where one lives (consider as examples Switzerland and the Philippines in recent years) and it is instructive to reflect on what this difference can tell us. Centralizing power in “exceptional circumstances” can be a slippery slope. What makes this slope more or less steep is how deeply a culture of rights, a culture of participation, and various freedoms are alive and well in 1 See Giorgio Agamben, State of Exception (University of Chicago Press, 2008) and Where Are We Now?: The Epidemic as Politics (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). december 2023 • 55

a given area. Tocqueville famously called these “habits of the heart” in his study of early democracy in the USA. He suggested these habits were formed by many factors. For instance, he pointed out that before the constitutional conventions many colonies had been living by various forms of self-government simply through isolation and the distance from England. He especially credited the widespread and varied voluntary associations of civil society with providing political apprenticeship to the people, from charities to literary groups and libraries, which arose out of grassroots efforts and needs. These examples are but a few that he credits with supporting the experiment of self-government in the USA. Today, in a hyper-connected and globalized world, we certainly cannot count on the buttress of isolation to encourage self-rule, and the decline of voluntary civil associations in the USA has been lamented for decades. How vigorous, how articulate are we when it comes to our rights and freedoms? Given increasingly recurrent “states of exception,” can widespread “habits of the heart” be counted on? There is another support to this dilemma which is intimately connected with the task of the Anthroposophical Society and Movement. For a little over two centuries, we can recognize a new orientation toward the spiritual in the human being. We can find it in ourselves and in others. When we encounter it in others, it requires that we look for their originality, for their individuality. This involves turning all their “parts” into materials that they live through, be they clerk, woman, Christian, or of whatever color. We engage with them with a pictorial orientation: The pigment is not the main point, but what shines through. One hundred years ago, as part of the momentous re-founding of the Anthroposophical Society, Steiner characterized this task: To a certain extent, when regarding a picture we look through what the senses perceive to its spiritual content. And so is it also in the observation of the human being. If we truly understand the human being in the light of natural law, we do not feel that these laws bring us into contact with the real person, but only with that through which they are revealed.2

At least since Schiller, a general understanding of the importance of this pictorial orientation toward the human being and its connection to modern notions of democracy has been alive. In a general form, it reached a global level of in2 Rudolf Steiner, The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy (The Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, 1963), p. 44 (free translation by NW).

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fluence through the rights revolution3 in the past century. When we try to approach the spirit from within, we are riddled with ourselves; we cannot admit that we do not exist, but what phantoms we are! We know that we interpret and participate in life all day long and sense ourselves as active, but when we try to observe this activity, we end up with “things.” By strengthening the inner life, we are able to lift this otherwise elusive activity to consciousness. We are able to raise the active spirit to awareness, which is always present but under normal circumstances remains unconscious: We bring about an “exceptional state.”4 Here we experience our connection to a great field of life, arced and traversed by ethical presences, which can infinitely deepen our awe for the human being. Here we sense the reconciliation of freedom and love. We feel that in acting out moral intuitions from this field, we are at the same time acting out of a connection with others and the greater world. These are tasks of the Anthroposophical Society, to develop new “habits of the heart”: pictorial knowledge practices that can accommodate the spiritual human being, and inner participatory practices that lead to an “exceptional state” of creative, ethical freedom. These “habits of the heart” are related to the practical ideas and projects of “social threefolding,” which are not widely understood, despite their impact this last century.5 The disasters of the last century have severely lowered the expectations of many involved in statecraft as well as political theorists, not to mention many in the younger generation. Some see varieties of ecologically justified dictatorships as inevitable (we can easily see climate “refugee camps” as examples of this). One influential group of theorists and politicians sees attempts to speak of the esoteric, of the spirit, in a public way as both misguided and dangerous. They believe that the majority will never deserve respect or be worthy of dignity. Moreover, the majority can be dangerous, especially to the “initiated.” Because they believe it will always only be the few who can achieve any deeper relationship to the spirit, the constitution of any given society is largely irrelevant to them. Such orientations have been recognizable among influential 3 Charles Epp, The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective (University of Chicago Press, 2020). 4 See Rudolf Steiner, The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2013), Ch. III, “Thinking in the Service of Knowledge.” 5 Dan McKanan’s Eco-Alchemy: Anthroposophy and the History and Future of Environmentalism (University of California Press, 2018) offers an example of this; see especially the chapter “Flowers: New Economics for Environmentalism.”

figures in the USA for decades. 6 The Anthroposophical Society, which does not see party politics as belonging within its sphere, includes many who strive to connect the deepest esotericism with the greatest openness, out of a conviction that this is a contribution toward increased brotherhood throughout humanity; out of a conviction that it is relevant for a social, political, and economic life that can accommodate 6 Leo Strauss, On Tyranny: Corrected and Expanded Edition, Including the Strauss-Kojève Correspondence (University of Chicago Press, 2013).

the dignity and spirit of the human being. Many of these active members not only work to foster these new “habits of the heart,” but also to set them to work for the common good. Nathaniel Williams is currently the leader of the Section for the Spiritual Striving of the Youth, a part of the Independent School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum in Switzerland. He is originally from the USA. He studied art and anthroposophy in Basel, Switzerland and Political Science at the University at Albany, where he also taught.

The Christmas Conference Impulse—A Distillation R. J. Harlow Made out of Nature’s materials, The Goetheanum wanted to speak through its forms Of the Eternal to the eyes of men. The flames were able to consume the matter. Henceforward Anthroposophia— Her edifice formed of the Spirit— Shall speak to the inner soul of man In words of fire, tempered by the flames— The flames of the Spirit. —Rudolf Steiner1

The Goetheanum was an embodiment of living anthroposophy upon the earth. Through its artistic forms and colors, the Mysteries of cosmic evolution and the transformative power of the Christ impulse spoke to human beings. From its stage, Rudolf Steiner’s lectures, the Mystery Dramas, and eurythmy rang out as cosmic Word— anthroposophy, spiritual science, a modern path of initiation capable of fructifying and renewing all fields of art, science, religion, and practical life. On New Year’s Eve, 1922, the Goetheanum was set ablaze by an act of arson. As the wooden shapes, metals, and stained glass colors rose into the night sky, Rudolf Steiner said to those present, “Impress this moment on your minds.”2 Afterward, in addition to anthroposophy’s enemies, he pointed to spiritual fecklessness within the 1 Verses and Meditations (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004). 2 Account of Heinz Müller, early Waldorf teacher. Raab, Klingborg, & Fant, Eloquent Concrete (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1979), p. 32.

Society—to “inner opposition,” “unwillingness,” “lethargy”—which kept the exoteric anthroposophical institutions from embodying their esoteric spirit. Speaking in private, he related that the members “do not want to wake up. So they have to be awakened by catastrophes and personal sufferings. It is not karma that is prevalent here but only the members’ lack of wakefulness, and human envy that works even into the physical.”3 This dichotomy of exoteric institution vs. esoteric impulse, of Society vs. Movement, even found expression in the fact that the Goetheanum hadn’t been officially opened. Rudolf Steiner was waiting for the conditions to be right.4 Until then, the Representative of Humanity statue could not be rightly placed within it. When the Anthroposophical Society was founded on December 28, 1912, having split off from the Theosophical Society, Rudolf Steiner maintained his independence. He held no office and was not a member. As the leader of the spiritual Movement, and as the spiritual teacher of the private Esoteric School, he could not become involved in bureaucratic, exoteric institutions. This, he related, was a spiritual law. As an initiate, every action and relationship had to be a living embodiment of the spirit. After the burning, the being of the Goetheanum returned as flaming, cosmic Word. The year 1923 was 3 T.H. Meyer, Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz: A European (Temple Lodge, 2014), Appendix: “From Conversations with Rudolf Steiner,” p. 523. 4 See R. Steiner: “Address to the Members of September 12, 1920.” Printed in the English edition of Rudolf Grosse’s The Christmas Conference—Cosmic Turning Point of Time (Rudolf Steiner Book Centre, 1984). december 2023 • 57

spent more actively than ever. Rudolf Steiner traveled throughout Europe, gave nearly 450 lectures, and worked with members to establish national societies; then, representatives were called to gather in Dornach at Christmas for the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society. The impulse was straightforward, but its implications were momentous and extensive. In his opening lecture, Rudolf Steiner stated: My dear friends! We begin our Christmas Conference for the founding of the Anthroposophical Society in a new form… We shall take our starting point today from something we would so gladly have seen as our starting point years ago in 1913. This is where we take up the thread, my dear friends, inscribing into our souls the foremost principle of the Anthroposophical Movement, which is to find its home in the Anthroposophical Society, namely, that everything in it is willed by the spirit, that this Movement desires to be a fulfillment of what the signs of the times speak in a shining script to the hearts of human beings.5

Thereafter, the spiritual Foundation Stone, as esoteric deed and meditation, was laid in the hearts of the members. In the first newsletter after the Conference, Rudolf Steiner wrote: “To give the Anthroposophical Society the form most suitable for the development of the Anthroposophical Movement: this was the purpose of the Christmas gathering which has come to an end.”6 And a week later, in an address to the members, he further clarified: We must find a way to continue and carry further what has really been our intention with anthroposophy from the beginning. We have seen the results of this in the character given to the Christmas Meeting. … A new thing must proceed from this Meeting—new, and yet only the old enlarged and extended. The Christmas Meeting has led to the fact that the constitution of the Society will contain what I have called… The School of Spiritual Science.7

Speaking to members of the School on Good Friday, he summarized: What happened because of [the Christmas Conference] can be described in one sentence. That sentence is: Until that moment, anthroposophy was administered by the Anthroposophical Society; now, everything that hap5 The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, December 25, 1923, 11:15am. 6 The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy (The Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, 1963), GA 260a, “Letter to All Members,” January 13, 1924. 7 The Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science (The Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain, 1964), GA 260a, lecture of January 18, 1924, p. 10.

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pens through the Anthroposophical Society must itself be anthroposophy. Since Christmas, anthroposophy must be done in the Anthroposophical Society. Every single action must have a directly esoteric character.8

This was not the founding of a dogmatic holy institutionalism, nor was it a “new” anthroposophy, nor what is sometimes associated with the phrase “the founding of the new Mysteries.”9 It was the union of the living, spiritual Movement of our time, which anthroposophy had always been, with the earthly institution of the Society. This transformative union, with the spiritual world’s agreement (alliance or covenant—“Bündnis”), was only made possible through Rudolf Steiner as initiate and spiritual leader, taking on the presidency and uniting the Esoteric School, under the guidance of the Archangel Michael, with the High School of Spiritual Science, thereby restructuring and renewing the Society. But this union of the esoteric Movement with the exoteric Society, this impulse of the Christmas Conference, was entirely contingent. Rudolf Steiner had accomplished it initially, as a spiritual deed, through his act of taking on the leadership and uniting the Esoteric School with the High School of Spiritual Science, but he repeatedly emphasized that the further development and success of the impulse within the Society relied on the members grasping and taking up the spiritual life with enough vigor to be able to make both inward, spiritual progress as well as to embody it in their everyday lives, interactions, and occupations. Failing this, he said, “it will gradually fade away [...] lose all content; and in that case it would actually have been better if we had not come together at all.”10 He then added: “It may seek refuge in quite other worlds.”11 The impulse itself, as spiritual deed, was of cosmic significance; the question was whether or not the Society could become its fully imbued bearer. After the Christmas Conference, Rudolf Steiner gave over 430 lectures in only nine months; it was an 8 Esoteric Lessons for the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum: Volumes One to Four (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2021), GA 270, lecture of April 18, 1924, Good Friday. 9 Surveying the complete works, it is important to note that Rudolf Steiner did not refer to or characterize the Christmas Conference as “the founding of the new Mysteries.” In fact, his rare use of the term “new Mysteries” (“neuen Mysterien”), both before and after the Christmas Conference, referred more generally to the renewal of the Mysteries through the Christ impulse which anthroposophy, since its inception and on into the future, is intrinsically united with. That the Christmas Conference was a new, transformative impulse for the Society, that new possibilities, new revelations flowed from it, and that the School was to “[represent] in the fullest sense a renewal of the holy Mysteries” (GA 270, May 2, 1924)—this Rudolf Steiner characterized extensively and with context. 10 The Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science, January 18, 1924, p. 2. 11 Ibid.

