Dear Friends,

When I first became aware of the WeStrive community (back when it was called the NetworkM) the thing I was most excited about was the prospect of reimagining our economic relationships within such a community and perhaps being part of a catalyst for broader change in our wider communities.

This was a time when social networking was first being talked about as the next phase in a gradual process of “disintermediation.” Disintermediation is the process whereby relationships (often in the economic sphere) shift from between individual and institution to between individual(s) and individual(s). People are no longer reliant on big banks, or big media corporations, music companies, information providers like newspapers or TV stations – they can find what they need often for free or at least cheaper direct from other sources.

Information technology and the Internet have allowed people to bypass traditional institutional sources of what they need even further. Social networking as the second evolutionary step of the internet is a great possibility not only for people to keep track of each other’s mood swings, holiday plans, or look up old high school crushes, it is now becoming clearly a way for political action to be organized in a viral way between interest groups.

The third evolutionary step of the Internet is in the field of the economy. A market can arise, or exchanges, or financial relationships which are potentially paradigm shifting. We can now buy, lend and give our economic resources without banks, without stores and without charitable foundations and big non-profit organizations. Web 3.0 may even sound the death knell of national currencies and central financial institutions altogether. The economy can now be freed; money can flow where it is needed without institutional or political interference, and between people striving for the good.

So this is why I got excited, and am excited about WeStrive as a tool for cultural, social and economic connecting, creating and collaborating.

Now, over a year later, this theme reemerges in the theme of this our WeStrive March eNews: “Rethinking Economics in the 2010s—How we are changing our perception of money and exchange.” The ball is now firmly in our court. As cultural creative’s, as strivers for positive change - we have the tools, we have a community, we have the inspiration from examples of people who we either know, or who someone we know knows.

So what will I do?

In Gratitude,

Adrian Bowden
on Behalf of the Leadership Council

In this eNews Issue:

• Letter to the Community
• New Content
• RS Archives’ Recommended Articles
• Artist of the Month: Jannebeth Röell
• WeStrive Feature of the Month
• Upcoming Events
• Feedback
• Donate Now

New Content

Societal Finance: Rethinking Economics by Arthur Edwards
Economists often speak of financial literacy and here Arthur Edwards explains what financial literacy is. Do we understand the differences between personal finances and societal finances? Edwards dives into Rudolf Steiner's research around money, and looks to how Waldorf Schools are preparing their students for real-world economics...Read More.
Women and Economics: Making Invisible Economic Contributions Visible by Barbara Schöllenberger
In order to understand economics, we must look to the history of economics. Barbara Schöllenberger, of the Civic Education in Vienna, Austria, takes an academic look at the role that women have played in the field of economics. Like Edwards, Schöllenberger emphasizes the need for financial literary, and for understanding how to make the invisible parts of economics visible...Read More.
The Future of Money by Jesse Osmer
How do we perceive money? How do we understand money? Jess Osmer digs deeper into how our perceptions, or misperceptions, have altered our world--from the ways we interact with one another, to the opportunities that are now available to us. ...Read More.
Event Report: Haiti: Seeing Destruction and Joy by Lukas Mall
Lukas Mall, Annie Sauerland and others, representing Friends of Waldorf Education Rudolf Steiner traveled to Haiti a month after the devastating earthquake. Here are Lukas' thoughts on his experiences, and the work that the organization brought to young children and teens in the Port au Prince and Leogane areas. Annie Sauerland also contributes some breathtaking photos capturing the spirit of the resilient young Haitians they met during their visit...Read More.
A Story of Two Investments by Paul Krafel
Paul Krafel, supports the Chrysalis Charter School in Northern California. The Chrysalis school works on the principle of H.O.P.E. (Hands-On Phenomenal Ecology). In this piece, Krafel examines the value of community-based investments and the layers that investments have on individuals, the future, and communities...Read More.

RS Archives’ Recommended Articles

Economics
Within this eNews is a series of conversations related to rethinking economics; Steiner gave a lecture series in the summer of 1922 to examine “a completely new approach to the science of economics."

Throughout this series of lectures, Steiner lays the foundation for a true understanding of economics, encouraging us to transform our thinking to perceive the inherent underlying phenomenon. Steiner ends with the bold conclusion that money has become the world's bookkeeping. All this in 1922, before the invention of the computer.

-Jesse Osmer
With Permission from the Rudolf Steiner Archive

Other readings to consider:

  The Relation Between the Economics of C. H. Douglas and Those of Rudolf Steiners

Artist of the Month: Jannebeth Röell Early Mornings: Artist Statement

"When we go out to Sauvie Island, early before sunrise, I wait for something to surprise me and then I sketch it on location .The sketch and the surprise dive down in my memory. In my memory the response to the morning starts to grow. In time a conversation between my memory and the sketch develops on paper. Colors arise from nature’s gray- tones, movements arise from the forms and they start to interact together. The paintings develop in the studio. The many scenes keep surprising me with a new life."

WeStrive Feature of the Month

Each month we will try to present you with the ins and outs of an exciting new feature that will help to make your striving all the more productive. This month we will continue to explore the video feature. Videos are a great way of connecting, sharing and creating new dialogues with one another. Upload, or choose, a video on YouTube or Vimeo, and then share this information online by clicking "Add Video" on your profile box. Copy and paste the URL of the video you wish to share, choose to publish the video on the front page, and then, voila! you'll add the video to the WeStrive video gallery. Click Here to learn more.

