Creativity and Its Transformative Capacity

- by Stephanie Barwick

There is nothing more rewarding than witnessing the subtle restorative power of the creative process through the ‘doing’ of the art. There is no ‘content’ just the painting exploration itself.

The adults I work with live with a variety of challenges including brain trauma, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression and dementia; many are in wheel chairs, no longer able to walk or with no legs at all. They live in long term care residences without the proximity of close family or friends.  They are a community unto themselves.

Through an 8-week series of wet on wet watercolour painting classes, they take a journey through the colours of the spectrum. All the exercises are designed to bring harmony, balance and nourishment to their much depleted souls. Some are for restoring their breathing rhythm; others for enhancing their cognitive abilities, their memories.

As they become more ‘adept’ with the medium and begin to ‘master’ the various exercises, the qualities of self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth grow. Their will forces become stronger – some no longer needing to be guided when they walk or needing their walkers or canes. Others with dementia become more focused, less diffused.  Another young lady, so withdrawn into herself at the beginning, has opened up and shares herself now quite eloquently at times! This person, during our last series of classes, had no catatonic episodes at all. Another person took up activities she’d let go of 8 years ago when her illness struck; but, then, slipped back to the depression side of her bi-polar illness and let them go again. Nonetheless, it is one of the many ‘little miracles’ that have occurred during the course of time working with my people – so much courage and perseverance.

At the beginning of each class, we participate together in a Circle viewing each other’s paintings. They are encouraged to offer their observations. This exercise assists in awakening their ‘thinking/feeling’ capacities and stimulates their imagination, which becomes very dried up with medications and the lack of quality of lifestyle. Through appreciating their paintings without criticism or judgment, they are also appreciating themselves, the creators of these works of art. This, in turn, promotes a more positive outlook and attitude towards life itself.

The 9^th week we have an Art Show displaying their paintings created during the program. This gives each person a moment in the Sun to shine.  And, Shine they do! Their smiles light up the room. They are all so proud of their beautiful accomplishments – of themselves.

After the Art Show, we take a break of several weeks during which time the seeds planted take root, are digested and assimilated on an inner level. Then, we begin again and they evolve further in their abilities with the painting process with wonders continuing to manifest as they become more independent with what they are learning. It is a very gradual soul growth process that directs itself innately to the unique needs of each individual. This fills me with Wonder over and over again!

Stephanie Barwick

“Art Inspiring Life”

Dornach 2013!

- by Mischa Saunders

From February 21^st-24^th, 2012, a group of anthroposophists from around the world gathered in Dornach for the Michael and the New Isis Mysteries conference.  This conference was full of many surprises and deep meetings, and was graciously hosted under the wing of Dr. Michaela Glöckler and the Medical Section.  The question at the center of the conference was essentially, “what is needed for the being of Anthroposophia to live and thrive in the 21^st century?”

The participants of the conference came from many different communities.  Many had met previously on Facebook.  Some were youth who had attended the Youth Initiative Program (YIP, www.yip.se) together.  Most of the rest came in pairs of two, primarily from Camphills and Waldorf schools spread around the western world.  In listening to the stories of all those who felt the call to come to this gathering, one thread wove in and out of nearly every story.  It was the thread of working alone; working in isolation.  Feeling the call of a deeply spiritual task, and the struggle to find the community with which to strive.

It was appropriate therefore, that the red thread of the gathering was the Foundation Stone Meditation.  As individuals who have committed to taking up the spiritual research of Rudolf Steiner, it can feel downright bizarre to be faced with a world in which nearly every social convention seems designed to thwart inner work.  The speed of life, the split attention asked by information technology, and the total anonymity in neighbourhoods, are just a few examples of these, in which one “has to” participate.  These were some of the underlying challenges taken up in this gathering, in both content and form.  In the eurythmy offered by Patrice Orange and Rozanne Hartmann, the seeing offered by Adriana Koulias, the sculpting offered by Kilian Voss, and speaking together the Foundation Stone Meditation with Christine Burke, there were real meetings taking place and individuals being empowered to step into their strength.  In this way, the foundation stone for a new community of practitioners was laid, a community dubbed by Dr. Glöckler, ‘The Wild Section’.

As a member of the youth who attended this gathering, I was struck by a number of things.  Upon arrival at the conference, as conferences tend to go, we discovered there was some help needed to make the conference happen.  In stepping into the supporting role that was needed in the conference, it was incredible to me to see how easily people respected us.  When Caleb, one of my peers and a fellow Canadian, was asked to step into helping to host the conference, we were unsure of what would happen.  But from morning singing to deep group processes, youth taking the lead was never questioned.  We were familiar with participating in deep group process out of our education at YIP, but to hold and facilitate deep process in a circle with more than 40 people, all of whom were our seniors, lay beyond the bounds of our prior experience.  We were eight youth, but perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects was seeing one of us really step forward and shine.  In this, the education we have had at YIP and what we learned there was made visible.  It was reassuring to know that what we have learned and continue to learn is of a substance that is useful and valuable for the present as well as the future.