unparalleled revelation of spiritual knowledge, but his health deteriorated rapidly. By Michaelmas Eve, 1924, Rudolf Steiner had to give his last address. In it, he specified the conditions of the further guidance of the Anthroposophical Society under Michael, the Spirit of the Age: If, in the near future, in four times twelve human beings, the Michael Thought becomes fully alive—four times twelve human beings, that is, who are recognized not by themselves but by the Leadership of the Goetheanum in Dornach—if in four times twelve such human beings, leaders arise having the mood of soul that belongs to the Michael festival, then we can look up to the light that through the Michael stream and the Michael activity will be shed abroad in the future among mankind.12

As he had emphasized before, the future of the Christmas Conference impulse directly depended on the inner progress of individuals. According to conversations recorded by Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz,13 these were the exact numbers that were to constitute the Second (thirty-six) and Third Classes (twelve), the upper levels of the High School of Spiritual Science, which never came to fruition. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer reported on a conversation with Rudolf Steiner about this, saying that when he asked “... what the requirements were and how many at this time—1924—would be ripe for it, [Rudolf Steiner] mentioned a one-digit number. The requirement: fully awake consciousness.”14 Rudolf Steiner withdrew to his sickbed. He continued to write extensively, detailing the workings of Michael, chapters of his autobiography, and his medical work with Ita Wegman. However, what ensued made it clear: He did not, and could not, appoint anyone to take on his leadership role, nor could he designate anyone to lead the Esoteric School. Ita Wegman reports: “In full consciousness, but without a word spoken of the future, without having left any messages or instructions for this or that person, the Master departed from us. And to a direct question in this regard, he consciously answered ‘No’.”15 On March 30, 1925, he died. Rudolf Steiner was the formative agent of the Christmas Conference impulse and without the progress he spoke of, according to spiritual law, it could not continue on earth within the Society. Discarding unfounded notions and allowing the facts to speak for themselves, it is 12 Karmic Relationships, Vol. IV (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2008), GA 238, “The Last Address,” September 28, 1924, p. 171. 13 T.H. Meyer, Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz, p. 525. 14 Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, A Modern Quest for the Spirit, Ed. T.H. Meyer (Mercury Press, 2010), p. 124. 15 Ita Wegman, Esoteric Studies: The Michael Impulse (Temple Lodge, 2013), p. 17.

hard to avoid the solemn picture that arises: The Christmas Conference impulse withdrew—and Rudolf Steiner with it. An honest reckoning with this was, and still is, extremely difficult, with vast implications for the Society, its leadership, the High School of Spiritual Science, the First Class, and anthroposophists everywhere (within and outside the Society). This does not mean that we shouldn’t turn with all earnestness to the esoteric content, teachings, and tasks of spiritual science; but there can be no pretense when it comes to authority or doing things we are not spiritually capable of. For without an initiate, how can there be an Esoteric School upon the earth?—Rudolf Steiner warned repeatedly that there are consequences for mishandling esoteric/spiritual matters. As hard as this picture is to look at, the history of the Society’s conflicts and ordeals bears it out. And while we can look back now and strive to form a clear and compassionate understanding for what took place one hundred years ago, there is no reason to assume that we ourselves would have done any better if placed in the same circumstances. As the centennial approaches, the nature of the Christmas Conference impulse remains essential and defining for the Anthroposophical Movement, its historical development and future. While Rudolf Steiner’s death and the failure of the Society at that time to embody the Christmas Conference impulse is immensely tragic, we can nevertheless resolve as modern-day anthroposophists to turn our souls toward the impulse, taking up its call to enkindle the spirit within our hearts. However briefly upon the earth, the Christmas Conference was and remains a spiritual fact.16 Through Rudolf Steiner, the spiritual Movement, the living Goetheanum—spoken as fiery Word—the Temple, was once upon the earth. It remains our task to reach beyond the veil of the senses and seek that Temple’s entrance where are inscribed the ever-resounding words: “O Man, Know Thou Thyself in Thinking, Feeling, and Willing.” May we hear the call. A student of anthroposophy for much of his life, R. J. Harlow has a passion for open-minded conversation, deep study, music, eurythmy, and the magic of nature. 16 Ernst Lehrs reported on a conversation between Rudolf Steiner and Guenther Wachsmuth. Rudolf Steiner said, “With the Christmas Conference, anthroposophy has turned from a hitherto earthly affair into a cosmic one.” Ernst Lehrs further described: “To this, Rudolf Steiner added: [The Conference’s] effect upon humanity therefore no longer depends on its being accepted on earth. While it would have most painful consequences for civilization on earth if this does not happen, for human beings themselves it would then become effective from another location, for example from the moon [sphere].” Ernst Lehrs, Gelebte Erwartung (Mellinger, 1979), p. 268. Cited in: S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It! (Temple Lodge, 2004), p. 76. december 2023 • 59

A Poem by Truus Geraets December 31, 2001 Anthroposophia, the living wisdom of the cosmos, wants to be among us. She can only do this if there is a community, aware of her presence and willing to receive and work with her gifts, Who is part of this global community? All anthroposophists, who truly recognize her as an earthly-cosmic being, all those who believe in the reality of her revelations more than in letters and words on paper, those, who are searching in their hearts, how to contribute to the cosmos of love, the ones who are groping to make sense of senseless deeds, those who selflessly give of themselves without losing their identity, those who are reaching out for help for this ailing world. They all are part of this global community, creating the sheaths for Anthroposophia to walk among us. In order to strengthen her work with us, we need to recognize each other within and outside of anthroposophical frameworks. We need to form a web with them, active on the earth, but always open to the inspirations and intuitions from the cosmos, Anthroposophia’s gifts to us.

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Little-Known Statements of Rudolf Steiner on the Christmas Conference Recorded by Jakob Streit, with an excerpt of a letter by Rudolf Meyer

Thomas Meyer In view of the announced “celebrations” for the hundredth anniversary of the “Christmas Conference,” it seems to us necessary to point out a few statements which originate from Rudolf Steiner. If one does not want to or cannot prove that Jakob Streit or Rudolf Meyer have produced forgeries, then their authenticity cannot be doubted. They may be shocking for some. But what is shocking should also be welcome if it serves true knowledge. The statements, especially the two by Ina Schuurmann, make it clear that Steiner followed up everything that happened since the Christmas Conference in a procedural way. What was true in January no longer held true in midsummer. How the members received these events was not determined once and for all. At first, as is well known, he expressed himself very positively, also with regard to the reaction of the spiritual world to his courageous step. The spiritual floodgates were even more open than before. But the spiritual conduct of the members was, as it were, subject to continuous testing, from day to day and week to week. This is indicated by Steiner’s two statements to Ina Schuurmann (see below) and by Rudolf Meyer’s as yet unpublished communications to Johann Waeger (co-editor of the Rudolf Steiner Estate Administration [Nachlassverwaltung]), who had apparently asked him about a concrete, presumably critical statement by Steiner in connection with the Christmas Conference. Meyer writes on October 7, 1961: Dear Mr. Waeger, I can answer your question as follows. I already came to know Dr. Steiner’s statement about the ‘Christmas Conference’ in 1924 (before his illness). It was even more concrete. He was concerned that the members would not take up what was intended with the Christmas Conference, even though such a great enthusiasm was catalyzed by that event at the time and many quite inspiring things came into movement

among the friends. This concern also came to expression, for example, in Breslau (and Koberwitz), when we experienced it there daily during the Agricultural Conference. In addition, however, there was always hopefulness, from which one could draw the conclusion that everything would now be different and that an unstoppable progression of the movement had begun. Both were there! I also believe, as far as one may judge such things: [Both were there] in Dr. Steiner himself, in the different ‘layers’ of his being, so to speak. The statement in question (I believe that this must be roughly the right one) was as follows: ‘The Christmas Conference is not being taken up. It still has time. But if it is not taken up by autumn (or October? or Michaelmas?—probably it was ‘autumn’), then the ahrimanic powers will break in.’1 The last phrase seems to me the most important thing about it; for then one sees the precision with which something like this is effective. It also gives a special background to the illness. But I want to abstain completely from interpretation here.2

So we are dealing with a dynamic movement in the period of time after the Christmas Conference. Decisive is the situation in “autumn.” Here, Steiner’s illness and the “breaking in of ahrimanic powers” coincide. The two grave statements of Steiner to Schuurmann and Krüger also occur within this same time period. The communications of Meyer and Streit accord with one another in this respect! It is of special importance that Steiner, in his demeanor toward the lawyer Krüger while apparently 1 “Die Weihnachtstagung wird nicht aufgenommen. Noch hat es Zeit. Wenn sie aber bis zum Herbst (oder Oktober? oder Michaeli?—wahrscheinlich hieß es: ‘Herbst’) nicht aufgenommen ist, dann stoßen die ahrimanischen Mächte nach.” 2 Ed note (TO): Cf. S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It! (Temple Lodge, 2004), p. 74f.: “In a conversation with Johanna von Keyserlingk during his stay in Koberwitz, Rudolf Steiner expressed himself even more concretely concerning this danger. Rudolf Meyer, to whom she communicated these words by Rudolf Steiner, repeated them as follows: ‘Rudolf Steiner is supposed to have said to Johanna von Keyserlingk (1879–1966) in June of 1924 that if the Christmas Conference would not be taken up by the members, there would still be time until Michaelmas of 1924, but then the demons would strike.’” december 2023 • 61

processing the shattering fact that had meanwhile really occurred, nevertheless again intends something positive, constructive, for October—namely, to form everything anew. However, this probably means nothing less than that, in Rudolf Steiner’s eyes, all the old statutes—the ones decided upon at the Christmas Conference—had become meaningless. It is possible that he would have wanted to renew or reform them with the help of Dr. Krüger.

Did the Christmas Conference of 1923 Fail? Reported by Jakob Streit

Two Encounters [from the Memories of Mrs. Maria Ina Schuurmann] It was in the 1950s. The present writer [Jakob Streit] had a conversation with Mrs. Maria Ina Schuurmann (wife of the musician Max Schuurmann). We spoke about the concerns of the Anthroposophical Society since Rudolf Steiner’s death. She was, after all, one of the early eurythmists and played the angel in the Oberufer Christmas plays under Rudolf Steiner. Then she told me the following: After the proceedings of the Christmas Conference, I was sitting at the back of the stage in the Carpentry Building (Schreinerei), where there was an artists’ corner with a sofa to rest before and after performances. Rudolf Steiner came from the lecture hall to the back. When he saw me sitting there, he said to me: ‘Now I hope that it will suffice for another ten years!’,3 and he kept walking. In late summer (1924), I was sitting in the same place in the artists’ corner before an event. Rudolf Steiner came by for a lecture. When he saw me, he spoke to me in a pronounced way: ‘The Christmas Conference has failed!’4 He kept walking. I was deeply shocked. For two years I did not even dare to tell my husband about this experience. – I then gave a written report to the Estate Administration (Nachlassverwaltung) as a testimony to this statement.”

Meeting with Dr. Krüger in Stuttgart About the personality of Dr. Krüger: He was a public prosecutor in Berlin during the First World War. Rudolf Steiner would have liked to bring him to Stuttgart as a co-advisor for the Threefolding Initiative. Only after a long period of negotiations about his 3 “Nun hoffe ich, dass es wieder für zehn Jahre reicht!” 4 “Die Weihnachtstagung ist misslungen!”

