TAKING THE FIRST STEP FORWARD

JOHN-SCOTT LEGG, EDITOR

“One who, like myself, goes his own way, is bound to be exposed to many misunderstandings.” —Rudolf Steiner 1 Like the man quoted above who provided the impetus for this work, biodynamics—as an agricultural practice, as a way of working with the Earth, of understanding how the human being fits into the miraculous composition of nature, the farm, and the wide universe—in a certain sense, “goes its own way.” It’s kind of different, in other words. Decidedly “un-conventional.” Given the present situation(s) in the world (the aggressive degradation of the Earth’s topsoil over the last century is just one important symptomatic example, as is the worldwide decline in insect populations mentioned on p. 5) this can only be seen as a good thing.2 It’s no secret that what is needed to begin to heal our ailing environment is not another “solution” still unconsciously tangled in the exact thought patterns that initiated the crisis (whichever one, all are related), but a fundamental shift in perception: a step forward in consciousness from where we have been; a wider perspective. (How wide? Could it be there isn’t a limit?)3 This much-needed expansion of our conceptions is what the practise of biodynamics rests upon, and it has hardly begun to be explored. This is also part of the challenge to those who take it up in one way or another, no matter the place, no matter the person: how to stand firmly in the world and be fruitfully and lovingly engaged with one’s contemporaries while our convictions compell us to “go our own way,” to vigorously interrogate a whole host of received ideas. Not in order to reject anything out of hand, but to discern truth wherever it is. Going our own way now does not mean we want to go it alone. Only that we are willing to take the first step forward, and in so doing accept the risk of ridicule. So,as indicated in the quote above, with biodynamics there are bound to be some misunderstandings. Such is life. If, indeed, the long arc of the moral universe tends toward justice, such misunderstandings will prove temporary. Still, there are many who hear of biodynamics and are immediately attuned to the wholeness of this approach, its logic and wisdom, its necessity. Looking to the future, it would seem most obviously beneficial for the Earth as a whole if an ever-growing interest in biodynamics would be accompanied at each step by an ever wider, ever more discriminating (therefore unprejudiced) view of reality, of one another, of our mutual responsibilities.  In this issue, we explore Narrations and Preparations: Views from the Field. Two longtime biodynamic practioners, Marie Mauger and Philip Lyvers, look back on twenty and twenty-one years, respectively, of engagement with the land they tend and care for; and two more, Dennis Klocek and Peter Stewart, contemplate the place and significance of the biodynamic preparations in the context of biodynamics in general. We also have an update from Hugh Courtney, a person who has been very involved in spreading the work of the preparations, and a book review of a new and interesting tome on the preparations, in addition to regular features and updates. Thanks for your support!

1. Rudolf Steiner, “Preface to the First Edition, 1901” in Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age. (Blauvelt, NY: Steinerbooks, 1960), p. 240. 2. The sobering “Global Land Outlook” report from the United Nations can be found here: https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/ documents/2017-09/GLO_Full_Report_low_res.pdf 3. Steiner’s pre-anthroposophical justification for the existence of what he later developed as spiritual science is a book called The Philosophy of Freedom. Chapter 7 is titled “Are there Limits to Knowledge?”. Not to give it away, but for him, the answer is no. It’s worth considering.

John-Scott Legg joined the BDA as Editor of Biodynamics late last year. He has been a teacher, cook, truck-driver, general laborer, farmer’s market attendant, editor, actor, homesteader, father, and husband. He still is most of those things. Contact him at this address: john-scott@biodynamics.com.