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A tri-annual newsletter published by the Anthroposophical Society in Hawai'iNumber 20 2002 (1)

Anthroposophical Society in Hawai'i, 2514 Alaula Way, Honolulu, Hawai'iPhone (808) 395-1268, Email pacificajournal@cs.com

Pacifica Journal

Karl Kaltenbach (AUS), Hans van Mulder (NZ), OlafLampson (CAN), and Arthur Zajonc (USA), General Secretar-ies of the four English-speaking countries that ring the Pacificregion, met regularly in Dornach at the Goetheanum LandRepresentatives meetings. In order to discuss their commonregional interests, which were not dealt with in the officialmeetings, they gathered together at meal times. When in 1995,Hans and Olaf had just come from the first Pacific RegionConference in Hawai�i, and Nicanor Perlas gave a report onactivities in the Philippines, it was decided that a greater effortto work together in the Asia-Pacific region was necessary.Nicanor Perlas suggested that a group of country representa-tives be invited to the Philippines to share reflections abouttheir countries and the anthroposophical work in their regions.In addition to the people mentioned above, this first groupincluded: Penny Roberts (USA) attended instead of Arthur,Van James (USA-HI), Ha Vinh Tho (CH-Vietnam), June Yu(Taiwan), Aban and Dilnawaz Bana (India). They became theAsia-Pacific Initiative Group and were joined by about fifteenlocal friends of Anthroposophical Group in Manila in 1996. Avery fruitful sharing took place and it was agreed to meetagain the next year in India to explore further questions thatarose during the meeting. However, the India gathering wouldbe open to all interested people.

The 1997 Asia -Pacific Conference took place in Mumbai(Bombay) in the buildings of the Theosophical Society. It wasquite an experience to hear lectures in India on the nature ofanthroposophy delivered by international speakers flanked bylarge portraits of H.P. Blavatsky and H.S. Olcott, the Russianand American founders of the Theosophical Society. Thewell-organized conference (thanks to Aban Bana) had aboutone-hundred participants, including representation formJapan, Thailand, Nepal, Singapore, and several Europeancountries. We saw from this conference that many of thepeople from school, farm, and medical initiatives in Indiacame together for the first time and benefited from the

interaction with their own people as well as from the broaderinternational exchanges that took place. This was to be one ofthe major accomplishments of all the Asia-Pacific confer-ences� bringing local groups together with each other toshare their work within a global context.

Dr. Porn Panosot invited us to hold the 1998 conferencein Thailand. Some of us questioned whether there was enoughinterest in anthropsophy at the local level in this country, butthis turned-out to be unfounded for this was one of the mostsuccessful conferences in terms of participation and abalanced program. Unfortunately, anthroposophical confer-

ences almost always have too much lecturing and not enoughhands-on, artistic learning or social interaction of peoplescheduled into the program. This habit (contrary to whatanthropsophy stands for) was corrected at the Thai conferencewith plenty of activities, field trips, arts, and games in additionto the excellent lectures. Malaysia and China were nowrepresented at this conference in addition to the othercountries mentioned above.

With reluctance turned to hearty enthusiasm, Taiwan tookon the 1999 conference with the theme �The Mystery ofLove.� Yi Ling Chan, Yah Chih Chang, June Li, June Yu, andmany others helped to pull this event together. It was a

Taiwanese public school teachers in front of Waldorf school exhibit inIlong County, Taiwan.

The Asia-Pacific Initiative:A Seven Year Cycle

Van James, Hawai�i, USA

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wonderfully organized conference that evenhad co-sponsorship from the local govern-ment. Korea was represented for the first timeat this conference.

The 2000 Asia-Pacific Conference,prepared over two years, was hosted by Japanon the slopes of Mt. Fuji. Some two hundredparticipants attended, over half from Japan,and almost every Asia-Pacific country wasrepresented. This conference was in bothEnglish and Japanese, which allowed mostparticipants to follow along, but made forother difficulties. Still, it was a milestone eventfor Japan and for the Asia-Pacific work.

There was no strong offer from a hostcountry to sponsor a 2001 conference.Hawai�i was planning another Pacific RegionConference in the summer of 2001 so it wasfelt that a hiatus for the Asia-Pacific Confer-ence was in order. Those country delegateswho could come to Hawai�i would meet thereto plan a next step. A daylong meeting ofthose country delegates who did come toHawai�i decided that what was really neededwas a gathering of the country representa-tives, a delegates retreat for those who areconcerned with the development of anthro-posophy in Asia. Nepal offered to host alimited gathering, and a mandate group (YujiAgematsu, Nicanor Perlas, Karl Kaltenbach,Hans van Mulder) was chosen to plan theagenda for a November 2002 meeting inKatmandu. This Mandate Group would alsoshape a mission statement concerning futureanthroposophical work in the Asia-Pacificregion.