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replacement did he become free for this task. In addition, he worked as a freelance lawyer in Stuttgart and conducted civil cases until old age. Dr. Krüger was a subscriber of the Communications of the Anthroposophical Association in Switzerland (Mitteilungen der Anthroposophischen Vereinigung in der Schweiz), because he was fully committed to Marie Steiner’s legal position with regard to the Estate Association (Nachlassvereins). The personal meeting with Dr. Bruno Krüger: Since the writer [Jakob Streit] was editor of the abovementioned Communications (Mitteilungen) at the time of our meeting, in the 1970s, and knew of Rudolf Steiner’s important collaborator [Dr. Krüger], he decided to visit him during a stay in Stuttgart. (What follows is written from the first-person point of view.) On the occasion of a lecture at the Stuttgart Teacher Seminar, I called Dr. Krüger and asked for a conversation. A very dedicated voice answered, “Come this morning at eleven to a quarter past eleven!” I found a strong personality with a powerful voice. He asked me a few brief questions; then we got into the conversation, which was mainly led by him (in a narrative way). – It lasted two hours! – In connection with events in the Anthroposophical Society, he expressed himself on the Christmas Conference of 1923. He had come to Dornach in the late summer of 1924 and met Rudolf Steiner, who immediately approached him. Dr. Krüger heard from him the staggering words: The impulse of the Christmas Conference is shattered!5 When Dr. Krüger narrated this and intoned Dr. Steiner’s words, it sounded like a pained outcry.6 But then Dr. Steiner continued: “Herr Dr. Krüger, come to Dornach in October. We have to make (form? [JS]) everything anew.”7 At the end of September, Rudolf Steiner gave his Last Address and fell ill. Thus his intention to prepare a new formation of the Society with the help of Dr. Krüger could no longer be realized. At this meeting, Dr. Krüger, then ninety years old, was in full freshness of mind.8 He found a deep tragedy in the further course of the Society. Thomas Meyer was born in Switzerland in 1950. He is the founder of Perseus Verlag, Basel, and is editor of the monthly journal Der Europäer (available in English as The Present Age). He has written numerous articles and is the author of several books, including major biographies of D. N. Dunlop and Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz. 5 6 7 8

“Der Impuls der Weihnachtstagung ist zerschellt!” Ein schmerzlicher Aufschrei. “Wir müssen alles neu machen (formen? [JS]).” In voller Geistesfrische.

The Connection with Rudolf Steiner and the Trial of Thinking Now Facing Humanity One Hundred Years after the Christmas Conference

Mieke Mosmuller

On the Christmas Conference: It is my deep conviction that all anthroposophists around the world are connected to Rudolf Steiner through the word that they read, meditate on, and hear, insofar as this word is truly absorbed with thought but then also subsequently experienced. Without experience, even Rudolf Steiner’s word has no effect. But I am convinced that all anthroposophists who absorb Steiner’s word in this way are connected to each other, whether they are members of the Society or not, whether they support it or not, whether they like it there or not, whether they are lonely outside the Society or not—all of that makes no difference to the reality of the connection with Rudolf Steiner. His word is the word of the spirit; but on the other hand, it is also the word of the individual—that is to say, of Rudolf Steiner. That is the innovation of initiation: that it is bound up with the individual being of the initiate. Therefore, the spoken or written word of Rudolf Steiner connects us. The words about love spoken by Christ and found in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John should be characteristic of a union of people who take up spiritual science, which is at the same time the Word of Christ. That we are not easily able to embody these words is, of course, obvious. It’s more a matter of simply wanting to be able to do this. When we remember the Christmas Conference, take in the Foundation Stone Meditation, and consider the words of Rudolf Steiner at the opening of the conference, it becomes clear that the Anthropo-

sophical Movement, which was first with him, is meant to be absorbed and carried on in the hearts of the members with the help of the Foundation Stone Meditation. The source on earth for this spiritual Movement is the individuality of the incarnated Rudolf Steiner. When you immerse yourself in such a movement, which flows from the spirit through a human soul to other human souls and is distributed there by a cultic act among human beings—in a sense, it is similar to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost—when you try meditatively to join in that process, it is immediately clear that Rudolf Steiner, the human being through whose soul the PUBLIC DOMAIN.

My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:33–34)

BEHOLD THE CELESTIAL BRIDEGROOM (“FROM OUT OF LIGHT, LOVE”) SIEHE DER HIMMLISCHE BRÄUTIGAM (“AUS DEM LICHTE DIE LIEBE”).

By Nikolaos Gyzis. National Gallery, Athens, Greece.

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spirit flows to the others, is the necessary link between the spiritual Anthroposophical Movement and the members on earth who will receive it. When this act has a sufficient response from the human beings themselves, a living Anthroposophical Movement gradually comes into being among its members. When the connection—Rudolf Steiner—has to withdraw prematurely, then this living Anthroposophical Movement on earth is temporarily no longer possible. Rudolf Steiner said to Friedrich Rittelmeyer that then we must wait one hundred years for the next opportunity: [Rittelmeyer asks Rudolf Steiner:] ‘Do you really think that anthroposophy will succeed in becoming more than a strong impulse in our civilization? Do you think it can really strike through as new culture?’—He became amazingly serious. ‘If humanity does not accept what is now being offered, it will have to wait for another hundred years,’ he said. He seemed to be deeply moved. It was not merely emotion, but something like the thunder of the Judgment. He said no more. Never before or since have I seen how the soul of a whole age can tremble in one man.1

Of course, upon the event of his death, Rudolf Steiner has not disappeared; he lives on in the spiritual world and also returns to earth at a certain time. But that is of course a different situation—in our time—than if he had been allowed to remain among us on earth. We who absorb the experience of Rudolf Steiner’s word into ourselves have contact with him, whether we are conscious of it or not. He is alive, and, in that sense, he is definitely among us. But surely it is well known that such a delicate spiritual connection can only be there from individual to individual. Surely one cannot think that an orphaned Anthroposophical Society, which had not yet reached the point at all where the spiritual Anthroposophical Movement had arisen in the hearts of enough members, could allow that process to develop further without the presence of Rudolf Steiner on earth? That process broke down, and this is also made clear by the struggle that then broke out among precisely those in whom Rudolf Steiner had the most confidence. A struggle was, of course, taking place before he died, and that struggle was and is based, as it usually is with people, on the question: Who is first? And if not the first, then still: Who is the second . . . or the third. That struggle naturally had an effect on Rudolf Steiner’s act at the Christmas Conference. Theoretically, that need 1 Friedrich Rittelmeyer, Rudolf Steiner Enters My Life (Floris Books, 2013), p. 86.

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not be the case—of course, one can think up anything. But when you immerse yourself in the processes that occurred, first at the Christmas Conference, then in the nine months following it, then in the months after that, and then after the death of Rudolf Steiner—then surely no one would be able to say from experiencing all of this that the power of the Christmas Conference continues unbroken. That is an abstraction.

On the Corona Crisis: Now in modern times we have experienced a serious crisis: the so-called pandemic entailing a virus that causes the disease Covid-19. As anthroposophists, we should now ask ourselves the question: For what purpose has this crisis come upon us? Have we understood what the message is? It is a complicated process that was and still is a trial. It is one of the great tests for humanity regarding the sense for truth, error, and deception. To arrive at a correct judgment here requires great wakefulness and vigilance. For it is very easy to assume, without question, that governments and large organizations have our best interests at heart and have done their utmost to deal honestly and effectively with these problems by utilizing their specialized skills. You can also say, of course, that their competence is inadequate because they do not have anthroposophy, and therefore the measures they have taken are likewise inadequate—but still you do not question the good will of the governments. A second possibility is that you are well-read regarding the lectures given by Rudolf Steiner at the time of World War I and collected in the series The Karma of Untruthfulness—and that you therefore know that governments are directed by secret societies which pursue certain goals, and use certain means to achieve those goals. When you include this into your considerations, then you cannot but look at events with different eyes, with increased distrust; and, of course, you also tend to include that distrust in your process of forming a judgment. There is always also a middle ground, of course. What is clear is that those who are awake and vigilant tend to distrust politics more than those who surrender in good faith to supposedly benevolent authorities. But do we as anthroposophists now really know what we are facing? I have read that the Medical Section at the Goetheanum has entered into consultation with the World Health Organization. That they are seriously involved with the

principle of “One Health.” That they have not objected to the mRNA vaccinations. Apparently, they have come to the conclusion that this is the best course of action: i.e., to consult with the WHO, to be involved with the One Health initiative, and not to object to the mRNA vaccinations. I follow those events, but that is different from understanding them. In anthroposophic medicine, the free life of the spirit must be the first requirement; no interference from the state or from world organizations should be allowed in any way. The physician is the healing artist and knows best in each individual case what should be done. Protocols should be avoided; they spoil the freedom of the doctor. From the very beginning of the corona pandemic, there was a constant contradiction in the presentation of facts. There was also an unprecedented level of audacity in the behavior of the authorities. For example, to predict at the first case of disease that millions will die is really totally unfounded—and yet, Angela Merkel made that prediction. If one is awake, then these factors should have at least provoked distrust in the claim of good intentions. Moreover, it is extraordinarily clear that the phenomenon of conspiracy thinking or conspiracy theory has been ridiculed to such an extent that one, as a human being, does not like to be given that label. I have tried to show in certain publications that all people are always looking for something behind everything—in particular, we do this by means of thinking. Thinking means that you do not blindly accept what is served to you, but you think for yourself, ask questions for yourself. The moment you ask questions about the connections—about the causes—you are in fact always someone who looks critically at the facts. If that is conspiracy thinking, then you can only escape it by becoming blind in thinking. Of course, as an anthroposophist, one may then include the ideas given by Rudolf Steiner regarding intentional ends which require intentional means. One should not allow one’s freedom to think such things to be revoked on account of the fact that, in the public eye, one then becomes a conspiracy thinker. That seems to me to be the great test now facing humanity: To stand for the facts, to stand for the development of a sense of truth that is based on an awake and perceptive observation and an educated, controlled thinking—a thinking that does not jump on the horse and gallop away as soon as some-

thing sounds forth that fits its alley, but rather a thinking that has the reins firmly in hand and that does not allow itself to go outside of the facts and the questions evoked by the facts. I do not have the impression that this trial has been passed. So, there will be several trials of this nature, and there will most likely be several attempts to awaken humanity that will fail because the social composition of public life is formed in such a way that even anthroposophists want to fit into it. In social life, we are manipulated so that we are afraid to be a conspiracy thinker—and that is only one example. We are given all kinds of prescribed, preformed behaviors, and if we don’t act in the approved way, then we are looked down upon in the eyes of the world. We cannot simply fit into this social structure, and we must want to recognize that fact. We must have the courage to pave the right path so that others can continue on that path, and we must not stop at a bridge that is in ruins and then just turn around. Enduring trials has to do with courage, and through that courage we belong to the disciples of Christ. He has said that as a community, we must excel in love; but on the other hand, he has also said, “The world will hate you. It has hated me before it has hated you.” (John 15:18) The world hates Rudolf Steiner in this sense, and we cannot achieve friendship between anthroposophists and that world by cancelling Rudolf Steiner. Nor can we constantly compromise with that world due to being afraid that otherwise we will be cancelled. So it is not only a question of awakening, but it is much more a question of summoning the courage to find the right point of view and then to stay with it no matter what. It has been almost one hundred years since the Christmas Conference. I consider an ongoing effect of the impulse of the Christmas Conference 1923/1924 to be out of the question. But a resurrection is possible after one hundred years. Resurrection is connected with the development of pure thinking that has become strength—with the thinking process that has become force and that can be beheld in actual time. It will bring us the right intuitions in coming trials. Let us strive for that. Mieke Mosmuller, born in 1951 in Amsterdam, is a physician, philosopher, and author. Through research on and with spiritualized thinking, she shows the importance of the development of pure thinking both for world development and for humanity. Her regular articles and videos can be found at www.miekemosmuller.com and her books are available from www.occident-publishers.com. december 2023 • 65

