​After six full days of travel, Martin Luther King Jr. had finally arrived. He was met with wreaths of flowers and driven to a luxury hotel near the India Gate. He undoubtedly had jet lag, but before he could sleep it off, a news conference was set up in the lobby.

“To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim,” he told the two dozen reporters gathered there on Feb. 10, 1959.

They peppered him with questions. Was it true interracial marriage was illegal in the American South? Could nonviolent protest work in colonized Africa? Was he a vegetarian?

The Montgomery bus boycott three years earlier had been closely watched in Indian newspapers, particularly since King, as the young leader of the boycott, espoused the teachings of Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi. Now, he would be spending a month in India to learn more and pay homage to his hero.

King first learned about Gandhi as a seminary student in 1949, just a year after Gandhi had been assassinated. He soon wrote about Gandhi in his schoolwork as a person who “greatly reveal[s] the working of the Spirit of God.”

Six years later, after the arrest of Rosa Parks, King led the 381-day boycott that would make him famous. Of the nonviolent direct action technique, he said, “Christ showed us the way, and Gandhi in India showed it could work.”

​In 2016, students from the Yallingup Steiner School in Western Australia were awarded the Happs Emerging Artist Award. It's the first time we've shared it in the newsletter and we love that big knitting! More ...

Click here to watch "Cooking with Wool"

Andrea Love is an independent animator and director based in Port Townsend, Washington.  A life long lover of movies, Andrea received a BA from Hampshire College in 2010, with a concentration in video production and film studies. She is a self taught animator, specializing in stop motion. 

Andrea runs a full service animation studio from her basement.  She creates commercial work, as well as short narrative and documentary films. Her work has been screened at film festivals around the country including the Tribeca Film Festival and the Los Angeles Shorts Fest. 
​
andreaanimates.com

Reviewed by Torin Finser

It has been my pleasure to read an exciting new book from Waldorf Publications: Bare Hand Knitting by Aleshanee Akin and illustrated by Elizabeth Auer. It is an incredible gem, an inspired guide to creativity and practical activities for young and old using our most precious tools: our hands!

Alishanee introduces the book with her personal story of healing with her daughter, and sets a context that goes far beyond schools and curriculum as it is usually taught. Through a sequence of chapters that include braiding and knotting, finger knitting, whip-stitching, wet-felting and more, the author communicates step by step instructions that all can understand and use. Enhancing the book immeasurably are the numerous illustrations done with grace and accuracy. Just looking at the drawings is a feast for the eyes!

I highly recommend this book for all who care about humanity and reclaiming our social mandate through our hands.  I can see it used in homes, schools, prisons (where needles and other devices are usually banned), clinics, hospitals and community centers.  It is a festival of the spirit and gives us hope for the future.

Bare Hand Knitting // Waldorf Publications // 185 pp, spiral-bound // Available here at Waldorf Publications

We are now getting ready for Phase 5 of the construction of the Puerto Rico Hurricane Resistant Earthship Compound!

Location: Aguada, Puerto Rico
Dates: February 18th – March 2nd 2020
Cost: There is a mandatory donation fee of $700 which goes directly into the operating costs of completing the project.
What we will be doing: You will learn from expert Earthship instructors on how to build an Earthship including every aspect of the 6 unique core principles, while at the same time helping to construct Puerto Rico’s first hurricane resistant self sustaining educational Earthship compound.
Travel: Travel and transport logistics and cost to site is the responsibility of each volunteer! We recommend flying into San Juan or Aguadilla. Car rentals are available in Puerto Rico.
Accommodation: Accommodation is the responsibility of each volunteer but we do have camping spots on site available! (Cost: $5 per night to be paid upon arrival + $50 refundable deposit). For any other accommodation option we recommend airbnb in Aguada or Rincon. More ...

Dear Members and Friends,
​
Welcome to the new year, new decade, and what the future will certainly ask of us—awakening and deepening community. It is highly significant and worth celebrating that nearly 900 people participated in the Society’s Holy Nights online program in closing out 2019 and ushering in 2020. Whether you participated online or not, I trust that your Holy Nights brought insights, comfort, and renewal in preparation for the full year ahead.

2020 will see a celebration of 100 years of Waldorf education in Chicago in June. This fête will be co-hosted by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education, and the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America, an unprecedented collaboration. And as the Biodynamic Association prepares for its 100 years in 2024, all of the biodynamic organizations have come together to consider what kind of structure would best support all of them working together to further the field of Biodynamics. These are but two emerging examples of new ways of coming together across past differences and functions in the practical work of the anthroposophical movement. And we as a Society are working towards 100 years after the re-founding of the Anthroposophical Society in 1923-24 with changes in how we reach members and create opportunities for engagement, both in regional conferences, national topical conferences, and online gatherings across the US.