At all the Asia-Pacific Conferences therehave also been Class Lessons held formembers of the School of Spiritual Science.This has contributed an essential esotericfoundation for much of the anthroposophicalwork in many of these countries.

It should also be noted that beginningwith the India conference, Nana Goebble ofthe Friends of Rudolf Steiner Education directed aWaldorf Roundtable (meeting of Waldorfeducators), usually a day in length, followingthe Asia-Pacific Conferences. This was a veryfruitful gathering of information, sharing ofinsights, and setting of tasks for the future ofWaldorf-Steiner education in Asia. (Growth inthe Asian Waldorf movement has beenphenomenal over the past few years.)

If one includes the first and secondPacific Region Conferences in Hawai�i (1995and 2001), as well as the up-coming Asia-Pacific Delegates Meeting scheduled for

Nepal, a clear seven-year-cycle becomesapparent. The question is: now, what isnecessary as a next step for anthroposophicwork in this region? Should the countries beleft to themselves to organize their ownconferences in their own languages and in theparticular fields of endeavor (education,agriculture, medicine, social issues, and thearts)? What is the task of an Asia-PacificInitiative Group and how can it best fulfill itstask? These are only some of the manyquestions that will shape the 2002 DelegatesMeeting in Nepal.

At the first Asia-Pacific Conference inManila the idea for Pacifica Journal, a newsletterfor the communication of news in this region,was proposed. Pacifica Journal has beencritically acclaimed but still has a relativelysmall number of subscribers. This hasnecessitated its becoming a tri-annualpublication rather than a quarterly. The Journalwill continue to communicate the events,ideas, and opinions that are of interest andconcern to those at work in the Asia-Pacificregion and the world as long as this is wantedand possible.

Report on the PacificRegion Conference inHawai'i

Reiichiro Yanagisawa, Tokyo, Japan(Translation by Ikuko Nishimoto)

On July 29, 2001, I took an Aloha Airlineflight departing from the familiar Honoluluairport for the Big Island where ananthroposophical conference was going to beheld. When I landed an hour later at the KonaAirport that stands on the extensive lava field,every bone in my body cried out, �I am back!�From there I took a school bus to theconference site, beautiful up-country Waimea,where I was reunited with my former col-leagues from the Honolulu Waldorf School.Mauna Kea, �White Mountain,� was in fullview from my dormitory window. The placereminded me of the village near Mt. Fuji inJapan where the 2000 Asian-Pacific Confer-ence was held just a year earlier.

The first Pacific Region Conference washeld here in Waimea six years ago. It wasappropriately titled �Meeting the Future,� forit became the seed for many future Asia-

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Pacific conferences. This second Hawai�iconference owes its existence, in part, to thechairman of the Anthroposophical Society inHawai�i, Van James. During our conversa-tions, he expressed his hope that this impulsewill flow well into the twenty-first century.

The conference theme this year was, �Atthe Threshold: Seeking the Truly Human.�Every day of the conference a rainbowappeared over the campus in the Waimea sky,as a symbol of our nearness to the threshold.Conference participants flew in from all overAsia as well as other parts of the world;Japan, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Australia,New Zealand, North America, Canada, andSwitzerland, about one hundred altogether.

The cafeteria where we took meals andcoffee breaks provided an ideal place for allof us to meet and exchange news or simplyget to know each other.

The conference opened with a powerfulHawaiian chant, followed by the FoundationStone Meditation and opening lecture by Dr.Michaela Glöckler. Michaela is the leader ofthe medical section at the Goetheanum. Herstrikingly serene appearance seemed toembody the spiritual world itself, as she setthe tone of the day with introductory wordsbefore a keynote speaker addressed us eachmorning. She brought the picture of thefour guardian beings of a Korean Buddhisttemple she had just visited. (Fig. 1) Eachguardian held a different symbol; the sword,the pagoda, the lyre, and the spear. Togetherwe contemplated the significance of thesepictures as she guided us through the sacredtemple�s threshold in order to encounter thespiritual.