Risk, Opportunity, and Responsibility Tim Nadelle In uniting the Anthroposophical Movement with the Anthroposophical Society, Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery deed during the 1923/24 Christmas Conference generated a living potency which works into the future. This potency manifests as the potential that, at any moment, esotericism can spring to life, whenever two or more members come together with an intention to engage with anthroposophy’s astonishing promise. When we meet such that Anthroposophia walks with us, lifting our thinking, feeling, and intentions, if only a little, if only for the duration of our time together, this potency quickens our gatherings. It does not always happen. Yet its manifestation does not depend on the Goetheanum or any national society or formal organization at all. All forms have a tendency to rigidify. It depends upon each of us to cultivate the ground upon which the potency can blossom. Sustaining the opportunity takes grit. We need to be sufficiently self-aware to overcome what in ourselves stands in opposition. We need the faith and hopeful energy to embrace our brothers and sisters with open hearts. We need to resist temptations to degenerate into superficiality, intellectuality. This sounds like a lot to remember during a conversation. In fact, it only takes a moment of reverent preparation. Then the lively, expectant, concentrated energy of our gatherings opens doors through which angels can enter. And our becoming is supported by spiritual helpers, including human beings who have crossed the threshold. Given that this potency is so manifestly available to us, it saddens me deeply when I consider the terrible world test to which our friend, Thomas O’Keefe, alludes, the test of wakefulness. For it seems that, by virtue of our teacher’s great gift, members of the Anthroposophical Society carry a responsibility to those who have not yet felt called to the path of knowledge, and a correlative responsibility to the Spirit of Truth. Humanity did not pass the wakefulness test of recent years. Humanity clamored for sleep and insisted upon sleep with all the dark powers at sleep’s disposal. And 66 • being human

these dark powers set us a different and opposite test, a test of horrifying and epoch-defining import, of willing descent and degradation. We passed their test and made active use of the tools they made available. After the First World War, Steiner wrote and lectured on the ideals which underlie the political, cultural, and economic sectors. A society is healthy to the extent that it protects and cultivates these ideals. During the recent time of masking, lockdowns, and forced experimental injections, all three sectors have been systematically attacked. Instead of protecting our rights, our political leaders, particularly in the Western world, and with only a few exceptions, worked enthusiastically to dismantle them. Our rights to bodily autonomy, travel, freedom of speech, livelihood, and even life itself were attacked. (See Edward Dowd’s book, Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 and 2022,1 for a sampling of young lives which were snuffed out through the injections.) So much for equality and the rights sphere. Instead of encouraging diversity of thought and research into causes and treatments of symptoms defined as Covid-19, medical journals and universities and social media enforced uniformity of thought. Medical doctors lost their licenses for (successfully) treating patients using long-established protocols such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. (See Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s book, The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health2 for references to many studies proving the efficacy of these protocols and the fraudulent means used to discredit them.) So much for freedom and the spiritual-cultural sector. Lockdowns forced small businesses into bankruptcy, while transnational businesses like Walmart, Costco, and Amazon prospered. Other government restrictions wreaked havoc on global supply chains, which have become profoundly interdependent over decades of economic collaboration. The first chapters of James Rick1 Skyhorse Publishing, 2022. 2 Skyhorse Publishing, 2021.

ards’ book Sold Out 3 documents many of these effects. So much for fraternity and the economic sphere. Many people who awakened to what stands behind the lies, hatred, and fear of these times sought religious or spiritual sustenance. Sadly, the Anthroposophical Society had little of meaning to say to them, our answers largely irrelevant to their real and immediate experience. And yet, individual anthroposophers did speak out. If you haven’t already, have a look at the excellent book The Contagion Myth4 by Dr. Tom Cowan and Sally Fallon. Dr. Cowan formerly served as vice president of the Physicians’ Association for Anthroposophic Medicine. He has also written a booklet, Breaking the Spell: The Scientific Evidence for Ending the Covid Delusion,5 which responds to his critics among conventional medical doctors and virologists, as well those in the holistic health, anthroposophical, and “anti-vaxx” communities. Thomas Mayer’s book Covid Vaccines from a Spiritual Perspective: Consequences for the Soul and Spirit and for Life after Death6 shares first-hand spiritual perceptions—con3 Portfolio, 2022. 4 Skyhorse Publishing, 2020. Reprinted in 2021 under the title The Truth about Contagion: Exploring Theories of How Disease Spreads. 5 Self-published, 2021. 6 Clairview Books, 2023.

sidered in the light of anthroposophical wisdom, from over fifty contributors with clairvoyant and physic abilities—of the effects of the injections on the human spiritual bodies, particularly among people who died shortly after receiving the injections. The book is disturbing, even alarming. However, it is also hopeful and Michaelic, crying out to us to seek the truth however painful its revelations, and to carry forces of healing to those who have been harmed. Although the Covid-justified assaults are mostly over, their legacy endures. Other transgressions are multiplying in different forms, in government, in educational and cultural institutions, and in business. We can see these early-stage developments as a preparation for the coming incarnation of the Prince of Lies. For our beloved Anthroposophical Society, the question of responsibility for the earth’s future must surely ring forth. What capacities for discernment are we preparing? What wisdom are we cultivating? What redemptive possibilities are we initiating on behalf of future generations, out of the ‘I’-awakening essence of this darkened world moment? Tim Nadelle lives near Ottawa, Canada. He has delivered lectures and written articles on anthroposophical subjects and has led workshops on The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity.

Ethical Individualism as a CounterForce to the Synchronization of All toward the “Good” Roland Tüscher I. The Christmas Conference and the Philosophy of Freedom The Christmas Conference of 1923 was based on Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual research activity. The updated actualization of the Christmas Conference therefore lies in the extent to which its foundational elements can be realized autonomously today. To teach and research autonomously and topically on the basis of spiritual science, it is not necessary to be clairvoyant. All that is necessary is the universally acces-

sible capacity of pure thinking, which is to be acquired through the “right reading” of the Philosophy of Freedom (Spiritual Activity), as Rudolf Steiner explained on February 6, 1923,1 and October 12, 1922.2 At the Christmas Conference of 1923, Rudolf Steiner emphasized the importance of this method of thinking as an impulse that will have to issue forth from the Anthroposophical Society. 1 Awakening to Community (SteinerBooks, 1975), GA 257, p. 58 in the 1983 German ed. 2 Becoming the Archangel Michael’s Companions (SteinerBooks, 2006), GA 217, p. 148 in the 1979 German ed. december 2023 • 67

This impulse of the Christmas Conference has not been developed systematically and consistently throughout the past hundred years. We have only fragmentary and isolated contributions toward this task. On account of this, the present-day Independent School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum in Dornach is not grounded in the autonomous development of the above-mentioned foundational elements as an individual capability (i.e., the capacity of pure thinking as a foundation for free deeds). The latter, however, can be grasped by anyone at any time in the way indicated. In order to promote a continuous development of this task, a working group was formed on June 6, 2023, in the context of the Member Forums at the Goetheanum. A report on this has appeared in Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 6/2023. For further information, write to: Roland Tüscher, Gempenturmstr. 1, CH 4145 Gempen, Switzerland. roland.tuescher@protonmail.ch

II. Anti-Individualism and the Fear of the Free Formation of Ideas One of the core revelations of the Covid period was that, to a very large extent, people stopped listening to each other or being interested in the different views of others, and thus ceased trying to preserve the now essentially dismantled space for socially effective discussion. This resulted in the well-known forms of division on all levels: on the level of family and friends, in the mass media that essentially forbade controversial questions, and in the suddenly stagnant scientific discussion. Since then, there has been an authoritative division into “right” and “wrong”— congruent with classical forms of religious fundamentalism. Finally, division came from the political regulations and measures, which, based on the aforementioned onesidedness, treated people as a uniform mass instead of trying to consider them as ethically capable individuals. Therefore we actually live today, even in the West, within an anti-individualistic concept of society. Symptomatic of this is, among other things, the fact that nowhere in Western civilization has even experimental autonomy in the treatment of Covid been recommended, let alone established or permitted. So we live in an all-encompassing state of thought prohibition, socially coercive control, and increasingly police-enforced health regulations. Many in the alternative media space have noticed 68 • being human

this with increasing alertness. Many in the traditional media space ignore it with a perplexing consistency, and this is accepted by a largely sleeping multitude. What is the reason for this? There is an apparent fear of the power of forming sovereign judgments independently of one’s surrounding environment—that is, a fear of one’s own free formation of ideas and their open representation. And this fear is encouraged by the mass media’s suppression of the dissemination of individual scientific achievements. Furthermore, there is an increasingly prevalent reticence which lacks a strong interest in the will of the other—that is, lacks an active interest in the freedom of those who think differently.

III. The Synchronization toward the “Good” and the Necessity of Ethical Individualism Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom (Spiritual Activity) is not a theory, but a real development of thought based on spiritual activity. From it can be developed the capacity of creative, pure thinking, which leads to the free formation of ideas—free from convention and predisposition. This, in turn, can lead to the formation of effective ideas and, in the ethically based act of freedom of this philosophy, to an individual power of responsibility that is potentially present in all individuals. This is obviously a much stronger and more humanly worthy force than when a nationstate or governing world-health body issues regulations for all—regulations which, in essence, must be homogeneous and which therefore not only fail to promote the individual power of responsibility but actually undermine and stifle it. Many people clearly feel that today our freedom to exercise the individual power of responsibility is under direct threat; this feeling, however, is often still expressed in a chaotic or emotionalized way. Therefore, it is of great importance that the foundations of the individually realized act of freedom—which is to say, the foundations of spiritual science, as described above—are thoroughly disseminated, comprehended, and concretely applied. Today, every human being is faced with the decision of whether or not to promote and strengthen the individual power of responsibility in himself and in others. If this force is not promoted, then other forces—forces of a necessarily anti-individual nature—will take possession of the sphere of responsibility in social life. Accordingly,

in the Covid era, we have already experienced a social synchronization toward the “good.” What is “good” was defined by the media to the exclusion of scientific discussion, and was politically imposed on all people without exception. What is “good” was thus removed from the power of responsibility of social togetherness grounded in ethical individualism. No one had a say! All were to obey the self-appointed and therefore anti-democratic authority! This lack of encouragement of individual responsibility, however, necessarily leads to the weakening of such responsibility. What can remain in its place is only an ethically weak egoism: This is the fruit of the Covid strategies caused by this synchronization of humanity toward the “good.” Egoism will remain strong, even if this “good” is

implemented in the most comprehensive way—for it will never be possible to abolish egoism, which thereby leads to the war of all against all. The fruitful contrast is: The peace of all in support of all. This is possible only if the individual is strengthened in his power of ethical responsibility, and if this inner strengthening is encouraged by education, social structures, politics, and above all by the media that is to become free in the sense described. Roland Tüscher was born 1961 in Switzerland and has four children. He is the editor and founder of Ein Nachrichtenblatt, which is a newsletter attempting to follow Rudolf Steiner’s perspective on modern member-correspondence. He is currently working on how to develop spiritual science individually from the very basic elements that Rudolf Steiner provided.

The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project Applying the Transformative Insights of Spiritual Science to Social Healing

Mark McGivern and Robert (Karp) Karbelnikoff A powerful awakening of conscience is currently evident in North America that is seeking to bring about a new relationship of human beings to the earth through various ecological and climate-related initiatives, and of human beings to one another through various movements often associated with the term “social justice.” Once on the fringes of society, these movements have now become powerful mainstream forces shaping our day-to-day lives in deep and pervasive ways. As hopeful and timely as these societal shifts are, it is important to look beneath the surface to the worldview, principles, and practices that many leaders of these movements have adopted to realize their goals. Just as Steiner offered alternatives to the reigning political ideologies of his time, we feel similarly called to carefully discern the direction in which ecological and social movements are seeking to take society, and to ask ourselves questions such as: How can anthroposophy serve the healthy social impulses that are rising up in human souls at this time? How is Michael working, or not working, in these movements?

