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Jacob Boehme

Steiner offers a fascinating suggestion about Boehme and the alchemist Paracelsus: “One needs only to know Paracelsus...

Freedom & Farming - The Josephine Porter Institute

May 1, 2023

Imagine every farm being free in itself (freedom within the boundaries of the farm), of itself (free from dependence on outside inputs), and for itself (free to pursue its own creative expression within the farm). Moreover, imagine countries doing the same. People ask, "Is biodynamics scalable?" If it means freedom, then, yes, it's one of the only things worth scaling.

May 1, 2023

Gifts for the Soil

With biodynamics we are gifting to the soil a concentration of forces and a kind of "sweetness" that naturally wouldn't occur by chance in nature. And that is the secret of alchemy: taking things to their fulfillment when Nature, left to herself, could not do so.

Apr 21, 2023

Is Biodynamics Pseudosience?

What hypothesis does biodynamics as an intuition advance? That these special biodynamic preparations will measurably improve the quality of compost, hasten the formation of humus and the build-up of organic matter in the soil, and increase the nutritional value of crops. This hypothesis must be tested, but funding for research is a very different question!

Apr 10, 2023

Science or Faith?

When Steiner talks about "spiritualizing" the sciences, he means bringing a spiritual gaze to the research performed using the scientific method. He is not proposing the method itself change, but the gaze of intuition must always be brought to bear on the data science produces, or we would make very few connections at all.

Apr 10, 2023

As If

One of the most useful ways to think of something is as if. We don't have to accept that the farm literally is an "o...

Apr 7, 2023

Intuition

Steiner's impulse is distinct. He is not advocating going "back" to a conception-free world, nor does he side on mere systematized conceptual thought. Instead, he urges us towards recovering intuition in the midst of scientific development and transforming the sciences so that they, once again, serve LIFE and not mere POWER.

Apr 7, 2023

Goethean Observation

If, as Goethe says, "A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart" then what we carry in our hearts when we approach phenomena will determine what we find in the world. As such, a mood of love will help us see the value in even outwardly distasteful things. Diffuse gratitude will help us develop a relationship with the world, and even, I dare say, with manure.

Apr 5, 2023

Wholeness & Holistic Farming

On the farm, we should imagine the farm as if it's a living thing that can be healthy or unhealthy and watch for where there's stagnation or inflammation. Look out at the field and you'll see dry spots or water-logged areas. Imagine that in your body as arthritis or bloating and you'll quickly grow more sensitive to how the farm organism "feels" and how to make it healthier.

Mar 27, 2023

Character of the Cosmos

As the Kyoto School philosopher Kitaro Nishida writes, when we discover a law of nature using the scientific method, this is actually the Universe, though us, discovering an element of its own character.