Tue, 18 May 2004

Coming into the world – from where and how?

By Ursa Krattiger

DORNACH (NNA) – Anthroposophical medicine is based on the conviction that there is life before birth and after death.

Yet ordinary help books about pregnancy and birth rarely go back beyond conception – and when they do they only to discuss contraception or about the timings of a planned pregnancy. The growth in the number of couples who cannot but would like to have children means that the practices of reproductive technology and artificial insemination are also set out. But the question which moves many mothers and fathers to be – namely who is it who wants to come to us, where does this being come from, growing invisibly, why has it come to us? – such questions are rarely discussed outside the circle of the family and close friends.

In 2001, the Swiss anthroposophical patient association “anthrosana” become involved in the public debate about death and dying with its brochure “Dying is also a birth. Reports and thoughts about dying and death“. The unequivocal view expressed in the brochure that dying represented a transition into another state of being in which the deceased person continues his or her development received widespread attention and resulted in direct changes in the way that dying people were supported.

But if we talk about the “departure” of a person from this earth it also raises the question about his or her “return”. In its recently published brochure No. 208, “Coming into the world”, anthrosana builds on the previous brochure and describes the incarnation of the human being as a “decision in favour of earth”. Once a soul decides to re-incarnate, it moves from the life after death into the life before birth and begins its “journey to earth”. Such ideas can deepen the experience of pregnancy and birth in mothers – and, indeed, in involved fathers – and change the support for the pregnant mother and her family in the maternity clinic or other birth facility.

„Coming into the world“ comprises reports of experiences of mothers and fathers, philosophical essays, conversations with gynæcologists and pædiatricians, with a sex therapist and a psychiatrist as well as brief reports about maternity facilities which provide additional complementary medical support on the basis of conventional medical practice. The brochure concludes with a section listing addresses and relevant literature.

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Ursa Krattiger is head of the Swiss Anthroposophical Media Centre

The „anthrosana“ brochure No. 208 „Coming into the world“ costs CHF7 and can be ordered from anthrosana, Postplatz 5, 4144 Arlesheim, Switzerland. Tel +41 (0)61 701 15 14, Fax +41 (0)61 701 03, info@anthrosana.ch and www.anthrosana.ch

Item: 040518-02EN Date: 18 May 2004

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European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education meets in Edinburgh

EDINBURGH (NNA) – The European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), which groups Waldorf associations from the majority of European countries with North America as an associate member, held its six-monthly meeting in Edinburgh at the weekend.

As well as hearing reports from member associations about the situation in their countries, the council discussed the convergence in education policy across Europe which has become evident over the years.

“So we’re trying to see in what way does that affect Waldorf education,” sources at the meeting said. “Is it detrimental, is it positive, should we participate, should we react, do we need further research, do we involve ourselves in countries’ affairs and politics?”

In a related subject, there was also a report on developments with regard to the EU lobbying work in Brussels, as well as future tasks in this respect such as joining UNESCO and the OECD to represent Waldorf ideas and ideals – both to learn what is going on and for the Waldorf schools to have a voice.

Education working groups were being set up by Brussels with all the members of the European Education Area to develop convergence of education systems. “The point of the council is to be ready for the right moment,” the sources added.

Although ECSWE has been refused formal inclusion in these working groups on the grounds that they are already big enough, it will be invited to particular meetings to set out the areas of concern for the Waldorf movement. ECSWE is developing contacts with the facilitators of the relevant committees.

Another international area the meeting considered is the effect of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on education.

Other topics on a very full agenda for the meeting, which ended on Sunday, include internal topics such as school administration and governance, where quality can vary considerably between schools, the admission of new members Spain and Ukraine, the development of a European post-graduate degree for Waldorf education which will be formally launched next year, the issue of formal learning in early years and how to develop an innovative upper school to meet the needs to today’s teenagers.

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Item: 040518-01EN Date: 18 May 2004

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Understanding the beast

By Christian von Arnim

LONDON (NNA) – Serious spiritual movements often have difficulty in coming to terms with popular culture. At first glance there seems to be an inherent contradiction between the individual’s striving for spiritual knowledge and advancement and the manifestations of mass culture – which in the worst case aim at the lowest common denominator. There appears to be an irreconcilable gulf between the two things.

And yet that would be too simplistic a view. Popular culture, whether in a positive or negative sense, can be a symptom of underlying spiritual trends and reflect the development of human consciousness. The secret is being able to read and interpret the signs.

