Antroposophical society

http://www.goetheanum.org/fileadmin/wochenschrift/awe/W200603.pdf


April 2006
No. 3
Anthroposophical Society
1 Youth Forces and Next Generation
2 General Anthroposophical Society:
Extraordinary General Meeting
4 Theme of the Year:
Further Information
9 Austria: Newly Created Council
Goetheanum
2 New at the Goetheanum:
Annual Report in 17 Languages
10 Administration: Conversation on
Finances with Cornelius Pietzner
and Bodo v. Plato
School of Spiritual Science
3 General Anthroposophical
Section and Youth Section:
February-Days
6 School Collegium and Others:
Retreat and Colloquium on
Questions of Spiritual Research
Anthroposophy in the World
5 Switzerland:
Rudolf Steiner Research Day
7 Thailand:
Eurythmy in Juvenile Prison
8 Slovakia:
Anthroposophical Initiatives
Feature
12 Destiny of aWoman
Whoever concerns oneself with anthroposophy
becomes old. The unencompassable
wealth of knowledge,
learning about unexpected connections
between the human being and the cosmos
– taking in all of this means becoming
knowledgeable; one becomes sagacious
(and, in the process, old). It’s not for nothing
that there is hardly anything that radiates
the venerability of age as much as a library.
And a hand-picked library is one of
the signatures of an anthroposophical life.
Discoverers Are Young
At the same time, anthroposophy is
growing younger in a threefold way: The
fact that it takes the world’s manifestations
so seriously,allowing its phenomena
to become riddles,doesn’t in itself prevent
the most developed knower from being
able to place himself at the beginning and
discovering new and surprising questions.
Anthroposophy helps one to become a discoverer.
And discoverers are young.
For another thing, there is such power
of conviction and affirmation of the world
in anthroposophy that it calls forth confidence
in itself.Working with anthroposophy,
one sooner or later has the feeling
that everything is true and just needs to
be understood. This certitude, this certainty
of feeling, belongs to being young.
Besides this, already just a fleeting encounter
with anthroposophy, its ideas and
its thinking about the human being, calls
forth personal engagement. For this reason,
deeds also always belong to anthroposophical
life. Our banks, the schools, therapy
centers or kindergartens – they are all
living expressions of the will to do, of the
youthful strength of anthroposophy.
As an anthroposophist,one must be old
and young at the same time, simultaneously
wise and ambitious,adventurous.As
soon as we become old in the wrong way,
in thatwe skeptically diagnose the decline
of culture and thus become passive observers,
as soon as we become not just
knowledgeable but precocious ‘knowers’,
because we take partial knowing to be
knowledge of the whole, anthroposophy
loses its luster. The same is true in the reverse:
One can also become young in the
wrong way. When we neglect studying,
when we no longer have any good explanations
and answers, we lose something
of what is most precious in anthroposophy.
Young people are looking for what can
change the world – sound ideas, ideas
wrested from life, ideas with which and
through which one has grown old.In so far
as impulses become ideas, what is young
becomes old. When intelligence becomes
wisdom, in that one places oneself at the
beginning again, what is old becomes
young. |Wolfgang Held, Goetheanum
General Anthroposophical
Society Anthroposophy Worldwide 03/06
n Anthroposophical Society
Youth Forces and the Next Generation
From Impulses to Ideas,Intelligence to Wisdom
There have already been several generations working with anthroposophy. Even
within one generation there were and are quite different approaches and modes
of realization. Replacements, juvenescence and new ways of doing things set the
tone in the Anthroposophical Society also now, for example at the Goetheanum
and on the councils of the Anthroposophical Societies in Switzerland and Austria.
But what is the meaning of ‘old’? Of ‘young’?
Youthful forces of anthroposophy
Annual Report of the
General Anthroposophical Society
In 17 Languages
This year the annual report of the General
Anthroposophical Society is in
Finnish and Japanese, Romanian and
Russian, and 13 more languages. It takes a
lot to bring this to the members in 17 languages.
But the growth of the Anthroposophical
Society worldwide and the interest
in the members means bringing this
report – on the statement of accounts,the
theme of the year, and the 11 sections of
the School and their focus of activities – in
as many languages as possible.
Until now there were two ways that
the annual report reached members:
Whereas in German-speaking countries
the annual report is included with Anthroposophy
Worldwide, in other countries
packets of the report were sent to the Anthroposophical
Society’s main office,to be
distributed by mail,sometimes by hand in
the larger branches, and sometimes laid
out in central locations.This meant that it
was often left to chance whether a member
in Romania, Sweden or Chile actually
got to see the annual report.
Bodo v. Plato and Wolfgang Held, in
charge of communications at the Goetheanum,
wanted to change this. This meant
reorganizing distribution.Thanks to extensive
revision of address information,the annual
report will be sent out to all of the
members directly from the Goetheanum,
beginning after Easter.To save postage,this
will take place only in those countries in
which Anthroposophy Worldwide does not
go to all of the members.
But what good is a German or English
report to a member in Tokyo? Therefore
Hans Hasler, responsible for the membership
office,initially came up with a plan to
put out the report in seven, and then – after
further consideration – in 17 languages.
At the meeting of European general
secretaries and country representatives
in Prague, the plan was adopted.
Thanks to the translating work of numerous
members, the annual report will
be available in 17 languages for the first
time, in May at the latest. This is a new
step on the way to an international Society
in which the diversity of individual
countries comes to expression.| Wolfgang
Held, Goetheanum
Twelve motions and their arguments
reached the Goetheanum executive
council on time. Following consultation
with Swiss law professor Hans Michael
Riemer, the executive council rejected six
of them. Then five individuals who had
submitted them “reserved the right to take
legal action” if the motions were not
brought to the regular General Meeting.In
order to spare the General Anthroposophical
Society legal action, the executive
council decided to call an Extraordinary
General Meeting, whose sole purpose will
be to deal with the rejected motions, “although
we continue to be convinced that
it is impossible to vote on these proposals.”
What are the demands in question?