Nicanor Perlas from the Philippines tookthe podium to discuss some of the mosturgent and current issues we are facing today:globalization, genetic engineering, missiledefense, and cloning. He urged us to respondto these issues in a truly free and spiritualmanner, and urged us to apply a truly three-fold social structure. (Fig. 2)

After morning lectures, several workshopswere offered. Some were artistic, some weremeditative in nature, and others took theform of discussion groups. ProfessorAgematsu from Japan gave a workshop on�Threshold Experiences in Architecture.�More workshops were offered in the after-noons.

One night there was an evening of musicand dance. We were treated to rare andunique performances of eurythmy and

ancient hula in the same program. Whilewatching the eurythmy, I was so moved by itthat I was convinced nothing could top thisexperience. Then the hula was performed. Iwas pleasantly surprised to find myselfequally impressed by it. It was an intriguingand enchanting evening for me altogether. WeJapanese presented a traditional Japanesesinging game called �Toryanse.� This singinggame depicts Japanese customs that might bedescribed as threshold experiences. It is a pitythat such experiences of meaningful initiationand the rites of passage seem to be quicklydisappearing in today�s Japan. On the finalday, after the last lecture, every participantwas presented with a lei made by the gradeeight students of the local Waldorf school. Around of applause in appreciation echoedthrough the cafeteria for the staff andorganizers of the conference. Just when itwas about to close, good-natured laughterbroke out as Michaela Glöckler called out:ALOHA!

Throughout the conference, I felt twodifferent kinds of breeze blowing. One wasthe �cosmopolitan breeze� and the otherwas the �free individual breeze.� They wereboth converging on the path called �trulyhuman.� May this impulse reach everyshore that surrounds the Pacific Basin, andtravel across the world, to lead us all tomany more Asia-Pacific Conferences. AndI, for my part, will do what I can to keepthis impulse alive in these crescent-shapedislands called Japan.

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The following are four pictures ofhumanity's global threshold crossing:

1. The G-8 meeting Genoa, Italy� where150,000 demonstrators gathered, hundredsinjured, one dead. This was a protest againsteconomic transformation. Under the GeneralAgreement on Trade and Services (GATS)education and health care become privatebusinesses. The Agreements on agriculture arewiping out the small farmers all over theworld.

2. Genetic Engineering�the transforma-tion of nature, reassembling species bound-aries. Once humanity feared �fire technology,�the transformation of the inorganic world,which developed to the point of creating theatom bomb. Now we are able to transformthe organic world.

3. Cloning of Humans�another step inthe transformation of the organic world. 1973DNA recombinant brought the Age ofBiology. Now stem cell research is beingdebated. Using cells at this stage of develop-ment, any bodily systems can be generated.

4. Star Wars�missile defense shield ofthe planet. This constitutes a militarization ofouterspace, the control of earth from outerspace by military technology.

When we cross thresholds, ordinary realityis no more, and we are awakened to askingimportant questions of ourselves and of oursociety. In connection with each of the fourpictures given above, we must ask ourselvesquestions. First, in light of the World TradeOrganization and its resulting globalizationagreements, we must ask, �What kind ofsociety do we want?� The work in geneticengineering forces us to ask, �What isnature?� The ability to clone humans necessi-tates the question, �What is the humanbeing?� and the technology for taking over theplanet from outer space makes us inquire�What is our image of our planet?�

The globalization forces have answers toall these questions, and if we do not come up

with better answers, theirs will dictate thefuture. To the first they offer that in twenty-five years there will be no work for 80% ofsociety, a sort of reverse Egyptian castesystem. To the second they offer the possibil-ity of �re-forming� all life. Whoever has thepower and the resources will define whichgenes are �good� to have and which are�bad.� They plan on the transnationalcorporations, backed up by the governmentsof states, holding the power. To the questionof what is the human being, they reply �abiochemical machine,� and are in the processof patenting human materials, such asembryos and stem cell systems. And ourplanet and the space around it are seen asopen venues for wars and other militarypurposes.

Globalization is a call to humanity todefine all our fundamental relationships. Wemust seek answers that responsibly engage theworld. The 1994 beginning of the WorldTrade Organization might be viewed as theseventh trumpet of the Apocalypse (a giantmachine sowing death and destruction.)

What are our responses to these calls?Despair is one, especially when we truly

feel the situation. The level of despair in theworld is indicated by the use of drugs,violence, saying no to life and culture.

Illumination can be another. When spiritsare awakened there will be trials. If we canstand among these forces, we can be liberated.

