Module 3 of 2023
Participants on this module
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The third Module of 2023 was held on the weekend of 18 to 20 August 2023. The theme for the year is:
Cultivating a Relationship with the Etheric Christ
The theme of the weekend was:
The Encounter with Christ in Life
Africa Seminary Module 3 of 2023 on the theme of Cultivating a relationship to the Etheric Christ, exploring the Encounter with the Christ in Life
The opening talk on the theme by Rev. Michaël Merle
Report by John-Peter Gernaat
The theme for the year of cultivating a relationship to the Etheric Christ was introduced in the module in February by Rev. Jonah Evans. He brought three main points: the indwelling Christ, the encounter with Christ, and a focus on Communion. In the previous module we looked at the indwelling Christ and this module will explore the encounter with Christ.
The talk on the theme was preceded by a question put to everyone present and answered individually as to what comes to mind when one hears, “you will meet Christ in the other”. This statement can only become a reality when it is also possible for the other to meet Christ in us. What this means is that as a community, a community of human beings, if we cannot manifest Christ to the other, how are they going to manifest Christ to us. The other side to being able to see Christ in the other is to be in the place where the other can see Christ in us. Therefore, if we have to see the Christ in the other, we are also the other to someone else. The exercises that made up the Saturday were an experience of what it means for us to able to manifest the Christ in ourselves so that the other can see the Christ in us. At the end of the Saturday the endeavour was to have experienced an encounter with the Christ in the other, which would then only be possible if the other had encountered the Christ in us.
In this presentation, as in many other presentations, the starting point is the constitution of the human being. Everything that we are as human beings comes back to our understanding of our own fourfold constitution. In this particular presentation that constitution will be presented in a way that it has not been presented before, providing a new picture.
We have a threefold constitution, body, soul, and spirit. But we also have a fourfold constitution. We have a physical body. We have a life force, a capacity to live, to grow, to regenerate which we can call the etheric body. We have a body of expression and temperament, a body that is filled with reactions and feelings and can express itself. This body adds gesture to my physical body. We refer to this component as the astral body. We also know that we are at a time in the evolution of the human being where we experience an aspect of the essence of ourselves in ourselves. Because this is our current experience it is very difficult to imagine a time when the human being did not experience themselves as being in themselves but rather as if they were being accompanied by themselves. We now experience ourselves as integrated into a singular experience of ourselves. This aspect of the essential self is that which can take true responsibility. It is that aspect of ourselves that is connected to the light of Christ. It is that aspect that we have to find in the other, and the other has to see in us if we are going to have an encounter with Christ.
We will encounter a new aspect of how we can obscure the essential self, that is connected to our higher “I”, that is connected to the Christ “I” or the True “I”, through which Christ can be present in us, when we wrap it in a dark cloud; the light of the essential self will not shine for others.
We have a foundation that can contain us – a physical body. In the first diagram below it is represented as a shallow bowl in purple, but we can imagine it as a spheroid that is solid. It is a vessel in which everything else can exist.
Our life-force, our vitality, our etheric is what makes the physical body regenerate. We have a capacity to replace ourselves, the tissue of our body, over time. Our skin, as an example, is completely regenerated every seven years; every cell in our skin is replaced in that period of time. The etheric regenerates the physical but always follows the pattern that was already established. There is a very strong link between the formative force, life energy, reproductive growth body and the physical body. For the purposes of the diagram it is presented in green. The diagram shows a connection between the physical body and the etheric body as a dotted green line. This connection will dissolve at death, therefore it is a dotted line. It may weaken over time as we grow older. The regeneration process also slows down as we age. The physical, without life, will erode. This is a law of the natural world. It is the life force that stops the erosion, but the life force starts to loosen and the erosion begins to appear. This starts at birth, although the life force is very strong in the first seven years of life, providing the child with its complete body. At some point the erosion begins to overcome the life force, and the physical begins to disintegrate. Our etheric is also present in our thinking, in our social life and as these aspects of life grow stronger the availability to the physical body lessens.
The component in the human being that we wish to focus on is that component that can express itself, that is connected to language, and that is the personality we encounter in the other. That is the astral body. The astral has the ability to fluctuate and in this diagram it is represented in red as youthful and exuberant. The astral body needs coordination to prevent it being all over the place.
The “I” is presented in the diagram as the blue line, taking hold of the astral and the etheric. The “I” has not yet taken hold completely of the physical. It takes hold mostly of the astral and to a lesser extent of the etheric. It is not an accident that the blue and red represents the sword and the snake. Our “I” has the ability to take hold of the astral that rises up.
