In contemplating the risks and impacts of technology for inner development and humanity’s future, Spirit-Led Community – Healing the Impact of Technology (Steinerbooks 2018 by Lisa Romero) identifies the protection and care of child development, and specifically of the senses, as the frontline of influence for healing the impacts of technology in our age. Of primary concern is the bombardment of addictive technologies and their developmental and health-related consequences which put ethics, and the potential of human freedom at existential risk…And in this era of ever more technology-led community, the author’s point is clear – we need to deepen our understanding and capacity to support healthy child development not just for its own sake but because it serves as the ground for human freedom, for inner development in adulthood and as such, for community which works out of inspiration, in service of the evolving human spirit.
Read moreDeveloping the Self at the North American Biodynamics Conference in Portland, OR - Anthony Mecca
Lisa Romero, Ronan O'Conner, and I presented workshops at the North American Biodynamics Association (BDA) Conference this November. It was an inspiring group of attendees not only in their numbers (some 900 people attended the event) but in their palpable interest and enthusiasm for gaining and deepening understanding of biodynamic agriculture and all that it has to offer to support the health and well-being of the earth and the kingsdoms of nature. Because of the scale of the conference and perhaps the nature of the farming community at large, there was a strong social component to the gathering, with many opportunities for connecting with others informally over meals, spontaneous hallway encounters, and on walks along the Columbia River.
Read moreThoughts on Working with Young People - Jen Zimberg
When I was asked to write about why I work with young people, it was difficult to know how to answer directly. And what did come to mind was that I had been contemplating roads and paths recently, and their ubiquity in life. It would be a rare day that I didn’t drive, walk, or see some road, path, or track. Perhaps I need to spend some days in a remote wilderness or a desert.
A Truly Artistic Education - Meaghan Witri
The teacher’s intensive at the Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School was a wonderful experience this year. 170 primary school teachers gathered from all over Australia - that’s some 5,000 children who were represented by their teachers for the coming year. Summer was in full swing during the 5 days in January that the conference took place - but there was lots of good humor, laughing, singing and a feeling of a collegial community to accompany the long hot days and hikes up the craggy hill upon which the beautiful campus of the Glenaeon school is situated.
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