Initiative Directory 06/14/18
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PROOF COPY Initiatives of Applied Imagination in the Hudson River Watershed A Regional Guide to Organizations and Individual Practitioners Working with the Anthroposophical Impulse for Cultural Renewal With gratitude to the contributors who have brought the directory this far: Jordan Walker (the new forms project) Conceptual Design and Project Coordinator Martin Ping (The Hawthorne Valley Association) Organizational Support Travis Henry (Threefold Now) Initiative Scout Gwendolyn Sherman Illustrations John Scott Legg (SteinerBooks) Editor Leland Lehrman (Fund-Balance) Participant Support Philipp Tok (Das Goetheanum) Logo Design Amara Projansky (Luminary Media) Print Consultation ProPrint (Hudson, NY) Scanning Services The Wisdom Working Directory PROOF COPY Page !ii Table of Contents (Click on any page number for hyperlink in pdf form) The Nature, Scope, and Intention of this Directory 1 Agriculture and Food Systems 3 Demeter Certified Biodynamic® Farms 3 Other Biodynamically-Enhanced Farms 4 Agricultural Training and Advocacy 10 Food Justice 12 Demeter Certified Biodynamic® Processors and Traders 12 Bakeries, Cafés, Catering, Groceries, and Farm Stores 14 The Anthroposophical Society 16 Local Groups and Branches 17 Core Spiritual Science and Meditation 18 The Arts 20 Artistic Eurythmy 20 Music Out of Anthroposophy 21 Other Local Music with a Waldorf or Anthroposophical Background 22 Practical Arts and Crafts 24 Speech Arts 28 Theater 28 Visual Arts 31 Books 33 Publishers 33 Bookstores and Gift Shops 35 Libraries and Archives 36 Local Authors' Websites and Blogs 38 Education 39 Waldorf Schools and Early Childhood Programs 39 Will-Focused, Therapeutic Waldorf Schools 43 Other Anthroposophically-Inspired Schools and Child Care 43 Children's Programming, Camps, and Tutoring 44 Gender and Sexuality 46 Teacher Training and Administrative Development 47 The Wisdom Working Directory PROOF COPY Page !iii School Associations and Education Advocacy 48 Scientific Renewal 49 Healing Arts 50 Anthroposophic Doctors and Medical Collaboratives 50 Anthroposophic Nurses 52 Counseling and Biographical Consulting 53 Flower Remedies 54 Gentle Enhancement® Neuroplasticity 55 Homeopathy 55 Massage Therapy and Bodywork 55 Music Therapy 56 Nutrition 56 Physical Therapy 57 Remedies and Natural Skin-Care 57 Spacial Dynamics® Movement Therapy 60 Therapeutic Eurythmy 61 Therapeutic Horseback Riding 63 Twelve-Step Fellowship 63 Social Renewal 63 Community of Initiatives - Hub Associations 63 Community Spaces 64 Conversational Arts and Social Technologies 64 Lifesharing and Intentional Communities 66 Lifesharing Training and Advocacy 68 Local Currency and Social Investment 69 Religious Renewal and Sacramental Services 69 Societal Threefolding and Activism 70 The Wisdom Working Directory PROOF COPY Page !iv The Nature, Scope, and Intention of this Directory Greetings! Welcome to the Wisdom Working Directory, a guide to the individuals and organizations working professionally out of anthroposophy in the Hudson River Watershed. This compiled listing follows in the tradition of past directories created locally (the Berkshire-Taconic region has published its own) and nationally (the Anthroposophical Society in America has created several versions and is currently working on another). It also signifies the hopeful foundation for other versions to come. It is by no means exhaustive, and additional listings for inclusion, or corrections and updates on listings included, may be emailed to [email protected]. An Introduction Through the lens of physical geography, a watershed is “the entire region draining into a river system, or other body of water.” Wherever we are in the world, if we’re standing on solid earth, we are in a watershed. Water evaporates and freezes of course, but in its uniquely life-giving liquid state, it is always flowing from somewhere and to somewhere. The rain that comes from the sky doesn't stop falling. From gutter to ditch, creek to stream, the river flows to the sea. “If you drop a rose in the Hudson River at its mysterious source in the Adirondacks, think of all the places it journeys by as it goes out to sea…” —Jack Kerouac The hope for this directory has always been for movement, which is to say life—of waters, of spirit, of the opening of doors to let in the other and the new. So, while we’ve strayed from the exact topological designation, including initiatives that fall just outside of the precise Hudson River watershed, it still provides our guiding metaphor and a potent picture for us to journey by. If one travels upstream from the mighty Hudson River’s meeting with the Atlantic Ocean, past the joining of many smaller streams, eventually one arrives at a source, Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy, the highest point in the Adirondack Mountains. So too, in other aspects of life, we can follow the visible outward forces that shape our world — politics, economics, culture — and, if one follows them far enough “upstream”, arrive at certain worldviews that inform and feed