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Camphill Correspondence March/April 2015

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Camphill Correspondence March/April 2015 March/April 2015 The sea at dusk, Emil Nolde Stepping into the field of the future starts with attending to the opening of an inner crack. Following that crack requires us to let go of the old and ‘let grow’ something that we can sense, but that we cannot fully know before we see it emerge. This moment, which requires us to move although we cannot yet fully see the new, feels like jumping across an abyss. At the moment we leap, we have no idea whether we will make it across. Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer Leading from the Emerging Future – From Eco-system to Eco-system Economies A Beautiful Whisper In a clear shaft of bright light I felt the infinite presence of a divine god And acknowledged such a real presence With an eager nod I heard him gently whisper But felt no needless surge of fear Only a new awakening of a deep spiritual peace That such a profound presence can be so casually near I watched him forgive my sin And then wept with an obvious happiness That such an unfair weakness Can be so easily forgiven by him Peter Brown, Loch Arthur Community, Scotland Undoubtedly, no person can be truly dishonoured by Surf, Emil Nolde the act of another; and the fit return to make to the most enormous injuries is kindness and forbearance, and a resolution to convert the injurer from his dark passions by peace and love. Revenge, retaliation, Birthday List March – April 2015 atonement are pernicious mistakes. Becoming 98 P B Shelley, Preface to The Cenci Mary Hobson, Simeon Houses .......................18 April Contributed by James Ogden, Ceredigion, Wales Becoming 95 Hazel Straker, Stroud, England ..........................6 April Becoming 92 Contents Irma Roehling, Hermanus ...............................27 April Economics and the spirit – Part I Becoming 90 Carlo Pietzner ........................................... 1 Brian Rée, Copake ............................................5 April Are you interested in developing community? Becoming 85 Sabine Hope ............................................. 3 Ann Richmond, Botton Village ..........................4 April My leading images­ Mikio Shioya ................ 4 Becoming 80 Obituaries: Eva Maria Rascher, Lake District, England .... 13 March Philip How ............................................... 6 Michael Steinke, Berlin ................................ 28 March Pat Schofield, Thornbury .............................. 31 March Geoffrey Bell ............................................ 9 Sophia Kunz ........................................... 11 Becoming 70 Paivi Lappalainen, Dornach ........................... 5 March News from the movement: Andrew Dyer, Castleton, England .................. 7 March Feedback from the Core Group meeting Liselotte Liebeck, Sellen .............................. 10 March James Sleigh ........................................... 14 Dorothee Bakowski, Lehenhof ........................22 April Tinh Truc Gia (the Peaceful Bamboo Any additions or changes, Family): the second phase of building please let Sandra Stoddard know: Alain Grüner .......................................... 14 [email protected] +44(0)1224 733415 Letter .......................................................... 15 Economics and the spirit – Part I A lecture given at the Camphill Economic Conference, 1984 Carlo Pietzner Contributed by Crispian Villeneuve e decided a year ago on the rough outline of this gave me that advice?” He then became even more seri- Wconference, and I have felt challenged since then ous, and said: “Yes. Because it will be on this level that to try to say more about economic life in a community. you will have to have your first conscious conversations Wherever I held or read lectures I was aware of this with Ahriman.” challenge, and pondered about the content of our confer- Now I really could not comprehend this either – and ence. Just fairly recently I discarded almost everything I he left it at that. Since that time I have not experienced had selected, because it seemed to me that there were any situation in economics and particularly in finances only a few things in the depths of our experiences with where this statement has not been valid. And I feel that economics about which it would be worthwhile to speak – at least as far as I am concerned – this is a kind of – pictures as it were, which are perhaps the most potent entry into what I conceive to be economics in Camphill. things. This does not mean that I would not greatly value and expect that on coming together we would discuss Spiritual beings details of economics and enter practical life. But it is the At that time it was still during the war, and we in Camp- rapidity with which our time runs into disillusionment hill Scotland had hardly any way to compare ourselves with values which have seemingly been carrying us that with other anthroposophists. I assumed – as many