Globalization is a form of initiation. If wereject the call we are in our own little world offear, and will need to withdraw more andmore from the world. We need deep funda-mental changes in our own identity or we arecut off from the world. False illumination canplace us outside of the real world, as well.(Threefolding is even in the Trilateral Com-mission of the WTO, where Japan, the USand Europe are the main powers.)

Each person or �I� looks out at the Worldand the world responds with a call to act thatthe I takes in and contemplates (fig. 2) Thecall enters the spirit world through me. Here itcan go around and around in its own smallinward circle never resulting in action, butalways being contemplated as an idea. Or itcan fill me with despair so that I �drop out�of life. Or it can be filled with illusions thatagain lead me to abandon the mundane world,but for lofty spiritual ideals. The healthy pathto initiation is that the call will awaken in methe will to act and to meet the world in a

Globalization and Humanityat the Threshold

Nicanor Perlas, Manila, Philippines

[From notes by Bonnie Ozaki-James, uneditedby the lecturer, July 30, 2001, Waimea,Hawai�i.]

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helpful way. This helpful path might be towork as one of Paul Ray�s Cultural Creatives, 50million of whom are living in the US andthinking they are each alone. Another waywould be to join new social movements, or tobecome part of global civil society.

Massive alienation, such as is happeningnow everywhere, creates awakening and

propels humankind over the threshold andthrough the initiation process.

Civil Society is the third power necessaryto bring about threefolding at the global level.Transnational corporations and governmentsare the first two and together, without thethird, they spell disaster.

Cultural creatives are a great businessforce as shown by the growth and power ofsocially responsible investments and SR banks,worth an estimated three trillion dollars.Cultural creatives are active in government as�whistle blowers,� reporting governmentabuses.

Threefolding is nearly possible and isnecessary to transform elite globalization, totransform hate, doubt, and fear to love, hope,and courage and let these forces work in theworld.

The question is, will anthroposophycross the threshold or will it build on thepast only? Some milestones worth noting:at the beginning of the 20th century, thebirth of anthroposophy indicated theindividual meeting with the lower guardianof the threshold. As we step into the 21st

century, we need to meet with the greater

guardian in order to work in the world.Materialism has now entered into the willthrough technology. Another question foranthroposophists is, can we move fromthinking through the heart and into thewill? Now it is a question, not of thinkingabout spiritual science, or of feeling it, butof doing it. Deeds are of the utmostimportance.

Globalization stops in me at themoment when my behavior and ideal areone. When I love the world and truly live inthe chaos, I allow possibilities for othersand the �impossible� happens. When I actrightly a fountain shoots up to the spiri-tual world and help arrives to do theimpossible.

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The ground was stony�but WaldorfEducation & Biodynamics have taken root!It�s hard to imagine ground stonier thanSingapore�one of the world�s mostmaterialistic city-states�for Waldorfeducation and Biodynamic farming to beseeded, and take root. But maybe becausematerial goals (industrialisation, urbanisationwith the consequent destruction of Natureand banishment of farms) were beingpursued so relentlessly by the Singaporegovernment (a dictatorship of 30 yearsstanding), there were souls just crying out tobe nourished by an alternative, eco-friendlysystem.

The state schools (private schools werephased out by the �60s) of this formerBritish colony, and later Universities &Polytechnics had become �servants� ofindustry, churning out whatever technicians& engineers the factories and their supportservices demanded. Land was deemed �fartoo valuable� to be used to feed either pigs,chickens or people, and farms were phasedout by the �70s while land was sold or leasedfor development. Expressways, housingdevelopments and golf courses ruthlesslypushed into nature reserves. The mantra ofthe ruling elite for the past 30 years hasbeen,� We must be competitive or lose outto other �markets� in the global economy.�

Even at the heady height of Singapore�sincredible economic success (riding on thecoattails of the petro-chemical industry),there were Singaporeans who felt emotion-ally empty and hungry for values and a life-purpose that they knew did not come withthe material success of their well-paid jobs.They saw too how, as Singaporeans becamemore urbanized, more affluent, they becameall stressed out, with no time for familytogetherness, and were frequently sick.Cancer, asthma, heart disease are still on therise. Private hospitals sprang up, as soonsickness had become one more �growthindustry.�

�In every crisis, a saviour will appear. Ineducation one such person was Dr. RudolfSteiner, the founder of the Waldorfschools�..� and this was how Dr. Lai ChuiNan (American-Taiwanese born physicist-

author and cancer specialist) introduced theteachings of Steiner to more than 20,000Singaporeans (mostly Chinese-speaking) atthe Singapore Indoor Stadium in October1993. Dr. Lai was not brought in to speakspecifically about Rudolf Steiner or WaldorfEducation. As the founder of the non-profitBuddhist-based Lapis Lazuli Light TotalHealth Information Centres (in USA &Taiwan), she was the guest speaker at aHolistic Lifestyle and EnvironmentalProtection program. Her talks focused onachieving total health the natural way--andSteiner�s work in Education,Anthroposophic medicine & nutrition andBiodynamic agriculture were brought in asbeing the best vehicles to achieve such goals.

