Who Was Rudolf Steiner

Who Was Rudolf Steiner?

Philosopher, Reformer, Spiritual Researcher, Pioneer
Aaron French, Nathaniel Williams, Mary Stewart Adams, and Ezra Sullivan 
Saturday October 26th (full day)

Presented by Anthroposophy NYC (138 W15th St, New York, NY)
in Collaboration with the New Center for Holistic Learning NY

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) is one of the most remarkable figures of modern times. Known today primarily through his founding of the worldwide Waldorf Schools and Biodynamic Agriculture, he was also a profound lover of wisdom, a pioneering holistic reformer in education and farming, a courageous voice against regressive materialism, and a spiritual researcher into higher worlds with direct knowledge of vaster realms of consciousness.

This full day program is devoted to deepening our awareness of Rudolf Steiner. Born in humble origins on the Slavic edge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was educated in Vienna, researched Goethe in Weimar where he met Nietzsche, moved to Berlin at the turn of the century into its wild, countercultural, anarchist, theosophical ferment, and emerged into the 20th century as perhaps its most prolific and certainly one of its deepest spiritual philosophers. With 6,000 lectures and over 25 books, Rudolf Steiner’s legacy deserves deeper examination. In recent times, it has been subject to some nasty and gratuitous attacks. It’s important now to set the record straight about this remarkable human being, whose core message is one of love and freedom, and his widespread influence in art, literature, organic agriculture, Waldorf education for head, heart and hands, and the profound treasure trove of esoteric wisdom he left that awaits our discovery.

Note: It is possible to register for the full day, or only the morning or afternoon session.

This program is co-sponsored with the New Center for Holistic Learning NY https://www.newcenterny.org.

*Anyone attending the full day program in-person can view the online morning session at Anthroposophy NYC.

*All online programs will be recorded and made available for 30 days to all registered participants.

Rudolf Steiner: Narrator, Philosopher, Researcher

(Online Talk, 10:00 a.m. Eastern)
Aaron French, PhD

Rudolf Steiner has become well-known through his anthroposophy and Waldorf education, but his personal life remains somewhat obscure and mysterious. What events shaped his ideas about the world and his approach to spirituality? Who were his influences, who inspired him? How did the historical events he lived through affect him, and did he fit in (or not) with other reformers of his time? This presentation introduces Steiner’s biography from a historical perspective and at the same time actively engages with the nature of his often-referenced esoteric abilities. What we discover is a passionate and brilliant human being and thinker, someone who cared deeply about the problems facing both his age and our own. We also find a person undergoing an intensely personal spiritual transformation, a metamorphosis through intellectual development and a kind of self-initiation through science — albeit through a spiritual science of his own creation.

Saul Bellow, M.C. Richards and Rudolf Steiner

(Online Talk, 11:30 a.m. Eastern)
Nathaniel Williams, PhD

Almost one hundred years after Rudolf Steiner’s death, his legacy has taken on grand proportions. An overview of the last century reveals his influence in a great variety of areas, such as education (through the Waldorf school movement), the biodynamic approach to agriculture, medicine, political theory, architecture and acting and drama. His activity in all these fields flowed out of a meditative approach to research and understanding, which he called anthroposophy. He also inspired great writers like Saul Bellow and artists like Mary Caroline Richards in the United States. This presentation will introduce Steiner’s unique ideas about creative, living thinking and how they have touched millions of people.

Rudolf Steiner and the Harmony of the Stars

(Hybrid In-Person & Online Talk, 2:00 p.m. Eastern)
Mary Stewart Adams

This presentation considers the relationship between human beings and the stars — rooted not in contemporary science about devouring black holes and random asteroid strikes, but through Rudolf Steiner’s statement that, effectively, the more abundantly the harmony of the cosmos fills the soul, the more peace and harmony there will be on the earth. Disastrous conditions on earth could be attributed, in part, to our habit of applying the laws of materialistic science to human affairs and to our relationship to the world’s celestial foundations. Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual science addresses the threshold between the physical and spiritual worlds, which is where we as humans actually experience our lives. We will explore this transition from earth-bound laws to cosmic ones, and the harmonizing effect of knowing our true relationship with the stars. A further dimension of this work has been to safeguard the human imagination by protecting our access to the night sky and its stories.

What is Biodynamic Agriculture

(Hybrid In-Person & Online Talk, 3:30 p.m. Eastern)
Ezra Sullivan

Near the end of his life, Rudolf Steiner gave a lecture course for a group of anthroposophical farmers on the Spiritual Foundations of Agriculture. From these lectures in 1924, a worldwide movement for the renewal of the earth through agriculture was born. In this presentation, we’ll cover the three main aspects of the Biodynamic impulse. First, we’ll explore the farm organism, which is the ideal that every farm becomes its own individuality, playing a unique role in its social, ecological and spiritual community. The second concept is the enlivening of a conscious working relationship with planetary rhythms. For thousands of years farmers worked in close dialogue and observation with the movement and position of the planets and today we can look again at this powerful culture of connecting with the planets to enhance the quality of our food, fiber, and medicinal products. Finally, we will highlight the biodynamic preparations that we incorporate into the farm system. These preparations utilize specific fermentations, harvesting indigenous forces (microbes) for the benefit of soil organic matter, seed quality, frost protection, and weed and pest management.

A reception at 5:00 p.m. Eastern will follow at Anthroposophy NYC

Aaron French, PhD, currently teaches in the religious studies masters’ program at the University of Erfurt in Germany and works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin. He received his doctorate in the study of religion, with an emphasis on science and technology studies. His writing on Max Weber, Rudolf Steiner and Modern Western Esotericism will be published this fall.

Nathaniel Williams, PhD, grew up in the Southeastern United States, studied painting, puppetry and anthroposophy in Switzerland and political theory at the University at Albany. He is the leader of the “Section for the Spiritual Striving of the Youth” at the Goetheanum in Switzerland, an independent college dedicated to contemplative approaches to knowledge.

Mary Stewart Adams accepted the role of General Secretary for the Anthroposophical Society in America in 2023, serving both as the US representative to the worldwide anthroposophical community and as lead executive of the general council for the Society in the US. She is also host of NPR’s program, “The Storyteller’s Night Sky.”

Ezra Sullivan moved to South America after high school in California to initiate an inquiry into the life of the human being and nature through meditation and agriculture. There he encountered the work of Rudolf Steiner,  and upon returning to the United States after three years, he orientated his spiritual life toward Anthroposophy. The following nine years were focused mainly in the Pacific Northwest on biodynamic agriculture, nonprofit leadership, the intentional communities’ movement, and non-violent activism. His focus now lies primarily in the social realm including the renewal of organizations. 

Date And Time

Saturday-10-26-2024
10:00 AM ET to 05:00 PM ET

Location

Hybrid (In-Person & Online) – Anthroposophy NYC 138 West 15th Street, New York, NY

Registration information for this event will be forthcoming shortly