Members Conference 2017

11 Jul Members Conference 2017

On the Victoria Day long weekend the Conference and AGM of the Anthroposophical Society of Canada was held in North Vancouver BC at the Rudolf Steiner Centre. “How Can I Represent Humanity Today?” was the Conference theme. There was so much content in the two days; there were many highlights and it is only possible to touch on a few of them in this short summary.

On Saturday morning Arie van Ameringen spoke of the need to look for the Christ in the other. There is a habit in our circles for each to go inside and tend his “little garden.” We are all “becoming” human; this requires self-development. Each needs to do the inner work as well as understand the role of art for Anthroposophy to work effectively in the world. Arie went on to give a wonderful picture of working with the Foundation Stone Meditation over 7 days in order to transform all the parts of our being.

Bert Chase spoke about the importance of the “practice “ of art. There are two streams. One is open and receives what comes towards oneself. Everything is possible but one has to select. This is the “organizing” principle. The second stream has to do with one’s relationship with substance. Something new appears in the physical world and the work of art is a “footprint” of a soul shaping itself.

Philip Thatcher spoke movingly about the life of the poet and constitutional lawyer F.R. Scott (1899-1985) who tried to cultivate “large” eyes with which to see and act in the world. As well as practising the art of poetry (and mentoring younger poets) he developed ideas around social justice with a concern for the freedom of the individual. Learning how to “bend” under great pressure was a theme he returned to again and again in his life.

Micah Edelstein spoke of the need to pay attention to what is coming towards us from the future. How do we practise “spirit beholding”? There is a need to have full confidence in Anthroposophy. There was some discussion of the recent Faust production at the Goetheanum. Some new things were tried and the production lost money. What went wrong? There was no consensus about this.

To practise “spirit beholding,” Micah led us on a Dialogue Walk outdoors. We formed groups of two with a person we didn’t know well and each of us took turns walking for 30 seconds behind our partner to observe his gait. Then in the pairs we shared thoughts of what had emerged in our respective lives from the winter. It was a wonderful exercise to make the acquaintance of someone new in this way.

On Sunday morning Elizabeth Carmack spoke passionately about the need to include the indigenous people when we reach out and consider Canada’s future. Cultural diversity is the life blood of society and more (much more!) intercultural and inter-religious dialogue is needed.

Elizabeth then introduced Wendy Charbonneau, the Squamish elder who had delighted us with her presence last summer at the Ottawa conference. With her drum she sang the commissioned work: “Women are Gone” which brought to mind the plight of Canada’s murdered indigenous women. She taught us how to breathe out the word “Ahoy” which native people practise to bring inner sadness to the surface and release it. She told us the story of “The Sisters” which is about a father who gave each of his daughters a special gift. “Be careful what you want,” he said. “What you ask for is going to represent who you are.”

We ended the morning by going on a nature walk with Wendy along Mosquito Creek just outside the Centre. She pointed out some medicinal plants and told us stories about them. She mentioned how important it is each spring to greet and welcome back our “buddies” —the buds of the growing flowers.

So much more could be written about this wonderful conference. We all thank John Bach, outgoing Council member, for organizing such a full and stimulating weekend!

Susan Koppersmith