Anthroposophy in New Zealand

You might be asking: what does transforming through the critical social encounter mean for me?

Anthroposophy is intended to be a way of thought, a path of knowledge and human wisdom. (Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge that aims to lead the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the cosmos. It arises in the human being as a need of the heart and the feelings.) Over time each of us, humanity, the earth, and the cosmos undergo metamorphosis – transformation. The social encounter involves warmth of heart and courage to step into the new.

How can we apply anthroposophical understanding to this experience?

The anthroposophical path invites  gratitude for that which comes to us, opening a path of discovery to esoteric knowledge. The greater our understanding and compassion for the ways of destiny, the finer our sensitivity to what human life is. We grow this capacity by understanding our human story often through the story of others. As we listen to each conference speaker a new social creativity is invited in. If we want to share a future, then our future begins at the threshold of the Critical Social Encounter. It is a turning point where our individual and cultural transformations are made possible. Our ‘I’ is encouraged to develop in dialogue with another ‘I’; to grow beyond oneself is to transform.

Introducing conference 2021

• Experience the warmth of the ‘I’ in yourself and in the other throughout the conference
• Keynote speakers (followed by small group discussion sessions)
• Facilitated themed break-out discussion sessions to engage with and develop what arises. Listen and take part as you feel inspired
• A collection of afternoon workshops. Deepen your experiences or generate anew choosing from a variety of specialised themes
• Theatre and musical evening performances from local and national performers, musicians, and eurythmists, including Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Drama (scene 4 from The Portal of Initiation)
• Optional afternoon excursions to the Hamilton Gardens and River Ridge Birthing Centre – something unique in Hamilton.
• See the conference schedule

Hello from Kirikiriroa Hamilton

Come and celebrate our renewed ability to gather together for this year’s Society annual conference in Kirikiriroa. Through the three key speakers, workshop facilitators and artistic performers, and with new forms? and questions, we will engage consciously and in real time with the theme of Transforming through the Critical Social Encounter.

What do we mean by the Critical Social Encounter? We are all involved with daily social encounters but most pass us by, unnoticed. When we consider what it is to stand upright in our own ‘I’ and encounter the other in their ‘I’, what happens in this exchange? What needs to come into this gap to make it creative?

The importance of these encounters was  apparent during the isolation events of the last year when we experienced first-hand a pause in physical community contact. What is this time right now asking of us? Have we an answer, or indeed, a question? What can we imagine for our future selves? We have many questions – can we work towards answers and even transform these into actions?

Celebrating the opportunity to gather in freedom, let us bring our heart forces together to echo our conference contributors. Sharing in our stories we may perceive the transformative forces; transformation as movement.

Logistics

We begin the conference with the registration welcome desk open from 3pm on Thursday 7th October. The welcome and opening pōwhiri is at 4pm followed by dinner and the opening evening’s events. The Conference closes with lunch on Sunday at 1pm.

Early-bird registration is available until Monday 27th September.

Accommodation information: Waikato Waldorf School is situated in the north-eastern suburb of Huntington. Traveling around the city of Hamilton is relatively straight forward, however it is advisable to plan accommodation soon as options are limited due to Covid isolation and emergency housing demands. We have negotiated with St Paul’s Collegiate School to book boarding rooms ($150 per person for three nights).

These must be pre-booked as a group and we have a staged process:

• FIRST: register your interest now in the attached form and email to Florian Roger.
• SECOND: Book and pay to confirm. We will email a booking confirmation and Florian will manage this between the school and conference delegates.

A minimum number is required and so registration of interest is imperative, and we will pre-book upon this indication. Other options you may wish to look into include Hamilton City Holiday Park (07 855 8255), Hamilton Central Backpackers (07 839 1928) and AirBnB.

If you have transportation questions, please inform us via email when you register, and we will aim to connect people for shared travel during conference. Hamilton Airport pickups on Thursday prior to conference start time are available.

Conference Details:

• Conference Venue
  Waikato Waldorf School, 85 Barrington Drive, Hamilton
• Key Dates
  • Early bird discount applies until 27^th September 2021
  • Refunds up to 27^th September 2021: Full repayment.
  • From 27th September 2021: 70% refund in the case of illness or other extenuating circumstances.
  • Registration closes 4^th October 2021.
  • Conference 7-10 October 2021
• Remember if you do require support for fees, please contact us at WaikatoAnthro@gmail.com to negotiate a special fee.
• Please be in touch if you have an enquiry:
  • General: WaikatoAnthro@gmail.com 
  • Budget Accommodation: florian.roger@protonmail.com

Conference documents

• Workshop presenters and schedule (downloadable Word doc)
• Conference brochure (downloadable PDF)
• Conference programme (downloadable PDF)
• Conference flyer (coming soon)