When we go to sleep the blue and the red loosen allowing the etheric to do its primary work: to regenerate the physical. In the morning we reconnect and reintegrate ourselves.
The talk on the theme was preceded by a question put to everyone present and answered individually as to what comes to mind when one hears, “you will meet Christ in the other”. This statement can only become a reality when it is also possible for the other to meet Christ in us. What this means is that as a community, a community of human beings, if we cannot manifest Christ to the other, how are they going to manifest Christ to us. The other side to being able to see Christ in the other is to be in the place where the other can see Christ in us. Therefore, if we have to see the Christ in the other, we are also the other to someone else. The exercises that made up the Saturday were an experience of what it means for us to able to manifest the Christ in ourselves so that the other can see the Christ in us. At the end of the Saturday the endeavour was to have experienced an encounter with the Christ in the other, which would then only be possible if the other had encountered the Christ in us.
In this presentation, as in many other presentations, the starting point is the constitution of the human being. Everything that we are as human beings comes back to our understanding of our own fourfold constitution. In this particular presentation that constitution will be presented in a way that it has not been presented before, providing a new picture.
We have a threefold constitution, body, soul, and spirit. But we also have a fourfold constitution. We have a physical body. We have a life force, a capacity to live, to grow, to regenerate which we can call the etheric body. We have a body of expression and temperament, a body that is filled with reactions and feelings and can express itself. This body adds gesture to my physical body. We refer to this component as the astral body. We also know that we are at a time in the evolution of the human being where we experience an aspect of the essence of ourselves in ourselves. Because this is our current experience it is very difficult to imagine a time when the human being did not experience themselves as being in themselves but rather as if they were being accompanied by themselves. We now experience ourselves as integrated into a singular experience of ourselves. This aspect of the essential self is that which can take true responsibility. It is that aspect of ourselves that is connected to the light of Christ. It is that aspect that we have to find in the other, and the other has to see in us if we are going to have an encounter with Christ.
We will encounter a new aspect of how we can obscure the essential self, that is connected to our higher “I”, that is connected to the Christ “I” or the True “I”, through which Christ can be present in us, when we wrap it in a dark cloud; the light of the essential self will not shine for others.
We have a foundation that can contain us – a physical body. In the first diagram below it is represented as a shallow bowl in purple, but we can imagine it as a spheroid that is solid. It is a vessel in which everything else can exist.
Our life-force, our vitality, our etheric is what makes the physical body regenerate. We have a capacity to replace ourselves, the tissue of our body, over time. Our skin, as an example, is completely regenerated every seven years; every cell in our skin is replaced in that period of time. The etheric regenerates the physical but always follows the pattern that was already established. There is a very strong link between the formative force, life energy, reproductive growth body and the physical body. For the purposes of the diagram it is presented in green. The diagram shows a connection between the physical body and the etheric body as a dotted green line. This connection will dissolve at death, therefore it is a dotted line. It may weaken over time as we grow older. The regeneration process also slows down as we age. The physical, without life, will erode. This is a law of the natural world. It is the life force that stops the erosion, but the life force starts to loosen and the erosion begins to appear. This starts at birth, although the life force is very strong in the first seven years of life, providing the child with its complete body. At some point the erosion begins to overcome the life force, and the physical begins to disintegrate. Our etheric is also present in our thinking, in our social life and as these aspects of life grow stronger the availability to the physical body lessens.
The component in the human being that we wish to focus on is that component that can express itself, that is connected to language, and that is the personality we encounter in the other. That is the astral body. The astral has the ability to fluctuate and in this diagram it is represented in red as youthful and exuberant. The astral body needs coordination to prevent it being all over the place.
The “I” is presented in the diagram as the blue line, taking hold of the astral and the etheric. The “I” has not yet taken hold completely of the physical. It takes hold mostly of the astral and to a lesser extent of the etheric. It is not an accident that the blue and red represents the sword and the snake. Our “I” has the ability to take hold of the astral that rises up.
When we go to sleep the blue and the red loosen allowing the etheric to do its primary work: to regenerate the physical. In the morning we reconnect and reintegrate ourselves.