The motions respectively state that the
executive council should act in accordance
with Swiss law governing associations (1),
that the determination of identity of the
General Anthroposophical Society on the
basis of the legal decision of February 3,
2004 and January 12,2005 should be heeded
and the executive council should rectify
its presentations on this (2),that the executive
council should dissociate itself
from the content of an article that appeared
in the journal Info3, which attributed
untruthfulness to Rudolf Steiner (3),
that the executive council, “in regard to
the forming of thematic and geographic
groups,” should act “in accordance with
Swiss law governing associations and
with the statutes” (4) and that the executive
council should return to the General
Anthroposophical Society money (court
expenses and reparations) that was “unjustly
withdrawn” from it (5).*
Paul Mackay referred accordingly to the
fact that the executive council is in any
case obliged to keep to the requirements
of Swiss law governing associations (1 and
4),to respect the decisions of the court (2),
to act in accordance with the statutes (4),
that a matter concerning the spiritual
goals and tasks of the Society as stated in
the statutes cannot be voted on (3) and
that an annual general meeting cannot
rule on whether there has been punishable
conduct on the part of the executive
council (5).In addition,Mackay notes:“This
concession doesn’t mean that we share
the view of the petitioners or that it is not
within the competence of the executive
council to reject motions on grounds other
than contrariety to custom. A rejection
of this kind can (and must) take place also
in the event of contrariety to the law and
the statutes.” | Sebastian Jüngel
* Exact text and correspondence at
http://www.goetheanum.org/1536.html?L=1
2 | Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06
n New at the Goetheanum n Anthroposophical Society
General Anthropsophical Society
Extraordinary General Meeting
In Anthroposophy Worldwide no. 2, 2006, p. 9, there was an announcement of the Annual
General Meeting and conference. In addition, following threats of legal action,
there is now an Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled for April 8, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Below is a summary of information that appeared in the Nachrichtenblatt (Germanlanguage
news for members), nos. 9 and 12, 2006.
A place for the arts, spiritual exchange and
controversial discussion: the Great Hall of the
Goetheanum
Anthroposophy Worldwide is published ten times a year. It is distributed by the national Anthroposophical Societies
– in some cases augmented by independently edited news and articles. It also appears as a supplement to
the weekly publication Das Goetheanum. • Publisher: General Anthroposophical Society, represented by Paul Mackay
• Editors: Helen Lubin (responsible for the English edition), Sebastian Jüngel (content and production), Axel Mannigel,
Dietrich Rapp, Ursula Remund Fink and Michaela Spaar • Correspondents/ News Agency: Jürgen Vater (Sweden),
News Network Anthroposophy (NNA). We expressly wish for active support and collaboration. To receive Anthroposophy
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Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06 | 3
‘Preschool’for the School
Prelude. One can find many places and
occasions in the anthroposophical
world where young people can meet anthroposophy.
Yet there aren’t many places
where young people can come together
who have already made the decision to
shape their lives out of and with anthroposophy.
Our initiative group consists of
young people who experience the wish to
connect to the Michael impulse.
We don’t want our gatherings to take
on consumer quality but to be shaped by
the participants, so that content comes
into these meetings through the participants
themselves, and they can speak
openly and freely about their experiences
in daily life and with anthroposophy.We
characterize this impulse as a call for a
kind of ‘preschool’ for the School of Spiritual
Science - a community of young people
who perhaps do not yet entirely carry
the responsibility of adult life, yet already
sense the earnestness of the task of being
a representative of anthroposophy and
want to carry this into practical life.
Those present who are part of one of
the Stuttgart preparatory colloquia for
the February-days carry in their own way
the impulse of wanting to radically live
and be effective out of anthroposophy. It
also became clear that in existing institutions,
conferences,and meetings,many of
us didn’t find a place where, in regard to
this impulse, they could express and engage
themselves openly and freely – not
least of all because the earnestness and
clarity connected to this impulse are often
labeled ‘dogmatic’.| From a report by Jesse
Mulder, Driebergen (Holland) and David
Mulder, Zutphen (Holland)
We’re Working with Fire
Reflection. One can say: The battle for
the ‘I’ is a cosmic battle now taking
place. One can imagine all this as something
huge and far away. This is all taking
place somewhere, somehow, far away
from me, and I don’t have much part in it
with my small individuality.
But then, as I get more acquainted
with the concept ‘battle for the I’, and
when I recognize the reality behind it,my
eyes open and I have to admit: It is very
close. I see it on the street, at home – the
whole of society is in a battle for the I.
It’s a battle for daily life. It’s the battle
in which I try to become myself more. It’s
a battle because I notice that it’s not at all
easy to become oneself. A lot takes place
that makes this difficult for me.Then one
sees: I can’t gomy way blindly, but I sense
resistance: There are beings who battle
with and against me.
When we meet anthroposophy for the
first time, it isn’t much different than
when we hear of a concept such as the
‘battle for the I’ for the first time, namely:
suddenly it’s there, like a stroke of lightning.
At first one thinks:‘So, what does that
have to do with me?’ And one doesn’t
emerge from one’s own familiar world.Yet
somehow interest is awakened, perhaps
one is confronted with the issue a second
time, and finally one wakes up: ‘Hey, so
what is this?’ – and one notices: ‘The
thought makes sense to me.’
Then it often happens that I get lost in
books and everything becomes abstract
and intellectual.My friends hardly understand
what I’m occupied with, and they
don’t understand my enthusiasm at all.
For now I understand the entire cosmos in
this concept of ‘the battle for the I’, and I
am enlightened by an abundance of inspiration.
Butmy friends haven’t come along.
One’s friends then help one back to reality.
They see to it that one stays on firm
ground. We wake up. Suddenly we feel
that the soul is nourished, but that something
was missing: our I, our strength to
stand upright and to remain conscious in
our thoughts – feelings and deeds were
gone.
Only then do we have the courage to
ask ourselves:‘How is this? Can I, too, develop
knowledge and have insights about
what is being said here or about what is
meant by the issue?’This is the good thing
about the concept ‘battle for the I’: in attempting
to clarify what it’s about, there
is already a ‘battle for the I’ to speak of.
As anthroposophists we need to pay
attention with our own enthusiasm and
practical idealism. We are dealing with
fire and have to always remain centered in
our I, otherwise we forget about the fire
and burn our hands.
I am walking down an alley.Large trees
stand on both sides, to the left and right.
And my gaze falls on the trees on the left
and then those on the right, and then
again on the left. I feel the split in myself:
‘This side is true and important; no, the
other side is true and important.’ I’m uncertain
about which side to turn to, I waver
and can’t decide – I have to decide for
one or the other.