The mainstream social justice movement, for example, claims to offer a philosophy and method for redressing the wrongs done to groups of people that have long been discriminated against and marginalized by society. This movement shares with anthroposophy a “postmodern” stance toward social progress, i.e., it recognizes that the roots of the modern world lie in the Enlightenment period and that a new paradigm of social progress is required to deal with the overwhelming problems modernity has manifested. Unlike anthroposophy, which locates the source of these problems in the continued adherence of the modern world to materialism, today’s social justice movement has embraced a deeper connection with materialism to address these issues. For example: » The one-sided thinking produced by materialism has led the social justice movement to the perspective that “all knowledge is a construct of power”— made, not discovered. As such, truth and objectivity december 2023 • 69

are oppressive illusions. » The misuse of power produced by unchecked individual and collective egoism has led the social justice movement to the belief that the factors determining social life can all be reduced to power relationships. » Recognizing the role that group identities such as gender and race can play in social life has led the social justice movement to the perspective that individuality is at best irrelevant to positive social progress and at worst nothing more than another oppressive illusion. These conclusions amount to a much deeper materialistic view of the human being and the social realm than social justice movements of the past century. Through idealism, pressure, and/or ignorance, many anthroposophical organizations in North America and elsewhere are now adopting these perspectives by working with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training programs and directives based on this philosophy. We believe the adoption of these approaches is contributing significantly to the erosion of the spiritual foundations, identity, and viability of the Anthroposophical Movement. Is there a better way forward? Our movement has so much to offer and to learn through collaboration and cross-fertilization with other social and ecological movements. Clearly, Michael is at work in our time in millions of people and movements all around the globe. It would be a tragedy if we stayed inside our bubble and failed to reach out and find our Michaelic colleagues. We could call this tragic tendency sectarianism. But it would be equally tragic to graft social philosophies and agendas onto anthroposophy and onto our organizations that have no true inner relationship to Michael. At the Christmas Conference of 1923/24, Rudolf Steiner pointed to two social-moral qualities that we need to cultivate, combine, and harmonize in order to realize the impulse of the Christmas Conference. He called these “true and genuine esotericism” and “the greatest conceivable openness.”1 Are these not precisely the two quali1 See, for example, Rudolf Steiner’s words on p. 99 of The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, December 26, 1923, 10am.

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ties that are needed to bring healing and balance to the tendencies toward grafting and sectarianism, which are so prevalent throughout our movement at this time? Inspired by this impulse of the Christmas Conference, the Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project is seeking to help our movement chart a middle way forward so that in the coming years we can bring a strong and decisive contribution to the positive social change our world so desperately needs. Anthroposophy, for example, shares the humanistic dimension of the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion—from a certain perspective, these are in fact the goals of the consciousness-soul era. But like the ideals of the French Revolution that wound up leading to violence and bloodshed rather than genuine social progress, we might ask: Can these lofty ideals and hopes for marginalized peoples be achieved without an understanding of the threefold nature of the human being and of social life as a whole? The purpose of The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project is to articulate a new foundation for social change and social justice work through a different “postmodern” understanding of the human being and society. From this ground, we are developing new approaches to DEI philosophy, principles, and practices that can be used in Waldorf schools, anthroposophical organizations, and in the wider world. Through this effort, we hope to bring strength, intellectual clarity, and true practicality to the powerful Michaelic strivings at work in society at large and in our anthroposophical organizations. To learn more about The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project, to join our mailing list, or to become a collaborator in this work, please visit our website at anthrosocialjustice.org Robert (Karp) Karbelnikoff is a consultant, writer, educator, and former director of the Biodynamic Association in the US. You can learn more about Robert’s work and read many of his writings, including his essay “Social Justice in the Light of Anthroposophy” on his website at www.robertkarp.net. Mark McGivern is author of Tolkien’s Hidden Pictures: Anthroposophy and the Enchantment in Middle Earth published by SteinerBooks. He is a former Waldorf class teacher, a writer and editor, a mentor in Foundation Studies for Rudolf Steiner Career College in Toronto, and communications director for the Anthoposophical Society in Canada.

The Deed of Rudolf Steiner at 100 Christopher Houghton Budd The Christmas Conference is not the full name of that momentous event, or even its true name. That would be The Deed of Rudolf Steiner.1 Or so I have always understood it—and the reason why I joined the Society back in 1972. As also the secret of my longevity as a member. There are many ways to measure the ongoing relevance and purpose of this Deed, not least, of course, its clarion calling to the three realms of society: the Foundation Stone Meditation providing a link to the heavens; its Statutes giving orientation to rights life for all subsequent human history; and (its Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty aspect) the three financial calls concerning membership finance, the funding of research, and the protection that would be (and needs to be) afforded to our work were Herr Van Leer’s “World Goetheanum Association” to be realized 2 —a protection that also serves as a telos for materialism: to learn to serve the spirit, to drive out its denial, especially beginning in the wild, willed West where humanity (not just the Americans!) meets the challenges of “self-made man.” But the measure above all is Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven’s image of the Deed of Rudolf Steiner as a replication, reminder, and reinforcement of the Deed of Golgotha, at precisely the moment, just prior to the 1930s, when the risk was real that humanity would lose sight of it.3 Understood in that way, on what ground can anyone, friend or foe, contemplate—let alone act as if—Rudolf Steiner did not know the import of his Deed or that inimical forces would seek to obliterate it? This latter-day Gethsemane notwithstanding, we are not only about to celebrate its centenary, but have also been granted a second chance to give it effect. Especially, the lecture of January 1, 1924: “On the Right Entry into the Spiritual World: The Responsibility Incumbent on Us.”4 But will we take this chance? Is it a world we dare step into? 1 Also the name of a book I first wrote in 1979 when I felt myself in condition to join the School of Spiritual Science (i.e., to take responsibility for anthroposophy, no longer just having that as my primary reference in life), which includes texts from Jörgen Smit (available at aebookstore.com). 2 See Meg Freeling’s Truthening Our Finances, at http://www.hopespringseternal.world/ fileadmin/pdf/essays_etc/MF_Truth_in_our_Finances.pdf. 3 See Zeymans’ book The Foundation Stone (Temple Lodge, 2011). 4 The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, January 1, 1924.

Understood as an endowment, the Christmas Conference has the unique quality that wherever and whenever it is taken seriously, it shines afresh, the gentleness of its permanent flame a kind of reflection of the one devoted to the Unknown Soldier. Only in our case, we know who the solider was and what he expected of us. Above all, we should celebrate and endeavor to match his insights and contributions through our own nano-versions of his Deed—evidencing that initiative-taking and its correct funding is the only thing that can tame the wild horses of modern economic and financial existence. No wonder, then, that those who oppose the Good Gods of the Goetheanum are throwing everything they can at Rudolf Steiner’s checkmate endeavors. From SARS to Covid, the 2008 financial meltdown and its semipermanent aftermath, the “dissing” of Rudolf Steiner— despite all this and more to come, they can but try to lull us into sleep, sever us from our given will forces (as distinct from those we engender ourselves), and create today’s screen stupor, bewitching us into thinking that it, though at best a facsimile, is the real thing, and leading us to believe that the surrogacy of online communication is in fact real life. Independently of any outer responsibility I may have in our movement, my response to so much doubt in the facts, ways, and efficacy of the spiritual worlds is the Hope.Springs.Eternal project,5 minded as it is to redeem the general sarcasm of Alexander Pope regarding the reality of the spiritual world, at the same time as repudiating the specific sarcasm of those who would have us see the Christmas Conference as out of track and out of time— rather than as what it really is: the lone, because sole, beacon that can guide humanity into safe harbor. Christopher Houghton Budd was born England in 1948 and first heard of Rudolf Steiner at age sixteen. He has been an entrepreneur in construction, whole foods, housing, and school management—and is an economic and monetary historian with a PhD in Finance, an author/editor of forty books (aebookstore.com), publisher of an associative economics journal since 1980 (Journal for Associative Economics / Associate!), and the founder-member and convener of the Economics Conference of the Goetheanum since 2002 (economics.goetheanum.org). 5 http://www.hopespringseternal.world/about/ december 2023 • 71

Commemoration of 100 Years, but of What? Richard Cooper I believe that to write about the commemoration of one hundred years since the 1923/24 Christmas Conference requires a shift in consciousness, because I see this centenary as a cause rather for dismay and concern, and would be far more predisposed to commemorate the opening of the Goetheanum in 1920 or, with a little more courage, the fire of New Year’s Eve 1922/23. Steiner was persuaded to continue with the Anthroposophical Society after the fire of 1922, and we should pause and consider Steiner’s reluctance, for the social principle lies at the heart of Steiner’s legacy and it also lies at the heart of the conflicts that were to follow his death up to the split of 1935. The First Class, the Christmas Conference, and the Karma Lectures of the last years of Steiner’s life were responses to failures of the Society. This has to be seen in light of the wider failure of social threefolding in the world. The end of the First World War saw the enacting of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, coinciding with the opening of the First Goetheanum on September 26, 1920. So, in all this we sense and see events outside the anthroposophical world mirroring events within it. Perhaps key to these appeals for perspective is to not be shy toward this sense of tragedy, to not commemorate the Christmas Conference in a bubble, and to take the approach of seeing it strictly through a lens composed of historical events. This can be done especially with regard to current historical events since the hundred-year anniversary of the opening of the First Goetheanum. Coincidentally, regarding the year 2020 and Covid, we have to be reflexive, to pay attention to the changes to our inner lives in historical context. And yet, here we face a number of difficulties. We might feel we have a sense for humanity as a whole, but we have grown accustomed to not seeing the devastation; Steiner’s words are prophetic that more crises, wars, and chaos would follow should humanity not heed the call of the spirit. We might then recognize that we as a humanity and as individuals have a kind of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Part of our dilemma is that we have been 72 • being human

raised, educated, and entertained to pass over events into thoughts of a “bright, shiny future.” To dwell on trauma is simply not good business. Yet Steiner identified—and I hope some of us can see this—that the core problem and the gravest concern that a human being can face in modern times—one that we struggle to face—is hypnosis. And when we combine the two, tragedy and hypnosis, we have quite a potent mix. Alternative anthroposophical authors rail against the mainstream and expose the conspiracies of those in the elite occult movements that we know are active in directing events, calling out the Jesuits and Freemasons. Others publish their own independent clairvoyant findings. And yet, a simple fact remains: Little goes beyond Steiner. Unwittingly, this has disastrous effects for the mind, for in failing to move forward, sectarian, cult-like phenomena develop, which is why Steiner himself advocated that one take an interest in contemporaries—the thinkers and artists of one’s time who address sociological, philosophical, and psychological concerns; his advice is that we seek to pioneer and to change the times in which we live historically. On the other hand, more pedestrian mainstream authors nurture their conferences and events under the watchwords of the umbrella Society, replete with letters, old photos, records, and reminiscing biographies, valuable for a museum-like endeavor. This feels noble but forlorn. Meanwhile, our academics dismiss and condemn the other two groups, seeing adherents of both camps slipping back into tribalism and group dynamics. Hypnosis is an overlooked and tragic challenge. First and foremost, it is a challenge of the culture of mass societal control as it has developed and infected politics out of the war dynamics of World War II and on into our times. Waking up spiritually is no small task. For where can we find those who know how this kind of hypnosis works? (Again, this should lead us out into the world, to other thinkers and fields of research.1) Unwittingly, people 1 For example, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Milton H. Erickson, Ken Wilber, Slavoj Zizek.

have come to see things in reverse—they seek knowledge where it can only be found in name—or have come to not see things at all. The nature of the beast of occult control is that we no longer know what is true and what is not. That was the dismay that led Steiner to say after the fire, Where should the modern human being now go? 2 This hundred-year commemoration—if it is not to pass us by as any other public relations opportunity amid calls for renewal, etc. ad infinitum—has to be a call to discernment. The burning of the First Goetheanum led the anthroposophical endeavor out over the Christmas Conference and into the world. Anthroposophy at present lingers largely in a rather passive and sentimental form. If the hundred-year mark means anything, its meaning would be to see where ghosts can be laid to rest (anthroposophy, as if stuck in a 2 Words stated by Rudolf Steiner in devastation after the fire.

graveyard, needs to be awoken like a sleeping beauty from enchantment)—and to be brave, to seek out those with whom we can work to further develop living spiritual work, and to leave the archival and proselytizing work for those who perhaps need it more in this life. Perhaps we might think of the butterfly meditation3 that Steiner gave shortly after the fire, and transform it dynamically so as to imagine the new. After the chrysalis, over the tragic ruins, out from the fire arises a phoenix. Richard Cooper was born in the United Kingdom, and later studied history, social work, and psychology. He moved to Switzerland in 2002, and continued anthroposophical study in fine art, philosophy, poetry, eurythmy, and geopolitics. In 2023, together with The First Class Esoteric Youth Circle of 12 (with an initiative named Anthroposophicum), he started an online social initiative for meditation and anthroposophical research (with participants from Ukraine, Europe, and the United States). 3 The “Falter” Meditation in German. See Freemasonry and Ritual Work (SteinerBooks, 2007), GA 265.