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In order to encounter Christ, we do so through what manifests as a result of the “I”-organisation. It shines like a light and is the light in us. Sometimes it is difficult to encounter the light in ourselves and in other. This is due to an element that arises primarily from the astral. Our soul life creates a shadow. It creates a shadow-cloud around itself, represented in the next diagram in black. The shadow-cloud can obscure the healthy working of the “I”. The shadow always accompanies us. It is composed of three attitudes and everything that comes from those attitudes. These are attitudes about ourselves that arise around a denial of our “I”-organisation, which we then project onto others. These attitudes counter the world of the Spirit in us. The attitudes are: (1) FEAR. There are many things that we are afraid of. We are afraid that we are not able to do what we should essentially be able to do. We are afraid that we will be the only one who cannot do it. We are afraid that we will be a failure and that others will recognise this in us. We are afraid that we will get into trouble. (2) HATRED. Hatred is a real experience of ourselves. Hating our incapacities, our lack of abilities, hatred of physical attributes. (3) DOUBT. We doubt that we will be able to do the things that are expected of us, and we doubt even that the Spirit in us is real.
We may experience the hatred of self in other people who constantly apologise for themselves. The shadow self of fear, hatred and doubt can be very strong and obscures the capacity for the “I”-organisation to shine.
We may experience the hatred of self in other people who constantly apologise for themselves. The shadow self of fear, hatred and doubt can be very strong and obscures the capacity for the “I”-organisation to shine.
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Rudolf Steiner reminds us that we need the shadow because it is quite instructive. However, we have a responsibility towards the shadow. This is an important word: responsibility – the ability to respond; not the ability to react. The astral is our ability to react; the “I”-organisation provides us with the ability to respond. Rudolf Steiner says that we can learn to love the shadow. When we love the shadow, we transform the shadow and it becomes a radiant being of light, so that it lights up for others to encounter the Christ in us. We are not able to transform the shadow by ignoring it or by hating it; it is only through loving it that we transform the shadow. Learn to love the shadow by appreciating how it teaches us about the areas in our life that we need to still work on. In the next diagram the transformation of the shadow is shown as rays of blue light emanating from the “I”-organisation and penetrating the edge of the shadow cloud transforming the shadow being into a radiant being of light. The source of the light can only come from our “I”-organisation. We are all in the process of transforming our shadow, no one has yet completely transformed their shadow being. It is in as much as we are able to recognise the shadow being within us and addressing it, acknowledging that we know it for all that it represents, accepting the work that we need to do to transform it and not ignore it, that we are in the process of transforming this
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This diagrammatic presentation of the human being is different from any previously presented at an Africa Seminary. The aim is that through the exercises that the participants in the Africa Seminary will engage in, they will discover something of how they encounter others. In these encounters there will be an encounter with the “I”-organisation, but the “I”-organisation is unable to speak a language, it is the astral that speaks. Therefore, the encounter with the “I”-organisation is through the astral. It will therefore be of interest to discover how the “I”-organisation uses the astral to express something of itself, and to learn to keep the shadow from getting in the way of the “I”-organisation expressing itself. It will be in encountering the astral, well held by the “I”, that we can hope to encounter the Christ. By having a sense of how this works in me, we can begin to have a sense of how it works in the other. It is about how, when we encounter another person, the “I”-organisation is present in the encounter, how much the shadow in held in check and how much the light of the “I”-organisation shines through.
The Christ-force is in all of creation, in all of nature. However, it is in the human being in a very specific way, in a way that we cannot find anywhere else. It is for this reason that we need other human beings. Living in isolation is the worst thing we can do to a human being; for example, placing a person in solitary confinement.
In the questions after the talk, a question was asked how the Guardian Angel helps to transform the shadow. The Angel carries our higher self “as a mother carries a baby in her womb”. The incarnated “I”-organisation is more effective when it can connect with the higher self. It is the connection to the higher self that will counter the fear, the hatred and the doubt.
Since the incarnation of the “I”-organisation the human being needs community with other human beings and no longer a tribe of hereditary connection. The community with others is one we build through our “I”-organisation with any, and all, other human beings, and is therefore independent of hereditary connections. It is through this community, built consciously, that we can encounter Christ in the other.
The Christ-force is in all of creation, in all of nature. However, it is in the human being in a very specific way, in a way that we cannot find anywhere else. It is for this reason that we need other human beings. Living in isolation is the worst thing we can do to a human being; for example, placing a person in solitary confinement.
In the questions after the talk, a question was asked how the Guardian Angel helps to transform the shadow. The Angel carries our higher self “as a mother carries a baby in her womb”. The incarnated “I”-organisation is more effective when it can connect with the higher self. It is the connection to the higher self that will counter the fear, the hatred and the doubt.
