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Editorial

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the St. John’s Midsummer (in the northern hemisphere) issue of New View magazine.

John the Baptist was the Preparer of the Way for Christ. This ‘preparing’ emerged as a theme for this issue, coming from the periphery, the authors, not as an editorial decision. I felt simply called upon to help author contributions come together to form this issue with this ‘preparing’ thread gently running through it in different ways. Doing so, I was minded of what Rudolf Steiner spoke about Love. He said that without the Buddha, Christ could not have brought love into the world and have it take root in human hearts. For it was the Buddha (‘Preparing the Way’) who brought the teaching of love and thus prepared the ‘soil’ in the soul of human beings to be able to receive the Power of Love from Christ, planted into human hearts where it could grow. This also points to the tremendous community of beings around Christ and Buddha who all play their part in bringing humanity forward.

How do we prepare for the future? Here, in the present, we can make the effort to understand what we are dealing with, what forces are at work in the world. Then we might ask ourselves, what part do I have in all this? That is utterly personal, but as you are a reader of New View (at least in this present moment!) you are perhaps interested to learn from its authors what insights and perspectives they have on world and personal events, which, in a small way can encourage understanding and thereby help with preparing the future. Time will tell!

The opening section of this issue is concerned with the severe challenges faced by teachers and children in the Steiner-Waldorf movement. We begin with Eugene Schwartz, writing from the USA, looking at what is happening in Waldorf Schools in America in The Class of 2033: Waldorf at War. Richard House then reviews at length a book dealing with the declining mental health of children in The Rewiring of Childhood.

This is followed by news of an independent Steiner-Waldorf Teacher Education Course at Edinburgh, Scotland. We then hear of the Bristol Steiner School, here in the UK, threatened with closure being resurrected by the courageous efforts of its parents and teachers, also now seeking a head teacher.

Aaron Mirkin, a Christian Community priest, explores the significance of John the Baptist and the apostle John in The Two Johns – Part I (with Part II to follow in the Michaelmas issue).

Maarten Ekama explores concepts of space and time – and timelessness – poetically informed, in Whitsun.

Terry Boardman then brings an historical reflection in The 1960s: a Generation’s Path through Will, Wisdom, Love and Illusion and what this means for us today.

Nigel Gilmer, from the USA, continues his series of articles with Divergent Paths of the Future: Part II: Tracing the Emergence of a Global Brain. Tony Mills then shares possibly little known developments, including in Artificial Intelligence technology, with his Technology, the Sacred and the Future.

Net Zero: A Worldwide Deception finds Peter Taylor, our regular Climate Watch scientist, considering the impact on global temperatures that Net Zero would really achieve.

‘You can’t keep a good dog down’, goes the saying and, sure enough, Shindig returns with Shindig Rhymer Goes Sniffing About.

In The Role of Farm Animals – Our Cultural Assistants Bernard Jarman shows something of the crucial role that livestock plays in ‘agri-culture’, contributing to a healthy farm.

A second piece from Eugene Schwartz, Gender and Its Discontents, addresses incarnation issues in the light of gender dysphoria and a book banned in USA schools.

We round off with a music CD and book reviews.

Finally, my good wishes to you, the reader, for the way ahead, wherever you may be,

Tom Raines – Editor.

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