Mere intellectualism is not enough; it does not take us deep enough. Nature's life and flow are so fine and subtle that in the end they slip right through the coarse mesh of our rational concepts. That's the mistake science has made in recent times--it tries to use coarse conceptual nets to catch things that are actually much too fine for them... -Rudolf Steiner, 1924

As part of the Pfeiffer Center's biodynamic agriculture course this past week-end, Craig Holdrege of the Nature Institute spoke in a similar vein. He discussed how technology imposes idea structures on Nature that don't fit, and how we create conditions for animals and plants to do what we want them to do. We could, instead, strive to know the animal or plant, to understand what it is and work with it on its' level, the way it "is" in the world. Steiner talks about the farmer having a way of acquiring spiritual knowledge, by walking the fields, by being receptive to what Nature has to teach, by having an intimate relationship with his farm. One has to attend to the process, and not merely the product. -kp

If you don't already know them, please check out www.natureinstitute.org & www.pfeiffercenter.org to learn about the important work they are doing.