Since the incarnation of the “I”-organisation the human being needs community with other human beings and no longer a tribe of hereditary connection. The community with others is one we build through our “I”-organisation with any, and all, other human beings, and is therefore independent of hereditary connections. It is through this community, built consciously, that we can encounter Christ in the other.
Africa Seminary Module 3 of 2023 on the theme of Cultivating a relationship to the Etheric Christ, exploring the Encounter with the Christ in Life.
The Saturday exercises
Report by John-Peter Gernaat
The Saturday of the Africa Seminary module 3 for 2023, was made up mainly of four practical exercises. The purpose of the exercises was so that by the end of the day the participants could say that they had, in a real sense, had an encounter with the essential self of another person, and in that encounter had encountered the Christ in the other.
The first of the exercises was a listening exercise. The aim here is not to describe the exercise so that you, the reader can go and reenact the exercise, but rather to present a sense of what the exercise meant for the participants. In this exercise two participants listened carefully to each other, one at a time, in order to create together two images that would, when compared, resemble each other to the extent of being identical. It was quite surprising how well the images that each couple produced resembled each other.
The second exercise involved the creation of a listening space in which another person could speak and, in speaking, think through what they were saying. Each participant expressed how unusual it was to be able to speak in this manner where someone listened with the intention of creating a safe space, well held. One experienced a reverence being created for one's own words. Equally the person creating the listening space felt honoured to accept the words of the other into this safe space.
The third exercise involved two verses of scripture that intentionally spoke to each other. In pairs, each partner listened, creating a safe listening space, to their partner describing how their verse spoke to them. After listening to each other, the first in the partnership who had listened asked for more information on the verse. What was expressed later was how the listening had created a deeper connection to the verse of scripture so that each one had more to say when asked.
The last of the exercises was one of communicating in complete silence. We each experienced how it was possible to communicate without words, by connecting to the presence of the other person, and share an intimate conversation for a period of time. This exercise was concluded through an intense looking into the soul of the other person.
By the end of the day everyone was able to express how, through these exercises, they had experienced something of the other person that spoke to the true being of the other person. In this encounter with the other in a true sense, each one could realise how this encounter with the other represents an encounter with the Christ.
The first of the exercises was a listening exercise. The aim here is not to describe the exercise so that you, the reader can go and reenact the exercise, but rather to present a sense of what the exercise meant for the participants. In this exercise two participants listened carefully to each other, one at a time, in order to create together two images that would, when compared, resemble each other to the extent of being identical. It was quite surprising how well the images that each couple produced resembled each other.
The second exercise involved the creation of a listening space in which another person could speak and, in speaking, think through what they were saying. Each participant expressed how unusual it was to be able to speak in this manner where someone listened with the intention of creating a safe space, well held. One experienced a reverence being created for one's own words. Equally the person creating the listening space felt honoured to accept the words of the other into this safe space.
The third exercise involved two verses of scripture that intentionally spoke to each other. In pairs, each partner listened, creating a safe listening space, to their partner describing how their verse spoke to them. After listening to each other, the first in the partnership who had listened asked for more information on the verse. What was expressed later was how the listening had created a deeper connection to the verse of scripture so that each one had more to say when asked.
The last of the exercises was one of communicating in complete silence. We each experienced how it was possible to communicate without words, by connecting to the presence of the other person, and share an intimate conversation for a period of time. This exercise was concluded through an intense looking into the soul of the other person.
By the end of the day everyone was able to express how, through these exercises, they had experienced something of the other person that spoke to the true being of the other person. In this encounter with the other in a true sense, each one could realise how this encounter with the other represents an encounter with the Christ.
Africa Seminary Module 3 of 2023
The Encounter with Christ in Life
by Javier Kirigin
Friday 18 August and Sunday 20 August 2023
The module was presented by Rev. Michaël Merle in the form of an introductory talk on Friday night, a series of activities related to finding the Christ in the other on Saturday and a closing talk on Sunday.
I could not attend the Saturday part of the module, but the following are my impressions on the Friday and Sunday opening and closing talks respectively.
The Friday evening started with a question posed by Rev Merle to the attendees on: “What would you say if you were to meet Christ in the other?” There were responses such as “Hello”, “Am I Ready?” “Excited”, etc …. My response was the latter. This was a very pertinent question which transported us back to Module 1 of “Cultivating a Relationship with the Etheric Christ” leading us to know and understand that Christ lives in the Etheric realm and in each one of us in our unconscious souls.