In fact, the �seeds� had already beensown the preceding year when Joyce Low (abanker then), inspired by Dr. Lai�s work, set-up a Lapis Lazuli Light (Total health Centre& Library) in Singapore. A number ofSteiner�s books were included in the library.

More than that, Dr. Lai sent Joycematerials on Waldorf education seminarsand holiday camps for teachers and parentsin the USA and encouraged her to promotesuch education.

At about the same time Organic Para-dise�a health food shop in Singapore�sglitzy main shopping strip Orchard Road�opened, and they stocked organic andBiodynamic foods. Stressed, sick and seekingSingaporeans patronised the shop and caféfor the health foods�health videos, books,tapes�the label biodynamic became familiarbut not the philosophy behind it.

So the ground was �ripe� when Biody-namic Outreach�s Peter Proctor rang BettyKhoo in Darwin, Australia from NewZealand, introduced himself and said thathe would be going to India to seed Biody-namics and as he would have to passthrough Singapore, would there be anyonethere who could be interested in him givingtalks. (Betty is a Singapore-born journalistresiding in Darwin and is the Biodynamicfarming honorary rep for northern Austra-lia).

The seeds were ready to fall on well-prepared ground! Peter Proctor was mostwarmly received and he gave not one buttwo talks. The first was a public dinner-talkat Organic Paradise which also has a health-vegan food café. He was asked to speakabout Rudolf Steiner�s philosophy and itspractical applications in the different fields

Steiner Initiatives in"Material" Singapore

Betty Khoo, Darwin, Australia

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of human endeavour. The shop-café wascrammed to bursting with about 100 peoplewho were not only new to the foods butSteiner�s philospophy. They relished it.

On this same visit Peter also gave alecture at the Singapore Zoological Gardens.This time he spoke specifically on Biody-namics�to horticulturalists, botanists andnature lovers. And he led the making of BDcompost in the Zoo�with Zoo poo! Thiswas in 1995 and Singaporeans seemedhungry for more.

Then, hot on the heels of Peter�s firstvisit, Singaporeans were further exposed tothe teachings of Steiner when AustralianTerry Forman (a Biodynamic farmer &lecturer, anthroposophist, sculptor andfounder of the Armidale Steiner school inNSW), was flown in (sponsored by anotherhealth food shop, Brown Rice Paradise) toconduct a week-long series of lectures.

It should be noted that Richard Seah,editor and publisher of The Good Lifemagazine (and one of three directors ofBrown Rice Paradise, the other two beingKheng Chua and John Yeo), had also beenwriting about Biodynamic foods and Steiner.In fact Richard had, back in 1995-96,reported on what Steiner had said aboutcows going MAD (Mad Cow Disease) ifthey were fed animal products!

Terry�s talks kicked off with a well-attended public lecture billed intriguingly as:Dr Rudolf Steiner�Does this Man Havethe Answers to the Problems PlaguingHumanity Today? Terry, a masterly speaker,had a rapt audience at the National Univer-sity of Singapore�s Guild of GraduateSociety�s lecture hall. Each day, for the restof the week Terry spoke on the differentapplications of Steiner�s work�including apractical demonstration of compost makingand BD 500 stirring.

The seeds were fast sprouting. Morespeakers (practitioners� of Steiner�s ideas)followed and some Singaporeans wentoverseas to study to Waldorf education(Derrick Lim and Ping Lee went off to NewZealand, and Ann Lim to Australia), and thishas culminated today in two major Steiner-inspired endeavours in Singapore.

In mid 2000 Joyce Low and husbandJames opened the charity KampungSenang�a holistic daycare centre for theelderly, teens and children with a Waldorfplaygroup and Waldorf pre-school, and anorganic food garden to educate about

natural farming systems and also providefresh vegetables.

