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Editorial

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the Spring/Easter issue of New View. I realise that New View brings a lot of information and insight about much that is out of harmony in the world; sometimes even evil. At the same time there is also uplifting news of inspiring initiatives taken by many people. During the Holy Nights I thought a great deal about what New View brings into the world and a phrase came to me that epitomises this: “Dark roots and green shoots.”

Whilst all plants form in the earth, with roots going downwards and the growing tip thrusting upwards, the thought of a ‘dark root’ has two sides to its meaning. One is the picture of the plant seeking nourishment in the soil away from the sunlight, with its searching system of roots that also provide a firm foundation for what goes on above it. This is done in darkness and is perhaps akin to when you and I sleep and enter the darkness of the night, to seek nourishment and refreshment after the exertions of daily life. This is the legitimate darkness, a great womb pregnant with potential and renewal. But there is another meaning to the dark: that which is lost or gone astray, containing something that wishes us harm. In human affairs much is done in secret away from the gaze of others; plans are hatched, actions taken not for the benefit of the many but for the advantage of the few. These are different dark roots, perhaps akin to the unwelcoming corrupting effect of polluting soil on the true potential of a seed. But a green shoot is unequivocal. It strives to push upwards towards the light. As a metaphor it is hugely encouraging; as a reality it is a tiny miracle to many of us. And so I realised that New View, as a carrier of news, insights and experiences, could be aptly described as a publication concerned with Dark Roots and Green Shoots.

David Newbatt kindly produced the cover picture with this in mind; one can easily imagine when looking at it that there is less than friendly intent amongst the roots of the young, thrusting shoots. This well mirrors the human world we all connect with. We are all gardeners of our own souls; if we do not tend and till the soil of our souls and bring good substance into it, then our creative seeds cannot grow properly within us. Yet we should not underestimate the strength of the force within seeds, indeed within the kernel of our selves, to thrust towards the light, to strive upwards from out of the dark.

Rudolf Steiner was concerned that people should be well informed; how else can we make good decisions? Sometimes this means looking into difficult, ugly places. After all, if things are ever to be transformed and redeemed we need to understand, ultimately, the evil that wills to hold sway in human and earthly affairs. At the same time we need to remember what goodness can do and what the star-encrusted potential of darkness in its loving nature can be. So, sprinkled throughout this issue of New View are the dark roots and green shoots of our world.

Terry Goodfellow looks at the Occupy London phenomenon and how it is raising awareness for inequality in society in Reflections on St Paul‘s. From the USA, where this movement began in the financial district of Wall Street, G. Benjamin Bingham comments on the Occupy movement and the need for individuals to take responsibility for themselves and the world in Occupy What?

In The Theft of Human Time – for Money! Frances Hutchinson looks at how our time is being stolen away by financial pressures. Shindig Rhymer weighs in, in his inimitable fashion, with Cuts are Biting Deep.

_Axiomata and Metanoia – Changing our Minds in the 21st Century f_inds Terry Boardman looking at where the roots of our ideas on economics, politics and liberty come from and our acceptance of the unacceptable.

NNA – News for New View, compiled by Christian von Arnim brings us, in the wake of the Fukushima tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan, a report of a talk given by the physicist and theologian Dr. Hans-Bernd Neumann on “Radioactivity and the human being”.

Breathing, renewal and forgiveness are the theme in Matthew Barton’s Beginning Afresh. This leads to Hugo Erbe and the Elemental World where Paul Carline offers a life sketch of a remarkable man deeply connected to the elemental world.

Jane Campbell Brewer, in Speaking in Public, relates how she became interested in public speaking through reading Steiner’s The Art of Lecturing. This is complemented by the art of interviewing [hopefully!] when Tom Raines interviews Jonathan Stedall about his making of the film The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner.

Marcus Link then looks at leadership within organisations in Leadership as Spiritual Activity? Jill Tina Taplin then shares concerns and some news about provision of training in Steiner Waldorf early childhood education in The Question of Professional Training.

In Times of Change, Change of Time John Marking shows that it is perhaps time to change our understanding of time. And we then come to Making Sense of 9/11: Part Three – Truthtelling and Storytelling where Richard Ramsbotham develops his series on the serious ramifications of 9/11 and focuses on the perpetuation of a skewed narrative.

Finally, Terry Boardman reviews a film, The Way, which deals with personal loss and change in the context of the pilgrims road to Santiago de Compostella.

And grateful thanks again to David Newbatt for his sketches and pictures, including the one on page 7.

Please also read the message on page 1. And may I wish you well on your way, wherever you may be,

Tom Raines – Editor

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