February Training Session
Report by Molly Luvender Friends Newsletter, February 2008 by Seth Jordan
The February Meeting – An Introduction to Social Threefolding
Most of you are aware that a little over a week ago, the weekend of Feb. 22nd, was our first official meeting as a group. It was an awesome success – far better than any of the planners could have imagined. Sarah, Peter, and I prepared as much as we could: wrapping our minds around Towards Social Renewal, thinking through social dynamics which would encourage co-creative participation and not mere passive receptivity, and securing classrooms, beds and food. All along the way we received amazing encouragement, feedback and support from close friends, fellow participants, members of the Hawthorne Valley community, and many of you. Then, on Friday, with blizzard-like conditions creating one final challenge, 32 young people still showed up brimming with enthusiasm for the initiative, for understanding this awesome spiritual resource which is Steiner's social thought, and for meeting each other and finding ways of working together to help bring social health. Though we planned on the group being composed of mostly north-easterners, participants came from as far away as Minneapolis, Michigan and Washington D.C. A lot of what we did together over the weekend was thinking work – brainstorming and wrestling with new ideas. In this regard Gary's lectures provided a solid foundation for our inquiries and grounded the four presentations made by participants. Journaling and discussion drew out our thoughts and questions. Drama exercises, games, and singing helped us to harmonize as a group. Michael Howard's contribution – painting with rice as a form of "social sculpture" – was essential, alchemically translating many of the ideas and impulses we were working with into artistic action. For many of us the weekend was an opportunity to meet our peers for the first time as co-workers and colleagues. As is so often the case, in the spaces between activities, over shared meals and snowball fights, many of us became fast friends as well.
Now is a time of unprecedented upheaval in the social biography of humanity. The way that we live in connection to the environment, the spirit, each other, and the systems that we have unscrupulously set for ourselves, is malign. A change of direction is imperative. As we move toward this impending need for conscious action on a global scale, there is a weight that rests upon a younger generation, and an ardent force emanating from it. "... you have chosen to incarnate now, to be here for it." These were the words spoken by Gary Lamb on Saturday, February 23rd, to a group of 32 young people who came together in Harlemville, NY, for the first ever meeting of Think OutWord.
Think OutWord is a peer-led training in social entrepreneurship for young adults that is inspired by the teachings of Rudolf Steiner on associative economics, social renewal, and the threefold nature of the human being and of society. We’ve come together to gain deeper insight into the disease of the social organism and to explore ways by which we can help bring health to it. This initial conference was a chance for young people interested in Steiner’s social thinking to meet each other... to recognize one another as colleagues and find a way forward together.
Though the weekend began with blustery weather, participants travelled from as far away as Michigan and Washington D.C. In the evenings we heard two lectures by Gary Lamb, of the Institute for Social Renewal: Rudolf Steiner as Social Reformer and Activist and The Threefold Nature of the Human Being as the Basis for Social Initiative. During the day we met for discussion groups, journaling, and presentations by participants on Steiner’s Toward Social Renewal and an essay by Robert Karp. Our time was also filled with songs, games, “social sculpture” with the artist Michael Howard, simple, delicious meals, and snow-ball fights.
The weekend was felt by all participants to be an illuminating success in forming the framework for this initiative. We look forward to uniting forces with the abundance of good work that is taking place all over the world.
