The
Programme Synopsis
Unit and Synopsis Practical
Work
book one –
Memory, Thinking, Consciousness
Where should we start thinking
about memory and consciousness? We start with thinking.
Exploring our biography as four-fold spiritual beings – the
everyday gift of loving remembrance can help us. An
Invitation.
1. Making
Connections
Memory in a Nutshell (1):
conventional theories of memory, short and long term memory.
Classifying science, nature and nurture. The difference
between exploring as a spectator and as a player. Memory in a
Nutshell (2): conventional theories of remembering and
forgetting. The approaches of neurology and ‘new science’. How
do we explore the reality of our inner world and outer
world?
♣The Connect 4 Game
(1) What’s the Plot
2.
Thinking about Thinking
To explore
memory and consciousness we have first to explore thinking.
Rudolf Steiner’s concept of the mind: thinking, thoughts and
things; apparent and residual reality; living thinking as an
instrument to explore the world. What happens when we
perceive, think about and remember something? The everyday
gift of free, loving remembrance.
(2) Koan Knowing
3. All in
the Mind?
The four-fold human being –
our physical body, formative body, inspirational body and
enduring “I”. ‘Mapping’ the soul and the interplay of our four
‘body streams’. Memories and our formative body stream from
the past. Feelings and our inspirational body stream from the
future. How consciousness arises. The distinction between our
everyday I and our spiritual, enduring “I”. Karma and repeated
earthly lives. Threading memories together.
(3) Imaging Imagination
(4) “Aha!” to “Aaah”
book two –
From the Cradle
From birth, through childhood and
into adolescence – qualities of our four-fold being, including
our physical senses, unfold and continue to transform
throughout our lives.
4. Earliest
Memory
Our earliest years. The ‘birth’
of our enduring “I”. The significance of our earliest memory.
The enfoldment of our formative and inspirational bodies
within our physical development. Early ‘island’ memories,
which develop into ‘storyline’ memories. The ‘kissing gate’ of
thinking and perceiving. The soul activities of willing,
thinking and feeling.
(5) Imaging Imagination ♣ The You are I
Game
5. What
Makes Sense
The stream of our physical
senses. Early formation of ideas by experiencing the world
through our senses. Conventional classification of the senses.
Steiner’s description of twelve senses and their
transformation as a basis for extra-to-sensory perception.
‘Inner’ and ‘outer’ senses and their relationship to our
willing, feeling and thinking. Quantitative and qualitative
approaches to physical senses; the development of intuitive
thinking.
(6) Memory’s Blank Spot ♣ The Sense
Observation Game
(7) Light and Dark ♣ The Sensible
Insight Game
6. Going
Back Forward
Can early sense
experiences be stored in the brain and subsequently trigger
off involuntary reactions in later life? An exercise in
remembering backwards. Plotting different aspects of memory
and the significance of intuitive remembrance. The interplay
of our nerve-sense system with our moving, metabolic system
and rhythmic system of breathing and circulation. Comments on
some theories of emotion and the role of the amygdala in the
brain.
♣ The Roll Mop Herrings
Game
(8) Backwards Way Forwards
7. A Child
of our Times
Observing the relationship
between physical body form and learning in young children.
Conventional theories of child development. The capacity to
grasp ideas and the capacity to remember and a tendency for
children to lean more towards one capacity. Nurturing a
child’s senses and imagination. Memory in a Nutshell (3):
repression and motivated forgetting.
♣ The Child of our Times
Game
(9)“I Can’t Think of Anything”
8. Sylphs
and Salamanders
The unfolding of our
formative body, emergence of temperament and storyline memory.
Temperament as a blend of inherited and non-inherited
qualities appropriate to our karmic development. A Personal
Temperament Chart. A Recent History of Temperament Theory.
Contrast with modern personality theory. Comparison of
Steiner’s description of soul activities, Jung’s typology of
psychological types and ancient spiritual paths of
transformation. The everyday gift of temperament. Influence of
elemental forces.
(10) Real Reminiscence ♣ The
Temperament Game
9.
Monday’s Child is Fair of Face?
The
unfolding of our inspirational body and adolescent
development. The alliance of soul development with our
physical development. The emergence of soul qualities and the
influence of planetary spheres of consciousness. Ancient
mystery initiations and their awareness of the permeating
consciousness of divine forces. A Personal Soul Qualities
Chart. The illumination of the Spiritual Sun. Interplay of
soul qualities and temperament, memory and feeling, and how we
change.
(11) Family Contrasts ♣ The Day Today
Game ♣ The Seal Change Game ♣ The Contrast Wheel
Game
book three –
To the Grave – with contemplation, concentration and
meditation
From our early 20’s to old age –
conventional theories of adult development contrasted with
phases of our soul-spirit development. As adults in this
modern age we can explore the world and who we are through
thinking – and develop a new ‘wisdom of the
elders’.
10. Growing
Up
The flow of our enduring “I” stream
into adulthood. Conventional theories of adult development
through to our mid 40’s. A soul/spiritual human life cycle.
Our Sentient, Thinking-Heart and Spiritual Soul – individually
and within the evolution of human consciousness. Soul moods of
equality, fraternity and freedom. Self-awareness and the
development of our willing, thinking and feeling. Conventional
theories of adult development through to old age. Preparing
the future course of our development and transformation of our
Spiritual Self, Life Spirit and Spiritman.