Finally, out of the many contributions offered, one aspect has continued to live on in me in the time following the conference.  Peter Selg stated that “Michael can only use people of courage. How can we find the courage to meet the other, to continue the work we have begun, to form a community of healing? There are many forces that work against us in our task. Yet in 1924, Rudolf Steiner assured the anthroposophical physicians: ‘Still, this community is possible… You will find it.’”

Such is the work that we have taken up.

Letter from the General Secretary - March 2013

- by Arie van Ameringen

Dear Friends,

Every year the Class Holders and Council come together to meet for a full weekend. From January 11^th to 13^th of this year we shared our reflections with respect to the identity of the Anthroposophical Society and the ways this identity is expressed through individuals, initiatives, anthroposophical groups and conferences. It was also an opportunity to share with local members in small discussion groups and with the full circle as we took up the Sunday rhythm of the Foundation Stone Meditation.

The Heart of the Turtle

I spent the first week of March in Ottawa, where I met with members of the Confluence of the Three Rivers branch as well as with parents and teachers from both the Ottawa Waldorf School and the Trille des Bois school.

During the gathering with branch members we brought up the possibility of organizing a large-scale Society event. The members present showed great enthusiasm for the idea of hosting an international conference, and discussed setting up an interactive media site that would play an integral part in the preparation of the event. This project is still in its very first stages, and I hope to be able to give you more details about this initiative as they emerge.

Several members guided me on a tour of Victoria Island, which is located directly facing the Parliament buildings. This site has a particularly symbolic significance, being an ancestral meeting place where Algonquins and other tribes gathered. And it is perhaps not by chance that the Parliament buildings were erected in their present location.

Owing to the powerful vortex caused by the rapids (whose current has now been significantly reduced by a dam), several First Nations peoples considered the site to be a sacred meeting place. They called it the Heart of the Turtle (they identified the whole of the North American continent as being “Turtle Island”). 

It is interesting to note that last year several Ottawa members mixed a biodynamic preparation and sprayed it over this very site as a healing gesture. This spot also attracted extensive media attention last fall through the Idle No More movement and Theresa Spence’s hunger strike.

Yekaterinburg

Those of you who took part in the Whitehorse conference will perhaps remember Olga Kornienko, who led several Russian songs during one of the evening performances. Next summer, from July 20^th to 28^th, Olga is organizing an international conference in Yekaterinburg. This event is in some ways a response to the Yukon conference. The conference theme will be: The Urals, crossroads and meeting place. Taking its impulse from a lecture by Rudolf Steiner on The Imagination of Europe, the conference will explore the imagination of a cross consisting of three dimensions: the North-South axis represented by the Ural mountain range; the East-West direction involving the cultural development of mankind; and the outer-inner dimension of each individual’s encounter with his own ego.

This is the region of the globe where mountain ranges delineate the boundary between Europe and Asia. It has played an important role in the history of Russia, especially with respect to its industrial development and the events which took place there during the 1917 revolution.  

Members of the Isis Cultural Outreach foundation are lending their support to this initiative. Both Philip Thatcher and I have been invited to give presentations. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me. Financial contributions in support of this project are always welcome.

Dennis Klocek and our AGM conference

The planning for our upcoming AGM conference in Montreal from May 17^th to 19^th is well underway. This year, we intend to provide adequate time for members to meet among themselves. May 19^th is Whitsun, and the conference theme: The Challenge of our Social Will can speak directly to the Whitsun experience. Dennis Klocek will share some of his most recent research into the influence of the media and the inner work now required for us to strengthen our own spiritual capacities and become more inwardly active.  This theme is both essential and timely for parents and teachers, and in fact for anyone engaged in any form of social activity. Social life depends on developing a genuine will to meet and to work together. The last verses of the Foundation Stone Meditation may then take on their full meaning:

That good may become

What

From our hearts we found,

What

From our heads

We direct with single purpose

Of will.

Following the conference there will be an artistic evening featuring eurythmy. Please take note that the Society has established a special fund for members’ travel expenses. I hope we will have the pleasure of seeing you in Montreal for this event.

Arie van Ameringen,

General Secretary.