There is a cultural sea change afoot, even in the face of conflict and violence, a highly politicized environment, and an uncertain economy. There is a palpable search for community, for mutual support, for deep listening, an echoing of values, and for reconsidering how working consciously with inclusion and justice might speak to the next generation of Waldorf teachers and biodynamic farmers to support the growing momentum of interest in the work of the Society and anthroposophy. At the same time, there are real success-generated challenges if we are to maintain anthroposophy as a wellspring.

Bear with me as I share a brief story that exemplifies a success-generated challenge and the issues that are coming toward us from the future. At a recent Waldorf schools conference, I was honored to co-lead “Finding Our Voice” sessions. These workshops are designed to support people working in anthroposophical organizations who have a public-facing role, to help them become more comfortable speaking about Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy. There was quite a bit of learning and conversation over the three sessions and at the end when time ran out, we gathered the remaining questions in the room without responding to them. One participant asked: “We have Waldorf education, why do we need anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner?” Several nodding heads affirmed the resonance of the question.

Needless to say, I was a bit taken aback by the question, especially as the facilitator (and General Secretary). At first, I thought: how is it even possible to ask such a question? Then I immediately realized just how important the question is for understanding where we are as a movement, at what precipice, with what risk. The question is definitely an indicator of Waldorf education’s success in reaching so many families that it has developed an identity as separate from anthroposophy. The question is an indicator of how the practical work, as it moves further out in service to the world, can become (or is becoming) disconnected from the wellspring. This is a rightful challenge in many ways, a natural consequence of the need for and growth of Waldorf education.

A most extraordinary, brilliant, and breathtaking moment arose just following the close of the workshop. The reality of the question asked was still reverberating and generating conversation. One participant said: “When you have a garden, then cut a beautiful flower and put it in a vase, it will look and smell beautiful for a while. But then it will wilt and find its way to the compost. The uncut flowers remaining in the garden continue to flourish.” And then came the breathtaking part. She then said: “No roots, no renewal.” It was a powerful, essentialized realization, and remains clear in my mind even months later. “No roots, no renewal” is so relevant for all aspects of anthroposophy and its practical fields. In some ways it echoes the concept that the more broadly we reach into the world, the more we need to deepen our inner knowledge. This is really the primary approach to sustaining the anthroposophical-spiritual integrity of the good and healing work that anthroposophy and its practitioners have to offer the world—after all, in the context of “no roots, no renewal,” we are the soil.

This is a picture of the work we need to take up as a Society as members across the country: interest in each other and our local organizations, be they branches, Waldorf schools, biodynamic farms, arts organizations, medical clinics, or other social service efforts. And equally important: asking how we can be of service to others will raise awareness and move the impulse of engagement toward healing and community building. No matter the challenges, remaining inspired by the endowment of wisdom brought to us by Rudolf Steiner is a support as we meet and open ourselves to others’ realities. The guidepost here is deep listening with absolute respect for each other’s freedom and dignity. This is how spirit shows up in daily relational life.

Some of you may be familiar with Rudolf Steiner’s call for faithfulness as a practice. It is not the typical view of blind faithfulness with its presumed aspect of followership, but rather a more conscious and intentional faithfulness that when practiced can move us through misunderstanding of and even conflict with others. It is a most profound social practice and will serve us well as we take up the call of the year and the future.

This is Rudolf Steiner speaking:
Create for yourself a new, indomitable perception of faithfulness. What is usually called faithfulness passes so quickly. Let this be your faithfulness:
You will experience moments—fleeting moments—with the other person.
The human being will appear to you then as if filled, irradiated, with the archetype of their spirit. And then there may be, indeed will be, other moments, long periods of time, when human beings are obscured. But you will learn to say to yourself at such times: “The spirit makes me strong. I remember the archetype. I saw it once. No illusion, no deception, shall rob me of it.”
Always struggle for the image that you saw. This struggle is faithfulness. Striving for faithfulness in this way, we shall be close to one another, as if endowed with the protective powers of angels.

Wishing you a fulfilling 2020 and inviting you to participate in as many of the Society’s diverse activities as serve you, and in turn to encourage you to reach out and serve others. It is through warm and interested human relationships that the gifts of anthroposophy will circulate as much needed social currency.

