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Editorial

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the Summer issue of New View. I need to begin with an apology for the very late appearance of New View on this occasion as for various reasons we lost a month in the run up to production, so I thank readers for their patience and hope the wait proves to be worthwhile with this issue.

The Summer issue of New View is anchored each year in what the personality, John the Baptist, stood for some 2000 years ago. John, who baptised Christ and whose day in the Christian cycle of the year is celebrated on June 24th, at midsummer, called upon people to change their ways, of thinking and being, epitomised by the word from the Greek, “Metanoia”. The life’s work of Rudolf Steiner could also in many ways be epitomised by such a call; to wake up and change your thinking. Steiner showed that the heart has to be involved for a true thinking to be more than cold and calculating. This warm, creative thinking is the basis for a universal human future.

We all strive to make sense of ourselves and the world and others around us. In adult life we may find ourselves in positions of authority to make decisions and bring things into order for other people; even become ‘world leaders’ like presidents and prime minsters in governments. What part then does our moral compass, our conscience, play? There’s the challenge. When a measure of control is exerted by people over other people, how that is done makes all the difference to the world we create and live in together. That may sound obvious, but are not the woes of the world, greater and smaller, brought about by the way we deal with one another, our understanding of what is needed and, importantly, how in our actions we bring this about?

In America, on July 4th this year, they celebrated 250 years of independence from Britain. The founding document for this, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, included the statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I have often wondered what we bring with us from the spiritual world when we are born on the Earth; what underpins our existence. What is meant by ‘the pursuit of happiness’ in this statement. Did the word ‘happiness’ have a different meaning all those years ago? Is it anyway a personal pursuit for myself, or is the happiness of the other also important? Questions held and pursued into life eventually bring understanding, but one often needs to be patient. With these threads in mind you are invited to journey though the contributions of this issue of New View.

We begin with Anthroposophy and the Christian Churches by Canon A. P. Shepherd (1885–1968). Although written some sixty years ago this article has much to say of relevance today, particularly offering an introduction to the value of the work of Rudolf Steiner. Somewhat naturally there follows A. P. Shepherd (1885-1968): An Appreciation written by Michael Willey, giving us a glimpse of who this man was.

Crispian Villeneuve has translated from German a letter written by Eleanor Merry to Ita Wegman (who both knew Steiner) in A Letter from Cornwall. It is alive with her experiences around Tintagel.

Charles Duquette writes from America about deeper ways of thinking about life, in Four Faces of the Logos.

Dr. Daphné von Boch from Switzerland offers a perspective on a common misconception in _The Dangers of ‘Vitamin’ D Treatment.

Michael Warden and Jan Martel (from Spain and Taiwan) present the fruits of five years’ collaboration with an important article about their research into the effects of 5G technology in Global Pandemics Seen Anew Part One: Striking Correlations with Electromagnetic Pollution.

Terry Boardman then completes his two-part series Jews, Arabs, and the English-speaking World (Part 2) where he looks at Islam and Judaism, Britain and America: their Relation to the Incarnation of Ahriman.

Shindig Rhymer shares, in his inimitable way, a challenging experience of a recent journey abroad in Shindig Rhymer Tries to Go Travelling.

Michael Brinch from Denmark explores image and attention and how we think in Narcissus Spellbound.

The scientist, Peter Taylor, then explains in our regular feature ‘Climate Watch’ the warm weather background in El Niño and Record Temperatures.

We then take a poetic turn with Mike Howell who offers some poets’ lesser-known poems, portraying their spiritual understanding in Images of Spiritual Truth in Poems.

From America, Amber Smith looks at a particular classic tale and how it can reveal much about our life of soul, in Understanding Fairy Tales.

There are a sprinkling of other poems, a reader’s letter and a selection of book reviews to round out this current issue.

Finally, at the end of the magazine (page 100) the reader will find a letter written by me appealing for donations to help fund the magazine. Please read this and give it what consideration you can. Many thanks.

With all the events swirling around us in the world, and for whatever is at work in each of our inner lives, it is my hope that New View may offer some insights, some sharings, that make a valuable difference to you.

Wishing you well, wherever you may be,

Tom Raines – Editor.

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