A Light That Has Changed the World Benjamin Cherry I wish to thank the carriers of this initiative for addressing their questions to our feelings, for through this, doors can open that might otherwise remain closed. It even makes it possible to ask ourselves, in deep humility, how it might have been for Rudolf Steiner himself on that intimate level of his own being, as he carried out the momentous decision to unite his destiny with that of the world community he was founding. And in daring to sense this, I feel I am connecting more truthfully with my own feelings, too. Readers who have worked with the exercises in the fourth chapter of Theosophy will know that it is possible gradually to transform our feelings, which are usually related to ourselves, into organs of perception in the service of others. What a truly noble picture arises when I contemplate Rudolf Steiner himself, using that holy organ of perception as a way of connecting with the hearts of those who were present, during that freezing mid-winter gathering near the ruins of the First Goetheanum, from Christmas Eve 1923 until New Year’s morning 1924.

Through this Deed of founding the World Anthroposophical Society as a global community of free individuals and taking on its leadership, Rudolf Steiner carried out, as I feel it, a true Christ Deed. On the one hand, this giving up of his own freedom was a spiritual precondition, making it possible for what was dying to be born anew; but on the other hand, it was a completely free deed, taken out of love for the action. Through it, he united his destiny with all of us who are connected in our hearts with the ideals of this world community. Free deeds add something to world reality that was not there before. They are Acts of Creation. And a deed of this magnitude, carried out in the presence of the whole spiritual world up to the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, must imprint itself with very great power into the imperishable record of human actions. It changes World Karma, even if only very few human beings are aware of it. Especially must this be so in the case of a high initiate who knew that his own health and well-being would depend, from now on, on the social and spiritual health december 2023 • 73

of those around him. This thought leads me inevitably to contemplate Rudolf Steiner’s premature death and to sense the immense difficulty so many people around him had in understanding the mystery of what he had taken on. In saying this, I am making no judgment. On one level or another, I feel that all of us who have found our way to anthroposophical spiritual science and whose lives have been transformed through it are complicit in the events leading up to his death and all that followed after it in the twenties and thirties of the last century, whether we were on earth or in the spiritual world during those times. Moreover, it is highly likely that many who were there physically are on earth again now, as well as others who participated without being in physical bodies. What was the essential achievement of that mighty cosmic-human event? It created a wholly new alliance with Michael and all the beings who work with him. But everything depended on people changing their ways of thinking and acting accordingly. It required a new-born force of comprehension in the heart. And the shattering truth—so relevant for us, too, in our contemporary world crisis—is that it was not achieved. All this comes together in the prophetic answer Rudolf Steiner gave to Ita Wegman’s anxious question, not long before he left his body for the final time, as to what would happen if people did not wake up to this: “Then

karma will hold sway!” 1 And most surely, it did—and perhaps still does. Nevertheless, like the light from on high that shone into the stable in Bethlehem at the first Christmas, so too in that house of wood on the Dornach hill at the same holy time of year, a light shone that has changed the world and is still changing it now, within the hearts of all who strive to comprehend it. What is that light? It is the Spirit whose earthly sheath was the First Goetheanum and which, through that soul-shattering fire, became homeless. How could it not be so? What a power arises through realizing this, especially now, when almost everything spiritual that humanity has ever valued is being distorted and consumed in the fire of human genius and ambition. Is it not up to each one of us who cares, to recognize this light in our hearts—for that is where it is—and carry its radiant power into the deep confusion of our time, each in our own unique ways? Benjamin Cherry finally met the life-work of Rudolf Steiner at a school for severely disadvantaged children in southwest England forty-six years ago, after searching for it, without knowing its name, through many other parts of the world. Since then, he has continued to carry it and foster it in foreign lands, but always within the crucible of the local culture. 1 Ita Wegman, An die Freunde [To the Friends] (Arlesheim, 1960), p. 103. Cited in S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It! (Temple Lodge, 2004), p. 75.

IMAGE COURTESY OF MARGARETHE-HAUSCHKA-SCHULE

GRAIL TRIPTYCH. By Anna May-Rychter. (Copies of this picture can be purchased at Glomer.com)

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The New Covenant for the Becoming of the Tenth Hierarchy Thomas Mayer With the Christmas Conference 1923/24, a new covenant1 between humanity and the spiritual world was established. We human beings are now—together with the angelic hierarchies, those who have died, and the elemental beings—consciously co-shaping the future of earth evolution, on the way to the New Jupiter. Humanity has begun to enter into the status of a tenth angelic hierarchy. In the Foundation Stone Meditation, the central legacy of the Christmas Conference, the first three verses relate to the 3 x 3 angelic hierarchies. The fourth verse concerns human beings, the tenth hierarchy. However, it is not yet certain how many will enter into this new covenant. In the text of the Foundation Stone Meditation, the angelic hierarchies are certainly there for the new covenant, and the elemental beings are also certainly there for it and certainly hear it. Human beings are the sole uncertain factor: “May human beings hear it.” This new covenant between humanity and the spiritual world had to be a conscious act, otherwise it would not be a new covenant. That is why “occultism was made public.” The path of inner schooling toward experiencing the spiritual world is now open to all. In the same way, the previous secrets of the spiritual world, the occult, were also made accessible to everyone. He who seeks, finds. It is important to understand: This was a worldwide process. In India, during the same period, the yoga schools—which had been secret until then—were opened. Among the yoga masters, there was a discussion about whether this was right. Degradation, dilution was the concern on the one hand, historical necessity for consciousness to be able to evolve on the other. Buddhist esoteric masters also made their secrets accessible. Tibetan lamas came to the West. The same with the Sufis. Last but not least, the shamans and medicine men of indigenous peoples opened their doors. Rudolf Steiner completed the publication of occultism for the Western eso1 Ed. note: Bündnis—covenant or alliance.

teric current that flowed over the centuries from the Grail Movement, the School of Chartres, and the Rosicrucians into anthroposophy. Rudolf Steiner was aware of this significance of the Christmas Conference. “World Turning Point of Time” was Steiner’s word for this. With this, the “karma of humanity” was to be brought into order again. Anthroposophist Ernst Lehrs reports on a conversation between Guenther Wachsmuth and Rudolf Steiner, where Steiner said (as he had often emphasized also during lectures on the Christmas Conference in the months thereafter): “With the Christmas Conference, anthroposophy has turned from a hitherto earthly affair into a cosmic one.”2 Ernst Lehrs further describes: To this, Rudolf Steiner added: [The Conference’s] effect on humanity therefore no longer depends on its being accepted on earth. While it would have most painful consequences for civilization on earth if this does not happen, for human beings themselves it would then become effective from another location, for example from the moon.3

What does it mean that “anthroposophy has become a cosmic affair”? To understand this, I published a 500page book in German in 2008: The Experience of Earth Transformation: Reports and Texts from a Contemporary Witness.4 Forty-two geomancers, who are adept at observing the supersensible sheaths of the earth, described how they had experienced the spiritual transformation of the earth around the turn of the millennium. New landscape organs, new etheric forces, and new elemental beings emerged; the angelic world changed and people gained new subtle perceptual possibilities. I think that these are the cosmic effects of the new covenant for which the Christmas Conference was a landmark. When I ask the elemental beings in nature today if they know the Foundation Stone Meditation, I always get a benevolent, self-evident nod back. They have all come to 2 Ernst Lehrs, Gelebte Erwartung (Mellinger, 1979), p. 268. Cited in: S.O. Prokofieff, May Human Beings Hear It! (Temple Lodge, 2004), p. 76. 3 Ibid. 4 Erlebnis Erdwandlung: Berichte und Texte einer Zeitzeugenschaft (Verlag Ch. Möllmann, 2008). december 2023 • 75

know it. And it fulfills them. These nature beings gladly “speak” along with the Foundation Stone Meditation. But places that are strongly ahrimanized and burdened absorb the Foundation Stone Meditation like wholesome nectar. There are many statements by Rudolf Steiner about how this new covenant will play out. His statements for the twentieth century are divided into three groups: 1. The Light Age begins and the Christ appears in the etheric. 2. Through this Christ event, the adversarial spirits emerge more strongly. 3. We human beings bear the responsibility for the unfolding of the Christ event and the transformation and overcoming of the adversarial spirits. The Christianization of the etheric world of the earth was to be experienced. The stronger appearance of the adversarial spirits could also be experienced. The totalitarianism of the communist dictatorships and Nazism was a potent platform for the soratic, asuric, ahrimanic, and luciferic spirits. These were able to take over the direction of earthly life for a time. Again and again these adversarial spirits well up from their subterranean dwelling. So likewise, from 2020 on with the Covid pandemic. This direction now progresses like an express train toward transhumanism. Human bodies are to be sepa-

rated from soul and spirit. Instead of becoming a tenth angelic hierarchy, human beings are to become cyborgs, robots. Therefore, a massive attack on human bodies is taking place, via ahrimanized food, via mind-numbing media, and via drugs and vaccinations. The Covid vaccinations were just the tip of the iceberg. I have described their strong effect toward severing the body from the soul and spirit in detail in my book Corona Vaccines from a Spiritual Perspective.5 When humanity as a whole crosses the threshold into the spiritual world, as Rudolf Steiner put it, we must be able to encounter the Guardian of the Threshold. This brings us into confrontation with the unredeemed adversarial spirits who dwell in the depths of our individual and collective old karma. In the spiritual world, the first thing one sees is what has prevented one from entering it until now. This is how one can understand the “incarnation of Ahriman,” which we are in the midst of. Ahriman was forced to appear so that we human beings can learn to deal with him. There is still very, very much work ahead of us. Thomas Mayer is a meditation teacher, author, and civil rights activist living near Dornach, Switzerland. Contact: www.anthroposophical-meditation.info. 5 Clairview Books, 2023.