John Bloom
General Secretary

Citation:
Rudolf Steiner, Sprueche, Dichtungen, Mantren, Ergaenzungband, GA 40a (Dornach, Switzerland: Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 2000), p.286. As cited in Arthur Zajonc, Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love, (Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books, 2009) p.78

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To Meghan Talarowski, play is “so much more than just physical activity”

Every kid wants to climb up the slide. Go to the nearest playground, and you’ll see children clamoring to defy gravity, following an impulse to run up inclines that leads to toddler traffic jams and exasperated parents trying to create order from chaos. The only problem with how children play on slides, says Meghan Talarowski, a designer, researcher, and advocate who founded Philadelphia-based landscape architecture firm Studio Ludo, is that the playground’s designer didn’t see it coming. Kids want stimulation, excitement, the thrill of knowing they could fall—not the stultifying safety of today’s playgrounds. Talarowski remembers her own early years in her hometown of Redding, California, where she spent most of her time outside building forts, climbing trees, and daring other kids to see how far they could lean out over a river without falling in. What kids definitely do not want, she says, are adult preconceptions getting in the way of their fun.

“Play isn’t as linear as we think,” says Talarowski. “Play is so much more than just physical activity. It’s emotional support. It’s social development. I want to design spaces that support kids wherever they’re at. If they’re having a day where they want to be weird, I want to create that space.”

Talarowski’s belief that play needs an overhaul came from sitting still and observing how our parks are actually used. Playground design needs to break out of the bland plastic molds that currently define fun and instead offer what kids and parents actually want. During her TED Talk, she admitted that she hates taking her 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter to local playgrounds, which she calls “a punishment for being a parent.”

“If you give a kid a crayon, and tell them to draw a playground, they’ll draw a swing and slides,” says Talarowski. “But once you really start paying attention, you’ll be really surprised what kids and parents are really attracted to.”

Talarowski wants Studio Ludo—a firm of four researchers and designers that focuses on integrating research and advocacy into creative design—to be something like the “Pixar of play,” designing parks that are exciting for kids, enticing for grownups, and creative in a way that belies the rigorous work and study that went into their creation. As a project associate at the Trust for Public Land between 2008 and 2011, Talarowski worked on an array of landscape and park projects and spent a considerable amount of time looking at how people actually use public space. The lessons gleaned from observing—she cites as a hero Holly White, a sociologist and urban researcher famous for his meticulous, detailed studies of streetscapes in New York—helped her think about the power and potential of parks. After graduating with a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, she worked briefly on research and design for the Philadelphia offices of Olin and SALT Design Studio before starting her own firm. Then, when her husband was transferred to London in 2015, she took the opportunity to embark on a wide-reaching survey of play in London. She traveled around the city with her then-1-year-old daughter in tow, taking iPhone videos of playgrounds and later analyzing behavior and user patterns. Her observations after taking in London’s superior swing sets: Kids need more thrills and less safety. Adults need a place of their own at the playground. And physical spaces should offer children the chance to “level up” and practice risky behavior. She found that playspaces in London included riskier design and focused on non-prescriptive play and more adventurous features such as giant slides or high-speed spinners. These are thrilling experiences that also teach kids confidence in their own movements and the ability to gauge risk. And English playgrounds are more likely to sport amenities, like cafes in or near playspaces, that provide parents and caregivers with support. Where U.S. playgrounds are a response to high-profile lawsuits, with softer, rubberized surfaces; rounded edges; and what she describes as “overly expensive, homogeneously safe, and insidiously boring” design, English playgrounds resulted from an established, though informal, feedback loop of child development experts and designers who evaluate how children use new playspaces, collaborate on design ideas, and share best practices for future projects. Talarowski’s report on London’s playspaces, which was cited in the New York Times, helped cement the model for Studio Ludo, the nonprofit design firm that she founded in 2015. In addition to built work, the designer and her partners spend equal time focused on research and advocacy, all in the interest of trying to mirror what they see as the more successful English system. Two recent hometown projects for the Philadelphia library system show how Studio Ludo manages to introduce new ideas into unfamiliar spaces. As part of an initiative to add amenities to library branches, the studio designed a pair of projects: a climbing structure that teaches kids about local ecology, created in partnership with local landscape architects at Roofmeadow, and an indoor climbing gym, in partnership with designers at DIGSAU and Smith Memorial Playground. These small installations give kids access to thrilling and challenging play in unexpected places.

By Mike Morrison

There is simply nothing more powerful than the bedtime story—especially in this age of continuous screen time. As we go deeper into the discussion, we start to see how the bedtime story is the perfect ending to the day. So let’s rethink and reclaim this special decompression time for both parent and child. It is not just something we are doing for our kids—the benefits accrue to us as well. We don’t just read to our kids, we read with our kids. Here are five reasons why the bedtime story is the most powerful family ritual:

End-of-day closure
The bedtime story can symbolically represent a closure point in our continuous, always-on, and endless days. Even our kids, as they enter grade school, are starting to feel pressures of a 24/7 world. Together we can start to wind down, letting go of the anxieties that can fill a day. For our kids, bathing, teeth brushing, and pajamas starts the slow-down process. For us parents, it is also important that we fully shift our attention and presence to this special time—treating it as uninterrupted, sacred space (leaving our device outside the room!).