But both are agreeable, and I think it
over and sense with my hands which side
is heavier:right or left? Why can’t I choose
both? Are they opposites? Don’t they fit
together? Couldn’t they complement
each other? They both have their qualities,
good and bad ones. Can’t I work with
n School of Spiritual Science
General Anthroposophical and Youth Sections: February-Days – ‘The Battle for the I’
My ‘I’Has Wings
The conference title is dramatic, the event itself reflective and moving: 130 young
people and members of the School Collegium met at the Goetheanum from February
21-25 for conversation, prepared by young people together with Elizabeth Wirsching,
leader of the Youth Section, and Bodo v. Plato, member of the Goetheanum executive
council. Participants’ aphoristic encounters with the conference theme take the place
of a conference report.
The battle for the ‘I’ – up close (detail from
‘AtWays’ End’ by Georg Goelzer, from Sturm und
Stille. Zum Wagnis des inneren Weges, by Mara
Friedrich and Georg Goelzer, 2000)
4 | Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06
them and use both of them rightly? Do
they not work together in me like a
bridge? But where am I in this?
I walk through the alley. With my
hands I hold my I at my heart. With my
wings I touch the two rows of trees, left
and right. I’m awake and watchful and totally
within myself.My I has wings,not for
flying and fleeing, but for connecting. To
connect to left and right, to connect what
is outside of me and what is within me:‘I’
grows within me. | From a lecture by Feike
Weeda, Leiden (Holland)
Creative Flame
Experience. On earth, I am in a constant
struggle, in tireless becoming, becoming
a true person.
As a small person, I run from this side
to others, I and you, you and I, tireless
reach. Reach for the I, reach for the other.
Breathing in and out. Pulsing of the
heart. The rhythm of the world sounds
continuously within me. Yet there is a
great abyss between I and world,between
world and I.The abyss where I am nothing.
Yet:At this mysterious place, I awaken.
In this abyss I stand up. In this darkness I
find the light. In this stillness I hear the
true name,‘I am’. In this solitude I find the
other. The one who was there, who is
there, who will be there – for me and for
others.
At this mysterious place I stand upon
new ground, where I can grow further,
where I go with you,day and night.At this
mysterious place, the child meets the
wise man: the child who has no fear of
going into the strange land; the wise man
who knows of my origin.They meet in the
illumined heart.
In this light we meet, to create new
ground. On this ground we build a new
temple together,where the creative flame
is lit, where love reigns in the true word.
With this trust in my heart I stand upright
on the earth, because that is the
place where, growing, I can become – toward
the true ‘I am’. | Sara Kawazugi, Dornach,
Switzerland
Only an ‘I’Can Battle
for the Reality of the ‘I’
Outcome. Aphorisms on the I, noted
during the conference: The question
of freedom of will is determined by the I. I
decide.
I is what connects me with my surroundings.
If I don’t take seriously what
comes to me,I bypass my I.The world that
comes toward me is I.
You are I.
I is a balance between opposites; it is
lost the moment it is gained. I is the will
for transformation out of which it itself
comes about.The I comes from one world,
lives in one of its own and will become a
new one. I is unmistakably one’s own and
at the same time universally human.
The I is always on the threshold between
past and future.I is an intersection.
I is threshold.I is movement between spiritual
call and comfortable, everyday situation.
I is carrier of destiny, and personality
is its servant.
The path of the I is a continuous falling
down and standing up again,a seeking between
loss of self and snootiness. Awareness
of the not-I is a quiet dying of the I.
Only an I can battle for the reality of the I.
Today the battle for the I is often a reality-
drama.Is becoming an I worth the price?
Understanding makes I critical. I takes
on responsibility. I trusts. Without love,
the battle for the I does not have a good
ending. The I is never alone. | Bodo v. Plato,
Goetheanum
Being Alone – Being Present
Decision.I live in the certainty of having
found in anthroposophy something
that provides me with points of contact
with my destiny. Regardless of outer representatives,
in my own work something
comes to me from the writings and meditations
to which I strive in the deepest
core or my being. Thus I know:This is me.
In everyday life,my interest in anthroposophy
sometimes compels me to back
off because I sense that people come my
way who don’t want anthroposophy
themselves. This leads to loneliness. But
loneliness is nothing new, because in
meditative work it is always there. Only
sometimes the loneliness seems for moments
to have flown away; one is not
alone, even though no one else has come
along.A view toward the future sees work
in community in which we meet on the
ground of a decision of will. The tasks before
me often seem undoable. Through
the enrichment of meeting comrades-inarms,
one can draw strength and learn.
Only by working on oneself does one
attain the capacity to work in a way that
is task-oriented and beyond the personal.
One can’t deceive oneself into thinking
that everything will be rosy as soon as one
is no longer so alone. But the possibility
for a connection is given when people
come together.
What matters to me is not the masses
but the few who are willing to take on
something with their own hands. The future
of these few who again and again actively
create anthroposophy anew seems
to lie in meditative work. Whether there
will be forms that result in a working together
similar to the Class lessons is to be
seen. In any case, the February-days have
shown that there are people for whom
this is a destiny concern and who want to
engage themselves. For this, I want to be
there. | Börries Hornemann,Witten, Germany
Further Information on Readings
Relating to Theme of the Year
2006/07
English translations of the lectures in
the two German volumes,GA 223 and
229, mentioned in Johannes Kühl’s article
on the 2006/07 theme of the year
(Anthroposophy Worldwide no. 2, p. 9)
are published as follows:GA 223,Der Jahreskreislauf
als Atmungsvorgang der Erde,
is contained in the English volume of
the same name, The Cycle of the Year as
Breathing Process of the Earth (lectures
of March 31-April 8,1923) and in Michaelmas
and the Soul Forces of Man (September
27-October 1, 1923). GA 229: The
lectures of October 5-13,1923 are found in
The Four Seasons and the Archangels;
the lecture of October 15, 1923 was published
in 1957 in vol. 4, Michaelmas (seven
lectures on Michaelmas) and in 1981
in The Festivals and Their Meaning (29
lectures on Christmas, Easter, Ascension
and Pentecost, and Michaelmas). | HL
n School of Spiritual Science
Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06 | 5
In the background was a vision of the
Goetheanum grounds as a campus with
daily colloquia and research discussions.
This time two young researchers had traveled
here to the Rudolf Steiner Archives to
present their project and offer for discussion
the problems that arose during the
research. Favorable, supportive ideas and
comments found a place here.
Human Being and Machine
Pascal Klotz, graduate in interior architecture
at the Basel Academy for Art and
Design, gave an outline of the areas into
which his thesis led him. Under the title
“AreYou Still Functioning or Are You Already
Thinking?” he developed his theme, ‘The
Mix of the Human Being and the Machine’.
He looked at the human being shaped and
designed by technological means – in specialist
terminology: ‘beauty design’ – from
wellness to cosmetic operations, right on
up to highly complex prostheses.