(12) That’s Odd ♣ The Ageing Game
(1) ♣ The Ageing Game (2)
11. Getting
Involved
What does it mean to explore
the world through thinking; Steiner on Goethe. Revealing the
essential being of something. Strengthening our willing within
thinking, balanced by feeling. How to see inside things –
inquiring and intuitively investigating the essence of
something. The everyday gift of conversation. Practical
work.
(13) Duck or Rabbit? ♣ The Don’t Name
That Thing Game ♣ The Whole Thing Game ♣ The
Conversation Game ♣ The Memory Observation Game
12. A New
Conversation
How old do we feel we are?
Deterioration of the alliance between soul development and
physical development through the ages. The need to take our
soul-spirit development in hand. Developing a new ‘wisdom of
the elders’. Sense-bound to sense-free thinking. A practical
guide to concentration and meditation. Nurturing life as moral
activity.
♣ The How Old Do You Think You
Are Game ♣ The Game
book four –
Me and My Shadow
The wonderfully chaotic world of our adult life
– exploring our personality as a shadow cast by the
illumination of our enduring “I”. Exploring the weave of our
karmic thread. The benefits and limitations of lifestyle
programmes.
13. The Johari Game –
an overview
A Personality Profile.
Initial exploration, with a series of trigger questions, into:
the ‘Open Window’ of things you know about yourself that
others also know; the ‘Hidden Window’ of things you know about
yourself but choose not to reveal to others; the ‘Blind
Window’ of things other people know about you but of which you
are unaware; the ‘Land of Serendipity Window’ of things
neither you or others are aware of but which wait to be
revealed.
♣ The Johari game
(14) Picture Your Self
(15) Four Stream Thinking
(16) Focus
14. The Open
Window
Identifying different types of
values. A personal values inventory. A hierarchy of premium
values. The difficulty with values. Distinguishing values from
ideals. A shared culture rooted in our participation with the
world. The story of trust through the ages – who do I
trust?
♣ The Yes But No But Game
(17) Where Did I Put My Keys?
15. The Hidden
Window
Anxiety and fear in the modern
world. Theories of Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder.
Boredom and its connection to our life of memory, desires and
our enduring “I”. What is fear?
(18) “I Can’t Remember What’s Her Name”
♣ The Lamwitty Game
(19) Hold the Picture ♣ The Hidden
Window Game
16. The Blind
Window
Habits. Habits and experience.
Conventional theories of habitual behaviour. Habit and memory.
Habit formulation and re-formulation. The Alexander Technique.
Habitual thinking and common sense.
♣ The Habit Game
(20)Being in Control of Me ♣ The
Alexander Game
(21)Learn by Heart
17. The Land of
Serendipity Window
Serendipity,
synchronicity and karma. The present moment within the
interplay of our four ‘body streams’. Tableaux memory, déjà vu
and dreams. The flow and interplay of our yearning and
judging. Fate and karma. Rumbling our karma. Conventional
psychotherapy. A Destiny Chart. Becoming a sagacious
Serendiptian.
(22) Karmic Lines
(23) I Don’t Get It
(24) A Rumble Book ♣ The Ebb and Flow
Game
(25) “Only you can save mankind –” ♣
The Serendipity Game ♣ The Ageing Game
(3) – The Matrix
18. Through the
Window
A potted history of positive
optimism. Lifestyle programmes, optimism and pessimism,
positivity and negativity. The stirring of our enduring “I”
stream. Memory in a Nutshell (4): forgetting and forgiving.
Strengthened willing – some pitfalls. What is conscience? Our
everyday gift of conscience.
(26) Clarifying Catalysts ♣ The I Will,
You Will, Will You Game
(27) Wily Gremlins
(28) With the Future in Mind ♣ The
Ready to See the Beautiful Game
book five –
Poles Apart?
Polarity at work in the forming of our
biography. The illumination of who “I am”. The gift of
remembrance and our challenge in the future.
19. The Earth and Me
The
transformation of the earth and humanity. Point centred
thinking: duality, polarity and projective geometry. Formative
forces and “counter-space”. Goethe, metamorphosis and colour.
The spiritual permeating the physical. Conventional approaches
to human duality. The cult of the brain.
♣ The Duality Game ♣ The
Polarity Game ♣ The Light and Dark Game ♣ The
Indigo Imago Emerging After Image Game ♣ The Black Hole
Game ♣ The Left/Right Game
20. What Plato said to
Aristotle
The biography of the earth
and human consciousness. A polarity in the river of human
consciousness – working towards a confluence. Polar forces
intent on disturbing this work. Luciferic and Ahrimanic
influences within our biography. Recognising and redeeming
these influences.
♣ The Dialogue Game
(29) “Contrariwise…”
(30) The Oxbow Lake ♣ The Old Nick and
Harry Game ♣ The Old Nick and Harry End Game
21. Not
Me
The lemniscate of our karmic
development. Growth and decay. The ancient mysteries and
awareness of who “I am”. The illumination of our “I” by the
Spiritual Sun Christ. The deterioration of the alliance
between soul/physical development and the incarnation of
Christ. The warmth of divine love felt by all human beings
within all spiritual faiths. Developing “moral imagination”,
free of Luciferic and Ahrimanic influences, cognizant of all
consequences. Working with our Guardian Angel and our four
everyday gifts. The gift of remembrance and our challenge in
the future.
(31) Inside Out ♣ The Seed Game ♣
The Signs of the Times Game ♣ The Big Review
Game
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