consciousness

"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age--as in being able to remake ourselves." (Mahatma Gandhi)

Increasingly compelling statistics stress that we are closer than ever to dramatically altering the earth to the point of making it uninhabitable. We can't solve these kinds problems with the same kind of thinking that caused them. This time in history calls for a revolution.
Yesterday's revolutions demanded that individuals stand against the prevailing political system which oppressed them. External tyranny required external action, physical force and often violence. A political system which valued individual liberty emerged from these conflicts. Read more »

Dear WeStrive Community,

This morning, at 12:00A exactly, a community-wide research opportunity came to a close: it was an effort in co-creating the materials for this weekend’s Meet-up around the theme of social media’s effects in and on our lives. We invited our network to share their answers to three questions in any way that they wanted—email, text, Tweet, a message, a videoblog—and we received some wonderful answers! Tomorrow we will release the co-created video that Meet-ups around the world will be able work with during their gatherings. The three questions we posed were meant to inspire us all to begin to really understand just how effective social media is:

• What is social media?
• How does social media impact my life?
• How can I use it to benefit and do good in the world?

  Read more »

“And from a cliff-top is proclaimed

The gathering of souls for birth,

The trial by existence named,

The obscuration upon earth

And the slant spirits trooping by

In streams and cross and counter-streams

Can but give ear to that sweet cry

For its suggestion of what dreams!”

(Robert Frost, “The Trial by Existence”)

With these words, Robert Frost offers us an idea of what it is to be a “spiritual being having an earthly experience.” Read more »

Dear WeStrive Community,

Strife is a word that generally comes to mind when thinking about war, violence and unrest in nation-states. It is best exemplified in the mainstream by devastating geo-political realities that a people must endure, engulfing whole societies and driven by a relentless hunger: a hunger that divides and conquers.

Rarely do we use the word strife to describe an internal condition, an individual’s emotional turmoil or the lack of communication between two people. Similarly, the word peace is often used in the mainstream to describe a collective phenomenon, not generally a personal one.

Ample mention of peace as a personal experience exists mostly in sacred texts but one is quickly confronted with current and historical contradictions.

What the diverse doctrines of peace require of us are often in stark contrast to the actual actions that are, or have been, taken in the name of various religions existing in the world. Read more »

The Sexuality and Consciousness Young Adult Conference began in a mood of shy discretion as we all wondered what this weekend would be about. What does Anthroposophy have to say about sexuality, or sex for that matter? Why do we even have masculine and feminine polarities? What are we to understand by the signs of the times?
Lisa Romero, Anthroposophical healthcare practitioner and teacher, guided us on our way; we plucked up our courage and set out with our questions. We realized it is important to distinguish between the terms: “man and women,” that which results from our biology, and the feminine and masculine principles, which are the creative within those bodies. With humor and sincerity, Lisa led us through the phenomena we experience in the intimate interplay between men and women. Read more »