Klotz referred to the guiding, broadly
recognized position of post-humanistic
expectations in regard to healing:‘The human
being is finally in a position to overcome
nature’s less than optimal solutions
and, by means of technology’s growing
possibilities, to freely develop himself.
What is now the relationship of modern
science to the world? Klotz characterizes
this connection as a doing away with reality
in favor of pure discussion of problems
and posing questions, while maintaining
the security of referring to theories.
The relationship of the human being
and nature is the topic of the discourse on
human cyborgs. In response to the defining
question of Roland Halfen – Where
does lawfulness end and that which is individual
begin? – Klotz said: “There is no
foundation for an anthropocentric perspective
– how can what is beautiful be
expressed in a mathematical formula?”
Robin Schmidt enlivened the conversation
with his taunting question:“Isn’t the
beauty-design approach the original anthroposophical
impulse? Transformation
– self-development – wanting to continue
to exist – reincarnation?” Jens Prochnow
lent support to this thought with the
pithy sentence,“Anthroposophy is the answer
to the human being’s longing.”
Reincarnation and Karma
Lydia Fechner put up for discussion
Rudolf Steiner’s practical attitude about
reincarnation and karma. She was not
concerned with its plausibility as much as
with the concrete means of knowing. She
outlined her wish to develop a clean position
for a widespread reincarnation therapy,
which would be synchronous with
the idea of reincarnation in increasing
constituents of our culture. Fechner formulated
her question concretely: “What
is specific to the position in anthroposophy
toward reincarnation and karma?”
She contrasted methodical descriptions
of two reincarnation therapists, Ingrid
Vallieres and Werner Koch, with an exercise
from Rudolf Steiner for insight into
reincarnation.
Fechner’s thought that“the consciousness
soul manifests in attitude and not in
content,” introduced her perspective of
focusing interest on the attitude that is
assumed in each instance. In the case of
the therapists, the need to heal is clear. By
means of hypnosis, the desired, blockadefree
state is reached. Dissolving habitual
ideas and falling into a temporal
whirlpool that is free of moral values are
used as the first healing experience. The
new access to regions that are otherwise
closed off – such as ‘Whatwas your mother
thinking of during the pregnancy?” –
allows the therapist to approach problems
from entirely new perspectives. In
the process, one easily works with quite
concrete images from earlier lives.
By contrast, in 1912 Steiner described
looking at one’s own being as the aim of
his exercise (in Reincarnation and Karma).
Rather than extreme states of relaxation,
he exacts an enormous inner effort in
which one is to develop a lively picture of
that which one never wanted,what came
about against one’s will or what one always
rejected or avoided. And now one is
to want this. “How would you be if you
were shaped by this?” Steiner takes this
made-up person as the starting point for
a feeling-remembering.
For the therapist, the question of truth
is not raised. He uses the idea of reincarnation
to interpret problems.Walter Kugler
understood Steiner’s approach as
“thought movement by way of contrast”.
Fechner,on the other hand,spoke of a will
exercise;she accords value to ‘dis-identifying’
and to the moment of identifying as
the will’s turn of direction.
The question that sounded most
strongly in the turbulent discussion was
how one is to deal with the concrete incarnation
sequences which Steiner developed.
Fechner shed light on the question
as she took it up: “What happens when
there’s no thinking between the metamorphoses?”
Vera Koppehel stressed that,
for her, in Steiner’s approach the question
suggest itself:“Do I really want to change
my life?”Acomment again touched on the
nature of practice:“Creating a problem in
order to then let go of it and to listen to
what happens – overcoming oneself.”
Following this, Monika Elbert presented
the situation of research support in the
Anthroposophical Society in Germany.The
advisory circle is suffering from the current
financial situation of the Anthroposophical
Society in Germany.Central to research
promotion is always the question:
What is spiritual scientific research? |
Philipp Tok, Leipzig, Germany
n Anthroposophy in the World
Third Rudolf Steiner Research Day at Rudolf Steiner Archives
Letting Go – and Listening for What Happens
In the large basement room at the archives, in which a wall and a half are covered with
Rudolf Steiner’s personal library,nearly 30 people sat together for an afternoon. Students,
independent researchers, authors, representatives of the School collegium, coworkers
of the Goetheanum Archives and of the Anthroposophical Society in Germany showed
their interest in the findings of two young researchers.
Presenting research projects, exchanging ideas,
getting to know one another, and taking a break
outside the Rudolf Steiner Archives
6 | Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06
One of the focal points of the Research
Advisory Group’s retreat was around
the question of the human being’s task
with nature.It became clear that,developmentally,
nature has until now been the
basis of development for the human being,
but that today natural outer and inner
development – bodily and soul processes –
are increasingly dependent on the development
of the ‘I’. Thus questions such as
the following gain importance: Does the
human being manage to inwardly connect
individual experience with nature,
without losing himself to nature or overforming
it? What are the methods that
make spiritual perception of hidden forces
in nature possible, so that the border of
corporeality can be ‘shifted’ in both directions
– inwardly and outwardly – by the I?
Understanding Threshold Phenomena
Anthroposophical research wants to
set itself the difficult task of developing
experiences and perceptions, to begin
with, but then of also making them understandable,
and of adequately presenting
research results. A distinction is to be
made between threshold phenomena
that originate in an unconscious and
undirected crossing of the threshold, and
spiritual knowledge. It belongs to the signature
of our time that it is often only
with great difficulty that strong esoteric
yearning can make a connection to a spiritual
scientific research impulse – also
within the anthroposophical movement.
In light of this situation it seems sensible
to develop outlines for adequate research
projects and to support people who are
willing and able to work on questions that
come about in this way.
Effects of the Forces of Evil
In the colloquium that followed – a
continuation of work begun in March
2005 – the central question was that of
identifying the forces of evil that have
worked in the 20th century and are at
work today in continuously changing
forms. From the point of view of a spiritual-
scientifically formed capacity of discernment,
and in connection with the
Apocalypse of St. John, presentations by
Rudolf Steiner and current observations
of the participants, four effects of evil
were characterized and discussed:
– forces that allow what is unreal to appear
as reality;
– life forms that turn against the developmental
capacity of the I;
– ways of thinking and experiencing that
prevent any kind of transformation in
substances and in human relationships;
– forces that create chaos in a previously
lawful and ordered natural and cosmic
event.
These forces find a point of attachment
particularly where the human I seeks a relation
to itself,to others in a community,to
a larger community and,finally,to humanity.
