Meeting the Other, The Portal of Initiation & the Freedom Mystery Conference: by Timothy Nadelle
“I had to sink myself in all the people who in their words
revealed themselves just now.” Johannes
Thomasius, Scene 2, The Portal of Initiation, by Rudolf Steiner.
“Tearing the Self out of oneself and entering into another
is part and parcel of self-knowledge.” Rudolf Steiner on the Portal of Initiation,
September 17, 1910.
In August, Bodo von Plato visited Toronto and led a full day
workshop on the subject of Concentration, Contemplation and Meditation at
Hesperus. Bodo asked us to share our
individual “tabernacles”, those sacred moments in our lives through which we
experience the spirit. I was struck by
the number of people who in various ways experienced these holy moments in the
“meeting of the other”. It was clear
from what they said that these encounters were moments of intense, actively
listening.
In contemplating this, Steiner’s words at the end of chapter
one of the Philosophy of Freedom resonated: “The
way to the heart is through the head.
Whenever it is not merely the expression of bare sexual instinct, it
depends on the mental picture we form of the loved one. And the more idealistic these mental pictures
are, just so much the more blessed is our love.
Here too, thought is the father of feeling. It is said that love makes us blind to the
failings of the loved one. But this can
be expressed the other way round, namely, that it is just for the good
qualities that love opens the eyes. Many
pass by those good qualities without noticing them. One, however, perceives them and just because
he does, love awakens in his soul. What
else has he done but made a mental picture of what hundreds have failed to
see? Love is not theirs because they
lack the mental picture.”
I have a friend, Francois, who does work in a fascinating
field called “cognitive ergonomics”. In
contradistinction to expert systems, which emulate the decision-making ability
of a human expert (in effect attempting to replace the human being), cognitive
ergonomics strives to provide a person with
the tools and information he or she needs to make better decisions. Cognitive ergonomics puts the human being in
the centre of the work process, recognizing the importance of human intuition, creativity
and decision-making. I have had the good
fortune to work with Francois on occasion.
Francois will typically video-tape a person at work in her own
environment and ask her to think aloud, explaining
what she is doing as she performs her
tasks. I believe there are deep
mysteries involved in this process of making will activity conscious through
the spoken word. And it’s intriguing to
witness the pleasure people feel through, as my friend says “sharing their
experiences” with someone who listens very carefully.
In a lecture given September 17, 1910, Steiner said
concerning the Portal of Initiation, “This
Mystery Drama exists now as a picture of human evolution in the development of
a single person… Everything in the drama
is presented, therefore, in a completely individual way. Through this, the truth portrayed by the
particular figures brings out as clearly as possible the development of the
soul of a human being. At the beginning,
Johannes Thomasius is shown in the physical world, but certain soul-happenings
are hinted at that provide a basis for such development, particularly an
experience at a somewhat earlier time when he deserted a girl who had been
lovingly devoted to him. Such things do
take place, but this individual happening has a different effect on a man who
has resolved to undertake his own development.”
In witnessing the Portal of Initiation audience members enter,
therefore, into the experience of a person on
a path of spiritual development who is confronted – as we all must be – by
his own failings. Perhaps this is why
people love theatre and even movies so much.
Recognizing that the experience cannot run as deep as the performance of
a Mystery Drama, the best of them nevertheless afford us an opportunity to
imaginatively exercise that faculty of entering into the soul experience of
another person.
Further in that lecture, Steiner went on to say, “There is one deep truth necessary for him
who wants to undergo development: self-knowledge cannot be achieved by brooding
within oneself but only through diving in the being of others… When at first
Johannes sinks more deeply into himself and then plunges in self-knowledge into
another person, into the one to whom he has brought bitter pain, we see this as
an example of the experience of oneself within another, a descent into
self-knowledge.”
It’s also stirring to perceive how deeply Johannes is
affected by entering into the biographical experiences recounted by the various
people to whom he listens in scene one.
In the same lecture, Steiner said, “For Johannes Thomasius… what other people have lived through becomes a
part of him. One of them, Capesius,
describes some of his experiences; we can observe that they are rooted in real
life. But Thomasius takes in more. He is
listening. His listening is singular… It
is really as if Thomasius’ ordinary Self were not present. Another deeper force appears, as though
Thomasius were creeping into the soul of Capesius and were taking part in what
is happening from there… Tearing the Self out of oneself and entering into
another is part and parcel of self-knowledge.”
