It is still cold here in Wisconsin, but that hasn't deterred our new spring cohort of students for the Metamorphosis Gap Semester, who gathered in Viroqua from near and far in late January. This wonderful group of 11 students from Minnesota, Wyoming, Massachusetts, North Carolina, California, and Wisconsin brought sunshine and enthusiasm with them as they plunged into helping to host the Fellowship of Biodynamic Prep Makers gathering and then headed outdoors for 5 days of winter camping. Over the coming months, they will help to mark the growing of the light and the changing of the seasons from winter, through spring, and into early summer. Already, the sap in the maples is starting to run, seeds are being started in the greenhouse, and the first lamb has been born. Thank you for joining us for this grand adventure! More ...
You are cordially invited to participate in an online (Zoom) course of study and practice of the anthroposophical meditative path. This participatory group-learning process is designed for people who are interested in developing toward the disciplined clairvoyance required to conduct research in the soul and spiritual worlds. The course will be of use to both individuals who are new to anthroposophical meditation and to those already engaged in an anthroposophical meditative practice. The course will cover much of the content provided by Dr. Rudolf Steiner regarding the anthroposophical path with selected readings from several texts. It will clarify the foundational practices and disciplines required to safely undertake the ascent to spiritual consciousness. It will include a practical introduction to many key anthroposophical exercises and mantras that are available to the general public. By the end of the process, you will have a deeper understanding of how anthroposophical meditation changes a person, how to proceed safely into expanded forms of consciousness, and how to develop a meditative regimen suited to your unique personality. Each group will consist of no more than 16 people and will meet for 10 consecutive weeks for 90 minutes. In order for the group to function best, it is important that participants make a commitment to attend each session. Please consider if you can realistically commit to participating in most, if not all, of the 10 weekly sessions. Each session will include a brief lecture component, a discussion component, and practical work with one or more meditative exercises. Between group sessions, during the week, participants will be asked to practice exercises of their choosing and come ready to discuss their experiences at the next session. Actual practice is important as often the instructions for an exercise can only be truly understood by trying it out several times. This course is offered free to participants. If possible, I would ask you consider contributing $100 CAD to support the Toronto Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada. Please note, regardless of any possible contribution, all are most welcome to participate. Following the course, should participants be interested, I would be happy to support you in your meditative path through scheduled discussions every few months or so. This support is also a free offering. While climbing the path requires intensive individual commitment, it can be helpful to discuss how the work is going with a follow traveller from time to time. If you are interested in registering, please email me at [email protected] or phone/text me at (647) 981-6298 and let me know which of the two timeslots is best for you. If none of these times work but you are interested in the course, please let me know as I will try to offer the course again in 2025 at different times. Please feel free to forward this document to anyone you think might be interested. Robert McKay, a longtime student of Rudolf Steiner’s work, met anthroposophy at the age of 17. He is a member of Anthroposophy in Toronto, and lives in Toronto. Robert is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Rudolf Steiner College Canada. Also, he provides lectures and workshops on anthroposophical meditation and other topics. He is a member of the School of Spiritual Science Section for the Literary Arts and Humanities. Robert works in healthcare management. By Adam Blanning Supersensible experiences can happen in different ways. In medicine in particular, sensory and supersensory perceptions can be fruitfully combined. How do we engage in spiritual research, especially for medicine and therapy? Should we start with substance or with process? Should we begin with attention only for spiritual beings or focus most on their physical manifestations? What helps structure our work so that we are both honest about our capacities and accurate in our perceptions? These questions come up regularly in teaching anthroposophic medicine. What is interesting is that we often approach these questions from a favored starting point, because something already came alive for us in our own biography, an experience that spurred us to study spiritual science. The power of thinking begins to shine When you ask people about their own ‘spark’ experience, some share how they first encountered anthroposophy by finding Steiner’s lectures in a library or being handed one of his books by a friend. Through engagement with Steiner’s teachings the power of thinking begins to shine – so brightly and so purely that the study of anthroposophy, as a vast body of knowledge, then becomes a central task in many people’s biographies. Such power of thinking brings deepened soul forces and new perceptions. Once we meet enlivened thinking – the lifting of physical perceptions back into process, ‘what is now perceived in the strengthened force of thinking is not pale or shadowlike at all – it is full of inner content, vividly real and graphic.’ More ... Professional Development and Board Training for Waldorf School Trustees and School Leaders Winter and Spring 2025 Offerings Click here to register For more information visit Leadingwithspirit.org or contact Connie Stokes [email protected] Prepared to Serve is a program of Sound Circle Center for Arts and Anthroposophy, a full member institute of AWSNA. Visit www.leadingwithspirit.org to learn more about our Art of Administration training and school advisory services. Reflections from participants in past courses The board training gave me more confidence in my role as a board leader and Lisa and Michael are lovely to work with. A solid introductory board training led by deeply experienced and dedicated facilitators. Highly recommended for new board members (as part of their board orientation) as well as veteran board members (to reconnect with and remember the big picture as well as the details). I see this training as a potential seed of a rich and dynamic network of those serving on Waldorf boards, which could potentially make a big difference in the Waldorf movement. For new and more experienced board members, this workshop provides valuable tools and ideas to help us all serve with more compassion and creativity. I