They come to expression at these contact
surfaces between the I and that
which extends beyond it, in habits, automatisms
and ideologies that prevent a
living exchange between I and world.Thus
the transformative power of the I is withheld
from the world,as is that of the world
withheld from the I.This gives rise to a favorable
climate for inner as well as outer
totalitarianisms to arise, which work subtly
and often unrecognized. Motifs that
are individually developed, felt and willed
and that come to expression in societal
contexts here meet their greatest challenges
and significance.
Concept and Being
A further point of attachment could be
described in the growing separation of
concept and being. Concept and thought
seem to attain being less and less often,
and being is increasingly felt to be lacking
a concept or idea. The current tendency
indicates the over-forming of being by
means of systems and abstract models
that rob being of any reality. The contrast
between advancing dehumanization and
creative activity of the I could be debated
with regard to the dangers to childhood
and youth which come earlier and earlier
as well as more radically.This would open
up a broad field for the practice of spiritual-
scientific understanding of the human
being, pedagogy and therapy.
Collaboration between the School collegium
at the Goetheanum, the executive
council of the Anthroposophical Society in
Germany and the Research Advisory Group
will continue at a further gathering in September
2006. Wolf-Ulrich Klünker, Paul
Mackay, Mechtild Oltmann, Bodo v. Plato
and Hartwig Schiller are the coordinators.
This work may possibly lead to a conference
for members of the School of Spiritual
Science in March 2007 in Germany. |
Monika Elbert, Eichwalde, Germany
n School of Spiritual Science
Retreat and Colloquium on Questions of Spiritual Research
The Power of Evil – the Strength of the ‘I’
On March 3-4, 2006 a colloquium of the School collegium, the executive council of the
Anthroposophical Society in Germany and its Research Advisory Group took place at
the Goetheanum.The colloquium was preceded by a retreat of the Advisory Group.
Both the retreat and the colloquium brought aspects of concrete collaboration within
the context of the School.
A point of attachment
for evil: the
relationship of
the human ‘I’ to
itself (Karl Ballmer:‘
Composition’,
1934, Hamburg
Art Gallery)
Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06 | 7
The Center for Kids and Families in Crisis
is midway between a prison and a
halfway house.Sixty young men between
the ages of 16 and 19 have to start by
spending four months here.Then their situation
is reassessed together with the
judge. These young people were, as I
found out, either addicted to drugs or ‘violent’.
Oranges Replace Copper Balls
On a Saturday morning I traveled with
five teachers at the Tridhaksa Waldorf
School for two hours through the metropolis
of Bangkok.The English teachers were
going to be my translators,and two music
teachers would accompany me on the piano
– the school piano, which a few hours
earlier had been transported through the
city for today’s event.
As we arrived at the Center just before
ten o’clock, I had no idea what awaited
me.As we entered,I was expecting brutal,
callous young men. We were received
with coffee and cake in a sterile room.
Otherwise there was only a lectern, and a
picture of the royal couple of Thailand on
the wall. The Center’s director greeted us
in a bright pink suit thatwas surely meant
to make a ‘modern’ impression. She was
about sixty years old and seemed somehow
impressed by our visit and proud of
her role.
Then the young people paraded in.The
addicts wore blue shirts and the ‘violent’
ones wore white.They stood in a big circle,
and how I had to begin.
With quite some inner excitement, I
started off doing a few small exercises
with them. When these were completed
without a problem, I transitioned to a ball
exercise. Of course I didn’t have 60 balls,
but I had brought along a crate of oranges.
The participants seemed to have a
lot of fun with this exercise.
The time passed unexpectedly quickly.
Then came an excursion into exercises
with bamboo rods. As the end of the class
approached, I wanted to go into the elementary
exercise of contraction and expansion.
And then these young people
surprised and touched me! They really became
one with the movement, inwardly
completely going into it.
All Coworkers Joined the Circle
During the short break, an older physician,
who had been watching the event,
came to me. She was perplexed and said
she couldn’t really understand exactly
what I had done, but that she was able to
see the whole of her experience. As far as
I understood,she experienced that just as
she tries to be aware of the whole person,
eurythmy, too, addresses the whole person.
In Europe, we don’t so readily perceive
this. I myself was surprised by her
experience.
Now all of the Center’s staff came into
the circle – doctors, social workers, psychologists
and court officers. The young
people sat on the side and watched.Using
five major and minor intervals, I presented
a glimpse of why eurythmy is visible
song. People were very interested and also
delved into doing eurythmy.In this way
were worked for a while in a mood of concentration.
Then the thought came to me
that we could still do a cheerful, funny
dance usually done in third grade. I told
the young people that they could join in if
they wanted to. And what happened? All
60 of them stood up again and enjoyed
the dance!
Moments of Real Meeting
In the closing session after lunch I
wanted to give a more in-depth impression
of what eurythmy is.In dress and veil,
I showed a piece by Johann Sebastian
Bach. Then my time was up.Was I able to
convey something of the essence of eurythmy?
One of the young people stood up and
asked if I would take some questions. Of
course I said yes, and soon we found ourselves
in a nice conversation. The participants
shared their experiences of the
class, and asked very interesting questions
about eurythmy – how diversified
its application is,and how one goes about
studying it.
Lastly came the official part. The staff
thanked me over the microphone, and I
was given a little present. Everyone stood
and, facing the royal portrait, sang the
Thai national anthem. Then one of the
young people thanked me on behalf of all
of them, and they asked if we could sing
a parting song together.
We formed a large circle in which the
young people stood on one side and the
staff on the other. Suddenly the moment
required the greatest courage on my part.
I had the urge to place myself among the
young people. The song was about to begin.
I walked straight through the center
of the circle and stood between two boys.
After a brief moment, all of the adults
went to stand with the young people.The
closing song took on a totally different
character.
When we were saying good-bye, the
prison director asked me if I would work
longer with the young people and the
staff the next time.I would be welcome to
come again. I don’t know when I will be
able to travel to Bangkok again; but as a
result of our visit, the Center has received
a piano of its own.| Noèmi Böken, Überlingen,
Germany
Contact: Noèmi Böken
Heinrich-Emerich-Str.26,DE-88662 Überlingen
boeken-noemi@hotmail.com
n Anthroposophy in the World
Thailand: Eurythmy in a Juvenile Prison
Becoming One with the Movement
In January 2005 two people – independently of each other – asked eurythmist Noèmi
Böken if she would teach eurythmy at the Tridhaksa Waldorf School in Bangkok. Böken
then spent some nine weeks there, up until the end of January 2006. During this time
she also held a class in a prison for juvenile offenders.