Feeling safe & secure
There is probably no safer or secure feeling than to be snuggled with a parent—listening to their comforting voice. Bonding is magnified as a special story transports us to a world of possibility. Also, stress levels start to lower for both parent and child as a softer energy starts to surround us. To have this loving ritual repeated night after night promotes an unconditional love that protects our little ones from the inevitable feelings of vulnerability that define the human experience.

Healthy sleeping & better dreaming
Sleep specialists reveal how bedtime stories can help both child and parent get a good night sleep. It makes total sense. The loving voice tones of the parent can also create strong associations with sleep—slowing the brain down—and helping the child to let go of the day. As our young ones enter deeper sleep after storytelling, the brain continues to “play with” this new information—imprinting the feelings, images and story patterns that have been heard. In other words, the powerful subconscious continues to do its magic as the child sleeps, setting the foundation to positively enter the next day.

Engaging the imagination
Bedtime stories are one of the best ways to stimulate a child’s imagination. Research reveals that reading a story is completely different than watching a TV show or movie. Listening to a story requires a more active participation as they use their mind to visualize what is happening and to think about what choices they would make if they were the character. These new ideas inspire our kids to imagine new realities and identities for themselves. Their favorite stories start to positively shape their own life story.

Connecting & empathizing
​Just as stories help our kids create their sense of self, they also help them to empathize with others. Our young ones can find comfort in relating to a character in a story who is going through a similar challenge—whether it is a best friend moving away or the loss of a pet. Not surprisingly, stories can help our kids find the courage (and scripting) to deal with things that seemed too far out of their experience. For children in uncertain circumstances (like divorce or loss of a family member), a bedtime story can help them to start shaping a new reality. Still, the most precious forms of connection that bedtime stories facilitate is that between parent and child—one of the most powerful predictors of success and happiness in life for our kids.

Sweet dreams to your little one!
From redtri.com

From Philly Waldorf

Søren Kierkegaard said, “Boredom is the root of all evil.” Indeed, idleness has been looked down upon for centuries. Recent studies on the matter have brought much new information to light, but for many of us, the long-standing notion that a bored person needs an “activity” can lead to a reactionary approach if our child is bored. In a worst case scenario, a bored child places themselves before a screen. In a better scenario, we schedule them in activities to limit boredom or present them with a list of possibilities.  

“We are rightfully fearful of boredom and its negative consequences. Too much time and money, little purpose, and boredom are a lethal combination.”

Author Nancy H. Blakey, explored our fears of boredom in her Mothering Magazine article The Cauldron of Creativity, saying, “We are rightfully fearful of boredom and its negative consequences. Too much time and money, little purpose, and boredom are a lethal combination. In an attempt to save our children, we sign them up for sports and classes. We let them watch a crazy amount of television and spend days at the computer.” More ...

We live in a world dominated by fear and anxiety, either explicitly experienced in the face of danger and threat, or as the implicit underlying state of unease in the face of growing unpredictability in seasonal and environmental stability, social complexity, and economic security. This underlying tone of anxiety may manifest in many different guises, including states of paralysis and avoidance, denial of real-life situations, panic reactions, and aggression and violence towards self and others. Life circumstances continually demand that we recognize within ourselves how often we fall prey to the rulership of anxiety which so easily determines our perceptions and responses in our daily dealings.

Currently much attention is being directed to addressing the above through self-transformation for world-transformation. Three fundamental qualities can be identified in the call to face anxiety: courage, open-mindedness and forgiveness. What conditions allow these qualities to develop, and be put into practice?

By way of example, the international students conference at the Goetheanum in April, hosted by the Youth Section, engaged close on 700 learners in the exploration of what it means to have courage. A Youth Conference in Spring Valley in August will focus on ‹Questions of Courage›. The summer conference staging the Four Mystery Dramas at the Goetheanum: ‹Spirituality in Anxiety and Health› will focus on the central theme of anxiety as a doorway to health and spirituality, by awakening to self-transformation. The Social Initiative Forum, a growing network of organizations, initiatives and individuals working actively to transform discrimination, marginalization and inequality through developing open-mindedness, empathy and forgiveness, will host a seminar on ‹Ethical Individualism: transforming self and society› at the Goetheanum in October. In addition, an extensive Forum on ‹Unfolding Individual Potential for the Future› will be held in Sekem, Egypt, in December.

We warmly invite you to participate in these and other events, with the intention of contributing to a courageous, open-minded future based on the transformative qualities of forgiveness and love. More ...