them at their source. What social forms can we find around us today that still carry Wisdom as their source? Anthroposophy A central purpose of this directory is to bring awareness to a worldview that remains, like the waters of an underground spring, largely unseen. The diverse initiatives of this directory represent life-giving innovations in agriculture, the arts, medicine, education, therapy, research, and more. Traveling upstream from the specifics of what each individual or organization does, one senses a common origin. This is no less true for industrialized farming, pharmaceutical medicine or big box stores. Each indicates something of the worldview that informs them. The Wisdom Working Directory PROOF COPY Page !1 So what is meant by the word “Anthroposophy”? And what might it mean to work “out of it”? Anthroposophy (an᛫thrō᛫pos′ō᛫fē) means literally “wisdom of one’s humanity.” While a bit hard to pronounce, the significance of the word shouldn’t be difficult to grasp. After all, the word anthropology (“knowledge of humanity”) is in common usage. But in practice, this shift from “knowledge” of something to “wisdom” of something calls into question some of our most widespread and unexamined assumptions. Anthroposophy is not simply a system of belief, as we commonly understand from religious affiliation. Rather, it can be described as a picture or conception of what the human being is and what our life on earth is all about. How we answer these existential questions has profound implications for how we lead our lives and conduct our work in the world. The following initiatives offer living examples of individual and organizational efforts at pondering these assumptions and efforts to bring more conscious awareness into one’s work in the world. Anthroposophy might be described as self development for world development and its goal is always to contribute to a renewal of wider humanity. Rudolf Steiner Though the word itself was coined before his birth, the wellspring of Anthroposophy exists today in the insights and legacy of Rudolf Steiner (1861—1925). “That the academic world has managed to dismiss Steiner’s work as inconsequential and irrelevant is one of the intellectual wonders of the twentieth century. Anyone who is willing to study those vast works with an open mind…will find himself faced with one of the greatest thinkers of all time, whose grasp of the modern sciences is equaled only by his profound learning in the ancient ones. Steiner was no more of a mystic than Albert Einstein; he was a scientist rather, but a scientist who dared to enter into the mysteries of life.” —Russell Davenport (writing in 1954) A proper introduction to this Austrian philosopher, social reformer and spiritual teacher is beyond the scope of this introduction. But encouragement can be offered: meet this man. In a world so desperately in need of new ideas and new impulses, Rudolf Steiner’s gifts are on display wherever one finds initiatives working with his radically life-enhancing insights. “By their fruits ye shall know them…” The 300+ listings on the following pages offer an opportunity to meet Rudolf Steiner’s legacy as it lives and works in the world today. These are examples of Wisdom at Work. One cannot underestimate the impact that such a network, and your support, is having upon the world. - the Wisdom Working Group The Wisdom Working Directory PROOF COPY Page !2 Agriculture and Food Systems Demeter Certified Biodynamic® Farms Cowberry Crossing Farm cowberrycrossingfarm.com; [email protected] 55 Wenzels Lane, Hudson, NY 12534; 518-828-2682 (Richard and Cecile Harrison) Our 50 acre certified biodynamic farm is a traditional family-run farm with a large and varied vegetable garden providing especially high quality produce. Animals on the farm include chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, and bees. We welcome visitors and are happy to answer any questions about the farm. Good Water Farms goodwaterfarms.com; [email protected] 511 Mitchells Lane, Bridgehampton, NY 11932. 631-296-8301 A 32-acre farm, we grow over 30 varieties of microgreens, and are excited about the process of creating food, the exploration of new varieties, and the potent health benefits of microgreens. We are proudly USDA/NOFA-NY certified organic and HACCP verified, and continue a proactive role in supporting productive food certification processes on Long Island and across the nation. Hawthorne Valley Farm farm.hawthornevalley.org; [email protected] 327 Route 21C, (Harlemville) Ghent, NY 12075; 518-672-7500 (Spencer Fenniman, Lucy Marston) Our 900 acre Demeter-certified biodynamic farm includes dairy cows, a vegetable CSA, a creamery, an organic bakery, a sauerkraut cellar, and provides farm-based learning experiences for children and adults. Our Farm Store is a full-line natural foods store open 7 days a week. Nectar Hills Farm nectarhillsfarm.com; [email protected] 393 Peeters Road, Schenevus, NY 12155; 607-638-5758 (David and Sonia Sola) A diversified biodynamic farm, operating 239 acres of divine beauty, pastures, hay fields, woods, gardens, and an old charming apple orchard.