Concentrated atmosphere: Noèmi Böken at work
in Bangkok
8 | Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06
At Christmastime, shortly after the beginning
of the new year,my path took
me to snowy Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital,
where I visited the first Slovakian Waldorf
school. It was winter break, and yet the
joyful atmosphere of the capable and creative
Slovakian spirit was alive here.
Marián Czére, one of the carriers of the
school,showed us around with the friendly
willingness that has become more of a rarity
in human interchange.My surprise and
enthusiasm became that much greater
when I sawthe beautiful,bright classrooms
through the largewindows,and,next to the
windows, the beautiful chalk murals by
Scottish artistDavie Newbatt:pictures from
the story of the Creation for each class. He
visited the school last summer and in this
way left his personal imprint.
Entrance to Another World
This extraordinary experience was
doubled when I saw the kindergarten. In
the entrance area there was a space for
coats and shoes, constructed of wood – a
volunteer project by friends of the school
– and many other wooden articles. The
small beds for each child, with a pink curtain
around the head area,were arranged
in a circle and seemed to be straight out
of a fairy tale.
Upon entering the school, I was surprised
by the magnificent colorful mosaic
representation of the four elements – a
work of patience that also came about
through the initiative of coworkers and
friends.The white doorway,created with a
sense for intimacy, was like an entrance
into another world – of freedom, harmony
and magic. An experience, in the midst
of the smokestacks of the industrial
Bratislava, which I won’t so easily forget.
Little by little there are also other cultural
institutions and initiatives coming
about in Slovakia, such as libraries of anthroposophical
literature, often forming
the basis for a later, larger library, such as
in the towns of Zilina and Bratislava, for
example. There is music therapy, a Waldorf
teacher training and events that include
eurythmy.
What is missing in Slovakia and is a task
for the future is a publisher of anthroposophical
books and journals. In the course
of the short history of the anthroposophical
movement since the fall of the iron curtain,
this kind of publishing has disappeared
or has been replaced by the publication
of books with content of a similar nature.
In this, Slovakia is dependent on the
friends in the Czech Republic,where the anthroposophical
movement has developed
out of a deeper and tighter tradition.
In recent years there have been visits to
Slovakia from the Goetheanum, such as
when, at the beginning of October 2005,
Paul Mackay, at the invitation of the Anthroposophical
Society in Slovakia, held
two lectures on the karmic dimensions of
heart thinking. The lectures were well received
and the Slovaks enjoyed the visit
from the Goetheanum. Sergei Prokofieff
has also been there.A seminar with Heinz
Zimmermann on ‘Social Art’is planned for
May 2006 in the neighboring Czech Republic.
Many contributions and impulses
that are topical and important for the development
of anthroposophy in Slovakia
have been translated into Czech, which is
closely related to the Slovak language.
(Examples are: The Anthroposophical Society
as a Michael Community, by Paul
Mackay and The Occult Significance of
Forgiveness, by Sergei Prokofieff.)
Karl Julius Schröer
The first sparks of anthroposophical
development in Slovakia remain connected
to the name Karl Julius Schröer. Native
of that country, he was born and lived in
Bratislava. He was a professor and was
Rudolf Steiner’s German Language and
Literature teacher at the Technical University
of Vienna. This great admirer of
Goethe led Rudolf Steiner to study
Goethe, especially his natural scientific
writings. Stimulated by this impulse,
Steiner worked on the publication of
these writings already at the age of 21.
When Steiner later grew closer to this
teacher,he also visited him at home,where
Schröer expounded on the content of the
lectures and gladly replied to his questions.
“I thank God and good fortune,” Steiner
wrote to his friend Josef Köck on January 13,
1881,“that here in Vienna I have met a man
[…] whom I value highly and revere as a
teacher, scholar, poet and human being.
This is Karl Julius Schröer” (GA 38, Letters
vol.1,not translated).Through the meeting
with this man from Slovakia in his younger
years, Steiner’s sentient soul, which he later
indicated as being characteristic of the
Slovaks,was surely stimulated in a positive
sense and influenced on its later path.
Thus there are sparks and connections
of anthroposophy in Slovakia. This is like a
brightening in the heavens,through which
the poorest country in the EU carries itself
into a better and more spiritual future. |
Danica Janãáryová, Dornach, Switzerland
Information: http://www.antropozofia.sk
Anthroposophy in Slovakia
Where Spirit Uplifts Poverty
Although Slovakia was recently designated the poorest country in the European Union,
the anthroposophical initiatives there offer another perspective. Does the longing for
the spirit become stronger with increased poverty? Initiatives there are spreading
abundantly.
n Anthroposophy in the World
With much love, proficiency and creativity: faculty room of the firstWaldorf school in Slovakia
Helmut Goldmann:Three years
ago we resolved – and also told
the members about this – to
continue as the executive
council for just three more
years. Within that time we
wanted to form a new council
with younger people in order
to reshape the Society.We had
to face the fact that we could
hardly find anyone to join us.A
gradual transition of this kind
couldn’t be realized.
Wolfgang Held: What was the
reason for this?
Goldmann: As a council member,
one has to admit that the
council doesn’t look like a committee
in which young people
would want to participate.We
had to be honest with ourselves
about this. This is only
possible with humor, also visá-
vis one’s own personality.
Stability and Openness
Held: How did the changes
then come about?
Goldmann: In January 2006, at
a meeting with delegates and
the circle of carriers, council
member Hellmut Fischmeister
suggested each person should
write down names of people
one could imagine for future
work in the council or in a helping,
supportive role. This was
done, and we then invited
everyone who had been mentioned,
without any filtering.
Most of them came. They
grouped into conversation circles,
and one of these spontaneously-
formed groups is now
our new council.
This group of people, who, for
the most part,were just meeting
each other for the first
time, surprised us in that they
right away arranged a subsequent
meeting. We immediately
had trust in this group,
and we left it to them to take
initiative. This led to further
meetings, to which people
were also invited who were unable
to participate in the first
gathering.
Held: How did it go on?
Goldmann: This small group
found its way. It also weathered
some initial, difficult situations
and strong criticism,
showing astounding stability
and openness. But what convinced
us above all – what was
so evident in this new community
– was its way of working
together, its way – without
vanity or overrating itself – of
taking into consideration the
tasks of forming a new community
within our Society.
Held:Was it hard to pass on responsibility?
Goldmann:The council already
had practice in this direction.