In the same year Evelyn Eng-Lim (achemist turned volunteer eco-educator) andher husband Thian Soo (accountant turnedfarmer) started Singapore�s first Biodynamicfarm. Their five-acre farm Green CircleEco-Farm in north-west Singapore is one ofthe very few formerly farmed areas that thegovernment has tentatively allowed forhorticulture. Right at the very beginning

Peter Proctor was there, alongside Evelynand Soo, bashing through the human-heightelephant grass, digging and examining thesoil (�very poor, need lots of BD com-post!�) Meaning non-stop hard work in theequatorial heat and humidity. The couplehad visions of not just developing a Biody-namic market garden with fruit orchards andpoultry but of creating a sanctuary forthreatened wildlife. Green Circle would alsobe a �living classroom� where groups ofstudents and adults would learn aboutnature and natural farming systems.

It must have been very gratifying forPeter to see�five years after he first seededbiodynamics in Singapore at the Zoo�Green Circle farm produce an abundance offresh vegetables that go into weekly boxorders. Weekends are open for visitors. Onhis most recent visit to Singapore�inSeptember 2001�enroute again to India,with partner Rachel to live and continuetheir work there, we organised a Steinerfamily and friends get-together at GreenCircle.

Peter Proctor introducesBiodynamic ideas at a publicgathering at Organic ParadiseFood Shop and Cafe inSingapore.

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A night coinciding with the Chinese Full-moon festival and a tropical storm was notthe best choice. Still about 60 people rolledup in the rain to hear Peter talk of Steinerand the significance of his teachings in theNew Millenium�and enjoy a vegetarianfeast of farm-fresh herb teas, salads, soupsand rice dishes�the herbs and veggiescoming straight from the farm! The next day

Peter was invited to visit Kampung Senangand see the Waldorf kindergarten and pre-school, the daycare facilities and garden. Butnot before being brought to a very goodorganic lunch at Organic Paradise which hadexpanded to two shops. The range oforganic and many BD dried goods, alsofresh fruit and vegetables, some local, mostfrom Australia and New Zealand wasimpressive�although Peter was a bit takenaback to see small green apples selling for $1each (about 50 US cents).

Kampung Senang is a unique concept,for it not only brings together the elderlyand teenagers in a �Holistic Daycare Centre�(in Tampenis, the northeast of Singapore),but the ideals of Waldorf Education and theBuddhist �Still Thoughts Education� (devel-oped in Taiwan and conducted in Chinese)are twinned under one roof, both for youngchildren. In the �Still Thoughts� programchildren are taught natural farming andgardening, expressing gratitude beforeeating: perform simple housekeeping chores,play games with the elderly and enjoystorytelling�almost the same activities onewould find in any Waldorf pre-school!

Kampung Senang is also a meeting place foryouth volunteers who massage and playgames with the elderly, participate in therecycling programs and work in the organicvegetable garden. There are also regularholistic health talks, art classes. Low GekKheng, who attended Van James� mandalaclasses at the summer conference in Hawai�i,was so inspired she volunteered to conductsimilar classes at Kampung Senang soonafter she returned to Singapore. Joyceimmediately took her up on the offer.Something Joyce picked up at the confer-ence in Hawai�i was a deepening of herinterest in Anthroposophical medicine andnutrition. It is part of her steady, long-rangevision to bring an Anthroposophical doctorwithin Kampung Senang�s fold.

Meanwhile, over in the organic foodgarden, the work is constant if everyone isto be well fed. This is James Low�s mainresponsibility�along with some regularvolunteers, young and old! Happily, inSeptember the garden had extra help�alongwith some �showers of blessings��from theindefatigable Peter Proctor. He had broughtalong some BD preps and he innoculatedthe BD compost herbs into the compost pile(the centre is vegetarian so the compost hasno animal manure) then we took turnsstirring the valerian and he sprinkled thatover the heap.

�Now, let�s stir some BD 500� (thefamous horn manure) Peter announcedfishing out some 500 he had stashed away. Abucket was found and while we all sat in acircle and took turns stirring (a light, almostmeditative job), Joyce kept us fortified by asteady stream of green tea, juices and freshfruit, all organic, of course. The BD 500 wasspread out just as the sun was sinking andPeter suddenly announced, �We must go �my flight�s at...!� He�ll be back.

Meanwhile, at Green Circle andKampung Senang the blessed soil is loos-ened from its hard material properties and isspiritualized. It will grow abundant andchemical-free veggies and continue tonourish Singaporeans, helping to create ahealthy community that sparked by theseinitiatives develop in harmony with Natureand one another.

Low Gek Kneg, inspired byVan James� workshop at theHawai�i conference, leads amanadala drawing class atKampung Senang in Singapore.