The Foundation Stone as a Seed Joel Park During the Holy Nights 2022–23, I had the good fortune to attend a conference at the Camphill School in Beaver Run commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the burning of the First Goetheanum. It was an incredible experience, the culmination of years of work and intentions set by the Camphill Community. Coming on the heels of the lockdowns and lack of any gatherings of this sort without stringent measures around masking and vaccination status, it felt like a rejuvenation, a return to reality. One of the treasures I took with me from that event was an insight shared by Christoph Andreas Lindenburg during our Bible Evening on New Year’s Eve. He pointed out that there was one portion of the original Goetheanum that was untouched by the fire; one portion that 76 • being human

remains totally intact from the original building—the Foundation Stone that was laid on September 20, 1913. This was the foundation of the original Goetheanum, and is also that of the current one. Somehow I had never considered this before—that the First Goetheanum was not totally removed from us; that there is still a connecting link between the material world and this now totally etherized temple of humanity. We can perhaps consider the Foundation Stone of this original building as the seed of the plant, which can exist for virtually limitless time periods, awaiting the conditions and environment in which it can bring about the plant once again. It is not only the indestructible portion, it is that which protects and maintains the original arche-

type of the being in question. We could consider, in this sense, both Goetheana to be the expression of a single living archetype, despite their pronounced differences, inasmuch as they both spring from the same “seed” of the Foundation Stone. It is in this sense that I consider the laying of the Foundation Stone of the General Anthroposophical Society over the course of the Holy Nights in 1923–24. A seed was planted that has the same qualities as the physical “seed” of the material Foundation Stone of the Goetheanum, inasmuch as it protects and maintains the original archetype of the General Anthroposophical Society even if it is outwardly destroyed. We could perhaps consider the split in the Society in April 1935 as equivalent to the destruction of the First Goetheanum. We might think of this as a “failure” of the Society, or the “death” of the Society, but “this sickness is not unto death, but for the Glory of God,” just as it was in the case with the burning of the First Goetheanum. But the Foundation Stone Meditation carries a power within it that goes beyond that of the material Foundation Stone, and that is its ability to propagate. The Foundation Stone Meditation can move from heart to heart, from one human being to another. It does not only live on a page in a book or in the memories of those who were there when Rudolf Steiner first spoke it. As long as only one person has the Foundation Stone Meditation living within them, anthroposophy is alive in the world—and has the potential to be spread to many other human souls. So—do I feel that the essential impulse of the Christmas Conference is still living on earth as an effective force for the future of anthroposophy? Yes, of course. Howev-

er, if we are looking about for an anthroposophy that is the same as or largely similar to that which existed between 1923–1935, we might be mistaken about what we are looking for. Let’s consider how different the second Goetheanum was from the first. Now consider how different a third would be. A fourth. A fifth. This is the situation increasingly since 1935 in regards to anthroposophy—each time it springs forth anew in human hearts, in individuals or communities, it will be a “building” with a totally new architecture, yet springing from the same archetype. These “buildings” often enough do not even operate under the name or guise of anthroposophy. At times they have only indirect access to that which the Foundation Stone Meditation gives us direct contact to. It is sometimes difficult to know from the outside which of these “buildings” is a fellow Goetheanum, as the architecture can be so drastically different. What are the hallmarks of these buildings, the commonalities despite their differences that give us the inner confirmation that we are at home? For me personally, over the past three or four years, one quality in particular has taken on key significance. This quality has to do with a relationship to individual sovereignty. Do I have the sovereignty to make choices in regards to health, education, religion, worldview? Or is my spiritual life to be decided on my behalf by those who “know better”? Mind carefully which building you enter. Joel Matthew Park is a husband, father, Christian Hermeticist, and anthroposophist. He has been working and living in Camphill communities since 2011, and has been living in Camphill Village Copake since 2019.

An Opportunity for the Coming Century for Anthroposophy? A Whitsun Call!

Thomas Heck We are in the midst of the time of perhaps the most important and significant return of spiritual impulses which were given by Rudolf Steiner and were to become effective ninety-nine to one hundred years ago (i.e., the impulses

from 1923–1925). They were not sufficiently grasped, and so a “World Turning Point of Time”1 could not become a 1 The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, January 1, 1924, 8:30pm. december 2023 • 77

reality. With this return, we surely stand today, as then, at an important turning point for our Anthroposophical Society and for the Anthroposophical Movement— for the Movement too is existentially connected with the events of that time, whether consciously or unconsciously. We should not underestimate the significance of the underlying thirty-three-year rhythm, as it is “related to the most sacred and redemptive gift that humanity has received through the Mystery of Golgotha,”2 the duration of the life of Christ Jesus. And this significance does not lie solely in “theoretical, vain knowledge” with which, for example, a historical review can be held. Such things gain value only when they become practical deeds, when conviction of them fills our soul to such an extent that our soul cannot do otherwise than act in their light. Then, however, the soul is full of love for those beings for whom the deeds are to be done in this light.3

The social and spiritual impulses lying in the thirty-threeyear rhythm will be able to resurrect and be renewed in a healing sense if we become aware of them and give the beings working in them the opportunity to participate. However, what we create out of the current circumstances does not concern us alone. It may be uncertain whether the worldwide efforts towards totalitarian social structures can still be averted. But we cannot expect a change for the better if we do not even succeed in developing a future-oriented and freedom-imbued social structure for our Anthroposophical Society. However, according to the cyclical nature of historical events, now might be the last opportunity, probably for a long time, to enter into a process of evolutionary change. In this way, the aristocratic-centralized-state-like structure that has existed since the end of 1925 could be brought into a process of transformation. Can we see these current positive developments, and the developmental process that has just begun, in the context of the revolving cycles of historical events? I think so, for what has now become possible was completely unthinkable just a year ago: The real possibility that the urgently-needed renewal of social relationships could become a reality! For the first time in the history of the Society, a renewal process could be started that is not dominated by the Society’s leadership and whose form2 Lecture of December 23, 1917 (GA 180), Et Incarnatus Est (Mercury Press). In German: Mysterienwahrheiten und Weihnachtsimpulse (Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1980), p. 22f. 3 Ibid., p. 24f.

78 • being human

ing, safeguarding of results, and implementation would depend solely on whether and how the members participate in it. So we are faced with the question: Will enough committed people get involved? Can we overcome the resignation that nothing can be done? That it will turn out as it always does? That is precisely the crucial question now: Can we overcome our hundred-year-old habits? Do we have the courage for renewal? Are we even aware of the opportunities that have now become available to us? Especially in the context of current developments— which, again, one could not even imagine just a year ago—help from the spiritual world has become clearly noticeable and we should have the courage to trust in this help for the possibilities and tasks that now lie ahead of us. The revolving cycles of historical events are a reality— and wish to be heeded. Their “co-responding” workings are now a given.4 With this in mind, we would like to call upon and motivate you to actively participate in the process that has just begun. Only if the process is broadly supported and if enough members participate—especially those who have the necessary skills and could possibly take on responsibility—can a renewal succeed. The real danger is that the process will peter out, that there will be too little commitment and interest, and that a mood of resignation will prevail. But this is not only a matter of the General Anthroposophical Society; it is also a matter of anthroposophy, of whether it can fulfill its civilizational task and mission. In this respect, non-members are also called upon—in principle, everyone, in their sense of responsibility for the anthroposophical cause, is called upon precisely during this time to bring forward their contribution. Regardless of how one feels about the Society and the School of Spiritual Science within the Goetheanum, these are nevertheless the institutions that are seen as representing anthroposophy in the world—and none of us should be indifferent to how anthroposophy is represented and whether it can fulfill its civilizational task, its mission. In this sense, all those who are not (yet) or no longer members are hereby expressly addressed to become attentive. Those who feel responsible should get involved and do so according to their own possibilities. Ways will be found. 4 Detailed references and, above all, investigations into relevant periods can be found in the book 3 x 33 Jahre Weihnachtstagung und die Krise der Allgemeinen Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft (3 x 33 Years of the Christmas Conference and the Crisis of the General Anthroposophical Society), self-published by Thomas Heck. Available from the author (thomas.heck@ posteo.ch) or in bookshops. (Currently available only in German.)

PUBLIC DOMAIN.

DIE TOTENINSEL II (ISLE OF THE DEAD). By Arnold Boecklin. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The current range of topics, which can be expanded at any time as needed, already includes the following central themes: » Worldwide involvement of members in the process of developments. » Development of a future image and culture for the Society. » Development of an appropriate means of communication. » Development of a contemporary and spiritually appropriate social structure. » The question of threefolding for the social structure of the Society. » The responsibility for Weleda AG. Future questions: » How can the youth be addressed? » What kind of cooperation makes sense (e.g., with regard to the World Health Organization)? » Development of the arts—currently, more concretely regarding speech formation and the dramatic arts. These questions can and should be worked on in a variety of ways, everywhere: in groups on site and/or online, regardless of location. The forms of work in the thematic groups are to be developed by the members themselves— in due course, it will be important to have exchanges with other groups, also across themes. Even if this is not al-

ready planned, it will also be possible to develop working contexts in which non-members can participate. The aim is to develop solutions that are supported as broadly as possible and then present them to the entire membership. Decisions on their implementation will then have to be made at the Annual General Meeting, possibly in 2024, or even later. The framework in which all this can happen is in the Member Forums—on site in Dornach and online (in English and German). These are neutrally moderated and led by Harald Jäckel (mediator and management consultant) and we have already had very good experiences with this kind of work in the context of dialogue forums in February and March. Further structures will have to be developed at the forthcoming meetings—everything is still at the very beginning. So it is still possible to join the process that has already begun. Please note the information on registration and preparation at https://wtg-99.com/ifm-en/. We will be happy to answer any questions, for whomever is interested, also via Zoom (thomas.heck@posteo.ch). Thomas Heck, born in 1952, studied industrial engineering. After working in industry and as an entrepreneur from 1995 to 2012, he worked in anthroposophical companies and institutions as a consultant, managing director, and entrepreneur. Since the 1990s, he has been engaged in questions of anthroposophical social forms (e.g., in the “Association of Free Business Initiatives” [“Verbund freier Unternehmensinitiativen”] in Stuttgart) and relations within the Anthroposophical Society. december 2023 • 79

An Introduction Mary Stewart Adams Included here are excerpts from the vision statement I submitted during the selection process for General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in the US on January 6, 2023. Sharing this allows me to reflect on the process we underwent, to say thank you to the team of Society members who took up the task of carrying the responsibility in this selection process—your thoroughness and care were essential—and to express my gratitude to the General Council and other candidates. To begin, I share that my vision for the Anthroposophical Society is inspired by the many directives given by Rudolf Steiner at the 1923/24 Christmas Conference. Within this foundation for a healthy social organism, we are directed to remain awake to the deep responsibility we bear—not, primarily, towards each other, but first and foremost toward the spiritual world. This is a sacred task that we, the leaders and members of the Anthroposophical Society worldwide, are to carry together. This directive is intensified by the fact that we are now within a decade of the seminal hundred-year rhythm following the date that Rudolf Steiner pointed to as marking the onset of the human capacity to experience the Christ Being in the etheric world (beginning in the 1930s). Given that we who find ourselves on the path of anthroposophy now are working within this rhythm of time, knowledge of and conscious engagement with this dawning mystery is essential. Further, and to help paint a picture of my vision engendering the Christmas Conference directives now: ASA Leaders: My vision of a team of leaders and administrators of anthroposophy is that it is most effective if it is not composed of like-minded followers. A team of those with living thinking who hold vibrant and perhaps even opposing views, acting with compassion and rigor in dealing with one another, has the prospect of keeping vi80 • being human

tal the core, and of drawing toward itself those who carry initiative in their souls out of freedom and love. Economic Sphere: By adhering to the Treasurers’ Guidelines of 2021, the Society ensures the health and vitality of the Goetheanum and the School of Spiritual Science, as specified at the Christmas Conference regarding membership dues, section funding, and targeted gifts. Our effectiveness in the economic sphere is not measured solely by driving up membership numbers in order to generate increased dues revenue, but in how thoroughly we understand and implement the principles of association in our management of financial resources. Healthy activity in this sphere can naturally lead to increased membership, because it strengthens the body of the Society. Cultural Activities: To produce programming aimed at restoring the dignity and desirability of in-person events, where direct human encounter enlivens our community engagement—and to do so out of an awareness that being physically present with one another in the living stream of anthroposophy bears the prospect of ordering the otherwise chaotic karma of our time. In addition to major seasonal festivals, the inspiration for community programming is planned in accord with the abundant wisdom of the cosmos, which, in the words of Rudolf Steiner, brings greater peace and harmony to the earth. Communications: Because healthy, participatory communications are vital to the life of the Anthroposophical Movement, I envision a publishing and social media presence, aware of the spirit of the age—that is, composed of articles by active section members regarding their research, branch news, and reports on community initiatives. Ideally, official Society communications become a place to disseminate thoughtful research on the issues human beings face today. Through lively discourse from varied perspectives, we can become aware of the karmic experiences we are undergoing together. The nominating committee’s vision statement requirement of 500 words presented quite a challenge, and reflecting on this now—one day after the World Goetheanum Conference at Michaelmas 2023 has concluded—I find myself with a question: To whom do the fruits of

news for members & friends

of the Anthroposophical Society in America

anthroposophy belong? During one of the closing sessions of the conference, twelve people were seated on the stage, each one tasked with reporting on the themed discussions in which they participated each morning of the conference. The very last to speak took his time not to describe an experience, but to invite each of us gathered in the Great Hall at that moment to contemplate the being of Michael, quietly, and for just one minute. With

the potency of that moment still resonant in me, I find the beginning of an answer to my question: The fruits of our striving in anthroposophy belong to the spiritual world, which has the sublime capacity to direct these fruits where they are most needed. This means that we may not always know, see, or enjoy the fruits of our labor, but when something is undertaken by a human being in freedom, with love, then good will always become.