Earlier, at a few conferences,
one had already given the responsibility
for content over to
younger groupings. And it
went very well.
The group then embarked on
something very fine. They created
a circle of involved conversation
partners with whom
they are in contact three or four
times a year, and whom they
can enlist for individual projects.
Besides this, it was convincing
to us that the group developed
goals. They said they
felt refreshed when they had
worked together for a day.
Free Space Essential
Held: How were the members
then included?
Goldmann: Mostly through
the delegates of the groups
and branches, who (hopefully)
reported back home,and twice
in writing in our so-called colleague
letters; also verbally at
the annual conference, at
which the members of the
group introduced themselves,
particularly in regard to their
background and ideas. After
that, at the annual general
meeting, they were all confirmed
by the vast majority.
I was astounded – or should I
say ‘touched’ – at how this
change happened so matter-offactly
and without friction. Of
course,this worked because we
– as an older council – declared
that we were making space together.
This free space was necessary,
or course. It came together
with the good fortune
that we found these people.
Held: It’s been a jump of 25
years?
Goldmann: Yes. From a few under
40 to a few over 50 – this is
now the new span. Incidentally,
the span of professional
fields is also interesting, from
those in technology and business
positions to an entrepreneurial
craftsman and a hightech
entrepreneur, to an artist,
a teacher, someone in special
education, to a scientist who
works as a political consultant.
A very colorful mixture of a Society
with very different temperaments
and backgrounds.
We were extremely delighted
to create a community with
such differences. It didn’t matter
at all that one person in the
group had just recently joined
the Society.
Held: A renovation of this kind
can turn into a mood of ‘Here
we come!’
Goldmann: What gave us a
good feeling, in this respect,
was the modesty and the realism
emanating from the
group. No one was thinking,
‘I’m the rescuer’. This also convinced
the members at the annual
conference. But in efforts
of this kind it is always good to
ask oneself:What capacities do
I see or wish for?
Held: Given this experience,
what advice would you give to
other groups or committees
dealing with a rise in the ratio
of old to young?
Goldmann: What was possible
for us couldn’twork in this way
in a larger or a smaller Society.
It was our council member
Hellmut Fischmeister, who
used to hold a leading position
at the Max Planck Institute,
who stated his experience:“We
older ones have to step back in
order to make room. As older
people we can certainly discern
well the weaknesses of
the younger ones, but often
don’t succeed in perceiving
their strengths and potential.
One doesn’t see that the potential
can only come to realization
when the space is
there. It requires trust.”n
Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06 | 9
Austria: New Executive Council
Space for Young People’s Potential
The Anthroposophical Society in Austria has completed a generational change. At the annual
general meeting on March 4, a new seven-person executive council was formed.Wolfgang Held
asked Austrian General Secretary Helmut Goldmann about the procedure leading to this.
n Anthroposophical Society
One of the driving forces of juvenescence
in the Anthropsophical Society
in Austria: Helmut Goldmann
“As a council member,
one has to admit that the
council doesn’t look like a
committee in which young
people would want to
participate.”
10 | Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06
Sebastian Jüngel: Given that membership
dues account for barely 20 percent of the
budget, is the Anthroposophical Society a
members’ society?
Cornelius Pietzner: In addition to dues,
gifts and legacies also come from members.
So financially the Society is carried at
least two-thirds by its members.
Bodo v. Plato: And since many events at
the Goetheanum are attended by members,
it’s likely that it’s even over 90 percent.
Pietzner: Of course it would be desirable,
financially but also otherwise, to have
twice as many members, so that the
amount carried by each member would
be half as much. On the other hand, if we
had twice as many members, the budget
would allow us to do more.
Ursula Remund: How will things work,
given shrinking membership?
Plato: Membership figures are stable at
present. They are on the rise outside of
Europe, and declining in some European
countries, and level or slightly increasing
in others.
Pietzner: One has to look at membership
development also in connection with the
clarifying adjustments made in the
records of many of the national Societies
in the past two years. Taking this into account,
I would say – and we’ll have a better
view of this in the coming year and a
half – that membership figures are showing
some growth: In January 2006, in any
case, the number of deaths and withdrawals
from the Society, taken together,
was smaller than that of new memberships
– for the first time in a long time.
Attractiveness of the Society
Remund: You would like more projects for
members – not least of all for young people
and those who are dissatisfied.What,
when, how?
Pietzner: We would like to deepen our
work with the Society in each country, for
example supporting its projects and concerns.
Because when something speaks to
people’s hearts, it attracts – such as the
meditation workshops in the Netherlands.
This also has an effect on the General
Anthroposophical Society. I am also
enthusiastic about how the Youth Section
represents us to the world.The Youth Section
has quite an important mediating
function for many young people with
spiritual needs – not only at the
Goetheanum but everywhere in the
world where Youth Sections are now being
founded. This has an appeal that
shouldn’t be underestimated.
A third area is thatwe seek exchange with
members and friends who carry within
themselves a certain discontentment,
and with others who feel closely connected
to anthroposophy and somehow also
to the Anthroposophical Society but for
whom many conferences and other
events don’t fit into their professional and
living situations.
In the Event of Conflict
Plato: There is also people’s need to support
anthroposophical work as such,
without being or wanting to become
members of the Society. This is a growing
circle of people. It’s up to our imagination
whether we can create opportunities for
these people to connect.An important instrument
for this is ongoing conversational
situations, with direction and continuity
– that we meet again and again
with certain individuals and groups, who
often happen to be critical.
Jüngel: How is it for these groups of people
when there is conflict?
Plato: It’s in the conflicts – in dealing with
them – that one sees people’s qualities
and capacities to discern. Let’s take the
constitution issue. Many say,‘If you’re going
to be involved in this and argue about
it,then we’re stepping back and no longer
paying.’ But others say, ‘It’s courageous
that you have taken up this unpleasant issue.
Success or lack thereof is not the
main thing.We will gladly support this –
not because we represent any particular
point of view but because you have begun
to clear the rubbish away from the door of
our history.’
Jüngel: How temping is it to intervene in
conflicts by taking hold in a directive way,
keeping them down, or delay their becoming
known?
Plato: What matters to me – and I do indeed
have a great need for things to have
direction – is the quality of the conflict and
the way it is handled.I don’t have anything
against conflicts. But if they are not worthy,
then I would very much want them to
be held back, also reports about them, insofar
as they stir up the conflict.This is the
case when publications play an important
role, such as when these reports are carried
around like trophies and foment the
conflict – even when the reporting is objective.
