I felt extremely fortunate to be able to attend this year’s Anthroposophical Society Conference on the theme, ‘Brave New Intelligence: if not human – whose?’.
Nicanor Perlas, an advocate of environmental protections from the Phillipines, was invited as guest speaker for the annual conference. He displayed great knowledge on this topic. His talk was very insightful; letting us know the influence it will have on the human race. At the same time, it was confronting to think that humankind could become extinct.
One of the workshops I attended discussed the implications in depth of 5G and simple experiments were conducted to help better understand the adverse consequences of 5G technology. One experiment that was performed was of a spring inside a glass container that had electromagnetic waves directed through the container. It was fascinating to see how the spring vibrated, depending on the size of the magnetic waves.
The glass container represented the human body; the spring represented a human cell and the electromagnetic waves, 5G. A cell in the human body bombarded by these electromagnetic waves could lead to inflammation in the body, leading to more insidious illnesses and diseases such as cancer. We learned that the very young, children and adolescents were more at risk due to their rapidly growing bodies.
I enjoyed listening to a selected panel which answered questions from the floor on how artificial intelligence and surveillance is affecting our daily lives. The questions and answers really highlighted for me the dangers of how much information can be gathered on individuals using smartphone devices and social media. I learned that Google and Facebook extract personal details without consent. There was good discussion about being more secure on the internet.
Herbert Wolpert, a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, gave an enlightening lecture on Spiral Dynamics, which highlights stages of developmental values. The eight levels which Herbert showed us in drawings were loops that had certain colours that were linked together. It was fascinating to learn these colour systems and what they represented, and how Spiral Dynamics are used for psychological and leadership development, looking at internal conflict and often the inflexibility to embrace a different perspective. I learned that Weleda NZ uses this model.
The eurythmy performance by an incredibly talented group from Switzerland was mesmerising to watch due to the sheer beauty of their rhythmic movements. The performance seemed full of light and there was a well-deserved standing ovation at the end.
My last reflection is that at these anthroposophical conferences it strikes me – and it is very obvious – how respectful everyone is when there are conversations, talks and lectures, with people wanting to speak letting others finish and that everyone’s voice is heard and appreciated. It makes for a very special time with many friendships, connections and bonds formed.