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Dr. William (Bill) Scherer died at StraubHospital in Honolulu, Hawaii on the 1st January2002. He leaves behind Ulrike his wife and Hilarytheir daughter. Many members, students, andfriends in the USA, Europe, and Japan will misshim dearly. Bill was Chairman of theAnthroposophical Society in Hawaii from 1975 to1985 and was a long time Class holder of theSchool of Spiritual Science and a Professor ofGerman at the University of Hawaii where hetaught German Literature and European Culture.

Bill suffered from cancer for some years, I wasable to see him, after 16 years for the last time inearly August of last year. To my consolation, Iexperienced him to be very realistic about his ownstate of health and ever so joyful and optimistic inrespect of his spiritual innermost values for whichhe earnestly stood. Although he was confined in awheelchair and knew that he had not long to go, hewas full of spiritual vitality and love for thewonders of the cultural field in which he was activeas a professor at his university.

With his particular love and knowledge ofGoethe, Novalis, Lessing, Herder, Schiller, Rilke,Wagner, Verdi and many other European writersand opera composers, he continued the spiritualmission of these thinkers for humanity.

I also love to remember the lectures he gavewhen he visited Australia in 1982. His enthusiasticmethod in presenting his thoughts, tempered withacademic knowledge and anthroposophical insights,brought to life the listener�s feelings. Actuallynobody could remain indifferent to his message;one either was with him or felt disturbed.

Bill carried in himself the mission of 19th

century German idealism; he sang his love song tothe philosophy of humanity, pertaining to theeternal validity of the mystery of the Individual, theChristian ethics and the cultural complexity oftoday�s civilization. It was as if he himself hadwritten it and thus made them again so relevant fortoday�s challenge of the reconstituting of humanity.It was as if he had been taken out of 19th centuryEurope and planted into the middle of the PacificOcean to continue the call for what is truly human.

When I re-read letters which he had sent to me18 years ago and in which he expressed his worriesthat the University in Honolulu might have to closehis faculty for European Culture and Literature, Irealized today, that he was more concerned, that hemight not be able to fulfill his spiritual mission andthat of his destiny in which he carried the spiritualtask of his life.

In our short reunion of the third of August hetalked about his intentions, should his physical bodyallow it, of commencing again his student-sessionsin his home, where he would let them listen to thegreat classical works of 19th century operas andshare with them the mysteries which had beenenshrined in the artistic styles of the �old� Culture.

Yesterday, as I was reading his correspondenceof 1982 and 1983, an additional content wasrevealed to me. Although the content of his letterswere more of a practical nature about his life andthe people surrounding him, they now have gaineda prophetic meaning. In me is the question, why dowe need to lose a friend through death before our eyesare opened to the essence of an individual mission?

I shall also remember warmly, when Bill spokeat the General Secretaries� Meetings, which heattended in 1982 or so, and when he stood therewith his glowing face, reinforcing with his livelyhead movements everything he was articulating. Hespoke of, and defended the uniqueness of thespiritual tasks of the Hawaiian AnthroposophicalSociety. Although situated onan island small in physical sizeit is gigantic in terms of 20th

century world history. Thesurprise sinking of theAmerican Fleet in PearlHarbor in 1941 by theJapanese raised the Hawaiianevents to the forefront of theworld�s consciousness. I nowwonder whether Bill�s ownpersonal karma on this smallisland, was not guided by thegreater spirits from above, whomade him into a cultural surprisein his defense of human idealsbehind the scene of the popularimage of the indolence of theholiday and entertainmentculture of his island.

Once he attended the General Secretaries�Meeting at the Goetheanum, where he represented,not only the members of his Society, but much morewhen he spoke his spiritual inner mission which hewanted to represent at the forum of these friends.

Bill�s love for the Vorstand members, hisrespect for their responsibility and his adoration forthe Goetheanum impulse were all like a shininglight and radiant goodness when compared to thepresent day trend of criticizing anything which isdifferent to ones own expectations.

I am sure all the social, emotional and physicalobstacles life placed before him, which he fullyendured without losing his radiant warmth andspirit, will now become his well-prepared freedomby which he can bring these intelligent thoughts onthe ideals of humanity to Michael.

Eulogy for Dr. WilliamScherer

Karl Kaltenbach, Tasmania, Australia

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Thoughts on a NewZealand ClassroomGert Christeller, New Zealand

When we enter a room, we are notindifferent to its various features. Besidesbuilding materials, colours, lighting etc. weare impressed by its form. The latter is notfully, but largely determined by the (two-dimensional) plan: the box-form by therectangle, the spherical form by the circle.Our inner response to spacial forms is not

usually brought to consciousness, but wehave the capacity to sense them.