Then I certainly would want it to be
steered,simply out of responsibility for the
Society,so that spiritually sensitive people
can still live within the Society - people
who, in a climate of conflict, can neither
engage in the Society nor grow in it.
Pietzner: As the seat for the worldwide
Society, we have a totally different position
and view than a national Society:
We’ve had experience with this in various
countries. And we can draw on this experience
when questions come to us.
Remund: Let’s take the current desire to
bring forth motions or petitions as an example.
How high were the financial costs
of the court case about the constitutional
issue?
Pietzner:The question can be answered in
differentways. Besides court costs and legal
fees,which have already been present-
n Goetheanum
Administration: Conversation on Finances with Cornelius Pietzner and Bodo v. Plato
Positive Trend
At the annual general meeting,Treasurer Cornelius Pietzner will give an overview of
the use of financial resources at the Goetheanum. Bodo v. Plato is a member of the
Goetheanum business administration and, as a member of the executive council, is responsible
for outreach.They here share their thoughts on current membership developments,
dealing with conflict and working with foundations.
Cornelius Pietzner would like to increase contact
with members and others interested in anthroposophy
ed (and have been partly financed by designated
donations), there is the question
of how to calculate the work expended by
the coworkers, for example. I’m thinking
of, as an example, my colleague Paul
Mackay,or the executive council secretariat,
or the editorial board that did the reporting
and documenting. In addition,
there are printing costs and various other
things. I’m preparing a presentation to
give a picture of the financial expenditures
and contributions.
Transparency of Financial Matters
Remund:You favor as much transparency as
possible in financial matters.What about in
regard to disclosure of income for those in
leadership roles at the Goetheanum?
Pietzner: I’m for transparency and comprehensibility
in processes that hopefully
lead to transparent results. Today transparency
is easily misused and misunderstood
– as a catch phrase,especially in the
case of finances. Disclosure of figures, on
the balance sheet and in presenting profit
and loss statements, doesn’t bring
much transparency if one isn’t aware of
the circumstances, developments and
goals. Money has to be understood in the
time stream, in relation to context and vision.
I don’t see any particularly convincing
reason why the income of members of
the executive council, of section leaders,
department directors or other coworkers
should be made public. More important
to me is that the income situation at the
Goetheanum is still very modest. The difference
between the lowest and highest
salaries is less than a factor of three – including
executive council salaries that
normally are not included in a calculation
of this kind.With a base gross income of
3,030 Swiss francs (13 times a year),the average
Goetheanum income is well below
the average for Switzerland.
Remund:Whereas membership dues to the
General Anthroposophical Society between
2000 and 2004 dropped by 14 percent,
coworker costs increased 21 percent.Why?
Pietzner: In 2005 there was for the first
time in eight years a significant increase in
membership dues (around 300,000
francs). There are three reasons for the intermittent
decline: the updates made to
the membership index, as mentioned earlier
(in some instances this meant a 20 percent
reduction in the number of members,
and correspondingly fewer dues payments);
being occupied with internal problems
and concerns, which didn’t have
much radiance in the Society, and other
problems that affected some of the national
Societies directly;financial problems
in some of the national Societies, which
made it hard for them to come up with the
agreed contribution. In 2003 and 2004 we
had the Faust performances, with approximately
40 additional coworkers.This is the
reason for the increased coworker costs. In
the end of the year report for 2005,one can
see that this has dropped again significantly.
Not at All Old-Fashioned
Jüngel: In 2003/04 there was a business
audit of the Goetheanum in connection
with foundations [interested in supporting
Goetheanum initiatives] (Anthroposophy
Worldwide nos. 6 and 10, 2004), followed
by further conversations and
changes at the Goetheanum. In the background
was possibly that one didn’t quite
credit the Goetheanum with being capable
of dealing well with finances. How do
these foundations view the Goetheanum
in the meantime?
Pietzner:The starting pointwas somewhat
different. For some foundations – and this
is understandable because the
Goetheanum is so many-facetted – overview
and permeability were altogether unclear,
not only in regard to the finances.The
impression had come about that the financial
needs were enormous – that the
Goetheanum was a ‘bottomless pit’.This is
a regrettable generalization,which doesn’t
take into account that the Goetheanum,as
a business operation, has an annual budget
of 26 million francs that has to be privately
financed, totally, without state subsidies.
We have some 200 coworkers,11 sections,
a large stage operation, and the seat
of the General Anthroposophical Society
with 1,000 events, about 200 conferences
and 150,000 visitors annually.
Jüngel: But a foundation’s interest has to
do with providing financial means.
Pietzner: Yes and no. Of course foundations
provide money. But they provide it
for projects,for deeds,so that ideas can be
realized! Dealing with the finances is only
one component of this. Foundations
want to know whether what we’re doing
at the Goetheanum supports our central
task.Does it make good sense? Does it address
the world?
Jüngel: But certainly these questions are
asked in advance, in order to decide
whether to provide the financial means.
Plato: Exactly. But these are the decisive
questions. The business audit also came
about through our question to the foundations:
whether they would be willing to
support a kind of concerted endeavor:
Everyone at the Goetheanum – uncoordinated
– sent his proposals to the foundations,
very different in form and content,
but all from the Goetheanum. Then the
foundations asked:Are they not at all related
to each other? And we asked:Why not
describe the sum of our intentions to the
foundations, and discuss whether the
Goetheanum and the foundations could
undertake something far-reaching together.
Jüngel: And what impression do the foundations
have of the Goetheanum today?
Plato: I think they were surprised in some
areas, because they expected our way of
functioning to perhaps be more old-fashioned
and disorganized. And now they
found: ‘This actually isn’t the case!’ Of
course there are areas where the decentralized
set-up at the Goetheanum leads
to inefficiency and inability, for example
in the way it presents itself, where identity
appeared to be lacking. On the whole,
the business audit and the conversations
have brought us closer together, and reciprocal
understanding is growing.
Pietzner: In its wake, I’m living with the
echo from the foundations – that the
Goetheanum is functioning well from a
business point of view.n
Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06 | 11
Looking for ways of connecting for people who
would like to support anthroposophical work
without necessarily becoming members:
Bodo v. Plato
12 | Anthroposophy Worldwide No. 3/06
Ahundred years ago the German, Italian
and Polish colonies in Brazil kept
themselves – ethnically – strictly separate.
Yet the telluric forces and the shared enjoyment
of green matte tea surely make a
gaucho of every heart – with a chivalrous
mentality, yet with the ingrained opinion
that a respectable wo