Mot du Secrétaire général

- Arie van Ameringen

Chers amis,

Chaque année, les lecteurs de Classe et les membres du conseil se réunissent afin de travailler ensemble. En janvier dernier, soit du 11 au 13, nous avons partagé nos observations sur l'identité de la Société et comment celle-ci se manifeste à travers les individualités, les initiatives, les formations en anthroposophie et les congrès offerts. Avec les membres locaux, ce fut également un moment privilégié pour réfléchir et échanger en petits groupes sur la dernière partie de la Pierre de Fondation.

Le cœur de la tortue

Durant la première semaine de mars, j’étais à Ottawa où j’ai rencontré des membres de la branche La confluence des trois rivières (The Confluence of the Three Rivers) ainsi que des parents et des professeurs de deux écoles, notamment : Ottawa Waldorf School et l’école Trille des bois. 

Lors de la rencontre avec les membres de la branche, nous avons discuté de la possibilité d’organiser un congrès pour la Société.  Un grand enthousiasme s’est emparé des personnes présentes.  Elles ont été sensibles à l’idée de tenir un rassemblement international où un volet interactif ferait partie de cette préparation.  Le projet est encore à l’état embryonnaire.  J'espère, toutefois, pouvoir prochainement vous donner plus de précisions à ce sujet.

Quelques membres m’ont fait visiter l’île Victoria qui se trouve juste en face du parlement canadien.  Cet emplacement a de ce fait une signification symbolique particulière.  Cet endroit est un territoire ancestral algonquin où d’autres tribus se sont aussi rencontrées. Et ce n'est peut-être pas un hasard si les édifices gouvernementaux se trouvent à cet endroit précis.

En raison des rapides qui formaient un vortex puissant (aujourd’hui , le courant est très atténué à cause d’un barrage), les Amérindiens de plusieurs nations considéraient ce site comme un lieu sacré de rassemblement; ils le nommaient le cœur de la tortue, le territoire nord-américain était identifié comme étant la tortue.

Curieusement, quelques membres d'Ottawa ont, au cours de l’année dernière, brassé un préparat biodynamique qu’ils ont répandu à cet endroit dans un geste de guérison. Ce site a eu à l'automne dernier une attention particulière de la part des médias en raison du mouvement Idle No More et de la grève de la faim de Theresa Spence.

Ekaterinbourg

Certains d’entre vous - qui ont participé au Congrès de Whitehorse - se souviendront peut-être d'Olga Kornienko qui avait animé quelques chants russes sur scène.  L'été prochain, soit du 20 au 28 juillet, Olga organise un congrès international à Ekaterinbourg, et ceci un peu comme une réponse au Congrès du Yukon.  Le thème porte sur : L’Oural, la frontière, la croisée des chemins et la rencontre. À partir d'une conférence de Rudolf Steiner sur l’imagination de l'Europe, le thème du congrès développe l'imagination d'une croix en trois dimensions; la chaîne de montagnes de l'Oural, Nord - Sud, la dimension sociale Est-Ouest et la dimension intérieure de chacun en lien avec son moi.

Cet endroit géographique qui forme la frontière entre l’Europe et l’Asie par ses chaînes de montagnes a joué un rôle important dans l'histoire de la Russie, notamment quant à son développement industriel et aux événements qui y ont eu lieu lors de la révolution de 1917.

Des membres de la fondation Isis Cultural Outreach participent aussi à soutenir cette initiative.  Philip Thatcher et moi-même avons, d'ailleurs, été invités à y faire une présentation.  Si vous désirez plus amples détails, vous pouvez me contacter.  Les contributions financières sont toujours bienvenues pour soutenir ce projet.

Dennis Klocek et le congrès de l'AGA

L’organisation du congrès de l'AGA aura lieu à Montréal du 17 au 19 mai prochain et va bon train.  Cette année, nous avons laissé un espace important pour la rencontre entre les membres. La Pentecôte se fête le 19 mai et le thème : Le défi de notre volonté sociale peut nous interpeller de près. Dennis Klocek nous partagera ses récentes recherches sur l'influence des médias et le travail intérieur que nous pouvons entreprendre pour être davantage actifs. C'est un sujet d'une grande actualité qu'on soit parent, professeur ou engagé à d'autres niveaux.  La vie de la Société dépend de notre bon vouloir de nous rencontrer et de travailler ensemble. La dernière partie de la Pierre de Fondation prend alors tout son sens.

Pour qu'évolue vers le bien

Ce que par nos cœurs

Nous fondons,

Ce que par nos têtes

Nous guidons vers le but

Par notre vouloir

À la fin du congrès, il y aura une soirée artistique consacrée à l’eurythmie. Il est à souligner que la société a mis, pour ceux qui en auraient besoin, un fonds spécial pour les frais de déplacement. J’espère que nous aurons l’occasion de vous rencontrer à Montréal pour cet événement.

Arie van Ameringen

Secrétaire général