Honoring Members Who Have Crossed the Threshold of Death JOINED

DIED

Kim Baker

Fair Oaks

01/04/2019

07/28/2023

Sheila Bay-Harvey

Peterborough

02/09/1980

02/28/2023

Gerhard Frans Bedding

Keene

07/22/1964

04/15/2023

Gertrude B. Brechbuhl

Garden City

10/26/1987

02/17/2023

Thelma M. Hodges

Harbor Springs

09/01/1999

07/16/2023

Ruth Liberatore

Kimberton

05/01/1980

11/01/2021

Maria Linder

Burbank

08/02/1977

09/25/2022

Dietrich Meyer

Pine Grove

12/28/1968

05/01/2021

Traute Page

Yonges Island

09/12/1952

03/06/2023

Mary Jane Di Piero

Nevada City

05/30/1997

06/15/2018

Anni G. Redding

Greenwood

01/31/2003

01/21/2023

Ruth M. Riegel

Ann Arbor

11/13/1995

09/15/2022

Susan E. Starr

La Mesa

05/25/1983

03/20/2023

Victoria Susan Temple

Petaluma

06/30/1996

01/06/2023

Katherine Thivierge

Southgate

03/31/1976

07/09/2023

Barbara Walker

Escondido

03/19/1979

04/05/2023

Jean Wetzel

Brooklyn

12/11/2009

06/15/2022

Grace Worth

Farmington Hills

06/17/1987

08/24/2022

december 2023 • 81

Welcoming New Members of the Anthroposophical Society in America February 13, 2023—August 31, 2023 Peppi-Emilia Airike James Alderfer Natalie Baird Damian Baker Jessica Barrett James Bass Wilfred Berlin Jaye Brown Christopher Wayne Buckley Nicholas Budwine Rosemary Bulman Elena Butkov Rebecca Campon Michael Charter Derrick Cullen Lindsay Kathleen Curren Sarah Deichmann Faith DiVecchio Patricia Dunn Megan Eberhardt Ngozi Ezinwa Gaby Raschid Farrokhi Jacqueline L. Gabe Mayra Galvan Mia Gibson Alice Gilmartin Carolina Golden Katherine Goodwin Amy Grau Barbara Hamilton Steven Hess Raymond Ijichi Bobby Irelan Samuel Jaehnig Zach James Danielle Bridget Jarecha Terry Johnson Jeannie Katzenmiller Carolyn Kersh Julia King Sofia Kondrashin 82 • being human

Nyack

Pottstown

Berkeley

Middletown

Sedona

Atherton

Australia

Broken Arrow

Manhattan

Seattle

Tucson

Stow

Boca Raton

Delray Beach

Milan

Kimberton

Staunton

Chester Springs

West Stockbridge

Denver

Chicago

Redlands

Kennesaw

Barre

Fort Lauderdale

Los Angeles

Pasadena

New Hope

Peterborough

Lake Geneva

Pottstown

Tucson

Brookline

Reno

Sedalia

Fort Worth

Berwyn

Connersville

Nashville

Sedona

Arlington

Englewood Cliffs

Nina Kuettel William La Tourette Christine Langley-Obaugh Edward Ledermann Jenny Leonhardt Melania Levitsky Cecilia Liss Taylor Malone Maria C. Mauricio Sue Mckenzie Ana McKibben-Singh Linda D. Miller Michael Moretti Holly Nielsen Samara Penman Jared Pickard Mark Pizarro Sharon Polchies Ernesto Ramos Chantale Rodrigues Rabecca Rose Deborah Rosser Clay Ruby Alexandra Rutherfurd Donald Samick Paola S. Santillan Ed Smith Emmie Strassberg Lauren Stuparitz Elisha Danielle Thompson Angela Raphaela Tomaino John Voris Joel A. Wendt Donna J. Wiesner C. S. Williams Abby Wright Noah H. Wright Melos Yan Colbert Young Fredric Zeller

Wichita

Suffern

Winchester

Ann Arbor

Pasadena

Ghent

Baltimore

Jonesborough

Coral Gables

Saugerties

Mukwonago

Santa Rosa Beach

San Jose

Chico

Kyle

Austin

Ronkonkoma

Baltimore

Los Angeles

Corona

Portland

South Hamilton

Viroqua

San Francisco

Wyckoff

Peterborough

Amherst

Purcellville

Pittsburgh

Wyandotte

New Brighton

Sacramento

Paxton

Harrison

Fairmont

Conyers

Leesville

Spring Valley

Aurora

Asheville

Report on the World Goetheanum Conference of Michaelmas 2023 John Bloom Spiritual Science and co-facilitated in some cases by those working afar in the practical fields. Topics included: On earth we want to live; Health for humans and the planet; Living with technology; Meditation!; Equal and different: How to contribute to the search for the ‘I’; Follow the science!?; Anthroposophy and public debate; How do we build peace?; Biosphere-based economy; The presence of anthroposophy; Transformation through art; Transforming leadership. One goal of these thematic forums was to create active working groups that will take up some of the tasks identified during the sessions. The afternoon was filled with topical and practical workshops including a full spectrum from the three domains of threefolding. Each of the workshops was conducted in a multilingual environment, so that participants could begin to feel a kind of world presence and to sense how to navigate in that kind of environment. Here are few examples of the workshops: Dyeing with plants; KATRINA HOVEN

Sold out! That’s what the website said about the World Goetheanum Conference held at the Goetheanum and surroundings September 27– October 1, 2023. About 1,000 people from fifty countries gathered to take up the question of “Reshaping a World Movement.” It was a well-orchestrated collaborative inquiry that included celebrating nearly one hundred years of the Christmas Conference, sharing how anthroposophical activity has found its expression around the world, and asking the question, “What is the future asking of anthroposophy?” This broad scope of topics all centered on the imagination of a worldwide Society, especially given that the conference was held in the space and spaciousness of the Goetheanum, where the movement was birthed and the School of Spiritual Science has its center. It was a living question of how to move through the natural tension between center and periphery, and even of how to recognize the challenge of questioning that metaphor as a way of thinking about the work of the Society in the world. The three-and-a-half days were framed on the architecture and imagination of the Foundation Stone Meditation. Day 1: Earth and incarnation; Day 2: Plurality and being together in diversity; Day 3: Knowledge and insight; Day 4: The good and how we work with heart and thought. Each of the keynote speakers addressed these topics directly in their relation to the theme of the conference and to the call to the human soul found in each of the panels of the Meditation itself. Each was rich; all were beautifully woven together. There would not be enough space to recount or do them justice here. Maybe one highlight from Michaelmas Day, spoken by Christine Gruwez, will suffice. She spoke of three kinds of courage: courage to live with the fragment; courage to be vulnerable; courage to be awake in and to the world and to remain awake. Without over-interpreting, she used “fragment” in the sense that at any given moment we have only a piece of the whole. The structure of the conference, following the keynotes from the morning speakers, was an attempt to respond to current worldwide issues by scheduling thematic forums cohosted by cross-sections of the School of

december 2023 • 83

new translations: educational material in many languages, crafted in the vernacular of place and of the times. And there was a call to be seen as equal human strivers across cultures, identities, and languages around the globe. Suffice it to say that while there is much material throughout the history of anthroposophy, including the availability of Rudolf Steiner’s work in text form, it is not enough and not adequate to meet the souls seeking connection to spirit in this time—seeking in fields of indigenous and cultural wisdom that were not visible one hundred years ago. So there is a real and meaningful tension between the deepening of spiritual science in its traditional forms and the dispersion and development of anthroposophical activity truly around the globe. It is very clear that anthroposophy is a lively yeast. The younger generation is making that clear. The yeast catalyzes much inspiration, renewal, and innovation—all of which need to inform the science of the spirit for the next one hundred years. So, one could say that the reshaping of the world movement will rise out of this yeast. And maybe we also need to live into not knowing quite what that might look like. KATRINA HOVEN

Building the future through sculpture; New mindfulness in business; Learning from the bees; The courage to be vulnerable; Building a spiritual community; Global North and South in the anthroposophical community; Waldorf education in dialogue with Indigenous Cultures; Anthroposophy and the question of racism; Banking and finance of the future. Needless to say, there was no dearth of choices in following one’s own interests and learning path. What became remarkably visible is the diversity and richness of leaders working out of anthroposophy around the world. Each afternoon concluded with multilingual conversation groups. The groupings stayed the same through the conference in order to build a sense of shared space and comradery. Each day started with a different question: How participants first connected with anthroposophy, then what reflections and new questions arose from the contents of the day and days. It was very apparent through the time together how much anthroposophy has grown or “mushroomed” around the world, especially in Waldorf education and biodynamic agriculture. There was an expressed need for

84 • being human

The hope for humanity found in the words and in the deeds of Rudolf Steiner has barely begun. And rainbows are always new.

STEINERBOOKS www.steinerbooks.org

A Verse for America RUDOLF STEINER

May our feeling penetrate Into the center of our heart, And seek, in love, to unite itself With the human beings seeking the same goal, WIth the spirit beings who, bearing grace, Strengthening us from realms of light And illuminating our love, Are gazing down upon Our earnest, heart-felt striving.

TR AN SL ATION BY FREDERICK HECKEL

being human December 2023 - Centenary Edition

Articles inside

Report on the World Goetheanum Conference of Michaelmas 2023

An Introduction

An Opportunity for the Coming Century for Anthroposophy?

The Foundation Stone as a Seed

The New Covenant for the Becoming of the Tenth Hierarchy

A Light That Has Changed the World

Commemoration of 100 Years, but of What?

The Deed of Rudolf Steiner at 100

The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project

Ethical Individualism as a CounterForce to the Synchronization of All toward the “Good”

Risk, Opportunity, and Responsibility

The Connection with Rudolf Steiner and the Trial of Thinking Now Facing Humanity

Little-Known Statements of Rudolf Steiner on the Christmas Conference

A Poem by Truus Geraets

The Christmas Conference Impulse—A Distillation

Exceptional States and New Habits of the Heart

Recalling the Deed, Living with Its Shadow

Turning Points

Motifs of the Large and Small Cupolas of the First Goetheanum

The First Goetheanum Continues to Live Through Our Striving: On the Cupola Painting Project

Heart Thoughts from the Christmas Conference

How Much Truth Can We Defend and Advance for the World in Our Lives?

The Christmas Foundation Conference

The Global Test and Its Results

Founding the Bridge

Houses of Brick and Fire

Finding Balance, Bringing the Two Worlds Together

The Christmas Conference and the Polaric Impulses of the Michaélic and Ahrimanic Schools

The Anthroposophical Movement Seeks an Earthly Home

editorial introduction