Our Inner Development and the Life Cycle of the Plant

Wednesday, January 27, 2020, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm ET

In this webinar, we will explore the fruitful analogy between the lifecycle of a plant from seed to seed in the course of the year and our path of inner development.

Presenter Tom Algelt shares the following insight:

Rudolf Steiner and many other spiritual teachers have alluded to this remarkable analogy. Goethe spoke at length about the metamorphosis of the plant and Steiner elaborated beautifully on this, but it was Goethe’s younger friend and ardent proponent of freedom, Friedrich Schiller, who told us that if we seek the highest, we should look to the plant, see what it does naturally and do this consciously.

The Calendar of the Soul, especially as seen placed on the remarkable symbol of the lemniscate, frequently gives voice to this extraordinary analogy between the life cycle of a plant and our own spiritual development. My greatest hope in creating this analogy as a useful tool is to help all who seek inner spiritual growth to recognize and work with the universal life processes that animate us all.

My intent is to communicate the living wisdom of Rudolf Steiner’s path for spiritual realization as set forth in chapter one of his book “How to Know Higher Worlds” also to people who are not familiar with Anthroposophy. It was Steiner who asked us to look into ourselves to know the world, and to look into the world to understand ourselves. We will look at the three phases of inner development: preparation, illumination and initiation, as shown in the simpler diagram and then at the sevenfold stages of each of these phases. Several articles co-authored  by Karen Foley and myself on this theme have been published in Lilipoh and Being Human Magazines and can be read here.

The webinar is free, but registration is required. If you're able to make a donation, please consider becoming a member so we can continue to provide the information, resources, and connection that are needed. Membership is on a sliding scale, so you can join for as little as $5 and immediately receive access to membership benefits. You may also donate without joining here. If you're experiencing issues with internet access or unreliable service, you may also participate by calling in. 

This webinar will be recorded, and all registered participants will receive a link to the video recording. 

For questions about registration, email registrar@biodynamics.com or call 262-649-9212 x2

For more details on system requirements and how to participate, please see our webinar info page.

Tom Altgelt, Co-Host for the Anthroposophical Café, discovered anthroposophy and the Christian Community in Stuttgart, Germany over four decades ago, while working as a landscape architect. Tom and his wife Dorothea moved to Camphill Lehenhof in 1981, where he designed and oversaw the construction of the overall landscape of this Camphill Village. When his work was completed, they moved to Temple, New Hampshire, where they became active members of the Lukas Foundation and the local Anthroposophical Branch. Tom eventually built up a renowned  New England landscape architectural office and also became active in the work with flow forms. After eight years he was asked to work on the Garden of Nations in Stuttgart Germany.

Twenty-seven years ago Tom and Dorothea moved to Boulder Colorado, where they became active members of the local Isis Sophia Branch and Tom eventually became the contact person for the local Boulder anthroposophical work. He took on the organization of the Holy Nights and taught basic courses in anthroposophy using books such as “How to Know Higher Worlds” and “Theosophy.” Tom has published a number of articles in “Lilipoh” and “Being Human” magazines on the analogy between the life cycle of a plant and our path of inner development, He is currently on the advisory committee for the Biodynamic Agriculture conference and has been a first class member for several decades.

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