of us makes it more important than ever to try – whatever did on other levels as well – that anthroposophists, out of else we consider – not to forget the pictures which can their spirituality and knowledge and training, were expert really guide us. in all activities. When it became possible to meet with I do not say that I have the pictures which guide us, but other anthroposophists it was then interesting to experi- decided to try and communicate with you at the level ence that while this was perhaps not untrue, the expertise on which I felt that I myself have been guided...I will not was limited in a strange way, which still persisted until use argument, and will assume that certain things are about ten years ago [i.e. till the mid-1970s]. It was lim- self-understood: amongst them a statement that could be ited to the free spiritual life. That is understandable, you a Camphill statement but isn’t, spoken by Rudolf Steiner might say, in as much as one would take anthroposophy on 20 March 1921 [in Stuttgart] when speaking about as another philosophy, as another concept of the world the youth movement. He said then what we often hear, or perhaps as an inaugurating impulse for schools and and yet always have deep trouble to reconcile with our curative education. One can even say: the reason is that own individual being: anthroposophy deals with the arts, because the arts are In the future it will be that all tasks involving the the most powerful link to reality which man has. individual will be at the same time tasks of the com- But it was obvious that the economic sphere did not munity, and each task of the community will have really belong to the preferred activities of anthroposo- to be made one’s own individual task. Nothing else will serve. Such a thing cannot be organized, but can only be achieved by associating. It is on this level that I base myself. And I would like to tell you my first encounter, which actually weaves through everything I am able to communicate. This happened over forty years ago when Dr König told me one day that I would have to take over the finances of the house of which I was Principal [Heathcot, near Aberdeen, of which Carlo became Principal in 1943] and that I would be responsible for the handling of its economic requirements. I had no idea why, or what it would entail. I had no qualifications. I was trained, as you perhaps know, as an artist. The encounter with handicapped children a few years before had been a tre- mendous inner upheaval – an enormous enrichment and at the same time an enormous trial. It meant a complete reversal of my life, which however was too amazing and promising to refuse. When he handed to me the famous big chequebooks, I asked him: “Can you give me any advice?” He replied: “You must try to be of absolutely unbiased, unprejudiced exactitude.” I took the chequebooks under my arm, and went home. Soon afterwards when trying to recollect all this, I realized that it had been tremendous advice which I couldn’t fully comprehend. So after a few days I went back to him, and asked: “Would you tell me why you Carlo Pietzner in 1953 phists. At the same time there was no doubt that a tre- this, and found that except for certain elements having mendous amount of economic assistance was needed directly to do with the group of people to whom Rudolf if anthroposophical activities were to flourish. They Steiner spoke and telling of certain circumstances then required help and support from the economic sphere. prevailing, everything is as valid today as it was then. I And it was around the time when this dawned upon us was really quite astonished, and wondered what it was that I also began to question ourselves in Camphill about that could make certain suggestions about the ordering the whole matter. of social life still as valid as that. My first real questioning – in myself, but also outwardly Rudolf Steiner himself said that the threefold social – again occurred at the hand of something done by Dr order had failed, at least in Middle Europe. He said König. I was at that time in Ireland, and seemed to be that it still had a chance, for a short while, in the west- very busy in Glencraig [founded by Carlo and others in ern countries, but had failed. It was an attempt to see 1954]. But time and again I had of course to visit Scot- whether or not the Michaelic thinking was sufficiently land and England in order to meet with Dr König and strong and reliable to work. But it wasn’t. Despite the fact have Community meetings. In a meeting at Newton Dee that it wasn’t, any serious student of the threefold social we were discussing situations concerning Botton, which order can know, as we in Camphill now experience, existed particularly in the economic sphere. Dr König that there is an immense strength and quality working said, totally out of the blue: “Well, I think we must put in these thoughts, which are by no means invalidated it on a new footing, and I propose that Carlo should be- by anything that has happened.
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