*******
There is also a kind of mystery-of-the-other in the process
of acting, an attempt to remove oneself and allow the character to come to life
in one’s soul. Several of the actors in
the upcoming performance of the first third of the Portal of Initiation have
shared their experiences of working their ways into their roles:
Graham
Jackson on Capesius:
Playing the part of Capesius, the aging history professor,
has been relatively easy for me, as I pretty well just have to be myself, and
in these scenes, he has not yet entered into the inner trials he suffers later.
He is however interested in what everyone else is going through—just as I
would be—and thus it has been interesting to contemplate again and again their
inner struggles. Although I have seen all four dramas more than once, in
German and English, one is never finished learning from them about our inner
natures, and what we ourselves may still have to face.
Heidi Vukovich on
Helena:
At first, Helena seemed a
straightforward character, displaying qualities of a ‘new age spiritual
consumerism’. She speaks with fervor and conviction to an inner longing of
what we would like to hear: how spiritual striving will bring health,
joy and happiness, it raises life to ecstasy and bliss, and it is our
fault alone if we should feel any different and less than that.
So what after all, is her
temptation, are her tricks, as she is inspired by Lucifer?
She is sympathetic to the
suffering of Johannes, and she is impressively self motivated and self assured.
But she has no empathy! She blames
Johannes for his ills, she is ignorant of the laws of human
development.
Helena confuses the feelings
by rationally addressing what ‘seems’ so well deserved and just feels so
good and self-righteous, that spiritual striving should bring bliss at all
cost. To know this as a temptation is one thing, but to become conscious
on a feeling level was the gift of taking on the role of Helena.
Les Black on Strader
Stepping into the world of
The Mystery Dramas has been stimulating, always, but also full of surprises for
someone who has little exposure to them. When I was asked to play the role of
Capesius in Scene 1 of The Soul's Probation (several years ago), I at least
found myself playing someone my age and with a somewhat
similar professional background. Facing Strader is quite another matter.
We, in this production, have
been graced with intensives of support from 'notables' in the world of
these dramas, as they are now performed internationally, so the 'who' of
Strader has been fleshed out for me, not only in the time of the performance
you will see in October, but also, a glimpse or two of him has been mentioned
from previous incarnations.
I have taken an interest in
speaking with acquaintances who are scientists, to try to 'move' a little into
such a frame of mind as is Strader's.
Tim Nadelle on Johannes
Johannes has been an enthusiastic idealist for years,
striving to embody in his paintings what his dear friend and mentor, Maria,
perceives in spirit. He believed that he
was doing important work and that his art, grounded in spiritual knowledge,
would engender a healing force for the future.
However, by the time the Portal commences, he has lost his enthusiasm,
his creative energy, his artistic sensibility.
He is filled with doubt.
What moves and challenges me about Johannes is his courage
and tenacity. Even when he feels he has
lost everything, he struggles to face and to understand what is happening to him. He sees the consequences of his
self-absorption in the death of a woman who once loved him. He recognizes the most unsavory qualities in
his own character. But he never turns
away or rejects what he sees in himself, no matter how painful or frightening
his self-awareness. His devotion to
perceiving the truth holds.
*******
Please do join us for one (or both!) of the two performances
of the first third of the Portal of Initiation which will be taking place in
Thornhill, Ontario towards the end of October 2015.
The first performance
will take place over the course of the Freedom Mystery Conference from Friday
23 October to Sunday 25 October, which is devoted to exploring the path of
knowledge implicit in the Philosophy of Freedom. Christian Community Priest Daniel Hafner will
accompany us on this quest. Visit www.philosophyfreedom.ca for more information or to register. (Please order meals no later than October 5.)
A week later, Saturday 31 October, Daniel will deliver an
introductory lecture commencing 1:00pm.
Then, from 2:00pm to 5:30pm, the second performance will take
place. This event will also take place at the Christian Community Church, 901
Rutherford Road, Thornhill, Ontario. Tickets will be available at door.
Hope to see you!
No comments:
Post a Comment