Upcoming Events

• Scientific Research, Spiritual Research (Glen Ellen, California)
  March 16
  "Scientific Research, Spiritual Research," by Dennis Klocek
  $85 ($45 students/apprentices) includes lunch. Pre-registration required - Seating is limited.
  Work with the land, plants, and animals is greatly enhanced when one eye is kept on the practical aspects and one on the spiritual. This workshop highlights research techniques that use the alchemical mandala of the four elements to gain insight into patterns of the physical world. These same research techniques can then be used in contemplative approaches to problem solving through the development of enhanced imaginative capacities.
  Register online at www.dennisklocek.com.
  
• FOCUS Initiative Forum (Dornach, Switzerland)
  April 5-9
  Not a conference. Not a report. But a fireplace where we can come and meet and do. Meeting around the fire. Working around our fireplace. What do I need so that I can grow? Crystals in the air. Crystals in the room. Crystal clear – something should be crystal clear by the end of it. A vision – a remembering – of why we all came together. Something like a commitment. Like an urgency. What’s connecting us? Focus on what connects us. My task. Our task. For more, visit http://focusmeeting.org.
  
• HeartChord Music Festival (Dornach, Switzerland)
  April 9-11
  An event to fill the Goetheanum with music of all colours and genres – a weekend jamboree. Organised by the YouthSection. More for information, visit http://www.heartchord.org.
  
• AE Days
  April 23-July 2 (London, United Kingdom)
  The seminar is now available in modular form in London on alternate Fridays, from April to July 2010. For more information, please click http://www.anthromedia.com/articles/economics/events/2010/aedays/.
  
• Technology and the Human Spirit (London, United Kingdom)
  Apri 24 New View magazine presents a conference on 'Technology and the Human Spirit'...The day will run from 10am - 6pm and there will be four guest speakers offering contributions to the theme with space for questions and discussion. For more information, go to http://westrive.org/content/technology-and-human-spirit.
• Figuring Out Finance (Spring Valley, New York)
  April 30-May 1
  A practical response to the global financial crisis

  
  An evening presentation and all-day workshop with Arthur Edwards of The Centre for Associative Economics

  This double event focuses on how Rudolf Steiner’s economic thinking can be given practical effect today. A special emphasis is on whether and how economics, as financial literacy, is taught in schools. Educational initiatives arising today will have profound consequences for tomorrow’s thinking if, in both the form and content of their economics, they can embody an approach that is coherent from idea to practice. In the cultural life of one generation the economic life of the next is born. Nothing less than a new economic paradigm is now needed.

  To register interest contact Katie Ketchum, katie.ketchum@gmail.com.

• Sexuality and Consciousness (Chatham (town of Ghent), New York)
  May 12-16
  Lisa Romero will give an evening talk on Sexuality and Consciousness (especially for young audiences). On May 14-16, Lisa will keep a workshop on The Inner Path and Anthroposophy (a Foundation course). Contact David Anderson at david@wtdtheater.org.
  
• Sexuality and Consciousness (Spring Valley, New York)
  May 22-23
  Lisa Romero will give a workshop for youth ages 16-25 on Sexuality and Consciousness through the Christian Community in Spring Valley (contact Jessica Mansbach at mansbje@gmail.com or the Christian Community in Spring Valley for more information).
  
• The Inner Path and Anthroposophy--A Continuation (Spring Valley, New York)
  May 29-31
  Rudolf Steiner gave many exercises and meditations to strengthen the soul through its journey of developing consciousness. Together we will explore the inner path, the birth of the higher self, the spiritual year, and how exercises can bring us closer to our own experience of these processes. Lisa Romero will give a workshop, for those who have attended a previous workshop. This is a three day commitment. Contact David Anderson at david@wtdtheater.org.
  
• The Inner Path III (Spring Valley, New York)
  June 5
  Lisa Romero will give a workshop on The Inner Path for those who have attended the two previous workshops. Contact David Anderson at david@wtdtheater.org.
• You Yourself - Lead Yourself: A Wanderseminar (Selfoss, Iceland)
  June 30-July 14
  The "wanderseminar" (including the conference) takes place from June, 30 – July, 14 2010. The seminar is international and will proceed in Nordic languages, German and English. English translation will be provided when a lecture is given in any of the other languages.
  The seminar is divided into three parts:
  1. trips and hikes through the Icelandic landscapes
  2. the conference itself with lectures and workshops as well as shorter excursions, 3. new trips and hikes.
  The price for the entire wanderseminar is NOK 11.000 and includes all trips, food and accommodation at the Waldorfschool, in huts, youth hostels and eventual camping, as well as the conference itself (7 - 11 July). Those who prefer staying in hotels pay that themselves. Hotels are not available everywhere so during the first part of the seminar one night will be spent in a hut and the same is for the last part of the seminar.

  The conference itself takes place at Solheimar (the first home for curative education in the Nordic countries, founded in 1930 by Sesselja Sigmundsdottir). Participation only in the conference costs NOK 7.000 (everything included). You can chose to only take part in the first part of the Wanderseminar and the conference itself. Please visit http://westrive.org/content/your-self-%E2%80%93-lead-yourself for more information.

Have an event you want to share? Please add it to the WeStrive calendar and we'll include it in the next eNews!

Feedback

WeStrive is always looking for ways to expand and improve. If you have any questions, comments or concerns do not hesitate to contact us.

Donate Now

Donate now. We do this out of love, but sometimes love ain’t enough to meet the needs of our community, and the needs are expanding. If we want to continue to find ways of supporting the international striving of this community network, we'll need to find new ways to support that work. For people in the USA, donations are tax-deductible contributions that go directly to support our work. If each WeStrive member gave $45.00, we’d have enough to meet our operational needs for the coming year. If you are interested in giving click on the donate button on the front page of http://www.westrive.org.