highly recommend that all Board members take this training, even if you have a lot of experience being on a Waldorf School Board. The content is comprehensive but not overwhelming and the discussion was extremely helpful and inspiring. It was hugely valuable to meet with Board members from schools across the country. I also came out of the training with a greater sense of connection to the whole and that there is a much larger support system out there that can be tapped into. Puppets and Songs for Peace with Connie Manson: Saturday January 25, 2025 (2:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET) The Story of Peter Parrot & The Documentary "The Singing Revolution" The delightful children's story shares the antics of Peter Parrot, and how he learns through song to contribute to his community of neighboring animals in the rainforest. The story will be shared in a live presentation using glove finger puppetry and music. Following the puppet storytelling, we'll spend time on tips to craft finger puppet characters for the children's story. Together we'll dive into the unfoldment of events from the documentary "The Singing Revolution" and share reflections on how we can bring key qualities into everyday experience as a practice in peace making. About the documentary 'The Singing Revolution': Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolution. But song was the weapon of choice when Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. The Singing Revolution is an inspiring account of one nation’s dramatic rebirth. It is the story of humankind’s irrepressible drive for freedom and self-determination. Recommended pre-class viewing: "The Singing Revolution" Link to rent or purchase Founder/Artistic Director of Starlite Puppets & Music: Singer/Musician, Puppeteer, Early Childhood Specialist http://www.starlitepuppets.blogspot.com/ Please register here for this free members’ workshop
Dear WECAN colleagues and friends, Our hearts go out to all those affected by the ongoing fires in the Los Angeles area in recent days, and most especially to the teachers, children, and families of the Pasadena Waldorf School in Altadena and the Westside Waldorf School in Pacific Palisades, who suffered catastrophic and profound losses, including their beloved kindergarten and early childhood classrooms. Although each community's members appear safe, the fire has destroyed many of their possessions, homes, and neighborhoods. We send our loving support to both schools as they face the immediate crisis and begin the long journey to rebuilding. Below you can read short reports from each school. During such crises, the strength, compassion, and generosity of our communities become visible, and we are reaching out to encourage you to offer your support. Your donations will directly assist each school in sustaining Waldorf education now and rebuilding for the future. On behalf of the WECAN Board and Staff, Susan Howard and Heather Church WECAN Co-Directors Pasadena Waldorf School lost its beautiful Paquita Lick Machris Campus in the Eaton Fire on January 7th. The community of PWS teachers, students, families, alumni, and friends are devastated by this loss. Every building has burned to the ground across what was a beautiful and peaceful 5-acre campus for our Kindergarten through Grade 8 programs. We are grateful that so far, our nearby Mendocino St. Campus, where the preschool and high school are, is still standing, but it is going to take time, love, resources, and money to start the rebuild of our special Waldorf program at the Mariposa St. Campus. The Westside Waldorf School suffered a profound loss when its McComb Campus was destroyed in the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025. This historic building, along with its beautiful courtyard and spiral of classrooms, has been a cornerstone of Waldorf education, nurturing countless children and families in the Westside of Los Angeles since January 2007. The entire campus for grades one through eight, including the woodshop where the heights of every student have been lovingly marked on the wall, has been lost. As the remaining fires burn out, we will assess the damage to the Early Childhood structures that are still standing. In addition to losing their school, many of our students and faculty are facing displacement, ongoing evacuations, and the loss of their homes and belongings. Our greatest wish is to rebuild as a way to heal and demonstrate our commitment to our beloved and resilient community. Our Paths Among the Stars (December 21, 2024 through January 06, 2025 via Zoom The sacredness of this year's holy night's season takes on an added significance in the context of the centennial celebrations connected to the life and work of Rudolf Steiner. For our daily online offerings, our work will be framed by the threefold advent of the divine feminine to which he drew our attention, especially as it is revealed through star wisdom. In addition, we will undertake a practice that he recommended to artists around the time of the publication of the first Calendar of the Soul 1912/13, which was to recreate the new images of the zodiac found therein. This is a way to prepare a space for receiving the spiritual fruits ripening in the coming year. We will be guided in our work by Mary Stewart Adams, with special guest Alan Thewless, each of whom have hosted holy nights events and published workbooks annually for many years. Each day, participants will be offered a year-in-review process that aligns to specific regions of the zodiac, with access to the Calendar of the Soul image for the corresponding sign for artistic engagement. The end of each session will include a preview of the starry highlights for each month of the coming year. Please join us for Our Paths Among the Stars, our ASA Holy Nights event! The Holy Nights offerings also include opening and closing addresses online with Mary Stewart Adams, at the winter solstice and Epiphany, respectively. These two talks are in addition to the daily 15 minutes on Zoom throughout the Holy Nights. More ... Our World Association of Puppetry and Storytelling Arts Puppets for Peace 2024 project comes to a close this month. Inspired by our New Year’s member’s gathering last January, this series has been offered as a humble, but earnest way to inspire the path of peace for the young - and young at heart, in a world still tragically fraught with war. We hold immense gratitude to our donor, and to all who have shared rich and diverse offerings in answer to this call! More ... |
Sophia Institute offers a variety of programs, courses, publications and other resources to anyone interested in Anthroposophy and Waldorf/Steiner inspired education. Currently there are students from all over the world enrolled in the Sophia Institute online courses. Sophia Institute publications are available worldwide. The Sophia Institute newsletter and blog provide insights and information concerning the work of Anthroposophical initiatives, Waldorf/Steiner Schools, the Camphill Movement, and related endeavors. More ...
|