timouse Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 in the spirit of religious/political cross pollination, i wuould like to ask you poli-skanks if you know anything about rudolf steiner. i was introduced to him through the biodynamic farming movement, which begun in the 1920's in germany and has spread around the world. he also developed theories on education and went on to be the driving force behind the waldorf school movement. i was at the guelph organic conference this past weekend, and spent sunday in workshops given by biodynamic farmers...most notably michael schmidt, the raw milk guy. i'm wondering whether any of you folks know much about steiner...what i have found so far seems pretty positive, and this is a good place for lively debate and infomation. go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolarGarlic Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Cool topic for sure....I know of him through those basic avenues as well. I will add music therapy and eurythmy(sp) as well. Music is something that is taught at an early age and incorporated into various school tasks. Eurythmy is supposed to connect the mind, body and soul and is often done in conjunciton with music or spoken word (poems and such). Most of what I know comes from an education model becuase, well, Im a teacher! I have thought about this school of thought and wondered if I didn't share more of these sorts of values than I would with a more traditional setting. It has come under attack on many occasions due to the root of his theory, namely anthroposophy...Again, some interesting points of view...many of which I tend to agree with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lara Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 I am fascinated by Steiner - mostly his thoughts on child development and education.We have two waldorf schools in Ottawa, one had a biodynamic farm as well. We're hoping to send Aslan there if he's interested. But its bloody expensive. Just under 10 grand a year.Wonderful wonderful programs with a focus on a connection to the earth and seasons, strong music and art focus, but very inclusive, non-compartmentalized programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lara Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Although, some interesting criticisms of Steiner's philosophy...http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1213/gnomes-and-critics-at-waldorf-schoolsThese are the Ottawa schools. I've never encountered any of the above concerns at these schools. http://www.magma.ca/~parsifal/http://www.waldorf.cyberus.ca/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Evil_Mouse Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 I hadn't heard about the fascination with the gnomes before - weird. It did get me thinking about that bit in The Fisher King They came to me about a year ago. I was sitting on the john having one of those satisfying bowel movements. You know, that ones that border on mystical. Where you're like--- And there they were. Hundreds of the cutest little fat people floating right in front of me. It was wonderful. And then...they spoke. Any philosophy, though, that starts talking about Aryans usually has the immediate effect of making me go, "uhhhhhhhh...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timouse Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Any philosophy, though, that starts talking about Aryans usually has the immediate effect of making me go, "uhhhhhhhh...." fwiw, Steiner died in 1925. i'd like to think that he wasn't using aryan in quite the same way as it would be viewed in a post wwII world...but having said that, there's definitely a cringe reflex associated with that word.I am fascinated by Steiner - mostly his thoughts on child development and education.We have two waldorf schools in Ottawa, one had a biodynamic farm as well. We're hoping to send Aslan there if he's interested. But its bloody expensive. Just under 10 grand a year.Wonderful wonderful programs with a focus on a connection to the earth and seasons, strong music and art focus, but very inclusive, non-compartmentalized programs. they are expensive, but the schools seem quite cool, and definitely focus more on art and movement.jennifer and i are taking the biodynamic gardening and farming workshop series through the Toronto Steiner Centre, and so far we are really digging it. i'm about a third of the way through a translation of steiner's lectures on agriculture, given the year before he died. the guy may have been a bit out there, but lots of what he has to say makes a lot of sense.much of what he was on about (gnomes etc) is meant to be metaphor. steiner wrote a book on "nature beings" that was his attempt to provide a way of looking at ecosystem function from a spiritual perspective, and at the same time include a lot of mythology from different cultures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Evil_Mouse Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Fair enough. I'd like to hope is that people do treat this gnome stuff with as much metaphoric intent as you see in him.Yeah, that Aryan stuff - it'd been in the air for decades; Max Muller was the original big proponent in the mid-19th c., but then, that was where the Nazi apologists referred. Some of it just gets silly, like what you see with the Theosophists. What's his angle on agriculture, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timouse Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Fair enough. I'd like to hope is that people do treat this gnome stuff with as much metaphoric intent as you see in him.Yeah, that Aryan stuff - it'd been in the air for decades; Max Muller was the original big proponent in the mid-19th c., but then, that was where the Nazi apologists referred. Some of it just gets silly, like what you see with the Theosophists. What's his angle on agriculture, though?he's all about the farm as a solar powered organism...the sun feeds the plants that feed the people and the animals, the people compost the manure which feeds the soil which support and feed the plants that...well you get the picture.his approach to composting and to nutrient field spraying is really buddhist...it's all about intention and mindfulness. he referred to this practice as "biodynamic farming." he was a theosophist until annie besant brought krishnamurti forward as the reincarnation of christ. shortly after that, he split off and formed the "anthroposophical society."tyhe farm down the road from us is biodynamic, and as a farm philosophy it makes incredible sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Evil_Mouse Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 he was a theosophist until annie besant brought krishnamurti forward as the reincarnation of christ. shortly after that, he split off and formed the "anthroposophical society."That's all I need to hear - yay Rudolph! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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