What applies to grown-ups applies evenmore to young, sensitive children who areexposed to certain forms within theirparticular daily environment. In order togive kindergarten children a sense ofsecurity and maternal care, the use ofrounded, circular forms has long beenregarded as beneficial for their wholesomedevelopment. They also give the feeling oftogetherness and thereby encourage earlysocial awareness.

Architectural form as an educational aidhas more recently been taken into consider-ation also in regard to the configuration of aschool�s classrooms. Architects, especially inGermany and the Netherlands, dependingon certain criteria, have come up with a

number of solutions for the different agegroups. I came to my own conclusionsthrough extensive study of the pentagonand its associate form, the pentagram.

My attention was drawn to the compactform of the pentagon (not unlike that of acircle) in contrast to the pentagram with itsstar-like rays opening out like the petals of aflower. I observed that the two contrastingforms exhibit an innate tendency to changefrom one to the other.

I also was made aware that unlike anyothers, these geometric forms, due to their

inner mobility, relate to organic life pro-cesses such as respiration where breathing-inand breathing-out alternate rhythmically. Itseemed to me that for this reason alone thepentagonal form should be able to provide afitting educational environment for childrenduring their first three years at school whenrhythm plays such a prominent role in theirdevelopment. The grouping together ofseven to nine year-olds from the aspect ofform also appears justified for the reasonthat during that period the children arehelped to learn every subject matter in anartistic way, as yet unencumbered byintellectual interpretation. They are likely toexperience a relationship between thepentagonal form of the room and their ownbody, because the human form itself isbased upon it. I have illustrated this well-

Pentagonal Waldorf classroomin Wellington, New Zealand,designed by Nicole Cooke andAnne Spee of Co-Design.

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known, yet surprising fact by the twodrawings below. Rudolf Steiner pointed outits beneficial use in therapy, especially bymeans of eurythmy.

Now Rudolf Steiner Education is whatwe understand to be a holistic education: itsets out to develop the whole of a youngperson, his or her inner talents and skills. Toachieve this end, the school offers experi-ences in all aspects of God�s created worldincluding soul and mind. The wonderfulWaldorf curriculum promotes this totalityof learning.

By listening to stories the child isencouraged to form its own imageryaccording to its soul experience. By paintingwith watercolours it learns about thelanguage of each of the primary colours andtheir combinations; by singing and recorderplaying as well as by eurythmy, it enters theworld of sound and movement in pureenjoyment and by mastering its production.This in the main stimulates the growth ofthe inner self.

On the other hand the child learns aboutthe outer world - the immediate surround-ings of the school, the different manualtasks that people engage in (to this belongsits own activities in handwork such asknitting and other skills). It learns about themineral, plant and animal kingdoms innature and about the movement of sun andmoon. This then is the other, as somepeople believe, the only �useful� side ofeducation.

This two-fold direction in learningsurprisingly finds a counterpart in thepentagonal form of the classroom! Drawingall five diagonals inside the pentagon, wearrive at the five-pointed star (the pentagon)in the middle of which appears a secondsmaller pentagon, upside down in relation tothe first. We can imagine this process, ifrepeated indefinitely, will end up by bothforms vanishing in the central point. Itsmovement corresponds to the child�s inner

development.Now we lengthen the sides of the

original pentagon - what do we get? A largepentagram. Imagine the tips of this penta-gram joined - an equally large pentagonarises and so it goes on. Here the formsstretch out into the infinitely large until they�melt� into the starry heavens. This is agesture of the outer experiences of thechild. The drawing below illustrates thesetwo tendencies.

These tendencies or directions exhibitedby the pentagon are of course not visiblyperceptive (though as shown they can easilybe demonstrated), but they should be takenas forces acting upon the children andstrengthening their ability to learn. The formof the pentagon �invites� the children toseek balance between inner and outer so thatthey will acquire a holistic outlook on life.Its function is that of being the mediatorbetween the two activities, the two worldswhich together form a whole.

When all�s said and done, what reallycounts is that the beneficial effect from thepentagonal form is confirmed in the courseof time. I found it most heartening to betold by Dr.Michaela Glöeckler, Leader ofthe Medical Section of the Goetheanum,that teachers working in such alreadyestablished classrooms have spoken to herabout them with much praise. It is my wishthat the experience with your new class-rooms at Tauranga Rudolf Steiner Schoolwill be equally positive.