By Jim Barausky

How does our inner life affect our work in agriculture? Can we make more effective use of the biodynamic preparations and address the problems with pollution today?

Rudolf Steiner began his lectures on agriculture with a clear statement that human life is now almost completely emancipated from the influences from beyond the Earth and also the influences from the atmosphere and within the Earth’s environment. He goes to some trouble to point out that the human being is emancipated from all of this. On the other hand, it is clear that to understand plant life we must bear in mind that everything that is happening on Earth is but a reflection of what is taking place in the cosmos or the universe (the planets, zodiac, fixed stars, sun, etc.).

How does the emancipated human being approach a biodynamic agriculture that reflects the cosmos? We are currently disconnected from the cosmos and the cosmic rhythms and can see the result of this disconnect all around us with degradation on land, water, and air; genetic engineering; pollution, etc.

In the discussion with the attendees of the Agriculture Course, Rudolf Steiner was asked if it matters who does the work of biodynamic farming. Can anyone do the work or should it be an anthroposophist — implying someone who is on a spiritual path of growth and awareness?

His reply is interesting enough to quote:

“That is the question. If you raise such a question at all nowadays you will be laughed at, no doubt, by many people. Yet I need only remind you that there are people whose flowers grown in a window box thrive wonderfully, while with others they do not thrive at all but fade and wither. These are simple facts. These things that take place through human influence, though they cannot be outwardly explained, are inwardly quite clear and transparent. Moreover, such things will come about simply as a result of the human being practicing meditation; preparing himself by meditative life…”

This activity of meditative life was described in the previous day’s lecture as:

"...growing into a conscious living experience of the nitrogen all around you. Such is the real process in meditation. All becomes knowledge and perception - even that which is living in the nitrogen. And the nitrogen is a clear fellow! He will inform you of what Mercury and Venus and the rest are doing. He knows it all, he really senses it....This is the point where the Spiritual in our inner life begins to have a certain bearing on our work as farmers.”

The farmer is a mediator by the very nature of his or her work with nature, the living Earth, and the heavens. After a seminar was given in Paonia, Colorado in October 2013 by Enzo Nastati on “How to Make Biodynamics Work Better,” a group of biodynamic practitioners wanted to go further into the spiritual background of biodynamics and the role of the farmer. As mentioned above, we are now surrounded by pollution from chemicals, EMF, WiFi, radioactivity, and air and water pollution, and we need a particular vigilance, consciousness, and new methodologies to meet these challenges. Enzo has done a good deal of work addressing this problem in the context of biodynamics, homeopathics, and homeodynamics (a homeopathic potentization methodology for increasing the effectiveness of the biodynamic preparations). He founded the Eureka Research Institute in Italy and has applied this methodology worldwide.

More recently some of Enzo’s research has focused on developing new sources of energy, healthy architectural structures and mitigation or cleaning up pollution from many sources. In September 2014 the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science brought Enzo to China to conduct a trial on high salinity in a 6000m2 area using homeodynamics. After three months, the results were encouraging, with soil analysis showing a reduction of salinity of 52.1%, as well as a change in soil conductivity and pH.

In January 2015, Enzo was invited to give a five-day seminar titled “Man is the Preparation.” It dealt principally with the operator affecting the outcome of the operation with the aid of anthroposophy and the gospels. A second part in this series will be given in November 2015 in Paonia and will continue with the theme of the future of biodynamic agriculture, the gospels, and occult science.

Enzo will offer another five-day seminar in Paonia from August 19-23, 2015 on "Depollution." This seminar will include practical experience with the use of depolluting products and will focus on methods to clean up/detoxify from chemicals, EMFs, air, soil, water contaminants, negative entities, and disturbing thought patterns.

Upcoming seminars:

For further information about upcoming seminars or transcripts and DVDs from past seminars, please contact: Caren von Gontard at 970-201-0125 or adivg@tds.net.

Partial scholarships for this workshop may be available through the Biodynamic Scholarship Fund. Please visit www.biodynamics.com/scholarship for information and to apply.