Michael Merle then highlighted that to encounter the Christ in the other we should first endeavour to encounter the Christ impulse in ourselves. He introduced this in the form of the diagram below depicting the various bodies of the human being:
Friday 18 August and Sunday 20 August 2023
The module was presented by Rev. Michaël Merle in the form of an introductory talk on Friday night, a series of activities related to finding the Christ in the other on Saturday and a closing talk on Sunday.
I could not attend the Saturday part of the module, but the following are my impressions on the Friday and Sunday opening and closing talks respectively.
The Friday evening started with a question posed by Rev Merle to the attendees on: “What would you say if you were to meet Christ in the other?” There were responses such as “Hello”, “Am I Ready?” “Excited”, etc …. My response was the latter. This was a very pertinent question which transported us back to Module 1 of “Cultivating a Relationship with the Etheric Christ” leading us to know and understand that Christ lives in the Etheric realm and in each one of us in our unconscious souls.
Michael Merle then highlighted that to encounter the Christ in the other we should first endeavour to encounter the Christ impulse in ourselves. He introduced this in the form of the diagram below depicting the various bodies of the human being:
The Physical body is a container composed of all the mineral, organic and inorganic substances which is in a state of decay from the day we were born and especially so after the age of 25. The Physical body is the vessel of our soul which forms our Etheric body. The Astral body is expresses our emotions, moods, etc and the picture above shows the Astral body for a teenager, i.e. with many fluctuations. Now the Astral produces our Shadow self (lower self) through attitudes that show their ugly heads: Fear, Hatred and Doubt.
Our incarnated I-organisation (higher self) radiates light as antidotes to the 3 monsters mentioned above through Faith in Work, Love in Community and Hope for the future to use the words written by Paul to the Corinthians. In the very beginning of the Act of Consecration of Man we encounter three other words: Revelation as a counter to Fear, Reverence as a counter to Hatred and Mindfulness as a counter to Doubt. These will make inroads in the shadow self and more light will radiate enabling our I-organisation to shine into the world. Our incarnated I-organisation is connected to our higher I-organisation which is in turn connected to the True I or Christ I and as we work with our incarnated I-organisation we will find the seed of the Christ impulse within ourselves which will in turn help us to find the Christ in the other.
Our incarnated I-organisation (higher self) radiates light as antidotes to the 3 monsters mentioned above through Faith in Work, Love in Community and Hope for the future to use the words written by Paul to the Corinthians. In the very beginning of the Act of Consecration of Man we encounter three other words: Revelation as a counter to Fear, Reverence as a counter to Hatred and Mindfulness as a counter to Doubt. These will make inroads in the shadow self and more light will radiate enabling our I-organisation to shine into the world. Our incarnated I-organisation is connected to our higher I-organisation which is in turn connected to the True I or Christ I and as we work with our incarnated I-organisation we will find the seed of the Christ impulse within ourselves which will in turn help us to find the Christ in the other.
Africa Seminary Module 3 of 2023
by Michèle Schiess
At the Africa Seminary of 18 to 20 August, I was once again, privileged to deepen my relationship with the Christ. This weekend we explored Christ in the other, and it was very profound, particularly the experiential exercises. We unpacked our shadow sides: fear, hatred and doubt and that these are attitudes about ourselves which we project onto others.
We found that in the opposites fear/faith, doubt/hope and hatred/love, in Matthew 7: 7 he gives us the directive of Asking (and it [ faith ] will be given to you) Seeking (and you will find [ hope] ) and Knocking (and the door [love] will be opened.)
The weekend was rounded off with Faith translating in Work, Love in Community and Hope for the Future. This was obviously deeply nourishing having just launched MaTiga Fund which is all about work in community for the future!
At the Africa Seminary of 18 to 20 August, I was once again, privileged to deepen my relationship with the Christ. This weekend we explored Christ in the other, and it was very profound, particularly the experiential exercises. We unpacked our shadow sides: fear, hatred and doubt and that these are attitudes about ourselves which we project onto others.
We found that in the opposites fear/faith, doubt/hope and hatred/love, in Matthew 7: 7 he gives us the directive of Asking (and it [ faith ] will be given to you) Seeking (and you will find [ hope] ) and Knocking (and the door [love] will be opened.)
The weekend was rounded off with Faith translating in Work, Love in Community and Hope for the Future. This was obviously deeply nourishing having just launched MaTiga Fund which is all about work in community for the future!
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