That in itself is not always easy, of course. It requires a coherent understanding of the spiritual development of mankind. It demands the ability to look beyond the immediate manifestation to the underlying causes. But that is precisely what Sevak Gulbekian seeks to do in his book “In the belly of the beast. Holding your own in mass culture”.

The first prerequisite for such a task is, of course, a thorough knowledge of popular culture and here Gulbekian is clearly well qualified. “Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated by popular culture,” he writes. “As a youth I was obsessive about soccer, and later pop and rock music. I went to the games; I went to the concerts.” Marry that with an interest in spirituality which developed in his twenties and the desire to integrate a spiritual approach to life with modern living, and the foundations of the present book are already there.

But in tackling the “beast” of modern mass culture, Gulbekian has in mind one key aspect of contemporary life: materialism. And materialism not just in the sense of consumerism or the desire for material wealth: “For many people today materialism is a philosophy of life, one that is often unconsciously lived. It is our culture’s leading paradigm, and many of our judgements and convictions are born from it; from the way we approach religion and art to the practices of mainstream medicine, education, agriculture, and so on.”

And this is where we get to the heart of the book: “I don’t think it is wise to delude ourselves by pretending that we are living a beautiful spiritual existence when we are surrounded by the hard-edged and often ruthless reality of twenty-first-century life. The path I describe here is about bringing change within our present situation: transforming materialistic culture through spiritual practice.”

The path which Gulbekian adopts to bring about such change is understanding. “As I see it,” he writes, “the modern Manichean path tackles destructive and evil tendencies by attempting to bring the light of understanding to them. … To transform the destructive aspects of materialist culture, we have to get our metaphorical hands dirty, to work within the belly of the Beast itself. Sometimes it may even be necessary to take an interest in and study things which seem distasteful, unspiritual and even degenerate.” In short, if we want to exercise a constructive influence on modern mass culture we need to engage with it in full.

Whereas the first section of the book lays out the framework for what follows in the sense that it describes the general spiritual context and path – with a brief critique of materialism – which can lead to a clearer understanding of the phenomena of mass culture, the second part presents a number of case studies of modern cultural events ranging from an examination of rap and the effects of its commercialisation to the British royal family and the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris.

Along the way Gulbekian looks at phenomena as diverse as the Beavis and Butt-head cartoons, the case of the child-killer Mary Bell, the story of Malcom X and the TV sports presenter turned conspiracy writer David Icke, who believes that humankind has been interbred with an extraterrestrial race of shape-shifting reptiles, to name but a few more of the subjects tackled.

One chapter in the second section draws fascinating parallels between the mysterious case of Kaspar Hauser in nineteenth century Germany and the disappearance and kidnap by the Chinese authorities of the Tibetan boy determined by the Dalai Lama to be the next Panchen Lama.

The success of this book hinges on its ability to persuade the reader to adopt a non-materialist view. Here I suspect that while it will probably do little to convert the hardened materialist, it will encourage those with an open mind to look at phenomena more deeply beyond the immediate superficial material reality and those with a spiritual orientation to engage in and try to understand modern culture.

One may disagree with some of Gulbekian’s arguments and conclusions. When dealing with European integration in the chapter on nationalism and federalism, for example, he argues that what started “as an economic alliance metamorphosed into an economic union and is now working towards full political, cultural and economic federation.”

What he fails to take into account here, in my view, is that economic integration was a tool right from the beginning to support the political objective of never allowing such a devastating war as the Second World War to start from European soil every again, since countries which are economically integrated are hardly likely to go to war against one another. It is also arguable whether the European Union really wants – or, indeed, would be able – to create the kind of standardised cultural homogeneity which his line of argument implies.

Or take the chapter on David Icke. I found it hard to see what its purpose was and where it was leading.

But this is precisely also where the appeal of this book lies. It does not try to tell us what to think. Gulbekian tells us what he has discovered and challenges us to look at the phenomena and try to understand their real significance for ourselves. And, based on the anthroposophy of the Austrian philosopher, Goethe scholar and spiritual teacher, Rudolf Steiner, Gulbekian also suggests the method by which we might penetrate beyond the surface of things.

This is a timely book with a fresh perspective on contemporary culture – and a good read.

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Sevak Edward Gulbekian, “In the belly of the beast. Holding your own in mass culture”. Hampton Roads Publishing Company. ISBN: 1-57174-305-7. Internet: www.hrpub.com.

Item: 040518-03EN Date: 18 May 2004

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